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A Rare Breed of Humans...
Dis_Ordur
Member Posts: 1,501
...we are. I work as a salesman selling complex laboratory instrumentation, and from time to time I get people asking me about myself personally. Questions such as, "What do you do for fun?", "Do you like to play golf?" (it seems that in the field of laboratory and medicinal sciences, golf is almost a prerequisite). Being an honest person, I always reply with, "No, I like to play massively multiplayer online role-playing games". You can imagine the looks on their faces/tone of their voices when I mention that, I always soften it up with "Basically, I am a computer geek". This always gets a chuckle, however, I get the impression that they think I am a little less 'cool' than they had originally thought... Anyone ever get this in their business life? It's a running gag at the office, people don't even bother asking me what I am doing for the weekend, but rather what lvl I plan to hit...
In the end, most people don't understand what it is we do, and why we do it... Sometimes I think I should just keep my mouth shut and pretend that I am a golfer that wears horribly colored outfits and hangs out at a country club acting all 'elitist'... I just ain't my style... Do you publicly profess your MMO activities to others? Or should I say, do you publicly profess your nerd-dom to others? It certainly doesn't bother me at all in the least bit, I just find the reactions to be hilarious... I'm done blathering now...
Comments
the average age of gamers is now 28. lol, tell them that. And a vast majority of people in that age group plays games. I always make fun of those who makes fun of those laying video games; most of them are dry and boring people
People who have to create conspiracy and hate threads to further a cause lacks in intellectual comprehension of diversity.
What always get me is the way that people on TV and in movies are portrayed playing video games. I was watching Best Week Ever on VH1 last night (God bless you Tivo) and they were doing a story on GTA: San Andreas. Then they showed one of the comedians pretending to be playing, but he was holding a Game Cube controller, and hammering the triggers. My first thought was that his hands were moving around way too much for him to have any semblance of control. My second thought was: "Wait, they never released GTA: San Andreas for Game Cube". My third thought was that I was a nerd for knowing that.
But, if you think about it, if a TV show misquoted Moises Alou's batting average in 2002, there are people who would be all over it. And they would not be referred to as nerds for knowing it.
I don't really know where I'm going with this post. I guess all I can say is, you're right. We are a rare breed.
Well I am WAY past 40 and a female. I am a chemist in an analytical laboratory.
You should see the reaction I get when I tell them I play online games.
My supervisor thinks I am crazy and all my coworkers think I am just strange. I guess they think I should have stayed home being barefoot and pregnant all the time. (The usual role for women in the south)
Anyway maybe one day I will meet someone in RL that playes online games. (Other than my son). I have yet to find one, or at least someone that will admit to it.
Support Bacteria, its the only culture some people have.
I hide my gaming like a dirty little secret, because people are still closed-minded as to the temerament of the social stereotype of "the gamer." When I feel particularly safe, amongst friends or like-minded (gamer) colleagues, I may unveil my pasttime.
Until people of power and influence are filled by the ranks of gamers we will still be looked upon as social outcasts. That's going to take another 20-30 years, however, to permeate deeply into the social infrastructure. I do think, however, that in about another 10-15 years it will be considered fairly "normal" to be a gamer.
I tend to keep my personal life to my self at work.....people allready think I'm weird
What would they think if they knew I was a double threat MMO Gamer and an Anime watcher
Professor Hubert Farnsworth - That question is less stupid but, you asked it in a profoundly stupid way.
Doesn't really happen to me. I work with geeks, so I fit in.
Hmmmm...
Not really much of an issue here in my office...
Richard J. Cox
"There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust."
I'm an old man. I have no problem telling people what I do for my hobby and what I do for a living. The industry pays me, so why would I be ashamed?
Gaming is moving into the mainstream like crazy. The first Escapist Magazine issue was devoted to that topic. However, if someone were to tell you they watched theater movies for 20 hours a week, you would probably find that odd or curious. Remember, the more hardcore among us spend an easy 20 hours a week on our hobby. Any way you read that, it is just odd. ;p
Fadinaway
Playerbase Solutions
http://www.playerbasesolutions.com
LOL good Luck..
