Manji187 said:
Nwabudike Morgan said:
And by "games" you prolly also mean things like "Bejeweled"... or the "desperate housewife" (as I like to call it) category, shovelware and cell phone games.
They're still games, and they're still playing them, and many of these people are playing them a lot. Hell, even my mom, who had never touched a game in her life until a couple years ago, plays Peggle, Bejeweled and mah jongg puzzles from the moment she sits down at the end of the day up until the point where she goes to bed, while she watches TV with my dad. She plays games for a solid 4 to 5 hours a day, which is more time than I spend daily playing games.
The way the "hardcore" gamers look down on "casual" gamers is equal parts depressing and hilarious. The idea that they somehow aren't "real gamers" because of the types of games they play is incredibly moronic.
The stigma isn't against gaming, it's against the gamers who play obsessively, often neglecting responsibilities and obligations. The same stigma would be applied to anyone who is detrimentally obsessive about their hobby, the hobby itself is irrelevant.
Also, to the people saying people think badly of them because of the types of games you play, when they ask what games you like do you simply tell them the titles of the games or do you do that horrible thing nerds tend to do and start gushing and geeking out.
Also also, if you think that there is a stigma associated with videogames, try telling someone you're into tabletop gaming, that you're an adult who sits around pretending to be an elf or that you play with toy soldiers.
I wasn't implying those are not games. I wasn't being sarcastic...I basically assumed...that you assumed that those things are games and they are, I agree.
Haha...no I wasn't trying to look like the stereotype "hardcore" gamer going all out on "casual" gamers...one is not inherently better than the other...but the distinction exists nonetheless...for good reasons.
Unless of course you want to hold the position that Peggle and Bewejeled on the one hand are the same thing as say Dragon Age or Fallout 3 on the other. The complexity of the latter requires a greater investment in terms of time and concentration. Also...narrative (story and plot) plays a more important role in the "hardcore" category.
A "hardcore" game requires you to familiarize yourself with the controller/ keyboard layout and the functions assigned to buttons depending on the context...also some knowledge of common tropes is handy (exploding barrels etc). All in all...the player needs to "get serious" if he wishes to succesfully play the game from start to finish.
IMO there is not only a stigma on what you call "obsessive gaming, neglecting responsibilities and obligations" but also on the primary willingness to invest time/ effort in a "difficult" game to become proficient at it. Where playing Peggle/ Bejeweled is often considered "killing time" (a fun harmless past-time) playing say a Final Fantasy game is often considered "wasting time" (A dangerous form of escapism. You could've been doing something more useful...something more "real").
Sure..."killing time" can evolve into "wasting time"...but the initial response of most people IS connected to the type of game you are playing. Compare the following two phrases:
"I play 8 hours of Mahjong/ Poker a week"
"I play 8 hours of Final Fantasy X/ World of Warcraft a week"
I am willing to bet that the latter will get you a lot more frowns and condescending smiles.
Cuz hey...games are GAMES right?
"Quick short fun in between sections of real serious life! Getting serious over games is for NERDS and SOCIOPATHS with no life. If you've got a life...you've got way better things to do with your time...like making money...getting laid...getting more stuff...going to/ seeing places"
That's the stigma I am talking about...your version is the extreme end of it...but even if you're not being obsessive you will have people telling you you're "wasting your time"...and this will happen faster if the game in question is a difficult one requiring you to get serious.
Maybe the same can be said of books?
"The book on my nightstand is Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol'." (Oh...ok...just occasionally reading for fun huh?)
"The book on my nightstand is Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'." (WTF...why would anyone want to grind their way through such a huge and "tedious" work? Don't you have better things to do...perhaps you are strange...and don't have a life?)
See what I mean?
EDIT: I'm not saying all people are like this all the time. I'm saying that most people have the tendency to be like this most of the time: quick judgments...filing you in a specific compartment.
