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Do you identify yourself as a Gamer?
- Thread starter Lady Bow
- Start date
Yup, I'm not about to let shitty people ruin something for me.
I play video games, I'm a gamer.
I play video games, I'm a gamer.
Are you referring to me? I don't think it's important at all, like you said, it's just a label/word and It shouldn't be taken too seriously.
Use the word or not, I just don't understand the interpretation that if you consider yourself a gamer, then it's the ONLY thing you do.
The overall sentiment of "it's just a word" is fine, but then when you talk about it being cringey that people don't want to identify with that word, it makes it seem like the word is of at least some import.
I'm a gamer and identify as such. Not doing so because of some rotten people within gamer culture who are bigots and racists and general assholes seems kinda backwards to me and almost as if you give in to these hate groups and kind of giving the culture away that is supposed to be all inclusive.
I love games and the general culture that surrounds it. I have a lot of love for invested fandoms and the unique and surprising ways fans use their love for videofranchises to create cosplay outfits, write fan fiction and even create whole new fan games within the realm of their favourite games. I also love the art books thgat regularly come out on videogames, love to read about games in magazines as well as more scientific works. And of course love discussing games on videogame forums like ERA and following news through websites and social media.
Everybody who knows me knows I'm a gamer and I'm not afraid to say I am. If people have a problem with that it's exactly that: their problem, not mine.
I love games and the general culture that surrounds it. I have a lot of love for invested fandoms and the unique and surprising ways fans use their love for videofranchises to create cosplay outfits, write fan fiction and even create whole new fan games within the realm of their favourite games. I also love the art books thgat regularly come out on videogames, love to read about games in magazines as well as more scientific works. And of course love discussing games on videogame forums like ERA and following news through websites and social media.
Everybody who knows me knows I'm a gamer and I'm not afraid to say I am. If people have a problem with that it's exactly that: their problem, not mine.
Identifying myself as a gamer would imply I am only 1 thing or would imply I do it for a living. Neither of those things apply to me and thus, I don't identify myself as a gamer.
I play video games sometimes, just like I watch tv sometimes, just like I eat food sometimes. Watching tv doesn't make me a tver not does eating imply I am a foodie.
I play video games sometimes, just like I watch tv sometimes, just like I eat food sometimes. Watching tv doesn't make me a tver not does eating imply I am a foodie.
How does using gamer imply that's the only thing you do? I don't get it
Nope, go on a date she ask my hobbies i don't mention games, my ex-wife found out about my gaming after we moved in, come to find out she likes games too, puzzle games, she loved Bust A Move 4, PS1, but her favorite was Tetrisphere...
Yes, but sadly it's embarrassing to because of the connotations that are valid that's associated with the term
The hardcore gaming community is very toxic
The hardcore gaming community is very toxic
I like video games but I don't like to give a name to one of my hobbies. I'm not a "movier".
In truth, we are fortunate to keep in touch with the world of video games, and daily feed the spirit with the art of the best talents in the world (storytelling, visual, music), gathered in an industry that is undoubtedly the heyday of human expression.
I said hahaha
In truth, we are fortunate to keep in touch with the world of video games, and daily feed the spirit with the art of the best talents in the world (storytelling, visual, music), gathered in an industry that is undoubtedly the heyday of human expression.
I said hahaha
The bolded part is not true. As others have said, identifying as a gamer does not mean you are exclusively a gamer. Lots of people can be multiple things i.e a gamer, a cyclist, a rock climber, a guitarist, etc.
the second part implies that watching tv or being a foodie is negative. If someone who identifies as a foodie because they like food then there is nothing wrong with that. They also might be a gamer and a whole list of other shit.
I can't understand why people are so afraid of being something, as if it means it makes you something else or minimizes the rest of your life. It doesn't. You can be a gamer and not be a bigot or a racist or a piece of shit. You can also be a gamer while being anything else you want. Or you can choose not to be a gamer because of reasons. Just stop with this "no because I'm not a racist" crap, it's not helpful.
