You call yourself a Gamer?!?

[Mafoobula]

I went to Origin PC and bought a laptop that cost ~$3,200.
Yeah, I suck at fighting games, save for the occasional epic Super Smash Brothers win. Yeah, as a rule I just don't like sports games, with the sole exception of SSX Tricky, a snowboarding game I played on the Gamecube. Yeah, I don't generally dig the modern brown&grey shooters that put ludicrous emphasis on the online portion, though there are a few gems among the other crap, certainly.
On the other hand, I paid over three grand so I can thoroughly enjoy every game that comes out for the next 10 years, starting with Skyrim and Bioshock Infinite and ending with... well, who the hell knows where PC gaming will be in 10 years? And that's why I'm prepared for it.

I'm a gamer, god dammit.

If I had regrets, it'd be that for almost my whole life, I was late to the scene. I was forever a generation behind in consoles, and except for Wrath of the Lich King and Starcraft 2, I have never played a game that hadn't already been out for at least half a year. With my shiny new laptop, I'm still playing catch-up. Hell, I'm JUST NOW playing Half-Life 2.

 

[Vault101]

My short attention span, My love of multitasking, the fact that I don't own every console, and my love of girly things which takes time, energy, and money away from it.

Then there's the fact that I only really started gaming when the Xbox 360 game out.

Honestly, sometimes I feel like less of a gamer because i'm girly, and not really a tom boy.

Ninja'd

As much as I would love to spend everyday lost in my game stack, girly things tend to create a divide. It's a choice between a new top or the new game.
I'm not really girly, but I love new clothes

mabye rearranging my spending priorites might do wonders for my wardrobe :/......so I'll put clothes second to action figures...(dont look at me like that)

*sigh* actually its not money I just hate cloths shoping, I was born without the "cloths-obsession" part of my brain or somthing...

in a games/dvd store its all good

clothing store

"hi, need any help?"
"STOP TALKING TO ME YOURE STRESSING ME OUT!! uhh no Im fine thanks"

 

[Nudu]

Well, to me a gamer is someone who engages in the act of gaming and a Gamer is a gamer who is mentioned in a context where a capital first letter is grammatically correct.

 

[Robert Ewing]

Lulzy 'veteran' gamer being so proud of 'being there' when the first video games became popular, selflessly shooting down all the relative new comers because he was there when it all began! MWAHAHA. I WILL ALWAYS BE THE WISEST GAMER, NOT YOU.

You make me laugh, we are all gamers, because we play games with some sort of passion. Get over yourself, it doesn't matter that you are an old gamer, the new generation can always kick your ass.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I'm a gamer.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

I eat, shit and breathe games

 

[New Troll]

That said, I feel out of place whenever Wii party games make an appearance at a gathering. I can only feign interest for so long. Part of me regrets this as I like to stay abreast of current trends in media/tech yadda yadda yadda. Truthfully though, I only have so much time to give to this hobby and I'd rather give it to what I really like.

Haha, this reminds me so much of me at my best friend's place. Every single time I visit, he insists on breaking out that damn Wii... and even if we do end up playing the one and only game I love on that system, the stupid remote makes my hand start hurting after about ten minutes. It's the only thing in the world to do that, so I'm guessing it's subliminal. My subconscious is trying to remind me how much I'd rather be playing anything else.

 

[lord.jeff]

What holds me back from my true potential, the answer is video games and the dozen other pointless but fun things I fill my free time with. Also people arguing for your only a gamer if you do this, your idiots, games are games, fun is fun, just let it be.

 

[New Troll]

Lulzy 'veteran' gamer being so proud of 'being there' when the first video games became popular, selflessly shooting down all the relative new comers because he was there when it all began! MWAHAHA. I WILL ALWAYS BE THE WISEST GAMER, NOT YOU.

You make me laugh, we are all gamers, because we play games with some sort of passion. Get over yourself, it doesn't matter that you are an old gamer, the new generation can always kick your ass.

So... is feeling old or new what keeping you from reaching your full potential to yourself? I know I can relate when I play certain genres. Especially shooters. As much as I love Team Fortress 2, I know I will always feel like a newb while playing. Course that game is probably best if you know how to laugh at yourself. Can think of many other games to play "seriously."

 

[New Troll]

My short attention span, My love of multitasking, the fact that I don't own every console, and my love of girly things which takes time, energy, and money away from it.

Then there's the fact that I only really started gaming when the Xbox 360 game out.

Honestly, sometimes I feel like less of a gamer because i'm girly, and not really a tom boy.

