Are We Gamers?

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by Jack Gardner on September 12, 2012 at 07:00 PM

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*Warning: generalizations ahead*

The culture that has grown up around video games is an interesting one to say the least. It supposedly originated when people who felt excluded or estranged from mainstream society went off and created nerd/geek communities of people who shared similar interest in video games. From these communities various cultural icons arose and shaped popular culture into what it is today. Somewhere along the way, video games and the nerd became the new bread and butter of mainstream culture.

Everyone and their mother now plays video games in some form and can access a game on almost any electronic device. You would be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t play Angry Birds on their phone, iPad, or what-have-you. Not only this, but mainstream society now openly caters to the nerd and geek community. There are video game themed nightclubs and bars; video game clothing is chic; video game art and museum exhibits pop up all around the United States; and video game streams and events get more attention than big sporting events. Heck, some of the richest and most powerful people in the United States come directly from nerd culture and have staggering amounts of money at their disposal. The nerd has become the norm and everyone plays video games.

Despite this, people still use the word “gamer” as if it somehow classifies them into a certain social group. I might be wrong, but this might stem from an unconscious urge to retain that aloofness that initially created video game culture. Hardcore gamers and casual gamers are placed in separate groups based off of what kind of games they chose to play. Many a hardcore gamer will look at you with scorn if you tell them that you enjoy cultivating the fields of your FarmVille. Extolling the virtues of Dark Souls or a similar title will earn you puzzled befuddlement from a casual gamer. I have a feeling that deep down, whether consciously or unconsciously, a lot of people identify with one or the other kind of gamer.

But why?

If everyone plays video games, what makes us gamers different from everyone else? We are people who enjoy games. We are not (or at least should not be) identified by the type of media that we enjoy. I have the deepest respect and love for video games, but I am not defined or labeled by the games I play anymore than I am by the music I listen to or the movies I watch. We are part of a community that loves video games. Let us share that appreciation and enthusiasm without limiting it to a miniscule social area. We don’t need to hide our hobby and entertainment of choice behind social walls and labels. We are people who enjoy video games and video games are a great entertainment medium.

What do you think? Does the term gamer still have relevance in today’s society? Or are we in a post-gamer society?

I think, more than anything it's about cultural identity.

In the wake of the internet, and especially now where so many people are steeped within it (often to the point where they rarely if ever are not checking/updating facebook/twitter/what have you) the more traditional borders of culture (whether you're black or white, Christian or Jewish, speak English or Japanese, so on and so forth) have ultimately been blurred.

This is not something that is unique to "gamer culture", there are many types of people that identify with other types of people solely based on an ultimately trivial interest, whether it's "Beliebers", "Punks", "Metalheads", "Gamers", Bronies, etcetra.

Bottom line, the internet has allowed an unprecedented amount of exposure to other people that share the same interests, with that being the case there has been the predictable desire to further create sub-cultures within a culture, an even narrower definition of shared interests and therefore association.

Really, this is nothing new to human nature, if you've taken any sort of sociological classes there are distinct patterns in how people gravitate towards one another (formerly heavily influenced by religious belief) and form bonds. With the internet, and the incredibly social aspect of online gaming, it's only natural that the divides between certain people (in this case gamers) would become sharper and sharper.

I don't "really" believe in the hardcore vs casual debate, as it shoots incredibly low in describing what is actually going on. There people who identify as shooter gamers, jrpg gamers, sports gamers, mobile device gamers, etc, and the subconscious benefit they get from labelling themselves that way is knowing they're not alone in enjoying (believing) in what they play (do).

The walls of the former cultural divides crumble when people find out they're not so different from one another (again, whether you're black or white, American or Japanese, etc etc), but, of course, we just build walls of a new cultural identity based on a common interest/belief/what have you. It's completely natural, and up to this point and for the forseeable future in our evolution, inevitable.

Great blog, and nice to see someone question the terms, even if it does nothing to ease the tension between the identities.

Comments

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by BlackHeartedWolf Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 07:11 PM

As I said a long time ago, if you feel you are a gamer then you are one. It's about personal feelings more than anything else. In that way we're post-gamers so to speak. However I think we're still a bit different than the usual people. That much is at least for sure.
Mod

by mojomonkey12 Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 07:31 PM

I think that gamer certainly has relevance, but by and large, it has changed.

I don't know though, that the people that do play(exclusively) Farmville and the like do consider themselves gamers. I think that they are counted in the demographic, but if you asked them if they are a gamer, my sense is that they may eventually say yes, but only after thinking about it.

I also don't think that being described as a gamer means the same as it used to, so in that sense, it has lost some of it's...meaning? I mean, gamer can describe so many different people now, where 10 years ago, it pretty much meant video games as we know them.

