Don't Use the Word "Gamer"

[dietpeachsnapple]

I do not see it as a matter of, "bulking," our group. Gamers have no overarching agenda, besides the enjoyment they get from their recreationalization so numbers have no real meaning. That aside, I am missing your definition of loser, perhaps you could reiterate it for me? You mentioned behaviors that should not be accepted without question: what are those behaviors, and how do you propose we cull those individuals from our ranks?

I don't propose that we 'cull' members but I do think we need to stop permitting behaviour like rampant sadism, snap judgements on two sided articles and the enshrinement of gaming as an intrinsically positive thing, frankly I've blanched at the amount of time I've wasted gaming on occasion. If we're going to be a rounded community we need to stop positively reinforcing antisocial behaviour. If you read most of the news articles on here you'll see quite a few users who are not team players to be mild about it. I define a loser as someone who opts out of society and thinks that it's a valid standpoint to only want to play games to the exclusion of everything else. I think it's wrong to let them think that that's OK because it's plain not, it's not healthy for the person, useful for society or even sustainable.

Look at hate mail to people, people proclaiming that they'd love to torture other people, people wanting revenge for things that happened years ago and other such aberrant behaviours. As a group we should be discouraging behaviour that will hurt the group but we don't. We as a group have a warped set of values.

I would contend that that you are referring to is not indicative of gaming but of general internet interaction. While the things you are seeing/hearing are detestable, understand that the liberating nature of anonymity allows for it to be so.

As for those obsessed with games to the exclusion of all else: why is this a problem? They will get a job one day. They will make money to fund their gaming. They will work until they can play, and play until they need to work. That sounds like every person I have ever met. Some people are happy with less.

 

[A Free Man]

I don't know if this has been said but I can't be bothered to catch up on the 13 pages (sorry). Anyway the way I see it is Yahtzee made a good point by saying that gaming is a hobby, something people do, it is not something they can be defined as. However maybe the idea is that people who would claim to be 'gamers' actually do define themselves as that and therefore it is most likely a huge part of their life thus giving some credability to the sterotype. Obviously I am not saying that the sterotype is true but it seems to me a lot of the personality traits associated with being a gamer (ie. laziness) also factor in to sterotypes such as that gamers are generally overweight or unfit. I don't think that there is anything wrong with calling yourself a gamer but if you do you will be seen as this sterotype. So rather than just stop using the word, individuals should decide for themself how they would like to be viewed and if they can really be defined by their hobby.

 

[AVATAR_RAGE]

I'm not against calling myself a gamer, but I obviously I have other interests too. Labels like "gamer" help me to disribe myself without being overly detailed.

Though the term "girl gamer" should be scrapped, I can't stand it. I think it adds to the illusion that "people who play video game" (see it is easier to put in gamer) are all subterainian trolls.

 

[daftnoize]

I think thats the one good thing casual gameing is doing. Making playing video games less of a milk smelling thing and more of a coco channel smelling thing. Also with wii kinect and move making them look like complete chiefs flailing their limbs about etc

 

[hyperdrachen]

A fair point while we're at it lets stop being such 1 dimension douchebags that we have to reduce ourself to a lable to feal like we matter. See "Mac Person", "PC Person", or "insert nationality here".

 

[rosac]

Firstly have a nice holiday, secondly (is that a word? Ah whatever) I have to agree with this, I play tabletop games, (I.E Warhammer and Warhammer 40k) and I keep this fact under wraps when Im talking to people who arent interested simply because of the stigma. I may be rather dull as it is, but saying that I paint miniatures to a national grade level just makes me seem like OMG teh ubernerd.

Any ways, good article.

rosac

 

[MatsVS]

Clearly Yahtzee was desperately hitting on a woman in his bar the other day, only to be turned down, which left him broken and disillusioned. Thus, in a alcohol-fuelled rage he reasoned that this not-too-rare occurrence was due to not him being a scrawny, pasty, glibly arrogant brit who wouldn't have a friend in the world if it wasn't for his little internet show (about games and penises, incidentally), but the 'gamer persona'. Driven by bitterness and hatred towards his peers, that again spawned this ill-conceived internet rant which makes no sense to anyone but his most ardent followers.

Oh fuck it... I'm just gonna sit and play some games before I have to go to work.

 

[Autofaux]

Motoring enthusiasts are fine with calling themselves, and being called, motoring enthusiasts. Thus, I don't mind the term gaming enthusiast, since I am a part of the enthusiast crowd.

 

[Primus1985]

Oh my god hell yes. Ive been fighting with this very word myself. Just because I play videogames doesnt mean im a "gamer" a 200lb pizza-faced, four-eyed(no offense to Yahtzee) troll that plays WoW for days on end.

I get introduced by my friends as a "gamer" as if thats a profession. I have a steady, mildly rewarding job I play games to unwind. Although I do admit I do like sprawling adventure RPG and action games, most of these have a large story and huge amounts of game content and enviroment to explore and have fun in, which means I stay in that game world longer than most games.

 

[ROBOcity123]

I think this is a lazy topic TBH. He's a game critic and he doesn't want to be called a gamer, he also happens to be somewhat existential...Of course he doesn't want a label. He's an intelligent man.

 

[MatsVS]

Clearly Yahtzee was desperately hitting on a woman in his bar the other day, only to be turned down, which left him broken and disillusioned. Thus, in a alcohol-fuelled rage he reasoned that this not-too-rare occurrence was due to not him being a scrawny, pasty, glibly arrogant brit who wouldn't have a friend in the world if it wasn't for his little internet show (about games and penises, incidentally), but the 'gamer persona'. Driven by bitterness and hatred towards his peers, that again spawned this ill-conceived internet rant which makes no sense to anyone but his most ardent followers.

Oh fuck it... I'm just gonna sit and play some games before I have to go to work.

lol, that really did make me laugh, its completely possible about the lady buisness but it seems more like you got offended and completely overreacted

Haha, in retrospect I wish I left out the last part of the main paragraph.

 

[Clockwork Scarecrow.]

Enjoy your holiday.

 

[SomeUnregPunk]

I have to say that not only do I enjoy Yahtzee's videos and his articles, I also enjoy these wonderfully hilarious comment threads where these flame wars sprout and die.

Thank you for keeping me entertained. It's like watching drunken bums fight.

I agree with Yahtzee and I see no solution unless some one makes a new popular moniker to describe people who play video-games that aren't douche-bags about it.

 

[General BrEeZy]

thank you.
please planet earth, adopt this fact.
besides, i have a hot date soon anyways.

 

[nondescript]

While I understand the idea and motive behind breaking the paradigm of game-players as basement-dwelling boys who never looked for a real job, I do have one problem with the request. "Gamer" sets an image, but it's also open to interpretation if you're not prejudiced. Someone who loves board games can be a "gamer," as can a 12-year old with their Pokemon deck, a Unix man who programmed his own game, and your girlfriend who plays Halo while you stand outside with her dog collar around your neck. (Yes, The Guild reference.) For that matter, middle-class executives who spend/waste their paycheck in Vegas at the slots or craps table might call themselves "gamers."

If someone wants to define me as a loser just because I play games, that's their loss, not mine. So when people ask, I say, "I play games. You might say I'm a gamer." You might also say I'll pwn ur bg with my leet skillz. But that's another story.