What is your definition of a "Gamer"?(as in, personality-wise/as a character)

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

To clarify, this question is more about what you think of when you hear/see the word, what sort of archetype, ie: is it the screaming CoD-kiddie who only plays that and Fifa/Madden? Is it a person who only ever purchases indie games and maybe one AAA game per year?

Is a gamer to you, irrational, wise, over-protective, understanding?

Simply put, what is a "Gamer" to you?

To me, it is the folks over here at the Escapist; nice people who are knowledgeable on a lot of various topics who have a passion for a specific franchise, but not overbearing.

Nice people, basically(if a bit too eager to get into dead-end/pointless arguments).

EDIT: whilst reading the replies, I am a bit dissapointed that people only responded to the title, not reading my original post.

To clarify, What is a gamer, in terms of personality, as a person? What sort of characteristics in their behaviour come to mind upon hearing them identify as such?

 

[BloatedGuppy]

How to become a gamer in three easy steps:

1. Play a game of any kind.
2. Self-identify as a gamer.
3. Defend yourself from endless accusations that you're not a REAL gamer because of reasons.

 

[shrekfan246]

How to become a gamer in three easy steps:

1. Play a game of any kind.
2. Self-identify as a gamer.
3. Defend yourself from endless accusations that you're not a REAL gamer because of reasons.

Dammit.

I wanted to be the ninja.

To clarify, this question is more about what you think of when you hear/see the word, what sort of archetype

I think of the screaming denizens of the internet who get into typed slapfights because somebody had the audacity to like something they don't.

That's not to say I've never gotten into heated arguments where I lost my cool before. Just that the first thing that tends to come to mind when I hear the word "gamer" is the people who flipped their shit over the pre-release images of New!Dante, or the people who claim that Call of Duty or World of Warcraft are killing the industry, or the people who spitefully throw bile at EA regardless of whatever the news actually is, or the people who elevate simple threads into massive flame wars because PCs are obviously objectively better than consoles and anyone who thinks otherwise is just too stupid to build a PC, or because of the endless aforementioned "reasons" Guppy said that people can come up with for why somebody isn't a "Real Gamer[sup]TM[/sup]".

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

How to become a gamer in three easy steps:

1. Play a game of any kind.
2. Self-identify as a gamer.
3. Defend yourself from endless accusations that you're not a REAL gamer because of reasons.

Dammit.

I wanted to be the ninja.

To clarify, this question is more about what you think of when you hear/see the word, what sort of archetype

I think of the screaming denizens of the internet who get into typed slapfights because somebody had the audacity to like something they don't.

That's not to say I've never gotten into heated arguments where I lost my cool before. Just that the first thing that tends to come to mind when I hear the word "gamer" is the people who flipped their shit over the pre-release images of New!Dante, or the people who claim that Call of Duty or World of Warcraft are killing the industry, or the people who spitefully throw bile at EA regardless of whatever the news actually is, or the people who elevate simple threads into massive flame wars because PCs are obviously objectively better than consoles and anyone who thinks otherwise is just too stupid to build a PC, or because of the endless aforementioned "reasons" Guppy said that people can come up with for why somebody isn't a "Real Gamer[sup]TM[/sup]".

I thought that this would be fun ;(

Then again I forgot about the current gaming-social climate.

I blame EA.

 

[shrekfan246]

I thought that this would be fun ;(

Then again I forgot about the current gaming-social climate.

I blame EA.

Apologies.

My "fun" meter was all drained when EA closed their freemium mobile branch today.

That damn EA.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I believe the definition of 'gamer' is very simple.

A gamer is anyone who plays video games and is interested in the entertainment medium in the form of a hobby and beyond (work, competition, etc.).

The degree to which someone identifies themselves as a gamer is both varying and subjective (i.e. casual gamers and hardcore gamers). To this extent, not everyone who plays casual games are clueless about gaming as an entertaining medium and not all hardcore gamers are sages, full of knowledge, experience, and wealth in and out of the video gaming world.

In short, those who legitimately enjoy playing games, regardless of their level of difficulty or dedication to the entertainment medium, are gamers.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

I believe the definition of 'gamer' is very simple.

A gamer is anyone who plays video games and is interested in the entertainment medium in the form of a hobby and beyond (work, competition, etc.).

The degree to which someone identifies themselves as a gamer is both varying and subjective (i.e. casual gamers and hardcore gamers). To this extent, not everyone who plays casual games are clueless about gaming as an entertaining medium and not all hardcore gamers are sages, full of knowledge, experience, and wealth in and out of the video gaming world.

In short, those who legitimately enjoy playing games, regardless of their level of difficulty or dedication to the entertainment medium, are gamers.

I kind of wanted to know what kind of personality comes to mind with the word "Gamer".

But since anyone can be one, I suppose that query is null.

 

[skywolfblue]

How to become a gamer in three easy steps:

1. Play a game of any kind.

2. Enjoyed at least one game.

And that would be my two-step definition. So I pretty much agree with you spot on. It doesn't even have to be a video game, if someone plays chess once in their life and enjoyed it they can be a "gamer" too. That makes nearly everyone a gamer, an attitude I wish more people would adopt instead of all the hating and excluding that currently goes on in the gaming community.

