I think I know why gamers get no respect

NoNameMcgee

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erttheking said:
I think that when the average nongamer thinks of games, they think of people like this.
As someone who plays games regularly, when I think of gaming as a community, I think of people like this. It ain't a vocal minority. People who are intolerable in some way make up a significant portion of the community. But I don't just mean the elitist types, its also the type of people I have encountered every time I've played a game online: immature, loud-mouthed idiotic, and (usually) teenagers. And a lot of the people who frequent every single gaming forum I've ever been to with the exception of one forum (and no, its not this one) who fit neatly into the pretentious, self-righteous indie slash "forever alone" college student or high school types.

Certainly there are many gamers who are ordinary people who just happen to play games, but to say the ones that are not are a "vocal minority" is like covering your eyes and ears, and isn't exactly handling this problem (not that I have any suggestions as how we can handle it.) It's the reason I don't call myself a gamer, and it's the reason I'm sometimes embarrassed to admit I play games and care about them.

But I don't think this is the reason most people see gaming in a bad light. Certainly, when people think of gaming as a community they often think of the nerdy high-schooler, but the reason for peoples disdain towards gaming is because people still think they are toys for children. This has definitely lessened in the past decade in most countries (not so much in the US though as far as I know) but people still think adults shouldn't have gaming as a specified "hobby". They also aren't aware that games can tell decent stories, be mature, and have well-designed, beautiful worlds, and these are the biggest reasons why people don't respect it.

The fact that the majority of the gaming community seems to crave more games like Saints Row 3 doesn't help matters at all. Especially when these same people demand more maturity in their games, right as they are enjoying hitting an NPC over the head with a giant dildo. Sigh.
 

JoesshittyOs

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HAH! Damn that is some high horse shit right there.

Don't fuck with that guy. He'll 1v1 your ass.
 

Eventidal

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erttheking said:
I was charting old grounds at the bungie.net forums when I came across this.

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=71694448

I think people like this guy are the reason that gamers get no respect, the elitist snobs. The guy that always looks down on you for being less than perfect and considers themselves to be above normal people and are trying as hard as they can to stonewall new players. And you know what the sad thing is? This isn't the only thread ever made like that on that website. There seems to be an underbelly of people like this in every fanbase. I think that when the average nongamer thinks of games, they think of people like this. In summary, I think that we're not getting respect because of a vocal minority. Sometimes I'm ashamed to call myself a Halo fan. Sorry if you think this is stupid, I just saw this and wanted to talk about it.
Honestly, that's any fandom for you.

There are elitist snobs. There are creepy dudes. There are the absolute jerks, trolls and jackasses. And there are the literally insane ones. This is nothing new to any fandom, especially one so open to different people from all different walks of life.

There will always be people in X group that make everyone look bad, unless that group is really inclusive and small. Even still, it can happen. The people who get noticed, and those who act out in the eyes of the public, are the ones who get the attention. When they get most of the attention, it leads a lot of people to believe that X group is just like those guys. It's a sad reality but something we can't do much about. The only way to dispell prejudice is to prove it wrong by making an upstanding example of yourself. Not always easy to do all the time, and some people might have prejudice so strong it can't be overcome.

Well, there isn't always an answer to everything.
 

LiquidSolstice

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The issue with gamers and why there's so few I respect is that so many of them prattle off what they read on news sites and decide they are industry experts concerning an issue or a trend in gaming.

And then at that point, it stops becoming about the game and starts to become about the image.
 

Spitfire

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Jay444111 said:
I don't mind new players to video games at all and would gladly teach them things. However I refuse to play with a team in a team based game with no mics... seriously. Ever play L4D without anyone using mics, you will get destroyed in an easy game within the first 5 minutes. I am not even joking there. I have seen it happen. I do not trust the no mic because they have earned any and all distrust from me.
Right, because the decision to use or not use a mic is indicative of how skilled one is at the game.
(In reference to Left 4 Dead.)
 

