What defines you as a gamer?

[SuperScrub]

Here's a question to get "she who must not be named less you want to start a flame war" out of our head. What traits about the games you play, the way you play, and the way you look into games define you as a gamer.

Take me for example I primarily play single player games, I do so in a way to immerse myself in it's universe, and I look into games as a budding art form, a way to enter and live in new universes, and something that will one day be a dominate cultural media. So I guess I would call myself a Hardcore-Gaming Enthusiast. So what about you?

 

[shrekfan246]

Obvious and terrible joke that I'm sure nobody has come up with before: With a username like that I'd expect you to call yourself a Super Scrub.

I call myself a person who enjoys video games, for much the same reason I don't call myself a "cinephile" or "bibliophile".

But since that's always the spoil-sport answer in these threads, I play in single-player mode or single-player games almost exclusively with the exception of World of Warcraft or co-op multi-player because I've never been a very competitive person and I despise the way people generally get in tense competitive situations, even if it's very exciting in the moment.

I mostly play on the middle-of-the-road difficulty setting, though if I really love a game I'll play it again on a harder difficulty. I also have not actually finished a good number (likely a majority if I'm honest) of the games that I own, and there are more than a few that I'll probably never finish despite having enjoyed them greatly, for no particular specific reason other than I don't feel like playing them. Conversely, games I've loved like Mass Effect or DmC I've played through multiple times.

I play games mostly for the gameplay and environments. If the story and characters accompanying them are fun or interesting as well, then that's great. As an aspiring writer, I'm not one to balk at the thought of stories taking precedence over gameplay--The Walking Dead from Telltale was fantastic--but the best story in the world won't really save absolutely broken gameplay, while in my eyes really fun games can easily compensate for absolutely horrible writing.

 

[Thr33X]

What defines me as a "gamer"? Enough experience to no longer consider myself a "gamer" anymore, so much as I consider myself a video game enthusiast. I've lived my whole life with controller in hand, and that dates back from the Atari 2600 up until now, so I've literally witnessed this pastime of ours and industry evolve before my eyes. That gives me a unique perspective and respect for the totality of video games that younger players just simply don't have (and if that at all offends or irks you young bucks, too bad).

Growing up on games, it's been single player for the most part for me, and multiplayer has either been co-op games with my brother or hanging out at the old arcades back in the day with friends. The entire gaming experience for me has always been one of community and comradery, a far cry from the venomous environment that gaming community at large has become. I've never had to try to find friends or partners to play certain games with because at the very least with my brother being as much of an enthusiast as I am, I have a partner for life in any game we get our hands on.

So what really defines me? I'd say the knowledge firsthand of how powerful videogames can be in bringing people together if everyone just shut up and enjoyed them for what they are.

 

[aozgolo]

I don't so much identify by standard "gamer" rhetoric. I consider myself a big kid at heart who likes playing with toys. When I play most games I do it from the perspective of a kid with a toy. I like big open sandbox games that let me play how I want. Story is nice and everything but not necessary for me to enjoy a game (I love Minecraft, Terraria, and Gnomoria, all of which have no story). I mostly enjoy single player games because I like having full control over my world and do with it as I please. I sometimes dabble in MMOs just due to the sheer amount of content but even then I try to do things to stand out that don't fit into the mold of the game, I'm no endgame raider or hardcore PvPer. Challenge in games is kind of unnecessary, in fact I will turn a game down to easy if the challenge is preventing me from enjoying the other things I want to do in the game (I play Minecraft on Peaceful or Creative all the time). I think that mostly sums up what I like in games, so naturally I gravitate more towards simulation, RPG, and open world action adventure style games. I rarely if ever play Sports, Shooters, or RTS games.

 

[Colour Scientist]

I don't really identify as a gamer, I find the term and it's connotations a little embarrassing, to be honest.

I just play whatever games seem fun/interesting to me at the time. I can't think of a specific type of game that I stick to, it's kind of all over the place.


How's that for a vague, non-committal answer?

 

[Mr.Luigi]

The simple fact that it is my main source of entertainment. I play games more than I watch series, movies, read books, comics etc...
While I still love doing all those other things, if I had to choose to have access to only one of them for the rest of my life, it would be games.

 

[DanielBrown]

Trophy addiction
I've played some games during my spare time or at friends places since I was four-five, but it wasn't until I got my 360 and later on PS3 that I got really fucking obsessed. Don't consider myself a gamer though. It's still just a means to kill time. I just happen to have way too much spare time for my own good.

*stares at my huge game collection*

I guess I'd be considered a filthy casual in regular terms. Shitload of games, master of none and I don't really like challenges. I'm awesome at MMOs though, so at least I got that.

 

[GundamSentinel]

I'm mostly a singleplayer gamer (yeah yeah, nonsense about the term 'gamer'. Whatever...). I didn't really grow up with games (really started playing games when I was about 14 years old), so I generally don't care much for older games or modern retro-style games. I like games with a good story line and where developers weren't afraid to tell a story. For instance, games doing a 'choose your own ending'-thing like Deus Ex: HR and Mass Effect 3 is a big no-no for me.

