Don't Use the Word "Gamer"

[Risqtish]

Not using the word "Gamer" is a very intersting solution to this apparently bad problem. It seems to me that the negative views only exist when talking to someone who doesn't play video games, or doesn't consider themselves a "Gamer". There may be a single stereotype for "Gamer" which Yahtzee may be referring to, but what people take away from these stereotypes and focus on will vary from person to person.

For example, the term "Girl Gamer"
In the Types of Gamers below, I found it interesting that 2 out of 27 common stereotypes were female. It seems quite restricting. You are either one, or the other if you happen to be female.

Spoiler

I was shocked in the comments to see so many people decrying the term "Girl Gamer". In most cases they had seen a "Girl Gamer" as someone who openly states they are a girl to either
a) make people go easy on them
b) get something out of it (Dancing on mailboxes in WoW stereotype anyone?)
c) make it seem like they are in some way handicapped, making thrashing your face all the greater achievement.

It is because of these stereotypes that so many girls who play video games will hide the fact that they are female, just to be treated equally.

(And if it isn't obvious by this point, yes I'm a female who enjoys video games)

Is not using the term "Gamer" going to help? Maybe. Are are there other solutions? I bloody hope so! Could turn into a very intersting social experiment.

 

[TiefBlau]

I don't mind the word "gamer". Just how everyone on either side sees it as an excuse to alienate others.

Pretty much everyone these days plays games, be it Guitar Hero on the 360, Deus Ex on the PC, or Canabalt on the iPhone. That's enough for me. I don't want to stand over someone's shoulder and say "You know, that's not REAL gaming LOLOLOLOLOL." If anything, that's going to drive people away from what you consider "real gaming". And the more people that play Deus Ex and Portal and Braid and Canabalt and Guitar Hero and Modern Warfare, the better.

 

[duchaked]

dude, I love this article. or I mean (haha) it says what I've been saying for a while now
in my normal group of friends (i.e. friends I hang out with most in person/chat with online), I'm the "gamer"
but I've always hated that and told people that I'm not a "gamer" but I simply own and play video games as a hobby amongst many others (I simply have more games than those around me, okay?)
I do more than game...and heck, I'm not even that good at it. I'm only somewhat above average with some online multiplayer games, and not even that with the ones I'm less familiar with
but ya... it's all cool, but I can understand why some "gamers" would feel frustrated with being stereotyped just because they own a console and have a cabinet of games

...but ultimately for me, I don't mind the "gamer" status too much because people don't seem to stereotype me with it much (I'm not fat...that might help, and am in better shape than many of them haa). I guess by doing other things like martial arts, people are less likely to think I only ever play games and eat junk food x)

 

[Evil Earlgrey]

I do not agree. Beeing a gamer (sorry yahtzee) is not just something you do.

It is basic pychology. Your brain changes according to the stuff you do. And people who spend many hours every day of their lifes playing games develop different behaviour and mindsets than people who do not. Gamers are unlike non-Gamers and are therefore worth being mentioned as a seperate group of people. Like Christians or Republicans. They are special too in their own way (haha)..

And just not using the word anymore... pretty please. It is like housewifes that want to be called "homemanager" because they want to get rid of the stigmata of the term "housewife" has. Has it worked? No. It just made those who insist to be called "homemanager" look a bit pathetic. It's like black people are now coloured people.. oh no wait.. i mean african americans. Or Whores should be called prostitutes now.. no wait.. sex workers.. oh no.. they changed that too.. i meant physical service providing women. Get my point?

Not using the term "gamer" doesnt change what we are and what we do. But it shows that we are not really that self-secure to admit that we are gamers. And that is worst than using the term "gamer". That will not work to our advantage. I'd rather say that i am a gamer. As i say that i am a technical diver. Or that i am a father. Ot that i love cooking. It's just one of the things i do and if someone doesnt like what i do i couldnt care less.

We need self esteem and a mature approach to gaming. Not to stop calling us gamers.

Just my opinion. And now tear me to shreds you yahtzee-fanboys.