Gralian

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Sep 24, 2008
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The whole 'elitism' thing is not exclusive to the gaming community. You get that in sport, at work, at school, anything with even the slightest inclination of "I'm better than you" and competitiveness with other individuals will always have people like that. Guaranteed. It's just human nature to be competitive and have a sense of arrogance and one-up-manship. That's just how it goes. Sucks, but it's not analogous to gaming.

Gamers don't get any respect because (as countless others have said) it's a new medium and people are always afraid or aprehensive of what is new and they don't understand. As it stands gamers still have the negative stereotype of either the asocial basement dwelling "foreveralone.JPEG" socially awkward nerd, or the "BROFIST" loud, obnoxious jock that Moviebob always rails on in his Game OverThinker videos. Unfortunately stereotypes take a long time to vanish from the public consciousness. After all, think how much progress social minorities have made (homosexuals, black people etc) and yet still there is casual racism, sexism and discrimination, even in mainstream TV. (Whether it's intended as a joke or not - it still reinforces the stereotype)

On top of this, many people still view video games as 'toys' for kids, not adults. So when an adult mentions they happen to be a gamer, they get looked at like they still run around with fisherprice water guns or hotwheels cars. Not only that, but when someone says "i'm a gamer" there is a tendency for people to ONLY view them as a gamer and nothing else, like they have no job, no friends or relationships or other hobbies when this is patently untrue for the most part.
 

Vault101

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Sep 26, 2010
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you know what somtimes makes me wonder?

the insane ways people act

like that Healper lady from Bioware "OMG SHE SAID SKIP GAMEPLAY??!! FAT FUCKING ***** NEEDS TO DIE!!!"

or Jessica Chobot being in ME3 "DEATH THREATS!"

I mean seriously, thats shits unnaccaptle
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Vault101 said:
you know what somtimes makes me wonder?

the insane ways people act

like that Healper lady from Bioware "OMG SHE SAID SKIP GAMEPLAY??!! FAT FUCKING ***** NEEDS TO DIE!!!"

or Jessica Chobot being in ME3 "DEATH THREATS!"

I mean seriously, thats shits unnaccaptle
Yeah, I'd say this is much more of a problem than some dude bitching about people picking maps/gametypes he doesn't like.
 

Dandark

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Nah, it's just because a lot of people still think games are just toys for kids or nerds or other stereotypes.

It also doesn't help that the gaming community loves to bash itself for some reason, currently everybody loves to throw arounds words like "entitled" or "whiny" so that isn't very helpful. I don't know, it's really weird but a lot of the gaming community seems to hate itself.
 

Zeema

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Jay444111 said:
I don't mind new players to video games at all and would gladly teach them things. However I refuse to play with a team in a team based game with no mics... seriously. Ever play L4D without anyone using mics, you will get destroyed in an easy game within the first 5 minutes. I am not even joking there. I have seen it happen. I do not trust the no mic because they have earned any and all distrust from me.

No offense to anyone here... but... to many bad expierences. Far too many.

yea i agree, Mic's are needed in any game team game. How are you supposed to tell someone that there getting chased by a smoker. or if you play BF3 like everything in that game
 

LiquidGrape

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Irridium said:
Vault101 said:
you know what somtimes makes me wonder?

the insane ways people act

like that Healper lady from Bioware "OMG SHE SAID SKIP GAMEPLAY??!! FAT FUCKING ***** NEEDS TO DIE!!!"

or Jessica Chobot being in ME3 "DEATH THREATS!"

I mean seriously, thats shits unnaccaptle
Yeah, I'd say this is much more of a problem than some dude bitching about people picking maps/gametypes he doesn't like.
This. This is the real problem. Gaming as a subculture is still remarkably adolescent and reactionary, and this is best demonstrated in its rampant misogyny.
The lack of overall diversity, be it anything from ethnicity to sexuality, is an additional and correlating problem.
 