I would rather self identify with a productive hobby than a consumptive one i.e. musician, not gamer.
Saying I am a gamer implies a huge importance it plays in my life, when the truth is, it is a hobby I dabble with once ever 3 month (I don't play a lot of games). It doesn't say or describe anything about me.
That's what I mean. It is a hobby with no more significance as than any other activities I do.
This is a story of why I don't identify myself as a gamer.
You do you. If cycling plays a huge importance in your life then call yourself one, I guess I don't particularly care. Again I am saying why I don't do it.
I could stop right now and the net effect in my life is nearly the same. Thus I don't identify myself as one because it says literally nothing about me, any more so than occasionally reading or biking.
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Yeah guess so, I play quite a few hours of games a day, on weekends at least.
One thing I do have to point out though is that there's a difference between gamers and gamergaters.
One thing I do have to point out though is that there's a difference between gamers and gamergaters.
Sure, why not? It's not the only hobby that I use to define myself, so it's not that big of a deal for me.
I don't for a lot of the reasons already set out in this thread - "gamer" is mostly a synonym for folks who are antisocial at best but often much worse, racist/misogynist/etc - but also because there are so many different cultures in games now and I don't think most people are interested in all of them.
There's games that are so big as to have their own culture, usually major e-sports titles (DOTA, League, Overwatch, etc); there are folks who play shooters pretty exclusively; there are more mainstream indies; there are the indie circles that live primarily on itch; there is aaa console culture which is e3, game awards, etc; hardcore sports players live in their own world; old arcade stuff has its own scene and is even more so split between western and Japanese; retro fans & the preservation scene; and more and more, and not a lot of folks overlap all or even more than a few of these groups. It's like how a conversation may have started with "yeah I'm really into music" but you drill down into "well I listen to a lot of [genre]." It's okay to not see yourself in all of these groups and it's okay to not want to label yourself as such. I think it does a huge disservice to call it all "games/gamer culture" because it tries to dismiss the very real differences in activities and aims and how these people play, and I think it's a poor idea to identify everyone who is a part of one of these groups as a "gamer" for the same reason.
The folks who are both older and cling to that "gamer" identity tend to still carry a chip on their shoulder from an era when there wasn't the same kind of spread in cultures and the younger ones are trying to feel persecuted on some level by identifying as like 1/5 of the world's population. If it hadn't sprung from a perception of counterculture and edginess (and been loaded down with it more by marketers) I don't think it would be as negative-feeling now.
One other thing that follows from this before I go is that for all the crying and handwringing that happened when we saw the "gamers are dead" op-eds some years back - nobody in or around games looks at gamers as one big group anymore. Nobody. It's not how games are treated as a product or how they're marketed and it's been a long time since that's been the case. The identity doesn't even exist as a marketing segment for the industry because it's that split-up. It really is "dead" in terms of everything except shitty t-shirts from Kohl's.
There's games that are so big as to have their own culture, usually major e-sports titles (DOTA, League, Overwatch, etc); there are folks who play shooters pretty exclusively; there are more mainstream indies; there are the indie circles that live primarily on itch; there is aaa console culture which is e3, game awards, etc; hardcore sports players live in their own world; old arcade stuff has its own scene and is even more so split between western and Japanese; retro fans & the preservation scene; and more and more, and not a lot of folks overlap all or even more than a few of these groups. It's like how a conversation may have started with "yeah I'm really into music" but you drill down into "well I listen to a lot of [genre]." It's okay to not see yourself in all of these groups and it's okay to not want to label yourself as such. I think it does a huge disservice to call it all "games/gamer culture" because it tries to dismiss the very real differences in activities and aims and how these people play, and I think it's a poor idea to identify everyone who is a part of one of these groups as a "gamer" for the same reason.
The folks who are both older and cling to that "gamer" identity tend to still carry a chip on their shoulder from an era when there wasn't the same kind of spread in cultures and the younger ones are trying to feel persecuted on some level by identifying as like 1/5 of the world's population. If it hadn't sprung from a perception of counterculture and edginess (and been loaded down with it more by marketers) I don't think it would be as negative-feeling now.