 

[Badassassin]

I think what I dislike more than being called a "gamer" is being labeled as "hardcore" or the "core audience". In the case of the former, it's like the other person thinks you have a problem just for playing games. In the case of the latter,it's painfully obvious that the companies call game players by that to make them feel better about the fact that they're releasing more casual games than ever.

There doesn't really need to be categories for people who play games.

Right. Gamer is ok, because a gamer will pre-order Halo: Reach while a hardcore gamer will go to gamestop to watch the countdown timer. I have a feeling the whole direction of this article though was something similar to what you are saying. Maybe Yahtzee views gamer and hardcore gamer as the same thing, when they really aren't.

To me personally, it's just a word. Unless you are one of those people who flaunt it like a proud nerd then it's fine.

 

[ShakyFiend]

I quite cease to see why this is important.
If you somehow lack the ability not to listen to people, especially people who according to you are "the world's asshole population", then that's your problem.
While we're at it, why in the name of the non-existing god do you try so hard to join this part of the population.

Another thing I dont get is, why the hatred towards Yahtzee? He is expressing his opinion about a subject in a manner which he thinks best, it's his way, not yours. He has as the same right as you to write things like this. As a manner of fact this message is an example of it!
And it's not people like Yathzee that ruin a hobby, it's the fact that you actually think that. Your letting it ruin the hobby for you, and that's entirely your fault!

Anyway, to Yahtzee I say only, rant on! You're doing a hell of a good job.
(And yes I think hell is imaginary too.)
Ow and happy holidays.

Something that bugs me: if you are an atheist there is no need to wear a billboard to that effect, its ok we get it, when you go 'jesus christ!' it is out of reflex and not out of any mildly christian leanings. Same goes for the hell thing, what? you think skeptics and atheists are going to descend on you and scream a 1000 and one arguments in your ear for the non-existence of hell?

 

[Ekonk]

If you really want to be classified as "gamer", I have a handy dandy little chart so you can see what kind of gamer you are.

Spoiler

However thats only if you consider yourself a gamer, instead of simply "someone who play games".

I'm the GAMES=ARTfag.

Perhaps we should start calling ourselves fags rather than gamers.

 

[Timmaaaah]

I hate the word "gamer". It implies that we "game" games. We don't game games. We play games. Simple as that.

 

[___________________]

Gamer...gay...mer? Happy sea! Oh yes I am THAT good.

 

[Zephyrzoom]

Okay i just have to ask, and I don't know if somebody pointed this out, but under the article and all things on this site by Yahtzee it says "Yahtzee is a British-born, currently Australian-based writer and GAMER with a sweet hat and a chip on his shoulder." Made me laugh quite alot.......

 

[Da Ork]

I hate the word "gamer". It implies that we "game" games. We don't game games. We play games. Simple as that.

What? Care to explain that one I can't see how you came to that conclusion. For a example a Archer does not Arch Archery...

 

[Kuckles]

Something that bugs me: if you are an atheist there is no need to wear a billboard to that effect, its ok we get it, when you go 'jesus christ!' it is out of reflex and not out of any mildly christian leanings. Same goes for the hell thing, what? you think skeptics and atheists are going to descend on you and scream a 1000 and one arguments in your ear for the non-existence of hell?

No, no I don't. OK admittedly I might have overdone the whole "no god" part of the comment, but it wasn't the point of it.
I was commenting his comment (Hence the god-damn quote.) and the no god thing was just something I just felt like doing.
If I upset you, sorry for you I guess.

Maybe next time you comment on someone's affection to god, why not add something to the actually subject?
This is not a argument to Don't use the word "God" or whatever, it's Don't Use the Word "Gamer".

So do you actually have an opinion about the real subject, or do you want to ***** some more over the fact that I should not point out to so much that I was commenting?

PS. It's funny how you say, that sceptics and atheists would "decent" on me. Like the wrath of god or something. Wait a minute.....

 

[Danpascooch]

This article is stupid, the word isn't the problem, the image is, and removing the word only causes a new word to be assigned to the existing image, I thought Yahtzee was smarter than this.

Guess not.

 

[Sadclown]

Good article. Words "I am gamer, hear me whine" make my eyes drop 1-2 restrained tears, like in that famous scene with indian which see his lands ravaged and abandoned.

