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I didn't realize how niche video games were until I got a job
- Thread starter HomokHarcos
- Start date
I've worked in the same company for 13 years and moved teams fairly often within that time. I'd say of my primary interests (games, books, film, both forms of football) there are only ever 2-3 people on any one team who I'd have a full conversation with about any one of those things.
TV and big sporting events are just the easiest subjects to broach for idle chit chat because they're so ambiguous, accessible and accepted. I think most actual hobbies or anything that requires a deeper investment will either never get talked about or you'll only want to discuss them with a small, equally minded number of people.
TV and big sporting events are just the easiest subjects to broach for idle chit chat because they're so ambiguous, accessible and accepted. I think most actual hobbies or anything that requires a deeper investment will either never get talked about or you'll only want to discuss them with a small, equally minded number of people.
Almost every dude at my workplace plays videogames. And it is not even close to be a tech company.
It probably just seems that way. I would never initiate a conversation about video games, unless I've seen a definitive proof that the other person in the conversation plays games or not.
It's not really about the "gamers" stigma either, in my opinion, it's just not a hobby that you need to be proud of enough to flaunt it, unlike other productive hobbies that people might see in a more positive light. Finding people to talk about video games is cool, but talking about them on the internet is enough for me.
It's not really about the "gamers" stigma either, in my opinion, it's just not a hobby that you need to be proud of enough to flaunt it, unlike other productive hobbies that people might see in a more positive light. Finding people to talk about video games is cool, but talking about them on the internet is enough for me.
It depends what job you have, I did some multimedia and software development and we were all gamers.
I'm now a motion graphics artist and so far no one plays games.
I'm now a motion graphics artist and so far no one plays games.
I disagree with this so hard.
Maybe it would be true if someone only played vapid, violent, mindless, repetitive video games. But there are so many other kinds of games to play that bring actual joy, a sense of adventure and discovery. Even the vapid and violent ones can have these qualities.
The other ways of passing time, with music, TV, or books are not about specifically about information gathering or learning. They are about enjoyment. Video games are just as, and usually more, enjoyable than TV. And they can be satisfying too. Play at a game like Outer Wilds or Hollow Knight or even fucking Half Life 2 and tell me they bring no benefit.
Video games are a lot like food, is what I'm saying. Some can be rich, nourishing meals. Some are like bags of Doritos. Both types of food are good. Depends on what you're in the mood for.
It's also because video-games are not a very interesting subject on the surface:
- "Have you played X? It's awesome!"
- "Yes"
- "Have you beat Y?"
- "Yes, that was hard"
- "Cool"
Story, cliffhangers or character development are rarely worth mentioning. The majority wouldn't know or talk about game development, gameplay mechanics, art style and so on.
- "Have you played X? It's awesome!"
- "Yes"
- "Have you beat Y?"
- "Yes, that was hard"
- "Cool"
Story, cliffhangers or character development are rarely worth mentioning. The majority wouldn't know or talk about game development, gameplay mechanics, art style and so on.
I hate to be the one to ask but... what games do you usually play? There are so many different games and genres that I'd hardly classify the entire medium as a bag of potato crisps.
I work at a tech company and there isn't much talk about games. Same with most of the companies I visit during my job. So yes, gaming still is pretty niche from my experience. Or people are just too shy to bring it up during work hours.
I think it's job dependent. I work at an old school accounting firm. I'm the only person who knows Jack about games.
I'm sure if I worked at a modern techy company or something I'd find more people into it.
I'm sure if I worked at a modern techy company or something I'd find more people into it.
There's a difference between occasional players and people who don't play at all.
I don't meet many people 35 and under that literally never play.
People who keep up with releases and regularily buy stuff? That's less common.
But tbh. i can't even discuss stuff like TV series or recent movies at work beyond general platitudes. Nevermind books.
I don't meet many people 35 and under that literally never play.
People who keep up with releases and regularily buy stuff? That's less common.
But tbh. i can't even discuss stuff like TV series or recent movies at work beyond general platitudes. Nevermind books.
