Being a gamer, and the negative opinions assumed

[magnum]

I know this is a random subject, but I felt I had to speak on it a little, and was interested what the rest of you had to say.

I'm a gamer, not as much as I used to be when I was younger, but I sure still love to game.


I just hate how people that play video games to this day are still looked down on, and stereotyped!

If you say you are a gamer the fallowing few examples are assumed about you.

1. you don't have a girl friend

2. you are fat

3. you have no ambition

4. your lack of social life led you to gaming

5. only men game



I've met all kinds of people who game, both online and offline, I've met military people, business men, strippers, hell I've met all kinds of people that play games.


So how come after all this time, people still have to fear saying "i'm a gamer" hell, if I put I'm a gamer on a american dating site, or even a foreign dating site, you're automatically tagged.

And what makes me even more sick, is half these people that belittle the gamers, spend so much time "chatting" "twittering" and "facebooking" and yet can't see what they do requires no skill whatsoever, have you ever attempted to play a competitive game and win fighting a experienced player, not easy at all.



So lets see, seeing as I have to defend my self lest I be disregarded as a "game" I'll list a few of my accomplishments

I exercise 4 to 5 times a week.

I'm a amateur nutritionist.

I do parkour in L.A a few times a month "for the people that don't know what that is I invite you to go to youtube right now and look it up"

I've proficient with firearms, though admittedly I'm a little bit of a natural.

just a small list that sounds nothing like what you assume based on what a "gamer" is thought to be.

Now at one point in my life when i was younger, sure I probably met a lot of the "gamer" stereotypes, but I think in this day and age, when games can make more revenue than Hollywood, it shouldn't still be looked down on or thought to be childish, as even at its base level, it takes more focus and skill to game then to watch a movie.

[boycottamericanwomen]

Hell man, I play PC games too. My PC sucks, so I can't play high quality games, but I play Warcraft 3, Final Fantasy, Fallout, Call of Duty, Max Payne, Age of Empires.

Who the f**k says that playing games is bad?

[zboy1]

No, I don't think gamers are stigmatized now as they used to be when I was a kid. Now that gamers are so numerous in number and video games have become accepted as mainstream entertainment, I don't see the problem with it, nor do any of my friends or anyone else I can think of. On the other hand, if you're one of them gamers that do nothing but play games and eat and sleep--then I think you got some issues there.

[ErikHeaven]

I admit i talk down to a few gamers as i know a few personally and they are losers with no ambition. Otherwise i have a PS3 and a Xbox and i only play once a week for about an hour. I really do not have any time or desire to play more. One can play and still be successful. Its all about keeping balance.

[ErikHeaven]

I am loving my Rezzurection zombie pack right now. Zombies on the moon wtf!

[adria2789]

Video games aren't bad at all. It seems to be a way to detach one's self from reality. It's ok to play when you have nothing to do. If you are missing school, work, and other obligations, then that's when it's a problem. Moderation is key.

[odbo]

I know this is a random subject, but I felt I had to speak on it a little, and was interested what the rest of you had to say.

I'm a gamer, not as much as I used to be when I was younger, but I sure still love to game.

I just hate how people that play video games to this day are still looked down on, and stereotyped!

Do you look down on people who smoke? Who drink? Who are drug addicts? Who watch porn? Who eat unhealthy?

Videogames are a vice. NOTHING GOOD WILL EVER COME OUT OF GAMES. There was a slight exception by the name of Shenmue, but that turned out to be the biggest financial failure in video game history. Don't be surprised if people look down on people wasting their time, wasting their health, and/or waisting their money on an addiction. This is another one of these groups that are programmed to see themselves as victims or trend-setters when in fact they are conformers who contribute to the victimization of those who choose not to.

I was on the computer playing games since I was 4 so I speak from experience. Video games are a complete waste of time. Anything that has you considering otherwise is a deception.

Don't play videogames for a few months and the illusion should reveal itself.

[Winston]

I agree that video games are a waste of time.

But most gamers I've met did fit the stereotype. And women gamers are very rare still, I think, even though gamers deny it. Stereotypes are not totally false. They exist for a reason, most likely because a lot of people at one point did fit the stereotype. Unless of course, the stereotype was totally created by the media.

But yeah, gaming is becoming more mainstream and should have less of a negative social stigma, the way using the internet is.

But I don't agree that gaming requires a lot of skill. All you do is continually hack at an enemy over and over again. You can set the character on auto too. All it requires is pushing one button or function to keep attacking and trading blows with a target. It's too easy.

The real skill was with the 2D games in the 1980's and 1990's, that required split second timing and precision, otherwise you lose a life. Most gamers today cannot play such games. They can't play Super Mario World well, for instance. Or Pac Man and Galaga. They can only click the auto attack button to have their character exchange blows with an enemy target until one of their energy gauges depletes, which takes no skill.

