'Gamers' Are Over

[HardOCP News]

Someone has to explain this editorial to me. Maybe one of my fellow "gamers" has more of a clue than I do.

‘Games culture’ is a petri dish of people who know so little about how human social interaction and professional life works that they can concoct online ‘wars’ about social justice or ‘game journalism ethics,’ straight-faced, and cause genuine human consequences. Because of video games. Lately, I often find myself wondering what I’m even doing here. And I know I’m not alone.

 

[Deleted member 126051]

Basically some idiot trying to grab headlines with an inflammatory title.

Basically this guy has exactly zero respect, empathy or in common with the individuals he's attempting to pander to. His dragging out of the "basement dwelling" canard pretty much spells this out.

So he thinks he's going to create a clever talk piece. When all he's doing is writing an angry screed about how he doesn't understand the population segment that butters his bread.

Gamers are a lot more than just a bunch of armchair warriors screaming profanity and scarfing cheetos in approximately equal quantities. And if this lackwit had any clue, he'd have never written this article.

 

[ghost6303]

Lately, I often find myself wondering what I’m even doing here. And I know I’m not alone.

then... fucking leave,
you will not be missed.

/article
/internet

 

[dmonkey]

Here's how you "editorialize." Take what characteristics of people you don't like and impute it to a particular category of people. Make it clear it is this group of people you are addressing with a no-holds-barred in-your-face title. Profit?

 

[FrgMstr]

Don't let the door hit you in the ass?

 

[TwistedAegis]

Don't think it's gamers, it's people online in general. Lack of empathy, hyperbole, complete disconnect from consequences of words - look at Youtube comments, or news story comments. Its a cesspool sometimes.

In general, seems people are less willing to talk to one another and merely talking at one another, trying to get to some predetermined location regardless of any person or point standing in their way. I'm absolutely guilty of this myself, although I try to work at it.

 

[DarkAngel_ZERO]

I'm getting really tired of these indie scene hipster blog writers always popping up and acting like the world is ending because a large portion of people don't adhere to their ideas.

The long and short of it is this: Gamers want coverage of games. We want to know if a game is good, bad, or just somewhere in the middle who is just as passionate as we are. We want opinions on games from people we can trust, to help us make an informed decision on a potential purchase.

We do NOT want the writer to hock a company byline from their advertising agency because that's the current promotion. We do NOT want to have someone write up a justification for a massive error because that company told them to run damage control. We do NOT want a liberal arts dropout who doesn't play games outside of the indie 8-bit rehash scene or the latest iPad addiction going on for three pages worth of written material explaining how we're the bad guys for even EXISTING in the first place, for buying the games we like, then turn around hock what trash their friends are working on, while talking down to what should be their target audience.

This is what this whole internet explosion is really about. The gamers have been hearing the same tripe over and over until our ears bleed, and finally the so-called "Social Justice Warriors" got caught in their orgy of self-fellation, and the gaming community is collectively going "Piss off, and leave us alone so we can play".

 

[Angus66]

There's so much wrong with his article (and arguments) I don't even know where to start.

All I can say is that I'm 40+ years old and I'm a gamer (have been since before Duke Nukem 3D)
My wife is (roughly) the same age and she is a gamer.
My son is in his early teens and he is a gamer.

This article doesn't describe my family or any gamer I know for that matter.

I plan to be a gamer until I can no longer use a keyboard.

then... fucking leave,
you will not be missed.

100% agree.

 

[Ur_Mom]

A lot of gamers grow up and move out of gaming. It was a teenage activity to them. For me, it's a lifelong thing. My wife still wakes up in the middle of the night, and we have 3am Mario Kart competitions. My kids are gamers.

If you want to leave, fine. But, don't shit on the rest of us. We still kick ass. There are some douchebags, but welcome to life - they are everywhere.

 

[PornoSatan]

This thread should be deleted and the source you got it from should delete theirs as well. All this guy is looking for is attention. yawn

 

[Dekoth-E-]

Another trash article by some social justice warrior, I'm sorry I clicked it and gave it traffic or meaning.

 

[Godmachine]

Gamasutra wasn't the only one abusing the recent stories for clickbait.

http://dangolding.tumblr.com/post/95985875943/the-end-of-gamers - Dan Golding

http://www.polygon.com/2014/8/28/6078391/video-games-awful-week - Polygon tripe (HUGE SURPRISE WOW......*sarcasm*)

http://badassdigest.com/2014/08/26/video-games-misogyny-and-terrorism-a-guide-to-assholes/ - More clickbait

The list goes on. Opinion pieces galore. Twitter is a fucking poisonous place. People that get surprised by the behavior on Twitter are in fact ..idiots.

