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[boiled goose]

I'm not ashamed to play games. I consume games like I consume other media. I like talking about games much like I like talking about movies. This includes talking to colleagues, friends, dates, girlfriends, etc.

I don't call myself a gamer though. Just like I'm not a movier.

 

[Estoc]

I will be honest, I find GAF enthusiast culture based on 'hype' and making castles on the air with unreleased games more embarrassing than being a gamer.

Believe, indeed.

How is that different from other enthusiast forums? Are people better if they are hype for iPhone? Or the next Christopher Nolan's film? Or the next album from their favourite artist/band?

It's a forum for people to discuss games, hype for a game is expected, don't you think? Even if the hype isn't what I share in, it's a gaming forum for goodness's sake, what are we to do here? Talk about how to fix democracy? Build god damn rockets? Leave that to the aptly named "Off-topic" section please.

 

[Lime]

I'm not sure you can look at how toxic gaming culture is and not be 'ashamed' of the people that video games attract and appeal to.

- racism and sexism and homophobia in games mean that it's primarily white straight dudes who gets represented and catered to
- corporate defense and allegiance where multi-billion companies have militarized fanboys to defend them from any form of criticism
- gamers are willing to support a hate movement because a woman has an opinion online
- gamers don't care how their shiny luxury items are produced and are more concerned with teraflops than with the people being exploited to produce them
- gamers would rather ignore and bury their head in the sand than take an active stand against the bigoted communities (examples aplenty here)
- mass consumerism with no regard for the environment
- gamers attack over-worked crunching developers if they are not pleased with the end-product.

The 'gamer' is just a social construct that was created by marketing companies to make people identify and buy more stuff. And that label includes a whole bunch of toxic garbage and affiliations

 

[Mihos]

I am a lot of shit

Gamer is just one thing on a long list of things that could be used to describe me.

 

[GlamFM]

Nope.

Ashamed to be a human every once in a while though.

 

[Nosgotham]

nope. not ashamed. why on earth would anyone be ashamed to have a hobby just because assholes also have the same hobby?

 

[JustAnotherOtaku]

I'm not sure you can look at how toxic gaming culture is and not be 'ashamed' of the people that video games attract and appeal to.

- racism and sexism and homophobia in games mean that it's primarily white straight dudes who gets represented and catered to
- corporate defense and allegiance where multi-billion companies have militarized fanboys to defend them from any form of criticism
- gamers are willing to support a hate movement because a woman has an opinion online
- gamers don't care how their shiny luxury items are produced and are more concerned with teraflops than with the people being exploited to produce them
- gamers would rather ignore and bury their head in the sand than take an active stand against the bigoted communities (examples aplenty here)
- mass consumerism with no regard for the environment
- gamers attack over-worked crunching developers if they are not pleased with the end-product.

The 'gamer' is just a social construct that was created by marketing companies to make people identify and buy more stuff. And that label includes a whole bunch of toxic garbage and affiliations

Outstanding post, sums it up perfectly.

 

[Peltz]

I'm not a "gamer" in the same way I'm not a "filmer" or "televisioner" or "reader". I play video games. I watch tv shows and movies. I don't read though.

I agree with this approach. I don't define myself by types of mediums I consume.

I'm not sure you can look at how toxic gaming culture is and not be 'ashamed' of the people that video games attract and appeal to.

- racism and sexism and homophobia in games mean that it's primarily white straight dudes who gets represented and catered to
- corporate defense and allegiance where multi-billion companies have militarized fanboys to defend them from any form of criticism
- gamers are willing to support a hate movement because a woman has an opinion online
- gamers don't care how their shiny luxury items are produced and are more concerned with teraflops than with the people being exploited to produce them
- gamers would rather ignore and bury their head in the sand than take an active stand against the bigoted communities (examples aplenty here)
- mass consumerism with no regard for the environment
- gamers attack over-worked crunching developers if they are not pleased with the end-product.

The 'gamer' is just a social construct that was created by marketing companies to make people identify and buy more stuff. And that label includes a whole bunch of toxic garbage and affiliations

I'm not ashamed because I don't do any those things. I'm not going to hold myself accountable for the actions of strangers.

I also stand up against the bigots. We aren't all one entity just because we play videogames. That would be a ridiculous notion.

 

[Days like these...]