But probably the most important aspects of games for me is atmosphere. The gameplay can be shit, or even the story can take a bit of a back seat, but if the atmosphere feels good I'll play the hell out of it. Games like Demon's Souls, Shadow of the Colossus, Half-Life 2, Metro 2033, Okami and many others all have some combination of setting, lore, art direction and music that makes me enjoy them immensely.

And I'm not talking about immersion here. I very rarely feel 'immersed' in a game like I am the character I'm playing, but a game world has to feel in some way lived in or more than just a sequence of levels set up by the developer. Paradoxically, that makes me both like and dislike open world games. I like them because they allow for a world to be built up beyond the constraints like story or 'levels'. But I dislike them as well because open world games tend to lose that attention to detail and flow that linear games can have. The Elder Scrolls games tend to have this problem for me. I love their worlds, but they sometimes forget to be games (I can literally walk around for hours taking in the sights of Skyrim, but I can't be arsed to clear out another damn Draugr cave).

For me, music plays a very important part in building an atmosphere. In films, music plays a large role in building a setting and a mood, and so it is in games as well. A good soundtrack often makes me a lot more interested in a game.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I wouldn't define myself as a whole as a "gamer." There are lots of things that I devote much more of my time and personality to than videogames. That said I'm not really afraid of the title. It's one of many things that I am. I'd say anyone who takes an interest in gaming as a whole past just playing the Call of Duties and such classifies as a gamer, but it's not a term that defines someone unless that's how they define themselves.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I'm more of a collector really, as I barely play any of the games I purchase.

 

[takemeouttotheblack]

I agree with some of the other posters that I take the label of gamer rather reluctantly, mainly because it's by no means the whole part of what I spend my time doing. I like the fact that I've got quite a diverse spectrum of games, and that I don't really give people grief for their choices in gaming ( sometimes you want FIFA or COD, sometimes you want Skyrim or Dragon Age, both are legit). That said, I'm a pretty unskilled gamer in terms of my personal skill, and I probably don't challenge myself as much as I should. Overall, I'd probably define myself as being a Jack of All Trades Gamer, and certainly a master of none.

 

[Tahaneira]

I really only have two criteria for a game: I find it fun to play, and I like the story it tells. A game doesn't have to have both qualities for me to like it; I can play a game with lackluster story if I find it fun enough (say, Prototype) and I can tolerate bad or mediocre gameplay if I like the story enough (Metro 2033). Story can mean a lot of things; good plot, interesting characters, deep setting and world-building (I'm kind of addicted to world-building). Fun gameplay varies; parkour is a good way to grab my interest, and I like RPG mechanics, so I tend to gravitate to games that involve those.

So long as a game matches one or both of those criteria, I will play it.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

90% snip
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How's that for a vague, non-committal answer?

Perfect, thanks, I'll steal it.
Okay, so adding something to not be judged for low-content posting...singleplayer mostly, wish local multiplayer would make a comeback.

 

[gamer_parent]

My gaming is entirely defined by my utter lack of time to actually play it. I have a kid and a desire for a career, which now eats up 90% of my time, and that leaves me preciously little time as it is to pursue my other hobbies.

I still LIKE gaming, and as it turns out, my career has sparked an interest in gaming industry analysis and gaming industry investment, so it sort OF works. But that's more of my role in the gaming industry, and less as a gamer.

As a gamer? I might get one hour in a week if I get lucky. And when I do get to play, you can be damn sure it's going to be something that sees quick feedback. (i.e. I can't play JRPGs now a days)

 

[GalanDun]

Mostly my dedication to it as a media form and my dedication to improving the industry.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Games are my most prolific hobby, so I'd call myself a gamer on that basis.

I wouldn't say that I was a hardcore gamer though because for the most part I play easy games (or games on easy mode), I tend to shy from multiplayer games or co op games and I never consider myself part of any specific gaming community.

Thing is I wouldn't consider myself a casual gamer either because I don't just play Angry birds or "cow clickers" or your yearly iterations or whatever "core" game seems to enter mainstream for whatever reason (like Skyrim or GTA). I play some of those examples sure, but I play pretty much all types of games if they take my fancy.

 

[Ryleh]

As a full time postgraduate student with a part time job and a freelancing business I rarely get time to sit down and do some hard out gaming, so I generally play short games on steam (<10 hours) or wee time wasters. That being said I'm slowly working my way through GTA V, but playing anything console based is mega rare for me. Started playing Tiny Tower on my phone after watching one of the Expo panels. Damn you Yahtzee.

 

[J.McMillen]

I've considered myself a gamer since I got my first D&D set for Christmas nearly 30 years ago. Then came Star Frontiers, Battletech, Talisman, and many others.

 

[Exhuminator]

When it comes to gaming, I'm a montivagant renaissance man. I like challenges, I like variety.