If you depend on your love of games to fall inline with what some bad apples do once in a while then perhaps you should just leave frankly.

If all it takes to shake the foundation of your support for something like this is bad behavior then life is going to beat the shit out of you and you'll not be able to enjoy anything.

Here are a few ideas instead :

1. Ignore sensationalism being pushed by "gaem journalizssts" who are in fact just pushing out opinion pieces with little to no point in existence. That means the Quinn bullshit , the Anita bullshit and the nonsense on Twitch called swatting.

2. Play and enjoy your games. Stop worrying about what the media thinks of what you play. Publishers/Developers only care about the bottom line. If you keep buying what you enjoy its pretty likely it'll keep getting made regardless of what "gaem jouranlizssts" think of what you are doing.

3. Don't click the bait. Stop reading these pointless articles ( I only linked to present examples , don't bother reading any of them ) that serve to start a new fire just to push an agenda.

Keep playing , loving and enjoying your hobby. The world is pretty shitty sometimes but that doesn't mean you have to subscribe to its latest "outrage".

 

[Megalith]

I guess I'm the only one who has no idea what the writer is trying to say, other than trying to allude to something insidious about gamers.

 

[4saken]

I guess I'm the only one who has no idea what the writer is trying to say, other than trying to allude to something insidious about gamers.

Yeah same here. Must be missing something. Truly came across as a rant from someone angry their cheerios got pissed in.

 

[GoldenTiger]

Don't think it's gamers, it's people online in general. Lack of empathy, hyperbole, complete disconnect from consequences of words - look at Youtube comments, or news story comments. Its a cesspool sometimes.

In general, seems people are less willing to talk to one another and merely talking at one another, trying to get to some predetermined location regardless of any person or point standing in their way. I'm absolutely guilty of this myself, although I try to work at it.

I agree... I too am guilty of it on occasion but I try to understand what the other person's argument is, even if I really don't agree with it, because it is respectful and helps me "get" where they're coming from during a discussion online.

 

[wabbitseason]

I'm getting really tired of these indie scene hipster blog writers always popping up and acting like the world is ending because a large portion of people don't adhere to their ideas.

The long and short of it is this: Gamers want coverage of games. We want to know if a game is good, bad, or just somewhere in the middle who is just as passionate as we are. We want opinions on games from people we can trust, to help us make an informed decision on a potential purchase.

We do NOT want the writer to hock a company byline from their advertising agency because that's the current promotion. We do NOT want to have someone write up a justification for a massive error because that company told them to run damage control. We do NOT want a liberal arts dropout who doesn't play games outside of the indie 8-bit rehash scene or the latest iPad addiction going on for three pages worth of written material explaining how we're the bad guys for even EXISTING in the first place, for buying the games we like, then turn around hock what trash their friends are working on, while talking down to what should be their target audience.

This is what this whole internet explosion is really about. The gamers have been hearing the same tripe over and over until our ears bleed, and finally the so-called "Social Justice Warriors" got caught in their orgy of self-fellation, and the gaming community is collectively going "Piss off, and leave us alone so we can play".

Here, here!

Social Justice Warriors and Hipsters can piss off.

 

[wabbitseason]

Don't think it's gamers, it's people online in general. Lack of empathy, hyperbole, complete disconnect from consequences of words - look at Youtube comments, or news story comments. Its a cesspool sometimes.

In general, seems people are less willing to talk to one another and merely talking at one another, trying to get to some predetermined location regardless of any person or point standing in their way. I'm absolutely guilty of this myself, although I try to work at it.

You can blame anonymity and globalization for this one. If you live in an isolated village during a hard winter, you can bet that you and your neighbors share mutual self interest. You probably share similar values, and you probably have similar inclinations. When you come face to face with one of your allies there's human connection there, immediately, naturally.

That doesn't happen in city life, it doesn't happen in a globalized world, and it definitely doesn't happen on the internet.

 

[Godmachine]

You can blame anonymity and globalization for this one. If you live in an isolated village during a hard winter, you can bet that you and your neighbors share mutual self interest. You probably share similar values, and you probably have similar inclinations. When you come face to face with one of your allies there's human connection there, immediately, naturally.

That doesn't happen in city life, it doesn't happen in a globalized world, and it definitely doesn't happen on the internet.

"Small world" takes on a whole new meaning basically.