You're defining yourself as someone who plays video games, that's literally it. You're not saying that you're someone who ONLY plays video

Almost no one only plays games. People can't survive if that's the only thing they did. You hear of people dying in cyber cafes and those are indeed gamers. So you've proved my point. Youre ignoring context and especially intent. If someone chooses to say I'm a gamer they are literally defining themselves.

 

[Thabass]

Nope, but I don't consider myself a gamer. I play a lot of video games and am part of a lot of communities. I play and participate in a lot about video games.

 

[xevis]

Never a gamer. That label is poison.

 

[DomsPlaying]

Never.

 

[george_us]

Not ashamed at all to play video games. I'm ashamed at the awful culture surrounding it though.

 

[MKIL65]

With gamergate and everything? Yes.

Toxic masculinity ruins every hobby that I partake in.

 

[Pancho]

I keep my hobby on the down low since playing games still sorts of carries a social stigma. IMO it's a bit silly to identify yourself as a gamer. It's just a hobby not some sort of way of life or something like that. I play games, but also read books, watch movies and a bunch of other stuff.

 

[ab.aeterno]

Not ashamed at all to play video games. I'm ashamed at the awful culture surrounding it though.

Basically this. I'm pretty open about playing games, the same way I'm open about enjoying other media. But the "gamer" identity and the artificial culture around it? It's gross and I've wanted nothing to do with self-identifying with gamer culture for several years now.

There are assholes in every group, but we don't widely accept and shrug off hateful behavior as "just part of the way things are" the same way we do for online gaming in other spheres of life.

It shouldn't be normal that I have to constantly be on edge when joining guilds, for instance, that I'll have to just "deal with" homophobic bullshit.

 

[tkscz]

I'm not sure you can look at how toxic gaming culture is and not be 'ashamed' of the people that video games attract and appeal to.

- racism and sexism and homophobia in games mean that it's primarily white straight dudes who gets represented and catered to
- corporate defense and allegiance where multi-billion companies have militarized fanboys to defend them from any form of criticism
- gamers are willing to support a hate movement because a woman has an opinion online
- gamers don't care how their shiny luxury items are produced and are more concerned with teraflops than with the people being exploited to produce them
- gamers would rather ignore and bury their head in the sand than take an active stand against the bigoted communities (examples aplenty here)
- mass consumerism with no regard for the environment
- gamers attack over-worked crunching developers if they are not pleased with the end-product.

The 'gamer' is just a social construct that was created by marketing companies to make people identify and buy more stuff. And that label includes a whole bunch of toxic garbage and affiliations

So does being a sports fan affiliate one with the toxic people within sports? Does being a comic geek get you include with the toxic people within comic fandom? Does being a filmy mean you have to affiliate yourself with the toxic parts of that fandom? Should all fandoms feel ashamed for the toxic part of their fandom?

I simply can't agree with you on this because ALL fandoms have toxic people within them. You think it's only gaming? Hell, I'd consider sports fandoms even worst. From pushing people's cars into lakes for liking another team, to full out fucking fights and riots for their favorite team losing. I've even seen supporting different teams ruin friendships.

I'm not going feel ashamed of myself because of a group of assholes. You DON'T have o affiliate with anyone just because you share a hobby.

 

[adamsapple]

Not ashamed but it's definitely not the first thing I tell people as a hobby of mine.

 

[Skellig Gra]

No but I know that no one I interact with gives a shit so I just don't talk about it.

 

[TheAmazingXemo]

Op, be your own person. Don't label yourself. If you play video games, you play video games. The stereotypical "gamer" is something that people labeled other people as. It's marketing. It's bullshit.

Just because you play video games, that doesn't mean you're an asshole. Your personality and your behavior is the determining factor here.

 

[Skronk]

Ever since gamergate, yeah I'm very ashamed to be part of a community that includes and supports those type of "people".

Gamers are dead

 

[Agent Gibbs]

Nope,
Gaming like sports, literature, acedmia etc is a thing, a thing that people enjoy and subsequently interpret in their own way. People who are like minded then band to gather in communities, but there is never one sole community and the insinuation that there is one gaming community is frankly preposterous and to say the gaming community (as a whole) is toxic is laughable to me! There are toxic elements of the football "community" (or any sport) by such logic, should sports fans abandon their hobby because some vocal ass hats make it seem bad? no

Gaf itself shows this off in its threads, there isn't two sides, there are multiple sides and whilst some vocal people who game and consider themselves part of a like minded community they do not speak for me or reflect my views.