A friend from high school I knew was a paid Nintendo game tester who could take a brand new Nintendo game and make it all the way to the end on the first few tries. That guy had a lot of real skill and talent, which very few people have. I could not pass most of those games to the end like he could. Those games were mostly shoot em up type of games where it was easy to die and lose a life.

Even though this friend was so good at video games and was a well paid game tester, I was able to beat him consistently in the one game I was invincible at - Archon. When we played it, it was very competitive. The battles were grueling and long, but I had the edge to finish off the final shot on him by outmaneuvering him on most of the battles.

Those games required quick reflexes. Today's gamers would not be good at them.

Try playing the arcade game Raiden Triad or Aero Fighters. It is hard and the enemy fighters and shots move very fast. It is hard to pass even the first two levels. Most gamers today could not, cause all they can do is push the same attack button over and over again, without having to dodge or jump in a game where one hit ends your life.

Also, take those new Tekken virtual fighting games. Anyone can be good at them by just pushing random buttons, which will execute combos. It's too easy and requires no skill at all. Even a girl can play them well. But older fighting games such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat required more skill, reflexes, combo maneuvers, and split second timing. You could not push random buttons and win in those games, like you can with Tekken.

Therefore, today's games don't really require any skill, just repetitive button pushing.

Btw odbo, video games are not totally useless. The Air Force says that they help train hand-eye coordination for their pilots. And they do help train your reflexes and quick decision making during emergencies, which may help in driving too. But we are talking about the old games that required skill, reflexes and coordination. Not the new RPG games.

But mostly, I think they are a waste of time. Most of the addiction is with the RPG games. The old 2D shoot em up games were fun but not as addicting. When Pac Man, Space Invaders, Galaxian, etc. came out in the 80's, kids spent a lot of time on them, but there was no addiction problem like with RPG games. Your mind knew when enough was enough, and it was easy to stop playing. Perhaps RPG games have something in them that is designed to make people addicted to them, kind of like how movie theater popcorn makes you addicted to it too? lol

But who am I to talk? I am addicted to the internet, and I think most of us here have internet addiction to some degree. But you can do a lot more things on the internet, including productive things involving learning and making money.

[Sexter]

Video games are mainstream now. The gaming market is bigger than the film industry (YES, movies!). It's no longer associated with nerdy lazy people.

Everyone in their right minds play videogames. The only reason why there's a negative stereotype to gamers is because of social conditioning. I play video games almost every day. That doesn't make me lazy or nerdy.

[odbo]

The real skill was with the 2D games in the 1980's and 1990's, that required split second timing and precision, otherwise you lose a life. Most gamers today cannot play such games. They can't play Super Mario World well, for instance. Or Pac Man and Galaga. They can only click the auto attack button to have their character exchange blows with an enemy target until one of their energy gauges depletes, which takes no skill.

The dumbing down of entertainment goes hand in hand with the dumbing down of society.



great southpark episode about video game addiction:
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-ep ... t-warcraft

[djfourmoney]

Its bullshit, look how many people play games on Facebook and Angry Birds on several mobile devices...

[boycottamericanwomen]

Well, I downloaded a Sega Genesis/Sega CD emulator, and have started playing a bunch of really cool old games, like Sonic the Hedgehog. It's a classic.

Another classic that any of you have heard of? Return to Zork? It's for PC.

Soon, I am planning to download a Sega Dreamcast emulator and start playing a couple of games that I heard were really bad ass, like Shenmue and Sonic Adventure. Graphics are pretty good on this Dreamcast platform.

Anyway, if anyone is looking for some cool games to play, send me a message and I'll tell you where to download them.

[boycottamericanwomen]

I grew up on the Nintendo 8 bit, Sega Genesis/Sega CD era, so that's why I'm attached to those games.

I still remember going into this huge electronic store as a kid, and seeing a demo of Sonic CD (for the Sega CD) being shown on a huge big screen TV, and the excitement of it all, so I have a lot of fond memories of those days.

Anyone else here play emulators of older systems?

[Winston]

I grew up on the Nintendo 8 bit, Sega Genesis/Sega CD era, so that's why I'm attached to those games.

I still remember going into this huge electronic store as a kid, and seeing a demo of Sonic CD (for the Sega CD) being shown on a huge big screen TV, and the excitement of it all, so I have a lot of fond memories of those days.

Anyone else here play emulators of older systems?

I do. I've played some SNES and N64 games through emulators. You can download the emulators and games for them for free from these sites.

http://www.coolrom.com
http://www.romhustler.net

Some of the games are pretty fun. But the graphics aren't as good as in the original game system.

[Winston]

Hey check out Darryl Sloan demonstrating an old Vectrex game console. Even though the system is archaic, the games still look pretty fun. I like neon lines with black background. It's easy on the eyes and feels very space age-like. lol