Poll: When did you start to call yourself a gamer?

[Hagi]

Way I see it "gamer" just means someone who has video games as a primary hobby.

It's got absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with culture, community or really anyone besides yourself.

If playing video games is your hobby, as in something you do regularly to fill your leisure time, then you are a gamer. If not then you're not.

And that's really all gamer means to me. Saying you're a gamer is, to me, identical to saying your hobby is playing video games.

 

[Javetts Eall Raksha]

not really any of these. i played on a super nintendo when i was young, but didn't really get in to games until the PS1. i had the small screen you screwed into it, a turbo controller and quite a few memory cards. played mostly RPGs, but dabbled in a few other things. this is when i started calling myself 'a gamer'. nothing i played was hardcore, no battle toads or other 'made to be hard' games. i played games that people who played a lot of games, played. i still find it annoying that something that use to describe me rather well is changing though. when i met a fellow gamer growing up, we always had so much in common and it felt nice to not only belong to a group, but to accepted by that group solely based on the things i enjoyed.

however now that anyone who plays bejeweled is considered by some to be a gamer, where are my people? i find it harder and harder to find the people i connected with. i have all the reach of the internet, which helps, but it's becoming hard to find quality people to share my gaming passion with, in any meaningful way. before there was still the 2 groups, the normal gamers (me) and the masters (people who are some kind of jedi dragon ninja thing, ready to annihilate you at any game). we normal gamers weren't offended by this, in fact most of us liked it. in games, there is an inherent fairness, everything is knowable, even if by knowable we just mean 'know the possible variables/outcomes'. to know that people were 'just better' by such a wide margin, because they played that game over and over. it felt right, deserved.

now that the 2 classes became 3, it's a lot more difficult to maneuver. the casuals lump me in with the masters and vic versa. these 2 classes are rather opposites and seek to draw a line in the sand. i just wish everone would allow our 'middle-class'. i don't play candy crush, i don't 360 no-scope in FPSs, i play RPGs and other story driven games. i'm not a causal or a master, i'm just your average gamer.

7 answers in this poll and not one describers me at all, i guess that means my kind are dying. the 2 became 3, now they seek to become 2 again and at the center, i split with it.

 

[Vigormortis]

I has nothing to do with power but everything to do with perception.

Others opinions matter and if their definition of a gamer is different to what gamer means to you then it's best to not use a label with so many negative connotations with others.[/quote]
Others opinions are only part of one's character. Your own opinion is just as, if not more important.

For me, I'd rather use the most apropos descriptor of one aspect of my interests and hobbies, and then teach people what the term actually means and show them the error of their bias, rather than completely avoiding describing one of the many activities I enjoy, just because some asshole thinks partaking of that hobby makes me a "sexist".

There are ignorant boneheads out there that think reading is for losers. Should I avoid telling people I'm also an avid reader, just to avoid those boneheads viewing me negatively?

The way to fix ignorance isn't to placate it.

I wouldn't introduce myself as a gamer to a potential employer so I wouldn't introduce myself as a gamer to anyone else. I also don't like pigeonholing myself into a group that consists of individuals I do not agree with.

What is it, exactly, that you think all gamers agree on that you disagree with? Do you believe "gamer" is synonymous with things like "sexist", "racist", "misognynerd", etc, etc?

If so, that's fine. You're welcome to your opinions. But as I said before, the term "gamer" is not an ideological term. It's not some collective movement under a set of ideals. It's not even a cultural term. It's just a term for anyone who plays video games with any degree of regularity. Like with my example above, it's the same as calling one who reads often an avid reader.

But if you want to view it as an ideology, go ahead. That's well within your rights. And really, perhaps it's best people who do so don't use the term for themselves. I'd rather not have the term associated with people who negatively stereotype millions of people just because they enjoy the same form of entertainment.

 

[Naraku578]

Probably once I owned an N64, then again I have been a computer person ever since I was 4 and only played educational video games.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

I've never needed to.