 

[spugnor]

This "writer" is either a woman (sure reads like a woman wrote it), or a male apologist.

Wah, people's feelings got hurt, wah!

Video games are art. And not everyone is going to appreciate your "Vision." And some people are going to be down right rude about it. We're not here to stroke your fragile indie developer ego. We're here to game.

Sadly, i think the term gamer has devolved into meaning people who play video games. A true gamer plays many games, video gaming is just a part of what makes a gamer a gamer. Hell, there are gamers in political office, they are playing the "politics game." The best sports players tend to be gamers, they learn the ins and outs of their particular game, and how best to exploit their strengths and the weaknesses of their opponents.

Gaming isn't some mouth breather on the couch with a controller in hand (necessarily), any idiot can play a game. A true gamer learns how to best the game. By learning about it, strategizing, coming up with out of the box solutions (exploits even).

 

[Farkle]

We should stop justifying the SJW by simply not clicking their sensational headlines. With no traffic -- they'll get replaced by something else.

 

[Quix]

I think the author is confusing gamers with Xbox Live Subscribers.

Seriously, I've never played with a worse bunch of human beings.

 

[evilsofa]

Gaming isn't some mouth breather on the couch with a controller in hand (necessarily), any idiot can play a game. A true gamer learns how to best the game. By learning about it, strategizing, coming up with out of the box solutions (exploits even).

Oh, look... a hipster gamer!

 

[BladeVenom]

Too stupid, didn't read. I usually like the articles on Gamasutra.

 

[Hornet]

What a load of tears. Sounds like this guy has never had to answer to a boss.

 

[Red Falcon]

Has this person ever actually played a game?
Also, he's about 25 years too late on this article to make it worth a damn.

 

[soulman901]

I'll do the Mario till I'm 99.....

 

[cptnjarhead]

I got a headache just trying to follow what the article is trying to convey. If I had to sum up the premise, it seems they are at a career and or life changing crossroads, we all have been there or will be. As for the “gamers are over” quote, I would say they are just getting started. Little kids, teens and 20 something’s all with disposable income feeding this monster called gaming and unless a solar flare knocks out the whole grid, its not going to slow down anytime soon. Gaming for me went into decline when PC gamer stopped bundling CD’s with their magazine, I miss those days…….. Man I feel old.

 

[Armenius]

For all of you posting "him," "he," "his": The author of this opinion piece, Leigh Alexander, is a woman. With that out of the way, I'll say I stopped reading the article halfway through because of all the stereotypes being thrown out there... before I even looked at who authored this opinion piece.

This opinion piece is basically taking the online trolling that happens by feminist trolls who often post videos of how misogyny is rampant in both the gaming industry and gamer "culture" (as if something like that actually exists) and spreading the infectious nature of such polarizing issues that get spread by mainstream media with her own anger, herself using extreme stereotypes to get clicks and attention.

The two feminists in question are Zoe Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian. The latter of whom got her "claim to fame" by trying to get a job in the video game industry without actually being able to contribute anything to it and then going on a false crusade when she was denied a place in the "club." If you watch any of her videos (I recommend watching at least one, then you can see why she is the target of such hatred on the internet) you can see straight away that she does not play video games and she has no idea what she is talking about. While I deplore the threats of physical violence, it seems that the general sense of ire is justified against Anita. She also put herself in the national spotlight by proclaiming that those threats of violence from the internet trolls were real and forced her to leave her home.

I am not too familiar with the former, Zoe Quinn, but she does have experience in the industry so her concerns are probably legitimate. But she also lowers herself to the tactic of blanket statements and false drama to get attention.

I think it is so inappropriate to call anything occurring in the actual games industry itself misogynystic. There is a legitimate problem with the big publishers out there who think that only certain characteristics will sell a game. But in an industry dominated by a male population there are always going to be certain things included in a fantasy world created by men because it is in their nature. Does that mean we should hang all men for being men? Admiration of the female form is not misogynystic...

 

[Meeho]

The article is so bad that I wouldn't know where to begin. "I often say I’m a video game culture writer" at the beginning should have been enough of a warning that everything else will be an incoherent stream of thought. Straw manned and twisted to death in a true SJW fashion. I feel my tolerance for stupid has been put to extreme test these past few days I've been researching about SJWs and recent game journalism scandals. The hipocrisy is mind boggling.

 

[SRTie4k]

It is in poor taste, however.

