The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
“Not a lot”, I replied, “Playing footy on the Saturday, and probably playing some PC games”. Instantly a look of disgust came across their faces. "Playing computer games?", they asked incredulously, "Don't you have a LIFE?" One of them went on to relate how he was working both mornings, taking the girlfriend out somewhere, and clubbing in the evenings. "I don't have time for computer games", he said, almost contempteously, "Those are for geeks".
It was the last bit that really stung, he called me a geek. No gamers like to be called geeks, even if it is the result of mass-stereotyping. I consoled myself with the thought that he was wrong, and dismissed it from my mind. Last week however, the same feelings of bitter unfairness brought the memory back in a flood. It happened when I was strolling round my hometown with a rather nice female aquaintance of mine. I invited her back to my house, and she accepted, "But what are we going to do there", she asked. I lightly suggested the first thing that came to my mind, "We could play some PC games".
The frown of disappointmnt that crossed her face showed only too clearly my blunder. "I don't play PC games", she said, her eyebrows arched. I desperately tried to redeem myself, "You'll love this one I've got, honest. It's called Deus Ex and it's one of the most innovative games of recent times, in fact.......". But her attention was already lost. "I think I'd better get on with my homework actually", she said, and moved off in the direction of her home. I just stood there helplessly. She turned back to face me after a few paces to deliver a parting retort, "I'll let you go home and play your little geeky games all by yourself".
Her last remark wasn't intended to hurt or spite me, but it hit home more powerfully than she shall ever know. Once again my life had been hurt by the frustrating idea that many people have which says that gamers are geeks that have no life. I was wallowing in the self-pity of it all when a thought struck me; what if they were right? Maybe gamers really are the stereotypically spotty, four-eyed teenagers that are despised by the public and so bury themselves in a virtual life as an escapism. Maybe........., Maybe gamers aren't stereotyped at all. Maybe the gamers themselves invented the idea of calling it stereotyping so they could have a clear consciense about themselves. Maybe.....Whooooaaaaaa!!! Calm down a bit. I stopped my imagination flying away and went home to think things through.
The dictionary definition reads as follows. 'Geek - A boring or unnattractive social misfit.'
I wouldn't class myself as boring or unnattractive, and certainly not a social misfit. Phew, panic over. I'm not a geek. Come to think of it I am neither spotty nor four-eyed either. Certainly not a geek then. So how did the idea that gamers are geeks evolve? It would be extremely hard to narrow it down a single person, but there certainly are key figures in society who have borne the idea along heavily. Prince Charles for a start.
Last year, the venerable Prince Charlie spouted the following, "One of the great battles we face today is to persuade our children away from the computer games towards what can only be described as worthwhile books. None of us can underestimate the importance of books in an age dominated by the computer screen and the constant wish for immediate gratification. Why can't the Millenium Commission or the lottery think about an even more imaginative scheme which would enable many more children to witness the best theatre, music and other performing arts? We have got the money through the lottery, I think many new generations of schoolchildren would be allowed access. Just allow them to experience it."
So Prinny of the Wales is telling us that we should leave our computers behind us and focus on more beneficial material like theatre and literature. This is the man who regularly engages in his favoured pastime of deer-hunting. Yet this heartless slaughter doen't stop him lecturing Britain on the bad effects of 'gasp' virtual killing.
Also, he announced this just after a government survey revealed, 'Children who regularly play computer games enjoy many benefits, including better co-ordination and concentration, a wider circle of friends and improved general social adjustment.'
The fact that old Charlie has never actually played any games, despite always being eager to expound his unwanted views at any opportunity only infuriates true gamers. As we know, many games require a huge amount of skill and dedication to master, but it just depresses you when he disregards this as 'immediate gratification'.
The real problem is that his views are widely respected by most British residents. So to have him publicly slaag off computer games can only have a terribly detrimental effect on the population. Now parents who were going to buy their son an x-box or PS2 for his birthday may suddenly feel moved to act, and buy their son an encyclopaedia or something else like that.
It's this sort of negative publicity that the struggling games industry can do without.
Anyone who was previously against computer games would feel strengthened in their beliefs.
Anyone who had no opinion about computer games would tend to agree with the revered opinions of Prince Charles.