People around here don't care enough to label me as such, and I'll be damned if I need to label myself.

Less talk, more do.

 

[WeepingAngels]

I don't call myself a Gamer anymore than I call myself a TVer or Musicer. An entertainment preference does not define a person unless you let it but I can't imagine what social benefit there would be in calling yourself a Gamer.

 

[Leoofmoon]

Mmm, when I think about it, I started calling myself a gamer when people kept telling me that I couldn't be one.

So, I'd been playing games since way before then (considering I have been playing games since I was a tiny child), but I've always been a `gamer` - I just didn't think there was a proper word for it.

Who the fuck told you couldn't be one? I've been a gamer since I got my PS1 back in I think 1996.

 

[Abomination]

If so, that's fine. You're welcome to your opinions. But as I said before, the term "gamer" is not an ideological term. It's not some collective movement under a set of ideals. It's not even a cultural term. It's just a term for anyone who plays video games with any degree of regularity. Like with my example above, it's the same as calling one who reads often an avid reader.

But if you want to view it as an ideology, go ahead. That's well within your rights. And really, perhaps it's best people who do so don't use the term for themselves. I'd rather not have the term associated with people who negatively stereotype millions of people just because they enjoy the same form of entertainment.

Those are your perception of what "gamer" means and I agree with you. But it's not what it means to everyone and thus I will not use it to identify myself as it is inaccurate in the eyes of others.

Just because I believe the word "turnip" means "a great person" I'm not going to use it to identify myself to others.

If things change then I might refer to myself as a "gamer" when discussing hobbies but beyond that and in this present environment? No.

Because words mean things to people and they don't always mean the same thing to different people.

 

[Sansha]

I consistently refuse the title. I just want to play video games.

 

[-Dragmire-]

Not sure, it's just the easiest thing to say when someone asks what you're into which is something people ask more often once you leave high school(probably in high school as well but I have never been very social so it was a rare question to be asked). I don't bake enough to say I'm a baker and I don't really have other things I do outside of work so gamer tends to be the the label I associate myself with.

 

[Dragonlayer]

When I needed to convince the kid in my primary school who had all the gaming cheat books that I was "legit". The transaction was a success and I unlocked the secret crystal island section of the very first Croc on PS1.

Then my disc got buggered and it was all for naught.

*Sniff*

 

[MerlinCross]

I consistently refuse the title. I just want to play video games.

Then you fall into the most basic category of 'gamer'. Which is 'Person who plays/is currently playing video games'.

And that probably says a lot when we have to have like 'levels' of 'gamerness' or some BS like that. I dunno, I see someone who bikes I'm going to call them a biker, much like I'd call someone currently playing a 'gamer'.

 

[Vigormortis]

Those are your perception of what "gamer" means and I agree with you. But it's not what it means to everyone and thus I will not use it to identify myself as it is inaccurate in the eyes of others.

Just because I believe the word "turnip" means "a great person" I'm not going to use it to identify myself to others.

If things change then I might refer to myself as a "gamer" when discussing hobbies but beyond that and in this present environment? No.

Because words mean things to people and they don't always mean the same thing to different people.

I know this, but using your example, when people associate "gamer" with any negative connotations it's the equivalent of them using the word "turnip" to mean "a great person".

They're well within their right to do so, but they're just wrong. And in those occasions, I'd rather use the term as it's intended and explain to them what it truly means.

Besides, if someone is going to judge me based solely on which words I choose to describe my hobby activities, then they're likely not worth my time or consideration. I certainly won't care what their opinion of me is.

I know not everyone feels the same way, and I appreciate your stance. All I was saying before was that it's okay to not use the term in reference to ones self, but not because some ignorant morons decided to lump negative ideological connotations onto the term.