The lab I work in is a State government lab. As you may know we have to put up our first born as colatteral to get any kind of new equipment.
I swear I have seen some bottles of Sulfuric acid here spelled as Sulphuric Acid. That spelling went out in the 50's.
Also most of our computers are 130 mhz running windows 95
Support Bacteria, its the only culture some people have.
I am 31 and i do accoutning for a living . I treat my online gaming addiction secretively because people look at me funny when I reveal it. I just dont look the 'sterotyped'part of one I guess, and people seem to immeadiatly be less respectful when they know i am into something they deem 'for kids'. which is kind of silly, the percentage of gamers in my generation is HUGE so how can you stereo type what we look like or who we are? oh well, beats hanging out in a bar I say. Oddly i have met online so many people in my age group that game, many much more intensley than I, but not a single one here in town. darn small cities.
I get it really bad, as well as a big gamer i am an avid sports fan. Most of my friends come from being Football (soccer) people and their hobbies mainly include playing football and getting drunk. The amount of stick i get from all these people is really annoying but you sort of get used to it.
Nobody at work thinks that i am a gaming addict because of my passion for sports. If it wasnt for that though i really would be a 100% geek because if i am not doing anything sport related (picking up chicks counts as a sport to me
, ) then i am gamiing.
Honestly, at times I think about giving up online gaming all together. It's just looked down upon by so many people and in some ways I agree with them. It takes away time from your life, in that time you could easily just be hanging out with your friends in real life, going out for a movie and stuff like that.
Good to see other Chemists around
At the first lab I worked at, the boss's wife asked me what my wife and I do for fun. I said we play MMO's. Her face went white I swear. It was like I worshiped the devil or something...guess that's what I get for living in the bible belt.
The publicity of those parents that neglected thier kids while playing MMO's seem to make people in this area think they're "of the devil"
. But I don't mind telling them my hobby...guess I enjoy getting those shocked expressions 
.
Sewash, I am just a bit older than you.. Guess that means I'm NOT an old man. ;p
It's all perspective. Ask them what makes their playing golf any more "adult" than you playing a video game. Don't get me wrong, I have played my share of sports in my time, and still do ( if by sports I mean chasing my 13 month old son around the house and yard) but what makes that any more adult. I would like to think my past time of staying home with my wife and son is much more adult than heading to a bar to get blasted off my skull.
It's like the guy that looks at you funny because you have a can of Mountain Dew in your hand in the morning. He then proceeds to ask you why you are drinking that "stuff" so early in the morning when at the same time he has a cup of coffee with twice the caffeine and just as much sugar. What the heck is the difference?! Oh.. Well, one is hot, brown and muddy, and the other tastes cool and refreshing.
Who made it law that you had to have "breakfast" food for breakfast? Why am I looked at like an alien when I proceed to eat last nights left over chicken and yellow rice for breakfast?
BAH! You have me on a rant now... *grumble*
Perspective... it's all perspective.
Fadinaway
Playerbase Solutions
http://www.playerbasesolutions.com
who would give up the killer combo???? coffee kinda sucks
Yes I am more or less looked at as the geek in the office. I've been gaming all my life (in my mid 30's now) I stopped caring what people think about my hobbies. It's what I love to do, it's not the only thing I do, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.
My mom has seen me play and is probably the only one that has a partial understanding of what it's all about. They all think I waste my life away off in some lil room with my two computers. I honestly never tried to hide it from co-workers, friends or family. No one in my family understands and some think it's the devils work. I don't understand why people love golf. I never have, but I don't put people down for loving that type of 'game'.
I guess my attitude is.. it's my life (no Bon Jovi references please) and I'll do what I please within the boundries of the law or human decency. I'm not hurting anyone by gaming, I don't give up family or friendship commitments because of it (although I realize others have). But yes I still do play quite a bit
Dis_Ordur,
Same here. The other day I was talking to my wife regarding how she felt about the fact I spent so many hours a week around video games (working, playing, writing, debating, posting, etc). Her exact reply was "I would rather you do that than being out at a bar drinking."
Fadinaway
Playerbase Solutions
http://www.playerbasesolutions.com