Anyone who was a computer gaming fan would feel frustrated at their helplessness, but otherwise unaffected.
Another example is that of Chris Moyles, who runs a radio show on Radio 1 between the times of 3 and 6 pm. He is frequently advertising the Chris Moyles Chat Forum, where fans can listen to him as well talk to each other. The problem is that he refers to it as the 'Geek Room'. If that wasn't bad enough, he devotes some time each week on a 'comedy link' in which he and Dave pretend to be geeks in the chat room. They ask each other blatantly stupid and ridiculous questions, lending further to the geek idea. His criticisms are directed to PC users rather than gamers, but that still includes a good deal of us. This show is broadcast to an average audience of over 6 MILLION listeners. Still wondering why most people are prejudiced against gamers?
A major lieutenant in the gaming stereotypers army is the newspapers. There was extensive newspaper coverage in particular at the release of Soldier of Fortune and GTA3. The excessive violence caused widespread disgust among critics, and they descibed the users of these games as 'murderous sickos and psychopathic geeks'. This wrongly serves to enforce people's ideas of gamers as geeks.
Since this country has such big names preaching to us about how bad videogames and the geeks who play them are, what do we have to fight back with?
The answer?............absolutely NOTHING. Apart from maybe ELSPA, the gaming industry has absolutely nothing with which to fight against the typical idea of a gamer that is implanted in everyone's minds. This is one of the reasons that the stereotyping for the image of gamers still remains. It's because we have no-one in a high enough position to even question it.
But if we aren't geeks, what are we?
Standard humans is the answer. We are no better and no worse than every other human on this planet. People go clubbing, collect stamps, read, drive, drink and do many other crazy things for hobbies, we game for a hobby. In fact our hobby does least damage to other people, because it doesn't require us to get drunk, wake neighbours, spend lots of money, it's not dangerous and only requires as much time as we want to put into it. Prince Charles should be extolling the virtues of videogaming.
After considering this matter thoroughly, I have concluded that although the minority of the population that is gamers can't do anything about the bad name that has been created for them, they can at least realise the truth of the matter. The truth being that gamers are not to be looked down upon. In fact the government survey mentioned earlier pointed out that gamers are exactly the opposite of the 'geek' image, maybe even superior in some regards to non-gamers. But I mean, who's going to listen to a poxy survey when you can listen to bigwigs such as Prince Charles and the Daily Mail?
So the solution is for gamers to be proud of what they are. Not be embarrassed as though their gaming hobby is some of physical defect. Eventually, as we are entering a high-tech age, the world will learn what is in gaming, and it could well become a major spectator sport. The terribly unfair stereotype of gamers as 'geeks' should soon disappear.
Stand firm fellow gamers, this period of pressure being inflicted upon us by a non-understanding world will soon be over, and we will emerge as the supreme winners. When you tell stories to your grandchildren in the future, you will always be proud to tell them that you were among the first of the TRUE Gamers.
Brew
And I didn't understand YH's response, so if you'd like to
> enlarge....
Sure, no worries.
Savatt wrote: "The "cool" thing to do in a lot of peoples eyes is to drink your wages away while trying to support yourself on a girls shoulders while trying to dump your tongue in her mouth. If you manage to do that without covering her front in vomit then your well away."
Now, that is stereotypical. He's saying that anyone who doesn't stay in and play games does this. That is wrong. That image is one end of the spectrum, while the "geeky gamer" image is at the other.
As with most things, the majority of people are in the middle. I.e, most people I know like to go down the pub at the weekend, or go to the cinema, or go out. But sometimes we also stay in and have a gaming session with a few beers and a pizza.
I suspect most people are like this. Most people are neither one extreme or the other.
Yet Savatt (sorry to pick on you mate :-D) was just as stereotypical about "non-gamers" as your mates were about you for being a gamer.
Hope that's a little bit clearer.
Surelythe question posed in the topic is ridden with folly:
Are gamers geeks?
Well, first we have to define "gamer" and we have to define "geek"
Gamer (IMO): Someone who spends several hours a week playing video games, be it on consoles, hand held or immobile, or on PC, internet or otherwise.
