Don't Use the Word "Gamer"

[ZeoAssassin]

interesting topic indeed Yahtzee, although i don't really agree that much.

i understand your reasoning that the outside world and media use "gamer" as a negative stereotype, but the labels "nerd" and "geek" were words that negatively stereotyped people as well in the past. Now i have no shame in expressing my nerd-iness about games/movies/tv shows/ etc. give it time and people will stop negatively stereotyping gamers the same way they stopped saying nerds were satanists that worshiped the devil and committed group suicides because they liked to play D&D

also i think this John Funk article from last month relates well to this topic...http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/view-from-the-road/7865-View-From-the-Road-Its-Time-to-Grow-Up

 

[masseyguy911]

I really don't understand his issue.
Gamers are people whose main hobby is gaming, like bookworms are people whose main hobby is reading books.
There's nothing wrong with defining oneself as I see it.

Neither do I...
I mean there are movie buffs, and people who call themselves that, so why can't there be people who play games and call themselves gamers?
OR maybe I missed the whole point of this article...

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

While I can see his point of view, I have no problem calling myself a gamer. I don't scream it from the roof tops or ALL CAP IT ON MY PROFILE but I do like to think of myself as a moderate gamer. I do feel a little bothered by the extreme 1337, basement dwellers who have convinced everyone that they are what a gamer should be.

No ZP? Whatever, we love you too Yahtzee.

 

[BBMv12]

Ok first of all a big "aww ghey!" to there being no ZP this week.

Secondly I'm gonna have to disagree with the almighty Yahtzee on this one. "BLASPHEMY" you say?

Nah. Just the fact that there are some people, me being one, who do nothing BUT play games. Well not "nothing but" what I suppose I mean the people who spend almost all of their time on games, or talking about games, or on forums where people talk about games. Or listening to a man in a stylish hat talk very fast, angrily and swearily about games.

To get back to the point I wanted to make; some people are just "Gamers" and thats all they are. I'm obsessed with games. Maybe not 105% but it's definately up there. I'm a proud Trophy Whore and yes I refer to myself as a Gamer. I don't see anything wrong with it. I like the idea of Yahtzee's "Mana Bar" and can honstly say if it existed over here I'd be in there a lot. Point is nothing is wrong with using the phrase "Gamer".

 

[Thick]

An anecdote:

I once recorded and analyzed the vent conversation during a WoW raid for a folklore paper (don't ask, I cleared it with the prof and explaining it here would take too long).

The important part is that when I expressed difficulty with another paper, the prof said something along the lines of, "yeah, I understand that most of your experience is virtual."

...

Yup.

 

[icame]

There's actually places outside this room?

 

[JayDig]

Hey Yaz
I'm not sure if someone already beat me to it, but your type of establishment should clearly be defined as a BAR-CADE.

heh... get it?

Oh and have a nice vacation... jerk.

 

[Darklupus]

But Yahtzee, what should I describe myself as then? If not a gamer, then as a normal video game player? Cor blimey, that actually works! Still, as far as labels go on, we all label ourselves to make us sound more humane, or omnipotent, or whatever we paint ourselves, than we actually are. Each of us are indeed different and that eventually leaks us out to several distinct video game player classes on the video game player hierarchy tree, from an uninterested casual video game player who only bought an early video game console to see what the heck the video game phenomenon was about to the hardcore video game fanatic who has all the video game consoles and memorabilia dating from the first console was sold in stores (or bribed those console creators to send the first console to him/her first). My point is that I think many of us want to save face and blend in with the video game fan culture, and yes it is a culture, popular or not, because we are not normal and are far from it, and are doing our best to become normal or whatever suits our fancy.

 

[KingKamor]

I've never had to deal with anyone labeling me as a gamer. Nobody I've ever met has ever yelled out, "Hey, look! It's a GAMER! Let's harass him!" so I don't really get the point of giving up the word. Hell, I've hardly had to use the word anyway.

 

[cornmancer]

Actually, I rarely use the word gamer. Not because I have a better word or a similar thought process, it's just not something I need to use in conversation often. Should be easy to work out of my vocabulary.

 

[SimuLord]

Anyone who calls themselves a girl gamer is basically wearing a sandwich board saying "LOOK AT ME." Then, in smaller letters underneath, "POSSIBLE DADDY ISSUES."

And I want her phone number if she's even remotely attractive.