Meither do I delve into following community trends, I enjoy gaming because I enjoy gaming, not because some book club esq environment tells me to play certain games, think certain things etc

 

[KZXcellent]

Not at all.

Just because there's a lot of toxicity and shitty people who are gamers doesn't make me ashamed to be one myself. If I did I'd probably have to be ashamed of a lot of other things I do like wearing pants.

 

[Raptomex]

I enjoy playing video games. I don't partake in multiplayer anything and avoid social gaming so I guess I'm blind to all the "toxicity"? Besides other bullshit like questionable design choices, it has its ups and downs but I still enjoy it, analyze it, and talk about it. I'm not giving it up. And just because other people in the industry are dickwads, I'm not going to let it affect my experience. I'm not ashamed.

 

[Hello? This is Hailun!]

I quit calling myself a "gamer" maybe 10 or so years ago. I'm 100% not interested in identifying myself with a corporate label (at best) or something infested with alt right shit heads (at worst) or sexist waifu obsessed weebs and foul mouthed 13 year old kids with poor parental supervision. And let's not forget the abject corporate stooging that everyone of every mindset practices.

I largely outgrew it.

I'm just a person who plays videogames as a hobby.

 

[imBask]

I'm not sure you can look at how toxic gaming culture is and not be 'ashamed' of the people that video games attract and appeal to.

- racism and sexism and homophobia in games mean that it's primarily white straight dudes who gets represented and catered to
- corporate defense and allegiance where multi-billion companies have militarized fanboys to defend them from any form of criticism
- gamers are willing to support a hate movement because a woman has an opinion online
- gamers don't care how their shiny luxury items are produced and are more concerned with teraflops than with the people being exploited to produce them
- gamers would rather ignore and bury their head in the sand than take an active stand against the bigoted communities (examples aplenty here)
- mass consumerism with no regard for the environment
- gamers attack over-worked crunching developers if they are not pleased with the end-product.

The 'gamer' is just a social construct that was created by marketing companies to make people identify and buy more stuff. And that label includes a whole bunch of toxic garbage and affiliations

you can replace "gamers" from your post with basically anything and it would still work, so I guess you're ashamed of a lot of things

i'm not gonna be ashamed of something I like because of things I don't do

 

[KORNdoggy]

nope. i understand that there's a lot of shit associated with the hobby. least of which is the rampant sexism, racism and homophobia. but then that's a general problem with the entire planet right now, so no, i'm not ashamed to be a gamer specifically, but i am sometimes ashamed to be male...or white...or British...or even human.

the world currently feels like a cesspit of hate no matter where you look, but i try to surround myself with decent folk and hope people quit with the toxicity.

 

[Laiza]

I'm not sure you can look at how toxic gaming culture is and not be 'ashamed' of the people that video games attract and appeal to.

- racism and sexism and homophobia in games mean that it's primarily white straight dudes who gets represented and catered to
- corporate defense and allegiance where multi-billion companies have militarized fanboys to defend them from any form of criticism
- gamers are willing to support a hate movement because a woman has an opinion online
- gamers don't care how their shiny luxury items are produced and are more concerned with teraflops than with the people being exploited to produce them
- gamers would rather ignore and bury their head in the sand than take an active stand against the bigoted communities (examples aplenty here)
- mass consumerism with no regard for the environment
- gamers attack over-worked crunching developers if they are not pleased with the end-product.

The 'gamer' is just a social construct that was created by marketing companies to make people identify and buy more stuff. And that label includes a whole bunch of toxic garbage and affiliations

+1

I enjoy gaming quite a bit but I cannot fathom the idea of ever identifying as a "gamer" in light of all the terrible shit that one can attribute to the gaming industry on a regular basis. It is honestly baffling to me.

I'm not ashamed because I don't do any those things. I'm not going to hold myself accountable for the actions of strangers.

I also stand up against the bigots. We aren't all one entity just because we play videogames. That would be a ridiculous notion.

So does being a sports fan affiliate one with the toxic people within sports? Does being a comic geek get you include with the toxic people within comic fandom? Does being a filmy mean you have to affiliate yourself with the toxic parts of that fandom? Should all fandoms feel ashamed for the toxic part of their fandom?

I simply can't agree with you on this because ALL fandoms have toxic people within them. You think it's only gaming? Hell, I'd consider sports fandoms even worst. From pushing people's cars into lakes for liking another team, to full out fucking fights and riots for their favorite team losing. I've even seen supporting different teams ruin friendships.

