Tuesday, April 10, 2012

I is for Identity and Gaming Stereotypes

What does it actually mean to identify yourself as a gamer?  What do the non-gamers of the world think of us? Does it matter?

I identify myself as a hardcore gamer. To me that means "playing a lot of games and keeping up with every bit of gaming news."   But that also means a lot of stereotypes are thrown your way. 

Every December, Spike TV has the Video Game Awards. And even though I watch them, there are always some cringe worthy moments. Moments where I think "oh god, this is how the rest of the world see us."  Prime example this past year, that ranty blogger who they gave way too much time to. I know we gamers can be quite the angry bunch. But, I don't think showcasing a person who acts like they really have a few screws loose is a good idea.  Especially when every few months some pseudo-scientific study tries to warn the world about how video games makes people violent.


Identifying yourself as a hardcore gamer also seems to imply you hate casual games and the people who play them. While I may joke a lot about being a "gaming snob,"  I certainly don't hate quality casual  games or the people who play them more than they play RPGs or FPSs. (But, I will never consider Farmville and its long list of clones "games")

And apparently identifying yourself as a gamer means you have no social life, job, family, or offline friends.


Of course, these gaming stereotypes are all nonsense. But when year after year, the mainstream media decides to parade around the worst, while ignoring the diversity and creativity of the rest of the gaming community, it doesn't help.

7 comments:

  1. Farmville is still a game :p

    However, I agree that stereotyping gamers does way too much harm. There is a LOT of diversity out there. I can think of many people I know who would consider themselves hardcore gamers, but that is the only thing they have in common!

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  2. I hate gaming sterotypes, especially ones that assume that because I like fantasy RPGs I'm a virgin with no friends who lives in my parents' basement.

    The world has moved forwards in so many other ways, it needs to be more progressive with games too!

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  3. You're right on the money. I completely agree. Great post!

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  4. There are always a handful to give a group a bad name! :-(

    New follower here. I’m enjoying reading my fellow “A to Z”ers. I look forward to visiting again.

    Sylvia
    http://www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/

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  5. I'm about two days behind so apologies if my comments arn't up to date.

    It's freaky how we both went for I's that relate to how us gamers are seen by the outside world. ^_^

    /PassionateGamersFTW!
    /Wes

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  6. There are many gamers out there who like to tell me that I'm NOT one, even though I play a ton of video games, just because I choose Final Fantasy over Call of Duty. The other stereotype, that I must suck at the games I play because I'm a girl, is actually kind of fun to disprove... although it's sad to me that even the gaming community can't get past those kinds of labels.

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    Replies
    1. Final Fantasy games are awesome. Whoever told you that has got serious issues!

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