The face of computer gaming.

Teki187 · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:17

I'm interested in peoples opinions of people who play computer games from the middle 20's and over.

The original "consensus" was basement fatty playing Dungeons and Dragons, but with the development of "Mature" gaming, has the face of computer gaming took on a different look?

Macky · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:18

7-15 year olds (generally annoying). Or Pro's.

Teki187 · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:19

Macky said:
7-15 year olds (generally annoying). Or Pro's.

I might not have been clear, sorry.

What i mean is, is it socially acceptable for you to claim to be a gamer in your late 20's and over.

apeZ · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:20

Why not?

What makes it less socially acceptable than any other activity?

Gamer_T · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:20

Why not? Who cares what you do with your free time.

Marine Iguana · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:20

Teki187 said:
is it socially acceptable for you to claim to be a gamer in your late 20's and over.

Damm straight it is.

Macky · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:21

Oh right OP. Then yeah, pretty much everyone does, lol most of my male teachers do and I call them nerds but only for a laugh.

Ziggy · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:21

Well first of all you have to be intelligent enough to realize that games aren't just for kids.

Viper² · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:24

Ziggy said:
Well first of all you have to be intelligent enough to realize that games aren't just for kids.

This.

Teki187 · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:24

apeZ said:
Why not?

What makes it less socially acceptable than any other activity?

The reason why i ask, when i was at school back in the late 90's, if you claimed to play computer games you were branded as a nerd and exiled. Up until the early 2003+ era, i feel that claiming to be a gamer was a social suicide, but now a days i feel its more acceptable.

But yet, people still speak in hush's when they talk about being a gamer to "non" friends. A lot of people at my work for example play WoW and will only talk in private about it, rather then in a group.

Chimerical · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:26

Videogames are not yet given the same respect as other artforms such as film and music. Eventually it'll get there, when the snobs all die.

DiscoDave · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:26

Age is irrelevant, we do what we like with our free time. I'm sure a lot of us work/study hard etc, so why not? I don't really care if society think it's "acceptable" or not.

I agree the view has changed over the years, what was once a harmless hobby has turned into professional leagues, careers and all sorts. A lot of my real life friends play games, I told my girlfriend that I play a lot of PC games in my free time, doesn't really concern her.

People approach games in different ways, when I was younger I used to play Sonic for hours on end, now I play games like Modern Warfare 2, Counter Strike and Left 4 Dead, all of which involve me chatting with my friends and we all play competitively. I've gamed over the years, but how I've done it has changed.

Rambo2683 · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:30

There is definitely still a stigma associated with gamers.
And in a lot of cases it is true imo. At least for PC gamers

Nitefly · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:33

I don't think claiming to be a 'gamer' is a very cool thing to do even today. Whether people care about that or not is up to them.

Stewy · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:34

lol nerdzzz

Hotwired · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:35

Engineering course tutor who was at least in his 40s was telling us how he was really getting into FPS shooters.

I also know there's someone pushing 60 who likes to play one of the CSS servers I know of.

No limits. Age means nothing on a computer.

RDM · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:36

Frankly, who cares?

Stuff · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:44

Depends who you tell really, and how you say it, and how you look, I guess. All factors into how people perceive you really.

Teki187 · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:56

Camelpaw said:
Depends who you tell really, and how you say it, and how you look, I guess. All factors into how people perceive you really.

So if we go by that, how would you judge the following:

30's man, dressed casual and fashionably, lives alone and works a normal job.

40's man, dressed very casual and not fashionably, lives with wife and 2 kids and works a normal job.

50's man, dressed old, retired with wife and kids in there early 20s.

(not trying to pick an argument here)

yer_averagejoe · 30 Nov 2009 at 20:57

I can't help but feel like people look down on me for working in the games industry:

"what do you do?"

"I make computer games"

"Oh.."

Nobody understands the effort that goes into making a computer game, and treat them as a waste of time/money. They're actually one of the best value forms of entertainment out there.

The image of the gamer has changed but "gaming" is still looked down upon. At one time it was kids who ditched football to spend their pocket money in arcades and chose to isolate themselves. Now kids can play games together its become the norm for children. Our generation (refer to the spike in the "What age are OCUKers" thread) is probably going to be the last generation to be looked down upon for playing games. There will always be snobs who think its the devil (usually technophiles and " 'they' are just inventing these new consoles/tvs to squeeze more money out of us" people).

Theres also been a huge effort to make games sociable and family events and even most female students' flats have Wii's in them now. Once women are on our side we'll finally feel free! Who else would love to hear "Do you want to play something on the xbox?" instead of "turn that off, i want to watch The Notebook and you're watching it too" from our girlfriends? (I've started mine off on the DS.. working her up)