Mindless prejudice...

[zutagonecver]

Seeing as this is one of the more mature gaming forums, I thought I'd share some thoughts and hear some opinions.

I'm sure every gamer, casual or "hard-core", has experienced prejudice from non-gamers at some time in the past or, like me, run into them all the time. I'm sick and tired of people calling games childish or mindless or whatever 25 year old stereotype they think of. Take my father for example who keeps calling my favorite games "Company of Heroes" and the Battlefield 2 mod "Project Reality" stupid and mindless and childish and that I am getting dumber by playing them, completely ignoring the fact that playing those game requires some serious strategic and tactical thinking, lots of skill and experience, while he loves playing bu****it games that anyone can master in 2 hours like Zuma and Bejeweled, watching utter crap reality TV shows like "Cheaters" and "Americas Got Tallent" and reading mind-numbing celebrity gossip in what is left of the once best newspaper in Lithuania (yeah, thats where I'm from, the land of homophobs and douchebags that try to hide behind former Lithuanian glory, that you find out wasn't that great if you actualy bother to read history...).

I get the same kind of crap from my friends whom are all rabid sports fans willing to cut eachothers throats if their favorite basketball team lost. Now I enjoy playing basketball, but honestly, should I care if some bunch of arrogant pricks controled by a Russian billionaire, earing more money in a year than there is in the educational budget of my country, while 40% of them aren't even from my country and won't give a rats a** about it when they get bought by another team from a different country, win or not. It blows my mind how worked up people get over something are not only completely uninvolved in, but also don't personaly know any of the who are playing the game and probably have never seen them anywhere else, but on the TV screen.

And of course I'm the childish idiot who plays stupid and mindless videogames.


/rant done.

 

[DigitalSushi]

On the sports part of the topic, I love that a Football fan will look down on my hobby but apparently worshipping a pampered baby sponsored by a giant Japanese Electrical corporation is cool.

 

[Dragon_of_red]

First off, Welcome to the Escapist, enjoy your stay.

Secondly, try and add a discussion to your threads.

Yeah, some games require alot of skil to play, which is unbeknown to the general public who dont play.

But i wouldnt call Bejwelled a bullshit game, its still fun and a good time waster.

 

[Cabisco]

First off, Welcome to the Escapist, enjoy your stay.

Secondly, try and add a discussion to your threads.

Yeah, some games require alot of skil to play, which is unbeknown to the general public who dont play.

But i wouldnt call Bejwelled a bullshit game, its still fun and a good time waster.

True true, and I second that welcome.

When it comes to prejudice with Gaming sometimes I get where they are coming from, If i showed someone an image from say gears of war i'd understand why they would think it's mindless violence. What annoys me is that gaming is just the new thing to blame the problems teens have on, you know like Rap. Oh and Metal. Rock. Drugs. the 60s in general. before that Elvis. Oh Jazz would be before that. If we trace it back far enough, i'm pretty sure people blamed those stupid kids playing with fire instead of playing in the cave.

 

[Riobux]

To be honest, I've never been discriminated against for playing computer games. I've been discriminated against while playing it by other on-line gamers though. Surprisingly, not for my English accent. I once kept being team-killed for apparently, being a hick. On Saints Row, I made my character look somewhat Russian, complete with mullet. The mullet was the "give-away" that I'm a redneck. It was weird at the time and it's still weird now.

 

[Xeros]

I have the same arguments with my parents, but no matter how many intellectual rebuttals I give, they just won't have any of it.

 

[Latinidiot]

First off, Welcome to the Escapist, enjoy your stay.

Secondly, try and add a discussion to your threads.

Yeah, some games require alot of skil to play, which is unbeknown to the general public who dont play.

But i wouldnt call Bejwelled a bullshit game, its still fun and a good time waster.

True true, and I second that welcome.

When it comes to prejudice with Gaming sometimes I get where they are coming from, If i showed someone an image from say gears of war i'd understand why they would think it's mindless violence. What annoys me is that gaming is just the new thing to blame the problems teens have on, you know like Rap. Oh and Metal. Rock. Drugs. the 60s in general. before that Elvis. Oh Jazz would be before that. If we trace it back far enough, i'm pretty sure people blamed those stupid kids playing with fire instead of playing in the cave.

cazy kids....

OT: I guess it's my own fault, but people assumed I wanted nothing to do with them because of my hair (I'm a dude, and it's long and black). That's exatly what I wanted them to think. sometime prejuice works in your favor!

 

[SpecklePattern]

Come to think of it I have not been discriminated for playing. I'm lucky? And for people who watch big brother and "intelligent" stuff like that and the same time saying that games are childish are just ignorant. No biggie. Don't let it get to you. Some games really make you think but usually TV has high level of pre-thought stuff in it. My dad actually said that he thinks that todays children would be great fighter plane pilots all when they grow up when I was playing IL2 sturmovik. That is maybe too positive way to look at it.

[edit] I think the discussion is about whether the games can be intelligent or not? Or does the games promote your thinking rather than being plainly childish. And about games compared to the second most common source of multimedia, the tv.

 

[Mr. Mike]

You have to come to realise that everyone is ignorant of something. It's just that a lot of people are ignorant of gaming. Eventually it'll become standard and people will understand the intricacies. Until then, if they're ignorant of you, be ignorant of them.

