Yes, They're Gamers, Too

[The Kangaroo]

Well that's bullshit.

A true gamer is someone who looks at this man and feels nothing but hate, glorious delicious hate but I'm full, I couldn't have another bite.

Spoiler: WARNING Hate Within

[HEADING=1]Behold! the immortal (unfortunately) Atkinson![/HEADING]

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Hrm. I have to be able to get through Megaman without losing a single bit of life? Huh. Let's see. I played the original Pac-Man in the arcades when it was NEW. I remember when polygons in games were a revolution. I landed the jet on the carrier in Top Gun, beat Dragon's Lair 2 on a single life, defeated Kefka, brought down the Mana Fortress, saw Lara safely home on her first adventure, defeated the Trickster, Karras AND Gamall, restored the Zone to normal[small]*[/small], and sent Dr. Bertruger packing back to Hell. I learned sixteen different combos on Orchid in Killer Instinct- hell, I can COUNT combos in most fighting games.

But no way can I possibly get through a Mega Man level in one life, let alone untouched, so I guess I'm not a gamer. Guess I'd better pack it up and call it a day, huh?

To say that achieving the above without some form of logical planning is to say that all you need is six strings, a block of wood and you can be the next Carlos Santana.

True. But there's the reverse- saying that you can't be considered a guitar player until you've reached the Top 10 four decades in a row. Jun-Kei is setting the bar much too high here, possibly to defend his own sense of elitism. "They're not as good as me because they don't do the things I do, so they can't claim to be what I am!".

A good amount of this "gamer/non-gamer" issue arises on the "gamer" side from a clique of elitists who want this multi-billion dollar industry to cater to them alone. I love crossword puzzles; I can do the New York Times crossword in pen. But I don't go running up to some guy doing the Dell Easy Crossword Book and scream at him that he's ruining my hobby.

[small]* I've actually beaten STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl four times, once with the vanilla game and once with three separate Mods. So either I'm a pretty damn good gamer or I'm a glutton for punishment. Or possibly both. They're not mutually exclusive.[/small]

 

[docbox1567]

Being a ?real gamer? is like being a ?Man?, it quickly disappears once someone says you?re not: ?I?m a real gamer? ?No you?re not, you?re totally casual? ?Am not? ?Are too?.

 

[ShadowStar42]

You video gaming bastards stole the word "gamer" from us pen-and-paper RPGers in the first place. (I'm sure any second now, some wargamer will claim the same thing about RPers, and will probably be right.) So don't be whining now. If history's taught us anything, the term will go where the money does, so as far as the public consciousness will be concerned, all those WiiFit users are "gamers" regardless of our feelings in the matter.

(Beat MegaMan without dying? Good Lord, is Teoh a gamer or a member of some cult that plays MM 16 hours a day?)

All right, I was hoping someone hit on this. I remember my shock the first time someone said they were a gamer and then gave me a blank look when I started talking about D&D.

 

[RatRace123]

I admit to being somewhat of an elitist, but I still consider people who play any type of game to be a "gamer"
AND AS SUCH,
There are two branches of gamers, harcore and casual, where did this pidgeon holeing category come from? Who knows but I accept it.

 

[rynocerator]

The whole "real gamer" thing has always bugged me. A gamer is a person who plays games. Period. That's all the word means. It's not a religion, there's no such thing as a gaming heretic, and playing more or "better" games than someone else does not make you special.

Exactly. Golfers don't have to know every brand name of club or every course out there. As long as you go out somewhere and hit golf balls with a golf club into a small whole, you are a golfer. As long as you play games in ANY form on an occasional basis or more to entertain yourself, you are a gamer. And no one gamer is any better than any other just because they play "more hardcore" games or do better than someone in a particular game.

 

[Graustein]

Snip

If you say so. It really comes across to me more as him being a whiny, elitist jerk who wants to retain his outsider status because it separates him from the non-gaming plebs, inferior specimens of humanity that they are. If he wants to stay in the basement and hiss at the light, that's his perogative. Meanwhile, I'll be over here appreciating the widening of gaming, and so will the millions of plebs who love a game of Bejewelled.

 

[Susan Arendt]

A good amount of this "gamer/non-gamer" issue arises on the "gamer" side from a clique of elitists who want this multi-billion dollar industry to cater to them alone. I love crossword puzzles; I can do the New York Times crossword in pen. But I don't go running up to some guy doing the Dell Easy Crossword Book and scream at him that he's ruining my hobby.

Wow, that's a fantastic illustration of the debate in question.

 

[sean.A7x]

Ive never played megaman, but i have got to the guy on IWBTG twice (on medium but still ) and the second time only took me a few hours

 

[Ramen n' MaltLiquor]

You video gaming bastards stole the word "gamer" from us pen-and-paper RPGers in the first place. (I'm sure any second now, some wargamer will claim the same thing about RPers, and will probably be right.) So don't be whining now. If history's taught us anything, the term will go where the money does, so as far as the public consciousness will be concerned, all those WiiFit users are "gamers" regardless of our feelings in the matter.

(Beat MegaMan without dying? Good Lord, is Teoh a gamer or a member of some cult that plays MM 16 hours a day?)

Now these guys really do have something to defend. I used to play pen and paper games and still get mocked for what I used to do.

As for video games our fight (if it ever really existed, and I can attest from personal experience dating to the 2600) Its over gentlemen. do we really need to be like those nutcases living on a south pacific island convinced that WWII never ended. Video games are now much more mainstream than they used to be, and they will be watered down for the unclean masses

 

[wildpeaks]

My crazy definition of gamer would probably be "anyone who is willing to try a challenge for fun", however, as farmville players meet this criteria, I definitly need to update this definition as I have little appreciation for such "gamers". On the other hand, whatever floats your boat is fine by me.

Life is complicated.

 

[wildpeaks]

Now these guys really do have something to defend. I used to play pen and paper games and still get mocked for what I used to do.

What's wrong with pen and paper games ??

 

[StriderShinryu]

Personally, I feel that there is certainly a difference between a "gamer" and someone who just plays games, though it's really nothing worth getting into any sort of argument over. As others have said, it's more about someone's commitment to gaming, often displayed in both playing the games and following the industry, than it is about someone's game playing skill.

There is also a very clear divide between "hardcore games" and "casual games," and this really does effect everyone who plays games as the money to be made in one "category" can have a very noticeable impact on the types and elements of games that do get made.

One could certainly argue that better terms could be used, and it's quite true that there's really no point in bashing anyone over the head with your supposed gaming rep, but if you take an even cursory look at the industry you can clearly see that there are divisions and there is a push/pull going on.

 

[Jordrake]

I agree with this to an extent. The fight is over. We lost.
As far as I can see, anyway.
You may have been fighting to defend your hobby, I was fighting to keep my status as social outcast and all around weirdo. I used to call myself a gamer because it made me weird. When most everyone labels themself as a gamer now, what's the point?

 

[thom_cat_]

I think there should be grades of gaming
"Flash"
"Casual"
"Console"
"PC"

Flash covers Farmville and any Newgrounds style game.
Casual covers handheld, Wii, etc.
Console covers just plain solid gaming
PC covers modding and anything like that.

 

[era81]

I been gaming for the better part of the last twentynine years and I don't think I've ever beat a Megaman level without dying at least once. To say that playing Farmville doesn't offer any achievment has to be wrong why else would so many people be playing something so bleeding boring? Does he say the same thing about Wow?