Lunatic High

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I love games, they bring people together so that we can shoot eachother and have fun doing it sure a person may be VERY good at halo I'm VERY good at halo as well but neither of us are fucking empowered people who need that kind of a gratifacation from something that isn't actually real (in a literal sense) are the ones that need to go outside.
 

Trippy Turtle

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May 10, 2010
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I would have thought it would be because playing games does not earn or lose you respect. Why would you respect someone for doing something a minor as playing a game?
 

bjj hero

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Im not elitist, everyone has to learn at some point. I can remember playing the ME3 multiplayer demo and getting kicked because I was a lvl 1 whatever passes for classes in ME3. Being lvl1 douesnt mean I dont know my way around a shooter.

Having said that I'd personally birch everyone on battlefield 3 who runs full tilt towards the chopper only to ditch it straight into the sea because they dont know how to fly it, killing their gunner. Choppers are an important resource in BF3.

Everyone has to learn but go and do it on co-op.
 

Vault101

I'm in your mind fuzz
Sep 26, 2010
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Irridium said:
Vault101 said:
you know what somtimes makes me wonder?

the insane ways people act

like that Healper lady from Bioware "OMG SHE SAID SKIP GAMEPLAY??!! FAT FUCKING ***** NEEDS TO DIE!!!"

or Jessica Chobot being in ME3 "DEATH THREATS!"

I mean seriously, thats shits unnaccaptle
Yeah, I'd say this is much more of a problem than some dude bitching about people picking maps/gametypes he doesn't like.
after reading the thread in the OP I suspect that guy was a troll...ot mabye peopel are like that
LiquidGrape said:
This. This is the real problem. Gaming as a subculture is still remarkably adolescent and reactionary, and this is best demonstrated in its rampant misogyny.
The lack of overall diversity, be it anything from ethnicity to sexuality, is an additional and correlating problem.
like aparently how they banned females at some LAN event for Battefeild 3, oh sure the guys would out number the girls..but

its makes NO ONE look good, its prett much saying "yes, we belive that gamers are in fact hob-goblins that cannot function when in the presance of the oposite gender...that thats ok"
 

Khronas

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Vault101 what you say is sadly true so many gamers are awkward around the opposite gender because the only interaction with them is through over-sexualized avatars.
 

Stu35

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I think I know why gamers get no respect
Because you don't deserve respect for playing games.

It's an entertainment medium. You don't earn peoples respect through entertaining yourself. Same reason people who read, watch TV, and masturbate, don't get any respect simply for doing those things.

Vault101 said:
like aparently how they banned females at some LAN event for Battefeild 3, oh sure the guys would out number the girls.
When/Where was that?

Not saying it didn't happen, but I need context before I can form an opinion on it... I personally would never ban girls from my LAN parties... if I had LAN parties, but in the same way that I don't begrudge not being allowed to my Missus Ann Summers parties, I wouldn't necessarily have any problem with somebody setting up a "No Girls Allowed" LAN party - however if it was some sort of major tournament, with money involved, it becomes a different matter.
 

RaikuFA

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Trippy Turtle said:
I would have thought it would be because playing games does not earn or lose you respect. Why would you respect someone for doing something a minor as playing a game?
bjj hero said:
Im not elitist, everyone has to learn at some point. I can remember playing the ME3 multiplayer demo and getting kicked because I was a lvl 1 whatever passes for classes in ME3. Being lvl1 douesnt mean I dont know my way around a shooter.

Having said that I'd personally birch everyone on battlefield 3 who runs full tilt towards the chopper only to ditch it straight into the sea because they dont know how to fly it, killing their gunner. Choppers are an important resource in BF3.

Everyone has to learn but go and do it on co-op.
Theres a problem though, gamers don't want newcomers in their games. To a lot of people, newcomers are up there with EA, Gamestop and Tim Buckley on terms of bad things for newcomers.