 

[zombiesinc]

I think I've been lucky, but I also think that I'm very comfortable with who I am, and what I do/enjoy, so perhaps I don't notice it as much as others might. It could also be that I simply don't give them a chance to open their mouth.

The majority of people judge what they don't understand, know or are unfamiliar with. People have a tendency to put others down, which usually stems from insecurity. A lot of people are also very narrow-minded, opinionated and judgmental... fuck 'em, what matters is that you enjoy it.

 

[Dark Knifer]

I used to get picked on for gaming, but this was only when I was in primary school, so you can't really blame them, these days nearly everyone I know just accepts it as an acceptable pastime and don't bother arguing about it. In turn though, I don't bother arguing about other people's hobbies and tastes.

 

[Lucifron]

The girlfriend sometimes griefs me over EVE Online, but I've managed to tear down her misconceptions through sensible arguments and careful use of my penis.

...

Who am I kidding? I just tell her to get back in the kitchen.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

I refuse to get involved in such arguments, I think it validates your opponents view if you try. Ask 'em to name 10 games, if they can't...it's clear they are debating from a position of ignorance.

 

[ENKC]

The former Lithuanian glory you speak of dates back to the 16th century and the union with Poland, right? They'd be hanging their hats on an awfully old and brittle hat stand there.

The fact is that gaming is a leisure activity. Some people are judgemental about the leisure activities of others, but so be it. I do not feel the need to leap to gaming's defence as though it were a religion. My friends are all gamers and my family is ambivalent, so this is not an issue for me.

 

[2fish]

There will always be these types of arguments and they will always be flawed. I am guilty of starting these with people that deserve it. Watching a bunch of overpaid people run around and play a sport does have its social stigma for American football I think of overweight men drinking beer and being stupid. I know that this is untrue, but it has been drilled into me by society, gamers also have our set of stigma to deal with. However the easiest way to deal with it seems to make an us vs them scenario, my hobby is better than yours because yours is childish, mine is manly.

Either way you are sitting on your ass looking at a TV/computer monitor. I see this as a way to try and justify ones actions as they are insecure about themselves and their hobbies. If your friends love sports enough to give you crap about video games do they play or just watch? You may find that they are afraid that they are not who they think they are, we all have an ego and we all see ourselves how we want to be. Finding out who we really are and shattering that image of who we want to be can be quite a shock for people to deal with.

-2fish

 

[Vivace-Vivian]

I've only ever really had it from my mom. She once said 'Aren't you getting a little old for those things?'. It's funny because she spends just as much time in front of the Television as I do gaming. Nothing is really different except that gaming is a bit younger and has a lot of stigma surrounding it.

 

[Catchy Slogan]

My step-mum keeps telling me to stop playing those 'baby games'. I don't know where she got that logic from since it's an 18.

 

[Drakmeire]

I've had problems like this where people will hate video games because they still see them as simplistic with one goal in mind (like the old atari games,which are still pretty fun by the way)or people who claim to like video games but only play halo madden and call of duty.
I can't tell you how many times I would be playing Okami and someone shows up and says "why are you playing that gay kiddie game?" I then explain the plot and they will respond with "wait that dog's a chick? your so gay"
Yes I've been stuck at parties with people with very simplistic vocabularies.

 

[Daipire]

"When are you going to do something with your life?"
Well, lets see...
I, as a 17 year old, can get a minimum wage job i hate and do that half assed, so much so, that I'd probably get fired, or replaced by a younger, and therefore cheaper, employee.
Otherwise, I can wait till I can go to Uni, and to pass the time, I'll play video games, which I enjoy.
Guess which i picked.

"Come out and be social"
Yeah, cause sitting outside, doing nothing, just watching the television, not talking, not even looking at the other person is SO social. So much so, that I should be scolded when I fail to do so, and instead play my games.

"You know, people who play video games for over 3 hours a day are addicted"
So?
Are you saying that doing nothing is more harmful then your weekends of alcoholic parties? Are you saying that fluorescent light is more damaging then the several times you've been thrown in a pool with your very expensive phone in pocket.
Are you saying that enjoying my time that I have to waste (which is A LOT) is an addiction.


Give me something better to do, that's fun, and social, and I will, until then, don't smear your shit on the door on your way out.

 

[zutagonecver]

There will always be these types of arguments and they will always be flawed. I am guilty of starting these with people that deserve it. Watching a bunch of overpaid people run around and play a sport does have its social stigma for American football I think of overweight men drinking beer and being stupid. I know that this is untrue, but it has been drilled into me by society, gamers also have our set of stigma to deal with. However the easiest way to deal with it seems to make an us vs them scenario, my hobby is better than yours because yours is childish, mine is manly.

Either way you are sitting on your ass looking at a TV/computer monitor. I see this as a way to try and justify ones actions as they are insecure about themselves and their hobbies. If your friends love sports enough to give you crap about video games do they play or just watch? You may find that they are afraid that they are not who they think they are, we all have an ego and we all see ourselves how we want to be. Finding out who we really are and shattering that image of who we want to be can be quite a shock for people to deal with.

-2fish

This isn't a "their hobbies vs mine" thread. It is about prejudice against gamimg. I have no problem with people enjoying whatever I don't. I do have a problem with being treated like an immature idiot by people who don't understand/don't want to understand what I enjoy and dismissing any of my arguments with "oh, you are just stupid, thats why". That is the reason the thread is called "Mindless prejudice"