[PATV] Monday, August 1, 2011 - Extra Credits Season 1, Ep. 8: “Gamer”

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[PATV] Monday, August 1, 2011 - Extra Credits Season 1, Ep. 8: “Gamer”

This week, we discuss the problems surrounding the term: "Gamer."

Read the full story here

lehoangminh

Once there was a man I know spent 8 hour at a net playing Fifa (Yeah, I was like at that net in the morning and surprise to see him still in there in the afternoon) . I was kinda freak out at first to see how can one person so addicted to game. But then I realized he was crippled, playing fifa is one of the way to enjoy football, his dreams.
And then someone say gamer is people with no life...

Tamriel

Hi,
I am recently enjoying your series and a while after looking this episode, an interesting thought came through my mind.
I am german and most of the issues mentioned in this video are also true for Germany, but:

I am also learning japanese and the interresting thing I noticed after a while is, that you, unlike in german or english don't have the word "gamer" in that language, as far as I know.

The next subsequent thought that came to me was that this could be one reason why the gameing-culture is so different here in japan, in comparison to germany (I don't know much about the USA, but I guess it is simmilar there).
Or by thinking that the other way around: Because the gaming-culture is different, there is no need for such word in japanese.

Thanks for reading until the end and sorry for righting such a long message,
Tamriel

lehoangminh

In japan, they have otaku...

Tamriel

Hi again,
I have done a little more research and apparently there is indeed a word in japanese that is simmilar to gamer. My mistake there.
Never the less, the gameing culture is quite different.

I also asked about otaku in this occasion. (sorry if my orthography is a little odd)
Seemingly, otaku is used for game- or anime-freaks/fanatics. I would translate it with "freak" but my dictionary says "nerd/enthusiast".

Yumekichigai

I can't say I've ever felt stigma for playing a game in public. More often I get people looking over my shoulder and asking what I was doing or if they could play. Then again... I do tend to hang out with the music/ art/ English/ drama people because that is where my interests lie as well.

Razaxx

I agree with you in that "Gamer"'s current definition is wrong and stereotyping many people. A "Gamer" now is someone who hasn't grown up, and still plays with toys. They are people who live in denial, out of society. Yes, there are people like this, and if they don't mature, we will unwillingly keep the label.

I do consider myself a "Gamer" however.

While there are no "Film-ers" or "Music-ers" there are "Directors", "Singers" and "Artists". That is why I am proud of "Gamer"'s true meaning; that this is a medium where there is no audience. That everyone - including the player - is taking part to craft an epic experience. In this way the term is almost akin to "Actor" instead.

If we can prove to the world that there is something more behind the people stereotyped into this term; parents, teachers, workers, friends and most importantly PEOPLE - then we as a community have a chance.

Mogg

I am a gamer and proud of it. It is my life, day in day out. I play every day almost, hours on end. I also am Otaku (the Japanese anime fan for those less knowledgeable to the term). Because of my health circumstances, I have almost all the time of every day of the week free to do what I wish. I save good amount of money being at home a lot, and I do go out from time to time during the week to see friends.
Now just because I do these two things a lot in my life, I have knowledge and opinions of other things in the world. The internet is a source of world wide information and my friends keep me updated on a lot of stuff that goes around. Sure I know a lot more about anime and games, and I am sure these things are commonly on my topic of conversation lists but they are not exclusive.
Next, anyone that says that anime is nothing but children's cartoons and video games are just senseless violence should seriously open their eyes and look at their life, because that like they are living has been in some form or another been put into these mediums and you CAN learn from anime and games of the real world.
Humanoid beings are derived from real life societies with real life expression, ideas and emotions with real life science and religion. Yes some are stretched out into the abursd and mixed together with a bit of creativity (or stupidity) for a slightly different than everyday experience. I am not say every anime and game does this though, but the ones I generally play and watch do this. Take for example Heavy Rain, a wonderful cinematic experience of loss and addiction. Asura's Wrath a game about treachery, ideals, and freedom. Persona, a game about relations, destiny and struggle. For anime, Fruits Basket a show of deep emotional connections, family, friendships. Ghost in the Shell , a show about what is humanity, government politics. My point being, don't knock them or the people that enjoy these - they are living a life just as much as anyone else.