 

[conzan]

i bet at least half the people who said "I don't call my self a gamer" have and probably will call themselves gamers but they want to bend over and shout "more yahtzee more" your his bitches
no not all of you are but I know a lot of people seem to try and impress I don't know why he hates his fans well maybe not hate but he doesn't care about them so why do you continue to try and impress him.
but on topic I play games quite often (an hour or two a day much less the I used to now I have to work grr) and don't call myself a gamer because of that reason, I always though gamers were MLG's and hardcore games which I'm not.
(no I'm not a casual gamer either)
I was not aware that people called themselves gamers just because they play games, so yes I agree with the post but I'm not bending over for you...yet....

 

[adrian_exec]

Yahtzee is my HERO and I totally agree! People who play video games are normal, even the ones who play World of Warcraft!

You see I have a problem, among other countless games I also used to be a WoW player and I consider this to be something normal, I mean who hasn't played WoW??

But now when I stopped playing it, people still label me as a "WoW player" and I never understood why. I guess it's because out of all the "gamers" that are being labeled, the WoW players have it the worst, since they are being frowned upon even by other people "who like to play games".

 

[Del-Toro]

I have to agree with Yahtzee that games don't matter. They don't, they are a hobby. If anyone is going to get on their high horse about why "v1de0g4m3z r 1mp0r74n7", I want them to consider this. Are remote control trains or planes important? Are model kits important? Is stamp collecting important? Maybe it is to individuals, but not in a big picture sense. And yes, I do consider videogaming to be in the same boat stamp collecting or flying model airplanes or tabletop gaming, they are all hobbies, they are all just something people do to pass time. Videogames aren't on some higher plane of existance.

If you really want to be classified as "gamer", I have a handy dandy little chart so you can see what kind of gamer you are.

Spoiler

However thats only if you consider yourself a gamer, instead of simply "someone who play games".

As for this, I like to think that I'm a mixture of the PCfag and the one guy who actually likes videogames. That's what I like to think, although I could be very, very wrong.

 

[Pendragon9]

I never stood and looked at the situation this way.

Making a label like "gamer" does make it vulnerable for media backlash, doesn't it? I guess Yahtzee is making a reasonable request here.

 

[JimmerDunda]

In my area "Gamer" means pretty much everything Yathzee summed up in the stereotype. People with a lacking social life who spend too much time on video games.

Usually the person who enjoys video games, social life, party, sports, etc. is defined as "bro."

 

[mastiffchild]

IDK whether I give a crap about this or not. I mean ?ui'd NEVER describe myself as a "gamer" to someone I'd just met but , then again, I wouldn't say "I'm a lefty", or "I'm an arrogant prig" either. Point I'm making, badly, is that I DO use it but only in the way you might when talking to other people who share your hobby about fanboys or pirayes when I might say something like, for want of a better inclusive term, "it doesn't do gamers as a whole much of a good service"-gimme another option(one word only) and I'm on your Yahtzee flavoured wagon of bandness but til then can I get a note allowing me to sometimes use it but only when totally necessary?

So, is there a better term to use when trying to dissect myself and others from less desirable elements of our community>? Naturally, I stop short of saying things like " be more of a gamer than a fantard" etc but the general issue remin=ains that we do need to talk about ourselves, sometimes, inclusively in order to speak about the good and bad that goes on within the industry and the community, no? So, when talking to other people who game is it more or less acceptable to use? Dies it depend if they know what you mean anyway? And, while we're at it, can we kill off, once and for all, the term "cyber-whatever"? Also we need an inclusive noun for the times when we need to stand up against the industry, in a non whiny way, as those who buy games are among the very worst treated consumers on the planet-and as a result we have more industry apologists than anyone else.

You can understand how I wouldn't want to term this kind of thing as campaigning for "gamers rights" yes? I'm talking about the basic rip offs that have died out elsewhere in consumerland and the fact our industry is the most self obsessed there is, thinking of itself as somehow more special than other entertainment mediums and justifying cutting quality control corners by shouting "premium" at us and things like that! And where do all the industry apologists come from? Is it a branch of uber fanboys who just have so much loyalty they can't contain it on one platform?