Why does "Gamer" = No Love?

I carry around a stigma that makes most people my age and older, gaze upon me like I’m a leper. It's a word that makes all others stare at you like you’re the kid in school that doesn't take baths and spends countless hours with his finger up his nose. It's a word that makes parents cringe and think their child is throwing away their future one button press at a time. Of course the word I'm talking about is: Gamer.

Let's not confuse the term with Casual-gamer.  How most of the world is categorized today, thanks to the iPhone and iPad.

People play this?

Unlike that group of people, I have the ability to work more than just one button/finger at a time. I'm able to customize characters; manage multiple minions in real time at the same time; actually keep track of a story; decide who lives and who dies; and I do all this while leading a somewhat normal life that contains: kids, a job, a wife and friends. That is what I consider a real gamer.

The funny thing is: casual gamers are making life as a real gamer, almost socially acceptable, one nerd at a time. And no matter how much AAA game titles suffer (because of social gaming) in sales, the casual gamer is here to stay.

So why do hardcore gamers get no love?  Why is it, when people hear you play Mass Effect or Skyrim or Bioshock, do they look at you like you have three heads?

Yep, that about sums it up.

It’s because of that.  Like any group, there's always going to be radicals. Now you’re asking: Are “radicals” bad people?  Of course not, they’re just die-hard fans of the genre.  Do they scare the living crap out of non-gamer society?  Unfortunately, yes…most of the time they do.  I say, you love something that much, why not promote for it.

The problem is which stereotype do you think the movies and media depict?  You got it—the radicals.  Are there gamers that stay in their respected gaming-chairs and have their mothers wipe them after they've just crapped in a bed pan?  Maybe. (How else are you supposed to level up?) 

Can you pass the catheter?

Does that mean we're all like that?  No.  There are men out there who masturbate while wearing women's shoes or people who find anime porn hot (seriously, tentacles?)  And in today’s society that might be considered normal, but a person who plays Company of Heroes might need an intervention.  Why?  Console/PC games challenge all parts of your brain.  If you don’t believe me, give Quantum Conundrum a try, and see if that doesn’t make you think.

Do you know how difficult some titles are to play today?  Here's a challenge: take any casual gamer and sit them down to play Xcom: Enemy Unknown or Dark Souls.  See if they can hack it.  I tried to get my wife to play Plants vs. Zombies and couldn't do it.  "There's too much I have to do," she said.  And then went back to playing Happy Jump on the iPad.  If you don't know what Happy Jump is, and you want to laugh, check it out.

Umm...how about no?

Console/PC games are more social than ever.  I like the person who says, “You need to get out and make friends.”  Where else can you trade quips with people from around the world, who share in your hobbies?  Can I go down to the corner and start taking about Gears of War and how many kills I have?  I wouldn’t, if you do that, you might just end up getting mugged and possibly raped.  It’s much safer to stay on the couch and pretend to be a wizard, than going outside with a cape and pointy hat.

I’m a gamer.  But I’m also an artist, writer, musician, engineer, bookworm, and husband.  So yes, I actually might have some intelligence.  It makes me laugh when we're depicted as stupid. Think about it for a second.  Most gamers are the social inept (at least that’s how society views us), and we all know the weird and quiet ones we never talked to in school were always the smartest—right?

Do you know what goes into creating the code that these games use to do basic things, like running forward when we push the thumb-stick up or hit the “W” key?  No, well neither do I, but I hear it’s friggin’ difficult to write.  So these game developers, who love gaming just as much, are what—stupid?  I always wondered if the developers get the same grief we do, when they tell older members of their families they create games.  Because we all know that our parent’s generation and older still think games look like this.

Look at those graphics--top of the line!

Which brings me to my next point: Our games can be very entertaining…just to watch.  You can’t tell me if your friend is playing Hitman: Absolution that you’re not watching.  You want to see just how he handles the same situations you encountered during the way.  Again, try watching someone play Happy Jump.  I give it a few minutes and you'll want to pull out your eyeballs, trying to remove the horrible memories.  Or angry birds, there's a phenomenon I just don't get at all.  You pull the bird back in its sling-shot and release...and people pay to play this?  Really?

But they do.  Most girls play it because it’s simple and fun.  Guys play it to have a conversation with the girls who play it just for fun.  Most men…most, play those games just so they can get next to a girl who’s playing it.  And most of the time ladies, the boy or man considering how you view him, is just sitting there wondering what you look like naked.  He’s not watching you play Angry Birds.

The good thing is the casual gaming girl sparked another cultural phenomenon.  The Cosplay girl.  And if there is ever an angle a gamer-guy should chase in hopes of gaining access to the stairway to heaven, it’s these wonderful ladies.

Your breasts are awesome...hair, I meant hair! Come back.

I wish this was around when I was courting females.  You guys have no idea how lucky you are.  All you have to do is put down your controller/keyboards for a few hours and go introduce yourselves.  You already have a conversation starter—these women are walking/talking/breathing gamers.  The problem is most gamers, since there vocabulary doesn’t extend much further than “Pwned” or “Frag”, turn into bumbling idiots when they’re around these beauties.  Here’s a tip:  just ask them what they like.  You’ll get to remain quiet and not screw it up and they (women in general) get to talk about themselves.  It’s a win-win, situation.  No need to thank me, you’re welcome.  Just every once in a while send a pic to this blog’s email, okay?

Getting back on track: Being a gamer allows me to engage in the simpler stuff in life, like gunning down hoards of enemies with a gun that seems to never run out of bullets or tackling difficult puzzles, all while forgetting the real problems in life.  That’s really the true reason I play: to have a bit of fun and get absorbed into the game, before I have to get back to real life aggravation.

Even though most of us do not except the casual-gamer, and look upon them as the people that are going to destroy console/PC gaming, they are still the people who might one day get you laid.  So don’t we want to keep them around for just a little longer?  (The die-hard WoW & Diablo gamers are looking at this article right now and are debating)

In reality, I know that there are cool gamers out there—male and female—that get on with society and its rules just fine.  This article was written with nothing but fun and humor in mind.  So now that you’ve met your reading quota for today, you can go run and pick up your keyboard/controller and knock yourself out.  Everybody needs love—even gamers.


If you like this article, check out:

The 3 Stages of Gamer Maturity