Topical Tuesday: What Makes You A Gamer?

[Malone II]

I play 'em with friends, firstly.
Secondly, The stories in some games are just intense and immersive. Bioshock 1 had such a good story that drew you in. The sci-fi and post-apocalyptic stuff draws me in the most and the intense fights against overwhelming odds.
Satisfaction as well. I love punching guys out in gears 2 or curb stomping 'em.
Also I like to think of my self as a rare breed of gamer. I like the deep, emotional stories and single player games that are for the more intellectual gamers and enjoy the multiplayer filled with idiots and uneducated pre teen little shits but with the occasional cool guys that you can strike a bit of banter up with. *1 sec my monacle fell out*
And I'm pretty good at games too. 45 in halo 3 and a K/d spread of 1.86 in cod.

Basically, I'm good at them and I enjoy them.

P.S. I love a good trash talk.

 

[arsenicCatnip]

I suppose I consider myself a gamer because, well, I play games.

I keep up with gaming news, I own more than one tabletop RPG book (a couple that are now out of print) and two sets of DM dice, I'm dating a gamer guy (with whom I can spend hours discussing games and the play thereof), and I play a couple of CCGs over the net.

I don't really know what else to call myself, there.

 

[LitleWaffle]

I play about every type of genre. The majority of my day, my life even, is revolved around games. I like to play my games while being nice to other people whether its online or if its with other people next to me. In MMO's, I'm nice to people and help everyone I can.

Recreational: Yes
Gamer: Hell yes!

 

[Anthony English]

I'm a Gamer because i play games when it's not considered cool to do it.

Plus i grew up with them From NES, PS2, now a 360 and my PC (built myself). I think having an affinity for old games also helps, knowing the roots and all.

 

[Shaun555]

As I grew up watching Star Trek, there was nothing more awesome than the idea of interacting with that universe. Video Games let you interact with all these different wonderful universes, frankly it's the evolution of playing with action figures.

 

[Leviathan_]

I consider myself a gamer because I spend quite some time playing them, because I play lots of different genres, because I like to play online and love to enter tournaments whenever I get the chance to, because the main reason I bought a PS3 and a PC for is to play games on them, because I visit gaming related websites/forums, because I love discussing on those forums what could be improved about a certain game, because I like to read/watch reviews about games, ...


Or just because it's my hobby

 

[geldonyetich]

If nothing else, investing a ridiculous amount of hours into the hobby makes me a gamer.

Not too long ago, the Escapist had a news entry about "Extreme gamers spending 48 hours a week playing videogames" [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100981-Extreme-Gamers-Spend-48-Hours-a-Week-Playing-Videogames].

What lightweights. Give me a good enough game, and I'll spend all day playing it until I'm bored of it.

Granted, that hasn't really happened since Elder Scrolls VI: Oblivion. What a fun two week vacation that was.

 

[Don't Poke My Bobcat]

Semantically, yes, but is it really that simple? I'm pretty sure a lot of people that occasionally play video games certainly don't call themselves "gamers". I'm sure they wouldn't like to be called gamers, either, because it would misrepresent their identity. And that's the keyword here, identity. If we're going by semantics, anyone who's ever played Scrabble is a gamer. Not so. I'd argue that someone who plays Guitar Hero when at a party, but otherwise never touches a video game, probably isn't a gamer.

What makes me a gamer is, well, I play a lot more games than the average guy, I'm guessing. In fact, my time spent playing games would make a lot of people go "sheesh, what a waste of time". I'm dedicated to my gaming, and it's quite possibly my most important hobby. I can't wait to get old and retire, so I can play games all day and never do anything else. It will be sweeeeet.

I'll extend on this;

You're a gamer if you feel the need to quantify yourself in such a grouping. Other hobbies I partake in (cycling, MMA training to name a couple) I never come across this back and forthery of "who can be in the club".

"Waste of time" is a funny principle as well, it always seems to be the activity that the individual in question engages in is the Holy Grail of time consumption.

As long as you're having fun, without the direct expense of blocking another's, you've achieved a higher plane than most.