I may be one of a handful of white male gamers out there that do not enjoy the hypersexualized females we have in games. When I see games like that, it screams to me that the devs had to fall back on classic hooks to get horny teenage and college age kids to buy in, because the game can't stand up on it's own without having to delve into low brow. The games that fall into that trap to me are no different from the horrendous action movies that studios put out that feature lots of guns, lots of muscley guys, lots of girls in bikinis or naked, lots of explosions...and absolutely no substances whatsoever. It's just plain obnoxious. It's a testament to how unimportant overly sexualized characters are when the best games in history have none of that.

Given all that, I'm also extremely against activists that have no hand in what they're rallying against. It's my opinion that if you oppose something so vehemently, don't just scream about it, do something about it! Make change from the inside out. There are plenty of game devs out there that didn't follow the hyper sexualized games mold but still made fantastic games that used strong and realistic female characters, and they didn't have to parade it around for it to be a success.

If you want to change a culture, screaming at them and telling them their nothing but a bunch of bigots is not going to change anything, all it will do is piss them off and make them oppose what you stand for more vehemently. Change needs to be made from within, in small increments, where people have time to digest and accept those changes as plausible and ultimately good.

 

[ssnyder28]

Gaming isn't some mouth breather on the couch with a controller in hand (necessarily), any idiot can play a game. A true gamer learns how to best the game. By learning about it, strategizing, coming up with out of the box solutions (exploits even).

Games are supposed to be fun, what you just described doesn't sound fun at all.

 

[NickJames]

This is why I stick with Joystiq, atleast all they do is talk about GAMES!

 

[Armenius]

This "writer" is either a woman (sure reads like a woman wrote it), or a male apologist.

Wah, people's feelings got hurt, wah!

Video games are art. And not everyone is going to appreciate your "Vision." And some people are going to be down right rude about it. We're not here to stroke your fragile indie developer ego. We're here to game.

Sadly, i think the term gamer has devolved into meaning people who play video games. A true gamer plays many games, video gaming is just a part of what makes a gamer a gamer. Hell, there are gamers in political office, they are playing the "politics game." The best sports players tend to be gamers, they learn the ins and outs of their particular game, and how best to exploit their strengths and the weaknesses of their opponents.

Gaming isn't some mouth breather on the couch with a controller in hand (necessarily), any idiot can play a game. A true gamer learns how to best the game. By learning about it, strategizing, coming up with out of the box solutions (exploits even).

Writer: one who writes.
Driver: one who driver.
Singer: one who sings.
Drinker: one who drinks.
Planner: one who plans.
Speaker: one who speaks.
Teacher: one who teaches.
...
Gamer: one who does not find fun in playing games and instead analyzes its flaws to exploit the gameplay and plans and strategizes as to not have failure as an option, whose only objective in playing said games is to win and beat it and tell it who's boss?

 

[amddragonpc]

Let me guess. The author, Leigh Alexander, is immune to hype. All I can say is, "GO POUND SAND, Leigh."

 

[Dreaz]

This thread is a great example of the very people the author rallies against.

It's a nuanced argument, trying to separate "gamer" (culture) from "one who plays games". To say both have the same meaning is to lie to yourself, and she's basically talking about how something that once started as exclusive and niche has now broadened into something inclusive and ubiquitous. Basically, the term "gamer" is an anachronistic term that conjures up all the stereotypes of said group of people (like this thread); she's insisting that the term is no longer relevant to companies who make games and said companies should stop trying to pander to "gamers".

It's a very sharp point she's arguing, and one missed by many of the people here in the thread.

Regardless, flame on, you're just proving her point.

 

[Meeho]

This thread is a great example of the very people the author rallies against.

It's a nuanced argument, trying to separate "gamer" (culture) from "one who plays games". To say both have the same meaning is to lie to yourself, and she's basically talking about how something that once started as exclusive and niche has now broadened into something inclusive and ubiquitous. Basically, the term "gamer" is an anachronistic term that conjures up all the stereotypes of said group of people (like this thread); she's insisting that the term is no longer relevant to companies who make games and said companies should stop trying to pander to "gamers".

It's a very sharp point she's arguing, and one missed by many of the people here in the thread.

Regardless, flame on, you're just proving her point.

Really? Nuanced and very sharp?

‘Game culture’ as we know it is kind of embarrassing -- it’s not even culture. It’s buying things, spackling over memes and in-jokes repeatedly, and it’s getting mad on the internet.

It’s young men queuing with plush mushroom hats and backpacks and jutting promo poster rolls. Queuing passionately for hours, at events around the world, to see the things that marketers want them to see. To find out whether they should buy things or not. They don’t know how to dress or behave. Television cameras pan across these listless queues, and often catch the expressions of people who don’t quite know why they themselves are standing there.