Really does depend where you work - but even within the industry, there are no guarantees. Everyone knows about games, not everyone plays them though.
I think the hardest part is finding out who else is a gamer at your job. They may be lurking all around you and you wouldn't even notice nowadays. But I've developed a full proof way of making them come out. I basically wait until I get into a crowded area at my workplace and then I yell out " gamers, rise up!" Then they all circle around me and strike a pose before going back to what they were doing like nothing happened.
That nods is like saying "I feel ya ,but lets not get too nerdy" lol I'm jealous of your work.
This thread is so weird. I've been working for what, something like 20 years now? I saw a bunch of different workplaces from in and out. And I never encountered a place where talking about games would occur even on an occasional basis, bar some exceptions such as the Pokemon Go release where it was all over the TV and then some.
There are a few "gamers" here and there of course, but it's just not seen as an interesting subject I guess. I don't know if this has anything to do about "stigma" though. It just seems that there are commonly accepted valid talking subjects: sports, TV, even politics to a degree. And gaming is not one of them.
There are a few "gamers" here and there of course, but it's just not seen as an interesting subject I guess. I don't know if this has anything to do about "stigma" though. It just seems that there are commonly accepted valid talking subjects: sports, TV, even politics to a degree. And gaming is not one of them.
Depends on the environment your work in i guess.
In mine, we are making websites and from 1pm to 2pm, there's always, ALWAYS, 8 people playing Smash on a switch hooked to the restroom's tv no matter what. And we talk games on a regaular basis all the time. I guess it's because it's a tech company with a lot of "young" people and mostly guys working on it. Most of the few girls tha work here don't care for games at all and the guys over 40/45 don't either.
Weirdly enough, of the 3 girls that do play, 2 of them are lesbians and the third is probably too (she haven't said anything but the other 2 are pretty sure of it). I have not idea why that is.
In mine, we are making websites and from 1pm to 2pm, there's always, ALWAYS, 8 people playing Smash on a switch hooked to the restroom's tv no matter what. And we talk games on a regaular basis all the time. I guess it's because it's a tech company with a lot of "young" people and mostly guys working on it. Most of the few girls tha work here don't care for games at all and the guys over 40/45 don't either.
Weirdly enough, of the 3 girls that do play, 2 of them are lesbians and the third is probably too (she haven't said anything but the other 2 are pretty sure of it). I have not idea why that is.
I don't think Gaming is that unique anymore compared to other hobbies. People don't talk constantly about their other hobbies either in my experience.
I kinda dread when someone wants to talk games with me nowadays because
a) usually they are into completely different games than me
and b) they talk so obsessively about them that it becomes weird.
The worst are people who play MMOs.
I kinda dread when someone wants to talk games with me nowadays because
a) usually they are into completely different games than me
and b) they talk so obsessively about them that it becomes weird.
The worst are people who play MMOs.
Have never really understood this position, and it makes even less sense in 2019.
Seems more like people trying to spin it as niche to make their hobby feel more special.
Its a $100 billion industry at this point.
Unless that niche is propped up solely by people making million dollar salaries, that seems far from a niche to me...
Seems more like people trying to spin it as niche to make their hobby feel more special.
Its a $100 billion industry at this point.
Unless that niche is propped up solely by people making million dollar salaries, that seems far from a niche to me...
I went from gaming from around 20 hours per week to if I'm lucky 2 hours per week
Real life takes over unfortunately and is a total pain in the ass
I'd still classify myself as a gamer despite hardly playing though
I suppose a lot of people like me just eventually give it up all together
Trouble is those 2 hours of games I play will be totally different to the 2 hours someone else at works play
So not exactly easy to be 'something to talk about'
Real life takes over unfortunately and is a total pain in the ass
I'd still classify myself as a gamer despite hardly playing though
I suppose a lot of people like me just eventually give it up all together
Trouble is those 2 hours of games I play will be totally different to the 2 hours someone else at works play
So not exactly easy to be 'something to talk about'
Yeah, I think working in animation and design would skew the perception of how many people play video games.
I'm lucky I now work with my friend who is a huge gamer so we can talk games all day long, then head home and hop online together!