One other thing that follows from this before I go is that for all the crying and handwringing that happened when we saw the "gamers are dead" op-eds some years back - nobody in or around games looks at gamers as one big group anymore. Nobody. It's not how games are treated as a product or how they're marketed and it's been a long time since that's been the case. The identity doesn't even exist as a marketing segment for the industry because it's that split-up. It really is "dead" in terms of everything except shitty t-shirts from Kohl's.
I used to, not anymore. The vocal minority and the gross shit that has happened in the past few years along with having 3 kids and basically way less free time has changed it from a "Lifestyle" to a hobby. That's fine. At work I'm the tech guy, at home I'm dad, with friends I'm a nerd, but we're all nerds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5mlNUZBxK4
Understanding Iwata's Legacy - The Point
I'm proud to identify myself as a gamer because of Satoru Iwata.
Understanding Iwata's Legacy - The Point
I'm proud to identify myself as a gamer because of Satoru Iwata.
Incredible, the amount of disillusionment & ignorance here- especially when most if not all of us are passionate & intelligent about our hobbie.
Do you play games & enjoy them...? Then you're a gamer. It's a hobbie, be proud of it.
i think this is a good response and reasonable for someone who loves games above all else yet doesn't want to identify with all the toxicity surrounding the term.
if someone has literally any other hobbies they're passionate about, though, i don't know why they'd use it. it's kind of inherently exclusionary just because of how strongly it connotes adhering to a specific culture and removing anything else from your personality.
basically i think it's weird to be like "i like reading, movies, whiskey, modern art, long walks on the beach, and i'm a gamer."
It's a hobby. What exactly is there to be proud of? You're not saving lives, or making a change in the world. You're sitting on your butt. Combine that with a reputation of sexism and all sorts of bigotry in the community at large and what do you expect? Your pride is a convenience not everyone shares.
This so much. It's just so bizarre how so many people try to hoist the gamer term on people who don't want it.
Nah. I write more than I play video games, but I wouldn't call myself a writer unless I was doing it professionally. Plus 'gamer', to me, has a pretty unfortunate stigma attached to it. If you identify as a gamer, that's cool. I just personally don't like referring to myself as such.
"It's just a word, but you're cringey af if you don't call yourself that word!"
There are plenty of people that are into Music and Cinema, that would describe themselves as Audiophiles or Cinephiles. Gamer is along those lines. If video games is a big hobby for you, perhaps the one you spend the most time doing, then calling yourself a gamer feels accurate. Doesn't mean you don't do other things.
I would agree with this. Video games easily have my biggest commitment to a hobby in terms of both time and financial investment, and people that know me likely associate me with games. I also cook, read, write, watch sports and occasionally hike, but those don't feel as important to me personally as video games do.
No, I don't see the point of the term. I use the internet a lot, but I don't need a term for that, either. It also feels like "gamer" is kind of pushed for commercial reasons, too, so I would feel like kind of a sucker for going along with that. It's kind of like Hot Topic's selling personal identity through the commodification of subculture.
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That wasn't my point, maybe you just don't use these kinds of labels, that's fine. But take another look at this thread and the essay long posts people are making as to why they're not gamers... On a gaming message board. That's what I mean with taking the term too seriously.
Acknowledging the reality of how gross gaming culture has become isn't taking the term seriously. In reality, the term is taken by most non-gamers as meaning that someone defines themselves by playing video games, and thus, people aren't interested in adopting this term.
Nope; I identify myself as an old bitch that likes to chill out.
Playing games is a side effect, especially since most of my hXc gaming nowadays comes from living vicariously through skimming era and listening to podcasts while grinding in monster hunter.
Playing games is a side effect, especially since most of my hXc gaming nowadays comes from living vicariously through skimming era and listening to podcasts while grinding in monster hunter.