I use the term, I've used it since the mid90s arcades because I'm a geek and proud. I made a decent living gaming for a few years, in EQ and WoW (it *was* a job, and I'm ok with that, heh).
I'm a speedrunner, still, having a few world records around. I spend between six and ten hours a day most days, except for my gf's days off, gaming or doing things related thereto (study of japanese, study of 3D animation/maya/Blender, etc.). I'm still relatively 'normal', I just have somethings I really enjoy.
I don't use the term in an elitist fashion (I have others in my use for that, like "Animator", "Speedrunner", and the like). I use it as a fair take on one large side of who I am. Like the fact I'm an atheist and that I'm a hedonist (Greatest good for the greatest number~), it's just a facet of me that tells people around me who I am. If you're offended that I'd call myself a gamer or an atheist or bisexual or a flying chimpanzee for that matter, you're probably not someone I'd want to spend time around. If you're accepting of the basics of what I am, then we'll probably get along. I try to judge based on someone's acceptance of me rather than on any facet of them: I have christian friends, but none who'd judge me because I think their invisible friend is silly.
EDIT: Also, yes, plenty of people call themselves film buffs or film students, and I know of at least two people who've dedicated themselves to the watching and chronicling of all of certain types of TV, which seem to fall in roughly the same content as "gamer" for what I do, and I take little issue with that. But I'm the kind of guy who studies games and where they come from and history and the like... I'm sure there aren't many 22 year olds around who've played/beaten all of Wizardry, Ultima, M&M, and numerous other old series because they wanted to know where current games came from...
I'm a speedrunner, still, having a few world records around. I spend between six and ten hours a day most days, except for my gf's days off, gaming or doing things related thereto (study of japanese, study of 3D animation/maya/Blender, etc.). I'm still relatively 'normal', I just have somethings I really enjoy.
I don't use the term in an elitist fashion (I have others in my use for that, like "Animator", "Speedrunner", and the like). I use it as a fair take on one large side of who I am. Like the fact I'm an atheist and that I'm a hedonist (Greatest good for the greatest number~), it's just a facet of me that tells people around me who I am. If you're offended that I'd call myself a gamer or an atheist or bisexual or a flying chimpanzee for that matter, you're probably not someone I'd want to spend time around. If you're accepting of the basics of what I am, then we'll probably get along. I try to judge based on someone's acceptance of me rather than on any facet of them: I have christian friends, but none who'd judge me because I think their invisible friend is silly.
EDIT: Also, yes, plenty of people call themselves film buffs or film students, and I know of at least two people who've dedicated themselves to the watching and chronicling of all of certain types of TV, which seem to fall in roughly the same content as "gamer" for what I do, and I take little issue with that. But I'm the kind of guy who studies games and where they come from and history and the like... I'm sure there aren't many 22 year olds around who've played/beaten all of Wizardry, Ultima, M&M, and numerous other old series because they wanted to know where current games came from...
