Are you a closet gamer?

[Lex]

I saw this topic on GAF and find the subject interesting. It'd be neat to hear the TLS opinion on this.

Something as inane as "I play videogames" can still be judged quite harshly by people, or at the very least force people to make assumptions about you.

For my own part, my close friends know I play games (and know I'm hyper obsessive about some particular franchises) but aren't interested themselves/ our friendship doesn't involve gaming. This is something that always bugged me pretty much until I discovered forums, because you have all these THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT WTF HAPPENED IN THIS SCENE and need to discuss them. NEED

So my answer to the question is partially. In my first couple of jobs nobody really knew I was a gamer. Uni was a bit of a refuge in this respect because I met a lot of friends who were into gaming, but unfortunately "real-life" gamers there tended to be the LoL/CS:GO type, though I've played some online multi with a couple of them since then. I remember in one of the places I worked I befriended a girl I had a lot in teenage-common with, as in we were both semi-metalhead teenagers and frequented a lot of the same hangouts. We used to have discussions about fandom and shit, but I got this "look" from her and she was pretty frank about being surprised I liked videogames. I didn't seem like the type, she said. Which is something I never really understood.

What about you TLS?

 

[Ghost X]

No one is interested in the games I'm interested in in my social circles. It is all sports or party games mostly for said folk. I'd be more of a gamer if I could afford it like when I had a job . At the moment I guess I am a latent gamer. I'm pretty fussy too, I guess. I don't generally buy many games, but play the hell out of the ones I do get.

 

[Strangelove]

idk why i'm answering this because mentioning anything i like to people is super difficult for me because i'm an anxious mess like 9 times out of 10

but looking at some of the neogaf comments, i definitely wouldn't be bringing it up out of the blue. if it finds its way into conversation (by which i mean the other person brings it up) then i will maybe go along with it. if they do bring it up though, it's kind of a relief? like i know it's 'safe' to talk about with this person, since you aren't going to be that guy talking about their hobby to someone who doesn't care. but the people i knew who were into it i fell out of touch with, so i've got nothing now. plus i think the stuff i play has been skewed towards niche thing that probably aren't going to work well in most conversations. the majority of my gaming hasn't been in english for years and years now

but i probably wouldn't talk about my extra-curricular activities, like 'hay i translated a bunch of interviews and books about video games'.

 

[Elessar]

I guess that's the reason we're here, aren't we? We're all closet gamers.

 

[AvecAloes]

I am by no means a closet gamer. I will talk about video games with anyone unless they steer the conversation away The fact that I am a gamer is listed prominently on my okcupid profile, and it's also listed in the "you should message me if" section of my profile (if that section still exists, I don't know, I haven't really been on okc in a while and I know they've made some changes recently). My peers at work know I'm into gaming. My family definitely knows I'm into gaming. My friends all know that I am into gaming, and even if they're not into gaming themselves, I still find myself talking about whatever game I'm currently playing, mostly to try to get them into gaming. I'll play my handhelds in public places. Bottom line - I have zero shame whatsoever about the fact that I am very much into video games. More people probably know that I'm into gaming than know that I went to college for History or that my middle name is Marie

 

[Joe]

I'm pretty lucky to be honest as I've always had a close group of gamer friends since I was a child. I've known my current best friends for about 14 years and they're all big gamers, having played and loved as much of the FF series as I have to boot. Even friends I've had outside of my closest circle have shared similar tastes to me. I've even had relationships with 'gamers'.

So no I'm certainly not closeted and I've no shame in bringing it up with strangers . If somebody's getting to know me it's one of the first things they find out. My Dad has always played games and it was his insistence that got our home a PS2 the week it released. The rest of my family are also familiar with how much of a gamer I am too and my cousins play everything from CoD to Minecraft.

 

[Octo]

Nah, I wear my nerdiness on my sleeve - though I don't go out of my way to talk to people about them unless I know they already have an interest. Thats pretty much how I am in general. I don't like being boring towards people. And I hate people yammering on about whatever boring shit they're into -eg Football, dry-stone walling, pigeon fancying. Just rude innit?


(Not that I hardly have time to play much these days. )

TBH anyone who is going to judge me for it - well they're not people whose opinion I give a shit about anyway.

the RL friends I've had have mostly been gamers. It's funny though 'gamer' to me seems to be a term that only turned up in the last 5 years or something. I've been playing games since I was 8 or something and I never thought to term myself a 'gamer' I guess it's never really mattered to me as some sort of social identity, it's just something I enjoy.

