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Gamers Aren't (Always) Geeks
wo1verin3 writes "CNN is reporting that not all gamers are the anti-social folk they are hyped to be by parents and the media. Roughly two-thirds of college students play video games, but the image of a nerdy guy who spends all day in a dimly lit room blowing up computer-generated bad guys is off base, according to a new study. Full story here."
It's true. And when I was in university, all my friends who were ravers, punk rockers and football players were seriously into games like starcraft and quake.
The difference is that, although they played them heavily, none of them would have dreamed of subscribing to a gaming magazine or going to a LAN party or gaming event.
Point being, the gamers that we tend to call "hard-core" are the ones who look to video games to provide them with a social life or community of friends through things such as mailing lists, on-line forums and even live events. These are the gamers who are almost inevitably "geeks".
The gamers who are the "cool kids" see gaming as something that they do for fun but which isn't really an important part of their life. They see it this way because they get their social life and sense of community from other things such as sports, fraternities or concerts.
lysergically yours
New discovery: not all stereotypes are valid!
Not all netadmin's are geeks either. Some of them are MCSEs.
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
CNN has "Surprising findings about video game players"
:)
Well, if you are a 40+ year old person who uses the computer only to play Solitaire and solve spreadsheets, yes, that could be surprising (the fact that most computer players are NOT geeks or recluses).
This should however come as a natural for everybody who maybe learned to type sooner than (s)he could handwrite...
The "game world" is just an extension of the real world, with several advantages (interaction possibilities, a huge potential community, somebody "available" to talk to at any given time) and disadvantages (Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna' get (F.Gump) - never know who will be or how will be the next person you encounter and interact with).
I hope I don't need to remind anybody that information can be both a curse or a blessing, and that's what you get when you're "on-line-gaming" - sometimes too much information... It's up to you to deal with it.
In conclusion: everybody's playing, has played or will be playing...something... sooner or later. There are no limits to the categories that will play computer games.
So, stop acting surprised
On-line games are all about interaction and socual aspects, how do you expect to find somebody else playing it?
I mean, you wouldn't expect to find nuns playing American football, but you would definetely expect mathematicians playing chess...
By reading this signature you agree to not disagree with the post you just read.
There are a few meanings of the word "anti-social", everything from mass murdering rapists and software pirates, to people who prefer their own company. I will accept that the mass murdering rapist type definition of anti-social as being bad, but this does not appear to be the topic of the article. For the purpose of this post, consider anti-social to mean someone who prefers their own company.
What I do not understand is why people who prefer their own company are considered somehow "broken". I do not know of any facet of human physiology which REQUIRES other human contact beyond a base desire to procreate. Why is there such a bad connotation to being anti-social?
Society itself does not need a hive mind. In fact, I would argue just as strongly that it is dangerous, irresponsible and something we all should actively try to prevent in our children. The world needs independent thinkers, people who think outside the box and come up with original solutions. People who don't let the hive mind dictate their response. Somehow I see from high school that civics classes about the glory of democracy has led people to a very wrong conclusion: that the majority is always right. That's such a horribly incorrect thought that is so pervasive (esp in MTV pop-culture) that it makes me want to lock myself in a room and slay myself with a BFG-10k.
I am hard pressed to come up with any thing the hive MIND has produced that has either been correct or somehow useful. The hive mind has historically resulted in: slavery, bigotry, religion (in the "belief in unfounded/unproven philosophy in the face of contrary evidence" sense), senseless wars, mass murder, and most horribly reality television. Let's face it, "society" is valuable only as a workforce commodity. When it comes to thinking, we're better off with Forrest Gump than any 10 people.
Why is it that those who choose to not "join in" are persecuted? I contribute to the whole, and I make it possible for us all to walk forward. I do so just as much as the next guy. I am not taking anything away by not talking to you. Even if I firmly believe that you are all incredibly stupid and not worth my time, I'm not really hurting you am I? As long as I do my job & earn my keep, I have fulfilled my obligation to others. Leave us alone.
Geez, you people sure do take your games seriously. What was the conversion like? Did you have to be baptized again?
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The geek/gamer revolution is really incredible, and an insane (probably not isolated) case of what happens when teen gamers grow up can be found in the evolution of the (recently troubled! hosting issues) tribalwar.com forum community.
This largely teen/early twenties group of gamers started off like any other gaming community, but they just blasted off from there. The LAN's these guys have organized have had 200-300 attendees, and they ALL KNOW EACH OTHER! Some of these kids are growing up, getting good jobs, and they're all helping each other out, staying in touch. They go out for a night of clubbing in New York -- and they bring their digital cameras to document it, and they post their pictures on the forums for others to live vicarously through them. "Pics or it didn't happen" has become a mantra there.
They help each other find apartments, sometimes even jobs, they room together, and they have LAN's whenever the urge arises.
An interesting example: one member of the TW community grew up and joined the Navy. With all of the money he's been saving, he was able to buy a beachfront house and property in the Florida Keys, all while being a 'internet geek'. He grew up, got responsible, and has more girls than he can handle (pics or it didn't happen) -- and he's a gamer geek. He's on the forums, he's playing the games. And he opened his house to ANYONE in the game community that could make it down to Florida, for a massive "Beach Party Extravaganza".
From the 35-year-old dude who wielded a claymore as UVALAN's "Security guard" (CF I think), to the people that proudly post pictures of their brand new BMW's, houses, chic 4-star restaurants, and children -- this is a community with a great proportion of thriving, economically stable, responsible people, who also happen to be part of a massive gaming subculture.
At what point do these people stop being "geeks"? At what point does the gaming "subculture" stop being "sub"?
If I enjoy playing golf, am I not a golfer even if I don't play every weekend? Likewise, am I not a paintballer if I don't play every weekend.
If I am not mistaken this is what adjectives were made for. "Avid Gamer" "Obsessed Gamer" IMHO, the fringe should not define the majority. The CNN story simple states that not all people who play games are anti-social geeks who do not interact with the greater society outside of LAN parties and online chat.
My clan has an architect who surfs, a storm chaser, a cop who is an angler, a psychiatrist, mothers, fathers, and even a grandfather in addition to the programmers and sysadmins. You don't have to be a full time hermit to be a gamer.
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