It's a little surreal reading about gamers. I am geek, through and through, and I have always enjoyed video games, but I don't seem to belong to gamer culture, as far as the internet is concerned.
What happened to the social aspect of gaming? Why have all the arcades faded away? There are a few around, I guess, but it doesn't seem the same. I have always played games WITH people and in COMPETITION with people. Playing is, for me, about sharing.
Maybe I'm not a gamer. Maybe the term "gamer" is too loaded to be redeemed at this point. But there is a culture of games and gaming that can (and does in some places, however few) exist without the baggage attached to the term.
DISCLAIMER: I admit, I'm not into the same type of games that constantly get talked about; I don't play CoD, I've never really played much GTA, and most modern AAA games don't hold my attention very long (partly because I'm terrible at FPS games and other mainstream offerings).
There's a bit of a revival of interest in that style of gameplay (in-person, with a focus on the social-interaction aspect). The most common current term for it, afaik, is "local multiplayer".
What happened to the social aspect of gaming? Why have all the arcades faded away? There are a few around, I guess, but it doesn't seem the same. I have always played games WITH people and in COMPETITION with people. Playing is, for me, about sharing.
Maybe I'm not a gamer. Maybe the term "gamer" is too loaded to be redeemed at this point. But there is a culture of games and gaming that can (and does in some places, however few) exist without the baggage attached to the term.
DISCLAIMER: I admit, I'm not into the same type of games that constantly get talked about; I don't play CoD, I've never really played much GTA, and most modern AAA games don't hold my attention very long (partly because I'm terrible at FPS games and other mainstream offerings).