 

[krazykidd]

How to become a gamer in three easy steps:

1. Play a game of any kind.
2. Self-identify as a gamer.
3. Defend yourself from endless accusations that you're not a REAL gamer because of reasons.

Woohoo , that makes me not a gamer , which is awsome , i'm missing 2 and 3 .

To clarify , i don't want to associate myself with " gamers " , i would have 10 years ago ( when i was 14 ), but now i don't want anything to do with "gaming culture". I play games every day , sometimes for 6 - 10 hours a day in my free time . I read gaming news , look up upcoming games ,played and completed hundreds of gaming , owned over 10 consoles/ handhelds , been playing video games since i was 2 and participated in tournaments . However , if anyone asks me if i'm a gamer , i always say no . I refuse to associate myself with the whiny , entitled , elitest people who call themselves gamers or even worst hardcore/real gamers .

Gamer has such a ( rightly so ) negative connotation , that i wonder who would even want to be a part of that group . Flaming , trolling , insulting , whining , raging are all traits of the " gamer " culture , and i want no part of it and i don't want anyone else to associate me with that.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I believe the definition of 'gamer' is very simple.

A gamer is anyone who plays video games and is interested in the entertainment medium in the form of a hobby and beyond (work, competition, etc.).

The degree to which someone identifies themselves as a gamer is both varying and subjective (i.e. casual gamers and hardcore gamers). To this extent, not everyone who plays casual games are clueless about gaming as an entertaining medium and not all hardcore gamers are sages, full of knowledge, experience, and wealth in and out of the video gaming world.

In short, those who legitimately enjoy playing games, regardless of their level of difficulty or dedication to the entertainment medium, are gamers.

I kind of wanted to know what kind of personality comes to mind with the word "Gamer".

But since anyone can be one, I suppose that query is null.

My apologizes.

Quite frankly, there are several personality types that can constitute that of a gamer.

Spoiler: Wonder and Imagination

The first and more commonly associated personality type is the sense of wonder and imagination.

The feeling of experiencing a new world or gameplay that is contained withing a single game makes us excited and anxious to play the game. This alone can make someone a gamer, regardless if they intend to complete the game or just play in the world for a while.

Spoiler: Challenging and Completion

There are also those with a sense of challenge and the need to complete tasks.

This can be attributed to those who feel the need to undertake every quest, unearthed every secrete, triumph over every challenge, and acquire every achievement the game has to offer. Completing a game in its entirety can result in a feeling of satisfaction and joy. Those who want more of a challenge, they will attempt to speed run or complete the game with handicaps and self-imposed limitations.

Spoiler: Competitive

Let's not forget that with any medium there is always room for those who thrive on competition.

Whether it's for fun or in a serious competitive sense, a lot of gamers feel the need to challenge themselves and prove their skills to others. Be it friends, leader boards, social networks, or annual competitions, competitive gamers are every bit as serious and determined as competitors of other mediums. The best part of this personality type is that it can apply to any game genre (be it RPGs, Shooters, Fighting games, Puzzle games, etc.).

Spoiler: Creativity

Last but not least, there the sense to create and express one's self through video games.

This is certainly one of the more prominent personality types, as it showcases gaming as more than a medium where people play games to have fun or compete. Having the ability to create within an already established world allows to to immerse yourself into the actual medium and demonstrate your creativity and passion. From creating modern hits on Mario Paint Composer or displaying towering 8-bit gaming icons on Minecraft, creativity knows no bounds in the gaming world.

If there is anything else that I might have left out, feel free to add on.

 

[Hero of Lime]

It's simple for me. You play games and you identify gaming as your main hobby, or at least one of them. It does not matter what system you play on, or how long you have been playing games, if you like video games enough you are a gamer.

 

[Aesir23]

Mine is quite simple. Just play video games.

Anyone who feels that someone needs to meet some sort of specific criteria to qualify as a "real gamer" really should get their head checked. Preferably after it has been forcefully removed from their rear end.

 

[Thebazilly]

Looking through other people's responses, here's how I'd put it:

1. Played and enjoyed at least one video game
2. Considers playing a video game or games one of their preferred hobbies

It primarily falls upon the individual to decide if they are or are not a gamer.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Everyone knows the one true criteria for being a gamer is arguing with other gamers about what a gamer is.

Petty things like "playing games" are irrelevant.

 

[New Frontiersman]

A gamer is a person who plays games. I suppose if you want to get pedantic, it would be a person who plays video games as opposed to tabletop games, sports, casino games or board games.

Other than that it really doesn't take anything, and why should it?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

To me a gamer is somebody who plays video games as a hobby.

 

[Zhukov]

"Somebody who spends way too much time contemplating what constitutes a "gamer", usually to the complete indifference of the world at large."

 

[runic knight]

Same as required to be a film buff for movies or a hunter for... err, hunting. You have to participate, have passion for and return to it with at least some degree of regularity (Hard to call yourself a film buff now if the last movie you saw was 5 years ago? I think the same would apply to gamers).
Note, that this says nothing about what types of games, how much is paid, how much time is spent every day, how involved in the communities or anything else. To be a game you just have to play games, have passion for it and participate every once in a while. In that regard, I think the classification is no different then any other hobby.