/fetish fuel

 

[Niccolo]

If you consider opening a Mana Bar in Melbourne, can I have a job?

(Yeah, I didn't think that would work either...)

Though it would be a pretty good job... I might just have to keep a resume on hand if he ever opens in Perth.

Bwaaaaahahahaha, like he even knows we exist. Perth is like that frumpy aunt you only wheel out for funerals and the occasional wedding.

 

[whaleswiththumbs]

I suppose that makes sense. We don't call people movie watchers because we watch movies. But shouldn't there be a term for those people who distinguish themselves by their elite level knowledge of video games. I don't think video games will be an accepted part of culture until we can start calling people "Game Snobs" or "Video Game Buffs".

Well, this is the only real thing i fully disargee on. Yahtzee even, has before said that games are nothing like otehr mediums. For one we are interactive in the fullest sense of the word. in a book all that is required is paying attention, in a movie, same thing. In a game you must put in an input to get an output, there is no observing. So it would make sense that we would give a title to it, like you would call a fork lift driver a fork lift driver, or something more complex if it pleases you.

 

[Canadian Fodder]

Welp that sums it up. I stopped saying I was a gamer few years ago.

 

[WickedArtist]

I used to be an advocate of the "gamer" label. It offers a sense of identity as part of a niche community - no matter how many people play games these days, few describe themselves as gamers. Gamers are the enthusiasts, the ones who really like video games and take up a special interest in all things game-y. Where's the harm in identifying yourself as one?

I've come to realize there's some harm in it after all. Gamers don't have a very good image going for them, do they? And as far as community goes, the "gamer" community isn't very tight, is it? Gamers hate each other and are not shy about showing it. "Gamer" isn't a hobby, it's a competition over who gets to be the biggest loser.

Am I a "gamer"? I used to think of myself as one until I realized I don't really have anything in common with most other "gamers" aside from the fact that we all play games. That's like calling myself a "breather" because I breathe oxygen and now belong to the "breather" community. So how is breathing going for you this day, fellow Breathers?

Bottom line, I've come to realize that this "gamer" label is not only futile, it is self-defeating. We're not a community tightly-knit by out hobby, we're not displaying our hobby in any positive light to the rest of the world, and we don't even know what "gamer" means anymore. I also don't get the impression that this label will ever come out of use.

Maybe the only solution is do what I did - cede from the "gamer" label and be just "a person who plays video games", because the two are no longer equal. Leave this reproachable, hate-filled, stigmatized "gamer" title to the people who actually deserve it.

P.S.
A hungry troll passed by, and left with a full stomach. The blame falls squarely on you. You know who I'm talking about. Don't feed the trolls.

 

[fenderstrat]

i fully agree with yahtzee here. if games are to grow up as a media, we should stop the bad image we have. and hopefully we will, fellow persons who play games!

 

[HawtCakez]

Aw, oh well, I hope you have fun on your trip man. I don't really call myself a gamer but I do say that I like to play video games. Unfortunately, I'm not normal so I don't think I make a good image any way you slice it.

 

[8-Bit Grin]

Okay, so the term 'gamer' shouldn't be bandied about lightly.
Understood.
But when someone asks you what you enjoy doing after work,
and you start chatting about Metal Gear and Cave Story, people tend to get a bit confused.
If I mentioned Call of Duty however, everyone in the area would let out a collective 'Ohhhhh' of understanding and procede to cream their pants.
It's really just an all around easier way to establish your pastime.

 

[Tomster595]

Very controversial topic haha, but I agree very much. It annoys me when people use "gamer" as a label a lot.

 

[pigmy wurm]

What about people who don't lump them selves up as "gamers" but who do enjoy games in a similar way to how some people enjoy movies, not just for the entertainment and escapism that they provide but as an interest? They might have a Zelda or prince of Persia poster in their living room, they might have a shirt or two that has a gaming reference on it and they might spend some of their free time (or less productive work time) reading some game blogs and watching things like ZP.

I to don't like calling my self a gamer, partially because their are always people who seem so much more interested in video games than me that I can say "he is a real gamer" but at the same time the way I interact with video games is different from many of my friends. It isn't that I play more video games, it is that I am more interested in the ether that surrounds them: the business, the reviews, and the related media. I am even interesting in learning about some games that I am not specifically interested in buying, mostly because I am just curious.