I say gamer more as a general term, not something that I wear as a badge. It just easily describes a big part of my life, but not who I am.
Mod

by Kyle Wadsworth Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 07:38 PM

I prefer being labeled a gamer than some other categorization that takes into account my heritage, sexual orientation, gender, nationality, etc. And frankly, "gamer" is an all encompassing label as you point out. The community of gamers is heterogeneous, without borders or other demarcation. For that reason alone, it's a democratic, egalitarian label that I'm proud to wear. It might indeed apply to so many people as to seem irrelevant, and perhaps it suggests an end to labels, but until that's the case, I'm happy to be called a gamer. ; )
by Handman Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 07:42 PM

I know people who hate video games and think that the people who play them, even for a couple hours a day, are wasting their life. Not just old people, but younger people too. Therefore, since not everyone plays, or even likes, video games (as you say in your blog) the term gamer is still relevant. To me, if you call yourself a gamer it just means that you like to play video games, in the same way the term moviegoer means you like to go to the movies.
by Daniel Jones Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 08:53 PM

Hmm I wonder where the inspiration for this blog came from... But it doesn't matter because it was a great blog. I think the term gamer is just something that has stuck and will remain for as long as gaming isn't as widespread in the mainstream as say movies are. They are close, but they're not quite there. And people who play games often like us are the ones who like to call ourselves gamers because we still feel like part of a special group even though our group is becoming larger and larger by the minute.
by Reptar7 Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 09:31 PM

Labels...
by markus1142 Thursday, September 13, 2012 at 10:53 AM

I wonder if it helps to look at it like politics. Both "sides" consider themselves to be fighting for what's best for the country, and it's easy for both to slip into the mindset that the other side can't really represent what this country is all about.

You have video gamers, old school gamers, table-top gamers, casual gamers... And sometimes one group looks at one of the others like they don't belong. We ALL don't belong to a degree, when you look at the big picture. Geek culture has always put us, to some degree, on the outside looking in. It's why smart and clever movies and shows struggle while reality TV full of drunks and miscreants is a safe bet for mutliple seasons.

There are a lot of flavors of "different," but there's no need to look for reasons to exclude someone from the party.
by Andrew Marcos Thursday, September 13, 2012 at 02:50 PM

Are we gamers or are we dancer?
by Adventuring Alberto Thursday, September 13, 2012 at 04:51 PM

I think that the kind of games people play reveal their psychology(mind type) and that is how we can tell the difference.
by DarthNefario Thursday, September 13, 2012 at 05:14 PM

I think, more than anything it's about cultural identity.

In the wake of the internet, and especially now where so many people are steeped within it (often to the point where they rarely if ever are not checking/updating facebook/twitter/what have you) the more traditional borders of culture (whether you're black or white, Christian or Jewish, speak English or Japanese, so on and so forth) have ultimately been blurred.

This is not something that is unique to "gamer culture", there are many types of people that identify with other types of people solely based on an ultimately trivial interest, whether it's "Beliebers", "Punks", "Metalheads", "Gamers", Bronies, etcetra.

Bottom line, the internet has allowed an unprecedented amount of exposure to other people that share the same interests, with that being the case there has been the predictable desire to further create sub-cultures within a culture, an even narrower definition of shared interests and therefore association.

Really, this is nothing new to human nature, if you've taken any sort of sociological classes there are distinct patterns in how people gravitate towards one another (formerly heavily influenced by religious belief) and form bonds. With the internet, and the incredibly social aspect of online gaming, it's only natural that the divides between certain people (in this case gamers) would become sharper and sharper.

I don't "really" believe in the hardcore vs casual debate, as it shoots incredibly low in describing what is actually going on. There people who identify as shooter gamers, jrpg gamers, sports gamers, mobile device gamers, etc, and the subconscious benefit they get from labelling themselves that way is knowing they're not alone in enjoying (believing) in what they play (do).

The walls of the former cultural divides crumble when people find out they're not so different from one another (again, whether you're black or white, American or Japanese, etc etc), but, of course, we just build walls of a new cultural identity based on a common interest/belief/what have you. It's completely natural, and up to this point and for the forseeable future in our evolution, inevitable.

Great blog, and nice to see someone question the terms, even if it does nothing to ease the tension between the identities.
by Mister Warsaw Thursday, September 13, 2012 at 09:12 PM

Great blog. I've been thinking about something like this as well. If everyone plays videogames, is anyone a gamer?
by Joe Fathead Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 10:13 AM

Humans are clannish. We affirm our identity (or even create one) by surrounding ourselves by people like us. It is a deep seated survival instinct that manifests itself in strange ways. Since we no longer, for the most part and certainly in America, have to be concerned with mere self-preservation, that drive which still exists shows up in other ways. Being a gamer is a category of identity. Being a hardcore gamer is another. Categories and sub-categories are ubiquitous. It's the old Us vs. Them schtick.
by Horizons18 Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 10:39 AM

The last paragraph pretty much sums up everything I feel about this. One interest shouldn't be what anyone uses to define their entire personality.

Subcultures feel like a thing of the past. With the internet you can be exposed to so many different cultures and hobbies, there's no reason why you shouldn't like more than one.

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Are We Gamers?