‘Games culture’ is a petri dish of people who know so little about how human social interaction and professional life works that they can concoct online ‘wars’ about social justice or ‘game journalism ethics,’ straight-faced, and cause genuine human consequences.

My favourite, a great example of abysmal journalism:
All of us should be better than this. You should be deeply questioning your life choices if this and this and this are the prominent public face your business presents to the rest of the world. [links in the article]

While video games themselves were discovered by strange, bright outcast pioneers -- they thought arcades would make pub games more fun, or that MUDs would make for amazing cross-cultural meeting spaces -- the commercial arm of the form sprung up from marketing high-end tech products to ‘early adopters’. You know, young white dudes with disposable income who like to Get Stuff.

Suddenly a generation of lonely basement kids had marketers whispering in their ears that they were the most important commercial demographic of all time. Suddenly they started wearing shiny blouses and pinning bikini babes onto everything they made, started making games that sold the promise of high-octane masculinity to kids just like them.

By the turn of the millennium those were games’ only main cultural signposts: Have money. Have women. Get a gun and then a bigger gun. Be an outcast. Celebrate that. Defeat anyone who threatens you. You don’t need cultural references. You don’t need anything but gaming.

It’s clear that most of the people who drove those revenues in the past have grown up -- either out of games, or into more fertile spaces, where small and diverse titles can flourish, where communities can quickly spring up around creativity, self-expression and mutual support, rather than consumerism. There are new audiences and new creators alike there. Traditional “gaming” is sloughing off, culturally and economically, like the carapace of a bug.

But it’s unstoppable. A new generation of fans and creators is finally aiming to instate a healthy cultural vocabulary, a language of community that was missing in the days of “gamer pride” and special interest groups led by a product-guide approach to conversation with a single presumed demographic.

Now part of a writer’s job in a creative, human medium is to help curate a creative community and an inclusive culture -- and a lack of commitment to that just looks out-of-step, like a partial compromise with the howling trolls who’ve latched onto ‘ethics’ as the latest flag in their onslaught against evolution and inclusion.


Damn, I should have just linked the whole article.

 

[Meeho]

The whole article is the typical drivel of the type of "journalist" this whole shitstorm as of late started from. So full of itself and basking in its own sense of superiority and intellectualism, while being no more than a deluded hypocritical person so far from the picture they paint of themselves it's not even funny.

 

[Zion Halcyon]

This thread is a great example of the very people the author rallies against.

It's a nuanced argument, trying to separate "gamer" (culture) from "one who plays games". To say both have the same meaning is to lie to yourself, and she's basically talking about how something that once started as exclusive and niche has now broadened into something inclusive and ubiquitous. Basically, the term "gamer" is an anachronistic term that conjures up all the stereotypes of said group of people (like this thread); she's insisting that the term is no longer relevant to companies who make games and said companies should stop trying to pander to "gamers".

It's a very sharp point she's arguing, and one missed by many of the people here in the thread.

Regardless, flame on, you're just proving her point.

Indeed, was thinking the same thing.

It's less carrying a torch for social justice and more a complaint that being a part of the online gaming culture has caused people to lose some of their humanity and common decency.

Seeing this thread, it's hard to argue the author isn't right.

 

[pcjunkie]

She probably wrote this during its "that time of the month".

 

[Armenius]

This thread is a great example of the very people the author rallies against.

It's a nuanced argument, trying to separate "gamer" (culture) from "one who plays games". To say both have the same meaning is to lie to yourself, and she's basically talking about how something that once started as exclusive and niche has now broadened into something inclusive and ubiquitous. Basically, the term "gamer" is an anachronistic term that conjures up all the stereotypes of said group of people (like this thread); she's insisting that the term is no longer relevant to companies who make games and said companies should stop trying to pander to "gamers".

It's a very sharp point she's arguing, and one missed by many of the people here in the thread.

Regardless, flame on, you're just proving her point.

And this is the problem. There is journalistic about this article. It is an opinion piece, plain and simple, that is trying to drum up controversy by using trigger words and stereotypical statements when making a point.. It is so frustrating when something on this subject comes up because you can't have a civil discussion or differing opinion about it without being labeled as one of "them." Just look at the comments section for the article. This is especially true when you call out someone like Anita Sarkeesian for the frauds that they are.

Really? Nuanced and very sharp?
*snip*
Damn, I should have just linked the whole article.

Thanks for posting all of that so I don't have to .