Ninja'd

As much as I would love to spend everyday lost in my game stack, girly things tend to create a divide. It's a choice between a new top or the new game.
I'm not really girly, but I love new clothes

mabye rearranging my spending priorites might do wonders for my wardrobe :/......so I'll put clothes second to action figures...(dont look at me like that)

*sigh* actually its not money I just hate cloths shoping, I was born without the "cloths-obsession" part of my brain or somthing...

in a games/dvd store its all good

clothing store

"hi, need any help?"
"STOP TALKING TO ME YOURE STRESSING ME OUT!! uhh no Im fine thanks"

Haha. I never mind clothes shopping for my son. Can get lost for hours doing so. but when it comes to myself... I glance at the Clearance section while walking by and if nothing jumps out at me right away, then it just isn't meant to be. Worst is shoe shopping because if I am doing so, then I REALLY need new shoes but I get stuck between my need to get a good pair that will last awhile and my desire not to spend that much money on apparel. That $100 could go a long ways on my son... or make a great new harddrive!

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Edit: To me, a "gamer" is someone who plays games while a "Gamer" is someone who goes beyond just playing the game and has dedicated at least some part of his life to the medium.

Meh, semantics. It's all the same thing as far as I'm concerned. Besides how do you differentiate when speaking verbally to someone?

In answer to your question, yeah I consider myself a Gamer since I've been gaming since I was like 6. However lately I've begun to feel like being a Gamer is hardly a condition to be desired.

 

[NoNameMcgee]

Never considered myself a "gamer" because I've associated the term with all those gaming communities, particularly online, that are full of so many anti-social, immature, pretentious judgemental fuckheads that make me want to punch kittens (ie, most of the gaming communities that exist) and I have absolutely no interest in being associated with that. This place is tolerable but half the time I even have to stop posting here just so I don't go insane.

I'm a person who plays games fairly regularly on his PC, I have very few gamer friends and don't subscribe to any aspect of gamer "culture" (I use that word with massive quotation marks btw), I enjoy the Call of Duty and Battlefield multiplayer more than any multiplayer i've ever tried because they're fun, frantic, and theres a sense of progression through unlocks. I don't really like indie games, and I play the majority of games with an Xbox360 controller. I dislike nostalgia and don't have any for anything even though I've been gaming about 12 years now; I judge things by todays standards so I no longer enjoy 90% of old "classic" games, for example, I think Deus Ex is a dated piece of crap compared to any respectably decent game that's come out in the past 5 years. Half-Life 2, Mass Effect 2, and Assassin's Creed 2 are a few of the best games i've ever played.

^ All this will cause conflicting emotions among most "gamers". Some will think I'm still a gamer, most will completely disregard my gamer status because I have different tastes in games than they do. The term is too different among different people and in my mind theres too much of a negative assosiation with the word for me to even want to be called one. I'm just a guy who plays games along with many other things I enjoy doing. and so are most people who play games.

 

[The_Deleted]

I play games with my son (5) all the time. He discovered more in 15 minutes of play time of Driver:SF than I did in a few hours. He got to grips with the shift mechanic in no time and claimed it his best game ever.


I get to play my games when the kids are in bed or out.

 

[RemuValtrez]

I see it as I play games quite often, and I love a lot of them. The fact that more and more people are playing games nowadays make people think that others aren't as much a gamer as they are. As long as you have a game or two that you enjoy, you can consider yourself a gamer.

As for everyone who thinks that there should be a derogatory name for people that aren't "true" gamers due to them just playing because it's what in at the moment, there is a reason why there are ranks to it: Casual gamer to Hardcore gamer.

 

[JesterRaiin]

Why - being an adult - do you care about opinion of others about such trivial subject ?

 

[Voulan]

There is no one definition of 'gamer'. The term has several different connotations, ideologies and structures of feeling associated with it. If you think you're a 'gamer', whatever you wish for that to mean, then you are.

I use the term to show how I have a relatively large knowledge and love for them, and spend some of my time talking to others about them, playing them, etc.

There you go.

EDIT: Honestly, people need to stop with these one-sided terms and definitions. Don't they realize things mean different things to other people? The Signified, and the Signifier?

 

[genericusername64]

I beat demon souls four times, so that should give me a little nerd cred

 

[New Troll]

Meh, semantics. It's all the same thing as far as I'm concerned. Besides how do you differentiate when speaking verbally to someone?

Doubt I'd ever have this conversation verbally, but if I did I'd probably say something like "Hardcore Gamer." Doesn't really matter though because that's not what the conversation is about. Really wouldn't matter. Would just expect better responses on a site like this, more dedicated to Gaming.

In answer to your question, yeah I consider myself a Gamer since I've been gaming since I was like 6. However lately I've begun to feel like being a Gamer is hardly a condition to be desired.

If being a 'Gamer' is not fun then what's the point? This isn't about a label, it's about enjoying life through Gaming. Or in the least, finding a means of 'Escaping.'