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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.
is it really anti-social?
;)
Kinda of. You can't cal a conversation about quad whoring a deep and meaningful conversation
is it only for geeks?
Not really but geeks are the only ones who know how to string a LAN together network-wise.
is it a non-productive use of time?
Yes but so is reading Slashdot....
Very true.
/., Video Games Boost Visual Skills
There are some gamers who make a living off of playing games and there are others that lose a lot of money playing games such as college students.
As for the friends, with the advent of internet bsed multiplayer games friends are not require, but it is more fun if you are playing someone you know.
Video gaming can be productive for one example read this previous thread on
On a related note, a couple months ago I was walking through the field behind our public library and I came across about a dozen geeks dressed in real authentic medieval knights' costumes. They had swords and were having sword fights and what not. Pretty interesting, instead of watching a game, they were actually doing it.
As for the friends, with the advent of internet bsed multiplayer games friends are not require, but it is more fun if you are playing someone you know.
That's putting it mildly, IMHO.
I've played MUDs and most of the MMOG's out there, and more or less burned out on them.
But, having said that, I think the biggest deterrent to that is having either a regular group of "real" (as in real-life) people to play with (and/or against), or a *very* regular group of people you know online (or, obviously, a mix).
I just couldn't stand the leveling grind again these days, not playing with essentially strangers, at least. But I probably *could* still enjoy it with the right group of people. Right means regular, reasonably skilled, and reasonably entertaining in ways that have very little to do with the game itself. It still seems (to me) that purely-online contacts can only carry that out but so far...
Xentax
You shouldn't verb words.
The documentary didn't seem all that helpful to me. Just a couple of gamers defending themselves, but there's not much substance. Though I'd never heard of "Diabalo II." =)
I'm a gamer (though not as serious as these guys), but since none of my friends play, it is a bit antisocial. But, then again, since they don't want to play that's just as much their fault. Or something like that. I'd think playing a game for a couple of hours with friends is FAR better than going to a movie... since it's dark and you can't talk, it's no different than if you went by yourself.
But I play my games for the story, generally. So the way I see it, playing an RPG is like reading a good book (or a bad book, as the case may be). I also like strategy games, and those are possibly the most "intelligent" games there are. I've certainly learned more from Civilization II and Starcraft than I have from lots of things we do in school....
I agree, and I'm sure most computer engineers or programmers would agree as well.
We grew up playing with this new technology, and in the mind of a child, there's no bounds to the amount of time you have to explore, take things apart, put them back together, etc. And that's the mind of an engineer or programmer of computers. So "wasting" my time on my parent's 286 getting games to run from the command line ('cause there wasn't much in the way of GUI's back then) certainly got me hooked on computers, and made me smarter than the average Joe computer user because my games required the latest, greatest tech in the computer world. That made me learn what I needed, and why I needed it rather quickly, because without the different upgrades and tweaks applied to the computer I couldn't play my games to their fullest.
And look at those who design games now: people with Master's and PHD's in Math, Physics, etc. Not to mention the highly creative minds it takes to come up with some of the better games over the years, like Tetris, Super-Mario Bro.'s, the Civilization series, all those flight sims, etc.
A couple of years ago, a friend's mother, Kathy Ahsby, did a short little documentary/opinion piece for Outfront on CBC radio. The archive is here.
This was back when we were really into CS (and we still were, right up until we split up around the time we went to university).
Kinda hilarious, because there's audio takes from the particular party in question (which I sadly missed).
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
I used to get bagged on for spending a lot of time and money for my hobbies, but I work to have money for things I enjoy - sometimes those things that I enjoy lead to more work, too. If you enjoy gaming, then that is justification enough. Who cares what someone else thinks? Some of the best times in University I had at lan parties. I don't think they're that anti-social either; Then again, I don't usually pay much attention to what other people think, either.
I wish some of my other hobbies were as inexpensive as the unlimited entertainment machine that is the computer. At least you are thinking, but hey - if sitting in front of a TV and drinking beer makes you happy, all the power to you. I think we're only the second, maybe first real generation to have those options. You don't need a lot of money to be happy playing computer games. Now that I think about it, in general, you don't need very much money to be happy.
For what some of my friends pay in rent every month to live in a hot spot socially - you can have one bitchin' computer.
*shrug*
..don't panic
P3 850 MHz, 256 MB of RAM, GeForce3
I once reviewed PC games for gaminghorizon.com. It was easily the most fun I ever had writing, mainly because it was the first time more than a couple people would be reading something I wrote. Due to my shocking talent of being able to post on slashdot quite regularly but not being able to meet deadlines for GHZ, I am no longer part of their staff.
It's probably for the best, since I doubt I could review modern PC games for much longer with this humble system, and with my current financial status an upgrade isn't likely. PC gaming is not really a cheap hobby, but because of that it is always on the bleeding edge, unlike consoles which are supposed to have a life span of about 5 years.
As for console fans out there, I recommend Blizzard's PC games (yeah I know bnetd dmca blah) but their games are always designed with very straightforward interfaces, and could help to convert console gamers to PC. I've had some success with this method. ;)
"To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -Stephen Hawking
I'm a lowly bench warming lineman on my high school's football team (still a geek, though). One day, before practice started, I overheard the team's star running back (who's more recently gotten a football scholarship to a major US college) explaining the difference between IP, HTTP and FTP to another jock (good private school, so everybody had some basics). Surprised at his interest, I later asked him about his interest in computers, and he explained it was primarily gaming. And, no, not just the newest, shiny shooters, we discussed 15 hour Civilization (the first 2) binges, and other classics, without the "ooh, shiny!" or "look at those fuggin' intestines splatter!" one would expect of the stereotypical jock. He didn't go so far as Everquest, or Nethack (he did have a life befitting a sports star, after all), but the point is anyone can be a gamer.