I Call Myself “Gamer”

Why would you ever want to identify yourself as a hardcore gamer? It is a common practice for people to identify themselves by what they associate themselves with. People call themselves writers, musicians, programmers, artists and any number of other titles, but why would anyone consider themselves a gamer? In all of the above examples, people are identified by what they produce rather than something they consume. People don’t refer to themselves as ‘televisioners,’ ‘filmers’ or even as ‘readers’ with any regularity, so why the hell do we have ‘gamers?’

I suppose people aspire to be a part of something larger than one’s self. Whether you can admit that to yourself or not, human beings are social creatures by nature. Think back to high school (or think of now, if you’re still there): how many cliques cluttered your hallways? I’m going to assume you at least had the standards: the popular crowd, the druggies, the rebels, the theater kids, the band geeks and the nerds. There are even countless sub-groups of each category; hell, even people who were called ‘loners’ usually traveled in groups of at least two or three.

Okay, wanting to be a part of something bigger makes perfect sense. Wanting to share a pastime with others is all fine and good, and we all (most likely) believe that video games are a fun and healthy form of entertainment. If you’re reading this, you are most likely a ‘gamer,’ but according to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 97% of people ages 12-17 play some form of video game. So ‘gamer’ is perhaps the perfect all-inclusive title since nearly everyone can now be considered one. Or we can pose the question: if everyone’s a gamer, why do we bother using the label on individual people?

Another fun, nearly unrelated fact about human beings, aside from being social animals, is that they’re also multi-faceted. I’ll go ahead and use myself as an example; while I am a ‘gamer,’ in that I play video games regularly and have a strong interest in the gaming industry, I am also a writer and (by some people’s measure) a musician. I enjoy the finer points in life and will often put down my controller in favor of plunking away at my guitar or wrestling with words (like I’m doing right now).

I can has sniper rifle?

So what else do you do? As fun as it is to be a ‘gamer,’ it’s also important to have other outlets of expression and passion. If gaming is a central force in your life, to the point where you call yourself a gamer above all other titles, find a way to be productive in that sphere. If you’re good enough, try out for MLG. If you enjoy writing (like me) start a blog or apply to GotGameU. If you spend your nights partaking in or contributing to the mod community, get a degree in game design. Being a gamer is a fun pastime, but we will be remembered by what we contribute to society, not what we consume. Make sure you’ve got a few other titles you can go by.