 

[murrow]

I can't recall first using the word. But I started identifying with the concept behind it when I met people who shared the hobby to the point where we could call ourselves a community. I've always been a lone gamer. Even today very few of my friends and acquaintainces are familiar with games. But knowing that there's a common culture, mithology and vocabulary that binds me to people I've never met always put a smile on my face.

It was also during the 90s, when gamers, RPGists, otaku and nerds of all stripes were accused of satanism and killing sprees. Back where I grew up this was quite strong. So we had a bit of that "underworld" sense of belonging, although I wouldn't go as far as saying I was 'defending' the culture.

Ok... I once sent a very angry e-mail to a Christian website who had painted RPGs as the devil's work. But it was an isolated incident.

 

[Abomination]

I know not everyone feels the same way, and I appreciate your stance. All I was saying before was that it's okay to not use the term in reference to ones self, but not because some ignorant morons decided to lump negative ideological connotations onto the term.

Just because someone holds a different opinion of a hobby than you do doesn't make them an ignorant moron.

The captcha is apparently "Which one is hardest?" and offers options like "hopping on one leg and chewing gum at the same time" but there's also an option that's "hopping on both legs" and I would argue that one is the hardest because it's impossible even though they obviously mean "jumping" which isn't difficult by comparison to hopping.

 

[aozgolo]

I used to call myself a gamer, simply because I played a lot of games, but then came the annoyances...

I'm not generally one to complain but in most cases when I identified myself as a gamer, I got people trying to relate to me who played mostly games I had zero interest in. I think if labels were to be used in gaming they should be genre specific like in other mediums. You call people who listen to music by the type of music they listen to... Country Fans, Rock Fans, Metalheads, etc.

Whereas identifying yourself as a gamer does no service to someone outside of being a statistic for some study. Labels should have some social classification, and gaming has become a cultural norm to the point that it's no longer worth separating those who do from those who don't.

 

[Darknacht]

When I switched from computer games to pen and paper.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I've played video games since I was 4 and despite playing a diverse array of games and systems, it wasn't until I got my hands on a Sega Genesis and played Sonic the Hedgehog 2 that I felt like video games were more than mere playthings.

I wanted a Sega Genesis with the latest Sonic installment (Sonic & Knuckles) that same year and since then, I've always distinguished video games as something other than toys. It wasn't until I bought more games and systems that I started to integrate myself in the gaming community and acknowledge myself as a gamer.

Luckily, a lot of the earliest gamers that I befriended were childhood friends, so gaming was a very social activity for me and not a reclusive pleasure.

 

[Vigormortis]

Just because someone holds a different opinion of a hobby than you do doesn't make them an ignorant moron.

No, but just as they're free to have their opinions on that hobby and anyone that takes part in it, I'm free to have my opinion on them and their opinions.

As such, if someone thinks I'm a "loser" for enjoying reading books or a "woman-hating racist" for liking video games, then I'm free to have the opinion that they're ignorant morons not worth my time. And, just as I won't give their opinions of me any consideration, I also will not avoid using terms to describe my preferred activities just because they have ignorant definitions of those terms.

Though, if I may, I would still consider someone a moron if they decide to lump certain biases or ideals onto an entire group of people based on a singular, shared activity; an activity that has no ties to any given ideology, even tenuously.

Moron may not be the most apt term for such a person, given the context, but it's insulting enough for my purposes.

 

[Riot3000]

I guess one day I just called myself a gamer it was like middle school and G4 was awesome. I got immersed in game mechanics and design philosphy and the various genres. So I considered my self a gamer the way I consider myself a otaku or japanaphile or anglophile and ancient weapons buff, a history buff a Bulls fan etc.

I am in the camp of I don't care about all these other negative attachments and if people want to distance themselves from it go on but I am going to keep calling myself that because I am not in control of others premade opinions but I will not pander to them to share their disgust or shame and preteniousness.

So I will call myself a gamer and anything the is associated with it is out of my hands and let the chips fall where they be.