In other jobs I was often used as a testing board for people with kids, what games/consoles etc would be suitable. I was never made to feel weird for being into playing videogames.
In other jobs I was often used as a testing board for people with kids, what games/consoles etc would be suitable. I was never made to feel weird for being into playing videogames.
It's a 130+ billion dollar industry that generates more revenue than the top 20 sports leagues in the world combined. Three times bigger than the film industry. Bigger than the most liberal estimate of the porn industry, which yeah, can't be making tons per user, but it's porn.
The thing is the gaming industry is also segmented into hundreds of different sub communities. There are people who play video-games 8 hours a day who know fuck all about the industry outside of their corner. Recall that one of the biggest games in the world was announced to be coming to Xbox this year and many people here had no idea what it even was, because we're not familiar with what's huge over there.
The thing is the gaming industry is also segmented into hundreds of different sub communities. There are people who play video-games 8 hours a day who know fuck all about the industry outside of their corner. Recall that one of the biggest games in the world was announced to be coming to Xbox this year and many people here had no idea what it even was, because we're not familiar with what's huge over there.
For me games are like reading books. Candy crush is like reading Garfield, mostly playing CoD (or similar games) are like reading Dan Brown and Undertale is like reading Mario Vargas Llosa. All are technically reading, but they are still quite different
I used to talk about games at work in my teens and 20s but now in 30s-40s a lot have had kids and stopped playing games, they have even stopped playing FIFA with their kids.
In my work space, mostly engineers and software developers, I was surprised how many are into video games. But nobody talks openly about it, which is weird. The first year I didn't knew anybody who plays games. But over time I overheard some conversations and as I said, quite a few gamers.
Well scrabble is the equilevant to candy crush in gaming,so in this sense neither gaming is niche.
I was talking about medium-heavy boardgames that are not appealing to the wide audience,like Scythe,Gloomhaven etc
Lol no. Why do people insist on this? Around 2 billion people play games. Music, movies, tv are much, much, much bigger. Gaming is huge, but it's not even close to some of the others. Sports broadcasts alone is much bigger.
And that's all you can say about the games you play? I can go on with games such as MGS or Sekiro
the people i work with don't play those games, the most "hardcore" plays fortnite.
They are not niche but people are too afraid to speak their mind and loose cred. On the workplace most of all. I have a theory that for "core" gaming to be finally accepted more women need to get into the hobby, not mobile games but PC and console.
Picture this: 10 years ago "binge watching" TV series was considered a nerdy thing to do. Nowadays, not anymore as women do it too, even more than men. That hobby has been validated by society (women) and you can easily say that you watched Chernobyl on one sit.
Picture this: 10 years ago "binge watching" TV series was considered a nerdy thing to do. Nowadays, not anymore as women do it too, even more than men. That hobby has been validated by society (women) and you can easily say that you watched Chernobyl on one sit.
No it wasn't. How we binge watch stuff has changed a bit since then, but binging series and movies sure as hell wasn't looked down upon. People have been doing that since home media came out.
I've worked in the mining industry for 10 years and can count the number of gaming discussions I've had with coworkers on one hand. Most people I work with are 50+ so it's not too surprising. I also love metal music and a lot of its more extreme subgenres so I'm pretty much used to not discussing most of my primary hobbies, haha.
Here's how people watch TV in my experience:
Turn on TV, find a show, take out phone, don't look at the the TV anymore except an occasional glance and just flip through instagram/facebook/etc.
Now you can see the issue with trying to game for people. You can't exactly interact with a game while you aren't watching the screen and using a phone.
So yeah, TV is a much more relaxing and accepted hobby that lets you also do other things at the same time, while gaming requires complete focus.
Turn on TV, find a show, take out phone, don't look at the the TV anymore except an occasional glance and just flip through instagram/facebook/etc.
Now you can see the issue with trying to game for people. You can't exactly interact with a game while you aren't watching the screen and using a phone.
So yeah, TV is a much more relaxing and accepted hobby that lets you also do other things at the same time, while gaming requires complete focus.