Also, I kind of associate the word 'gamer' with the kind of person who spends 9000 hours playing Call of Duty online threating arserape every five minutes Not saying that's what a 'gamer' is, just that is the image that springs to mind first when I think about that word.

 

[Kionae]

I think everyone knows I'm a gamer. I own so damn many geek shirts with gaming shit on them (even more so since subscribing to Lootcrate), it's kind of obvious just looking at me half the time.

Plus I opening mock my boss for not playing video games, so my coworkers are aware, too. Cuz my job is awesome like that.

 

[Ami]

I've never been a closeted gamer. Maybe I was a bit shy about it when I was younger, but I never not admitted to playing games. I'm a lot more confident about it in recent years, as I've met a lot of people (the ones that aren't your typical stereotype) that are gamers. I proudly wear my level of geekiness.

 

[Kermitu Kleric Katie]

I am a very open gamer. It's my passion, my main hobby, and so I don't even try to hide it. Most people I know are all gamers to some extent as well, so it's not like I'm at risk of being ostracized.

 

[Ryushikaze]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha no.

I don't tell my coworkers necessarily because they don't need to know, but I'm definitely open with the world at large about gaming.

 

[Flare]

Definitely not a closet gamer.
I've been playing games since I was old enough to hold a controller, thanks in large to my dad being a gamer himself (which is super cool ) and that he collected several of the Nintendo game systems. I started playing the Nintendo system but grew up mostly on the SNES and then the 64.

Everyone close to me knows I'm a gamer, I've never hid the fact and if someone asks I'll tell them. I usually don't bring it up in random conversation with people unless I know or get the hint that they like games too, though. I don't nerd out/talk about games with those who aren't interested, I feel awkward doing so.
I'm a very versatile gamer; I play a lot of games my dad likes and so get to chat with him about those games, but he's not into FF and the like so I don't get to talk to him about those. But then my best friend/cousin is really into FF games and not much else, so I get to nerd out with her all the time about FF games. I guess it really balances out then, so that's nice. My sis likes some games like FF and Fallout and stuff, and my mom likes Fallout and Minecraft; my sis is a decent gamer, mom's very casual with it. Both my sis and best friend married gamers, so that's nice cuz I can chat with them too about games

Other than that, every other 'gamer' I know is from the internet, one I've met through DA and the rest of ya'll are right here.

...I still sometimes nerd out about FF games to my mom, even though she hasn't much of a clue what I'm talking about. She got to hear all about how excited I was for the VII Remake. XD

 

[Cthulhu]

Yup,

I know some of my colleagues play video games probably just as much as me, sometimes even the same one, but, it's not a hobby I enjoy sharing much. Gaming is a personal thing for me. Plus once you get other people into the mix, it quickly becomes a competition, and I can't compete,

 

[Mayo Master]

Well, an advantage of being a university researcher who supervises Masters student is that I even organize gaming sessions at my place
Some time ago I hosted a collective playthrough of the Last of Us over 5-6 evenings, it was awesome

 

[Abortedj]

No closet gaming for me. I am out and proud.

 

[Flintlock]

Yes, I am. I took this picture of my set-up earlier. It's a bit cramped but it gives me the privacy I need:

Serious answer: not really. I guess I'm like Ryu in that I don't go around telling everyone, because I don't think they need to know, but I don't try to hide it either.

 

[ForceStealer]

Anyone who gets to know me for any length of time will quickly learn of my hobby. But I am usually not one to bring it up with someone I've met unless someone else broaches the topic. While I am not personally ashamed of it, I do still have the notion in my head that I will be judged for it and so try to try to have people learn other things about me first.

It would probably do me good to be more open about it, but I don't go out of my way to obfuscate it either. If someone comes over to my house it will become apparent in no time.

 

[Abortedj]

Short of a legal prohibition, I don't really understand why someone would be "in the closet" about anything. In my life, I have always been very open about everything that I am, and am into. Always followed the advice of "If we're going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are."

I know people that are in the closet about certain things. For example I have many friends that are "closet atheists". I try to respect that, and would not "out" them. Having said that, I really don't understand why they do this. Seems like pointless deception to me.

 

[Kuja9001]

My family know that I game and my group of friends and I tend to share similar if not the same preferences in games mostly RPGs(one friend got me into the Tales series and I got him into Mass Effect).

 

[Hisako]

In my current job as intern I end up marshalling a fair amount of younger subordinates on the shop floor, so anything that lets me engage with them on any wavelength is fair game for me

So it includes chatting on off-time with them about vidyagames and shit