DracoSalieri

Personally, Gamer is a tag I wear with pride. I am a geek, nerd, GAMER.. So much so that I went into computer science. Does this make me a freak? Well no, not in itself. I am a freak either way because eccentricity is not a curse, it's a gift. Why would I want to be like everyone else? Please, don't kill gaming as a tag, because this medium that we all follow is deserving of a unique title. The reason filmer or booker doesn't exist is because those media aren't deserving of the title. Gaming is a way of life where as going to see movies just isn't.
For the GAMERS!!

Sensei Le Roof

The only problem is that "gamer" is also being used by people who don't want to call themselves "gamblers".

Katamari23

Thanks PATV, for the thoughtful discussion on this issue. One time I told a friend I'd been playing video games and he responded with, "wow, you must not have a very exciting life." WTF?!! Like it was intrinsically a hobby for losers. The stigma and ignorance is so frustrating sometimes! But one day it'll be like, "You're a gamer? Pfft so what, everybody is."

drmonmons

I think its funny you bring up that we have our own language that can also exclude us from conversations with others. I have always tried when talking to people who don't play games to always be sure and actually say first person shooters, or role playing games. Because even just saying "yeah i dabble in some mmorpgs" immediately confuses and closes people minds to listen to what you are saying.
And I never look down on any game people bring up that they like to play. Because I like to think that, "hey maybe that five minutes of farmville every day will be their gateway drug to some sid meyer one day" why should i make them feel bad about that?

DoomBlackDragon

It seems to suck to think I am guilte on not accepting causal gamers.

Puny Human

Your entire premise is garbage. Many hobbies have a word like "gamer" for someone who participates, without necessarily implying obsession. Despite your flip dismissal, "reader" is in fact used to describe people who read. Then there's jogger, biker, climber, golfer, writer, geocacher, knitter, moviegoer, skydiver, swimmer, scuba diver, birdwatcher... You get the idea. You don't have to spend 8 hours a day jogging to be a jogger. Once or twice a week will do. You don't have to have a club membership to be a golfer, and so on. Similarly, you talk about gamer jargon, music, jokes etc. Once again, every single community of interest has that. Take a look at hobby magazines sometime.

Then you act like "gamer" is the only label you "have". Wait, where did that come from? Society? Did someone actually issue you with a physical tag? No, you choose to identify yourself as a "gamer" and not a "reader" or a "musician" because you want to feel persecuted. Just because the media knows jack about gaming doesn't mean you have to internalize that ignorance, because, newsflash, the media knows jack about EVERYTHING. Ask anyone with even a moderate degree of knowledge about any topic whatsoever and they'll tell you that the media screws up when reporting about that topic. Ask anyone who belongs to a group outside the "norm" and they'll tell you just how much the media misrepresents them. You only see it in the stereotype of "gamers" because that's all you're looking for.

Then, immediately after saying "we don't have anything to prove" you get on your high horse and tell "gamers" that we need to "clean up our community". Oh, so now we do have something to prove? That we're not all assholes? Are you saying gamers are just plain folks no different from anyone else, or that gamers are a misfit subculture that has to police itself? Make up your mind.

You know what a real problem with gamers is? Some of them are navel-gazing wannabe philosophers who have zero perspective on anyone but themselves and anything but gaming.

P.S. Went on too long: Agree. Didn't say enough? Strongly Disagree.

HLgamer

Sure, a current popular use of the term gamer is in reference to someone who playes video games, but it is not limited to this perception.
Gamer - someone who influences social circles by playing them off or against each other to accomplish personnal achievements.
Gamer (or Player) - someone who plays with words and emotions to flit through relationships with the opposite gender
Gamer - someone who plays board games or excels at playing them.
Gamer - someone who is good at multiple sports
Gamer - someone who attends lots of sports events.

Gemer has never been a negative term around me, but I guess I work in a Tech field and everyone around me is "a gamer", but I was "a gamer" back in '77 when I ran my first DND campaign.