Modern Day Gamer Documentary

Simon Bysshe writes "I'm a UK film student, and have recently released a freely downloadable video documentary called 'Modern Day Gamer'. In it, I use interviews from a LAN party I went to in Brighton to try to address the main pre-conceptions people have about gamers, ie: is it really anti-social? is it only for geeks? is it a non-productive use of time?" We've also rustled up a BitTorrent link at Gametab and another BitTorrent link courtesy Jamuraa for this 75mb DivX file.

Comments

pre-conceptions

[frieked]

In it, I use interviews from a LAN party I went to in Brighton to try to address the main pre-conceptions people have about gamers

I think it would be more productive to interview non-gamers to address these pre-conceptions but as a gamer, here are my thoughts on this:

Being a gamer I'd have to agree with many pre-conceptions people have about us in
most cases... There are however exceptions and not everyone falls into the category of geek, nerd or loser (as those are probably the most common pre-conceptions people have about gamers).

As for the anti-social part, it is and it isn't. Gotta have friends to play with but often that's the extent of one's activities.

And finally the unproductive use of time: Well, it may be less productive than say...building a house but if you're doing something you enjoy I don't see how you can be going wrong... at least gaming takes some thought and skill unlike some other forms of entertainment.

is it a non-productive use of time?

[stefanlasiewski]

is it a non-productive use of time?

If it's a game, I think it's not productive by definition :)

This is fine. Not everything in life has to be productive. If you're trying to be 'productive' 100% of the time, you're going to end up as a miserable shriveled heap hiding under the sheets all day.

I'm 30, and many people I know are starting to break down and have midlife crises' because their work is their life.

We all need to take a break and have fun.

So go play. Don't worry about being 'productive'.

But if you REALLY want to document Lan-parties, you need to include "Smell-o-vision" (TM)!!!

Let's step back for a moment

[Tarindel]

Why do we as a society label everything that's addictive or causes antisocial behavior as intrinsicly bad?

First off, let me state flat out I'm a video game addict. I play a lot of games, it's what I like to do when I get home from work, and I occasionally do it to the detriment of other things in my life (like the dishes in my sink are about to get up and walk away if I don't clean them soon). While I do play a fair number of online games, I also play single games because sometimes I just don't feel like dealing with people. Usually this is after work, when I'm tired and maybe a little cranky. Trust me, my friends are much happier when I lose myself in a good anti-social video game than when I'm tired and try to hang out with them.

There are lots of different kinds of people. Some people are totally energized by social interactions, others aren't. I'm somewhat in the middle -- if I don't get much social interaction or spend too many days in the house, I start to crave it. But if I spend too many days out and about with friends, I wear down. I get tired of it. I need some time off to myself to refresh my batteries.

So what am I getting at? I'm a games addict, and I'm antisocial at times. I've turned down requests to go out with friends because I was too busy being caught up in a game. But taken as a whole, I'd consider my life to be pretty normal. I work a full-time job, I go out with friends at least 3 times a week, I'm dating a nice girl, I find the time to cook myself dinner a couple times a week, I make it a point to do exercise at least every other day, etc...

The point is, while these activities may not be particularily healthy in and of themselves, they're a vital part of my fairly balanced life. They make me happy, they keep me going, they keep me wanting to go out and be social and do all the things that are considered stereotypically healthy.

It's all about keeping the balance. If addictive or anti-social behavior isn't throwing your balance totally out of whack, then so what?

Are gamers anti-social? Some are always. Some are sometimes. Is it only for geeks? Probably not, though a lot of people will bother to try. Is it a non-productive use of time? Are doing activities that help keep me happy considered non-productive?

There are plenty of other well accepted anti-social, potentially addictive activities that don't have negative stigma: reading is a good example.

It seems to me interviewing geeky lan-party-going gamers about these things is the wrong way to go. You'd be better off interviewing non-stereotypical gamers and presenting that to non-gamers to reinforce the view that such activities aren't limited to one subset of the population that happens to be anti-social addicts.