Therefore, to be frank, a gamer is someone who plays games. Not a difficult definition to be perfectly frank.
Geek (IMO): Well, there are several "types" of geek. There is the spotty, buck-toothed, bespectacled youth, who rarely leaves the house. There is the sad little teeny bopper that leaves the house as often as possible, but hangs outside off-licences asking passers by to go in and buy something. There is the "skateboard geek" who has only two loves; Tony Hawk and Koßn. There is the trainspotter variety (which is fairly self-explanatory). In fact, if one puts ones mind to it, almost every person worldwide could be considered a geek by someone. The only real way to avoid this kind of stereotyping is to maintain at least 2 or 3 different hobbies and the lifestyles they demand.
So, are gamers geeks?
Well, if they spend every spare hour with their thumbs glued to a games controller of some description, then I would say yes. Certainly the majority of "other" people are likely to form this opinion of such a person, the same as if every spare hour you had was spent trying to "grind" the handrails surrounding your local supermarket.
If however, you do spend several hours devoted to your games, but also get out fairly often, and pursue another hobby, sport perhaps, or clubbing, or a combination, then it is difficult for people to consider you a geek without also tarnishing themselves with the same brush.
Is it fair though? Should you have to pursue different pastimes just to keep the rest of the world happy? I have only one thing I can say in that respect - Variety is the spice of life, and though sticking yourself in front of a screen for hours on end may be the only thing that seems to make you happy, other pastimes exist for a reason, and it is entirely likely that you could consider people geeks for doing things that you don't do, despite the fact that they are completely normal things to be doing.
So in summary:
Gamers are not all geeks, but geeks do exist in the gaming community. If you yourself do not want to be considered a geek by others, then pursue other pastimes. You don't have to give up gaming; by God you don't. But you don't have to be dedicated to gaming 24/7 to get the most out of a game either.
IB
I think that there are two HUGE stereotypes floating about here.
The first one is the "geeky gamer". The spotty, greasy, 4eyed single kid who plays games all the time.
And there's the other one. The "Goes out and just gets drunk" one, which someone mentioned. That is rubbish. There are so few people that are either of those extremes.
Yet you seem to think that if someone isn't a geek, then all they do is go out and get drunk.
Had you not thought that there are a HUGE number of people, myself included, who are in the middle. Not geeks, not people who just go out and get drunk.
Sometimes we go down the pub, sometimes we stay in and play games.
I think you're being just as stereotypical as the people that called you a geek in the first place.
It happened when I was strolling round my hometown with a rather nice
> female aquaintance of mine. I invited her back to my house, and she
> accepted, "But what are we going to do there", she asked. I
> lightly suggested the first thing that came to my mind, "We could
> play some PC games".
******
Oh dear god. You didn't say that did you?
Please PLEASE say you didn't!
It happened when I was strolling round my hometown with a rather nice
> female aquaintance of mine. I invited her back to my house, and she
> accepted, "But what are we going to do there", she asked. I
> lightly suggested the first thing that came to my mind, "We could
> play some PC games".
---
*winces*
Not a geek maybe, but maybe not ready to be inviting girls back to your house maybe?
Oh dear..... THAT just proves that you must be a geek! You invite a
'rather nice female aquaintance' (Never say that again!) back to your
house and you ask her to play computer games!! There is no hope for
you..."
Brew is not a geek, i am not a geek (Although i do have four eyes, a teenager and overall beginning to feel the effects of Acne.), your not a geek. No one is a geek unless they are locked away from Scociety usually caused by people like Prince charles.
"Anyone who was a computer gaming fan would feel frustrated at their helplessness, but otherwise unaffected." I have to agree with this Brew, i am frustrated at my Helplessness. I play computer games as a hobby, something to loosen the stress of a teenager, who has been at school for over 30 hours of the week. Doing 6 hours of homework a week.
If Prince Charles wants us to read books for enterntainment, like we do at school, work and college (although not for entertainment). He should try doing something to encourage young people to do so by cleaning up the school images, and getting rid time wasters.
Not many people agree with computer games and children playing on them. But 75% of all child gamers have GTA3, they can't do anything about it. The game isn't distrubing, sick and overall outragous. It actually teachs that crime doesn't pay.
Thats all i have to say....