 

[Diet Chaos]

Ever since I was a child, I've had a perchant for games. While I don't have the finances to play many games (yet), I do at least try to keep an ear to the ground with regards to current releases. In the games that I do play, however, I try to see how I feel about the story, gameplay, etc.; and judge it by its aspects, good or bad.

 

[Grey_Focks]

I am a gamer, therefor I game. Pretty easy question.

Oh, and I just play a lot of games. And often. Back in college I spent more time playing Diablo 2 than studying.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

I play games so I'm a gamer?

 

[Hexenwolf]

Simple. I love games.

Really, it's not anything you own, or anything you do that makes you a gamer, it's your attitude towards games.

I use to play games for hours on end, often staying up late at night (or on rare occasions not even sleeping). Nowadays my I have a lot more on my plate and am lucky if I get in an hour of gaming every couple of days. Does this make me any less of gamer? No, absolutely not. Because I still love them. I still aspire to be a game designer, and I still frequent places like The Escapist.

But you don't even need to do that to be a gamer, you just need a small space in your chest for an A button. (And a B button, start, select, right and left trigger, a joystick...)

 

[austin9993]

I consider myself a gamer because gaming is pretty much one of the most important aspects of my day. I go to school, hang out with friends till around 7 and play games. Whether it's Fallout 3 or Forza Motorsport 2 on my 360, Or Final Fantasy IX on my PS2, when I'm home alone I'm playing my video games.
I've been playing since the N64 days, not counting when I was young playing Mario Kart on the SNES cause I didnt understand half of that. I've loved it then and I love it just as much now.
Plus: I have the highest gamerscore in my entire High School and I've only had my 360 for 2 years. Lol, I think I'm a gamer. :3

 

[DarkHuntress]

I am a total gamer and old school. I play almost obsessively. If growing up means you give up gaming than I have never grown up.

I guess what makes me a gamer is the fact that my entire family and close friends know I devote several hours a week to playing. That's my time and no one bothers me unless WWIII breakes out.

I really enjoy escaping into the fantasy world of games. It's like a vacation for me. They say most female players play games to escape and I guess they got that right.

I can't imagine not playing games. I have all the game consoles and games for each one. I can think of nothing I would rather do for entertainment than play games. It is my passion.

 

[alxhrmn]

Like many others in this thread have posted, gaming is just something I am passionate about. The fact that I've been gaming for over ten years now and I still get excited about upcoming releases, that I can still easily spend hours at a time playing games, and that I can still quite happily spend my time doing something which many people see as lame sums up, to me, my passion for gaming, and it is because I have maintained the same fascination with the industry over the past decade that I can class myself as a 'gamer'.

 

[Low Key]

I consider myself a gamer because I have been playing video games since before I was in school. I remember it vividly, in fact. The NES will forever be one of my favorite consoles, no matter how advanced they get.

Ever since then, though my interest has waned here and there on console gaming, I have always found some way to play, whether it be Miniclip or going over to a friend's house and playing a co-op game. I am a competitive person in general, and like sports, video games is something I for some reason have a knack for, so I enjoy them to the fullest.

Also, my dream job is to one day be a video game developer or designer. I am already in college to get my A.A.S. for a computer related subject and hopefully through whatever job I get, they will help me pay for a four year B.A. (maybe even Masters) in computer science, which would get me to where I need to be.

 

[ICanBreakTheseCuffs]

kind of a weird question but I've played DOOM to RDR and I also love pwninng noobs

 

[crobulator]

point one i own several D&D books and several Paranoia rulebooks so thats pen and paper down
point two warhammer 40,000 bordering on obsessive in that with a large array of models books and all the dawn of war games
point three if a game interests me i will sit here and finsih it in one sitting i.e Deus Ex Planescape Torment Fallout 1&2 (F3 was okay just not true fallout) Oblivion etc etc
point four i built my own pc
i have finished contra and battletoads thus why i am a gamer

 

[The Flogger]

Getting a 10 kill streak is no longer a special moment

 

[webnola]

what makes me a gamer its in my DNA