I'm not going feel ashamed of myself because of a group of assholes. You DON'T have o affiliate with anyone just because you share a hobby.

you can replace "gamers" from your post with basically anything and it would still work, so I guess you're ashamed of a lot of things

i'm not gonna be ashamed of something I like because of things I don't do

You know, this is not a good look.

Gaming doesn't suddenly look any better just because you don't have to associate gaming with its worst parts, especially when its worst parts are clearly visible in basically any popular online video game, even moreso in anything with public voice chat.

 

[shawnbuddy]

I always thought defining yourself by one hobby is a bit reductive and diminutive. I'm a person. I like to play video games but I also have a wide range of activities and thoughts. I don't have a reason to be ashamed of some marketing-driven identity hijacked by hate groups because that has very little to do with me.

 

[ObsidianG]

So does being a sports fan affiliate one with the toxic people within sports? Does being a comic geek get you include with the toxic people within comic fandom? Does being a filmy mean you have to affiliate yourself with the toxic parts of that fandom? Should all fandoms feel ashamed for the toxic part of their fandom?

I simply can't agree with you on this because ALL fandoms have toxic people within them. You think it's only gaming? Hell, I'd consider sports fandoms even worst. From pushing people's cars into lakes for liking another team, to full out fucking fights and riots for their favorite team losing. I've even seen supporting different teams ruin friendships.

I'm not going feel ashamed of myself because of a group of assholes. You DON'T have o affiliate with anyone just because you share a hobby.

It is very true that most, if not all communities or fandoms have some toxic people in them, and that the issues with gaming as a community can be found in many of other ones. I have often compared gaming to sports as a hobby and watched a light go off in the eyes of my friends when they ask me about gaming related topics and realize that it is just a hobby, like any other and not some big mystery.

However, because the internet sometimes tends to rewards extremes (unfortunately) and for better or worse, gaming as a pretty big online "notoriety", these toxic people are the most visible portion of gaming culture to the general public (again, the same could be said about other hobbies, such as sports).

I don't mean to speak for the OP, but I guess the larger issue here isn't so much whether we associate with, or feel defined by the toxic individuals in gaming communities (I wholeheartedly agree with you on the point that we do not need to affiliate with toxic people because we share a hobby), but whether we, as people who enjoy gaming as a hobby, think that there is anything we could do to improve the climate in gaming communities, or come up with solutions to deal with these issues that are plaguing gaming culture, in general.

 

[Loxley]

I've always hated the term "gamer", but no, I'm not ashamed that I love video games.

 

[Petrae]

Nope. I've been a "gamer" for decades, including during a time when playing video games was considered lame and not the mainstream success it is now. I've always shown my appreciation for the games, not the community-- which has unfortunately devolved into something wretched in recent years. The games are what I'm tied to.

I wear gaming-related clothing. I listen to gaming soundtracks on the go. My room has posters and other collectibles that I proudly display. I'm not embarrassed to pull out a portable gaming system in public and play. I have no shame over any of these things.

Poorly-behaved people aren't going to spoil my enjoyment of something-- whether that's video games, sports, movies, music, television, or anything else.

 

[mugurumakensei]

I play video games. I'm not a gamer.
I play and watch sports. I'm neither an athlete or a sports buff.
I watch movies. I'm not a filmgoer.
I watch TV show. I'm not tv-er
I read books. I'm not a librarian or a reader.
I drink occasionally. I'm not a drinker or an alcoholic.
I like to travel. I'm not a traveler.

Basically, I do a lot of things. Those things don't define mean. My personality defines the person I am. The things I do for others define who I am. That's who I am to the outside world. Who I am to me, that's internal and I stick with whatever I am today I want to be better tomorrow. Honestly, using a hobby to define yourself seems wrong.


Edit: also, so many people play games now, you might as well just be announcing you are between the ages of 0-60.

 

[Mithos]

I'm not, I'm ashamed that there are people who are trying to shame others because they don't like the things they feel you should like, and dislike the things they feel you should dislike.

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

If I can survive The Cake is a Lie and that fucking Portal still alive song, I'm pretty much in it for the long haul.

 

[Zee-Row]

I don’t like being called a gamer because of the toxic culture around that name. I like video games and that’s about it.

 

[Jeronimo Jones]

I'm not ashamed to be a "gamer", it just doesn't accurately describe me so I reject the term. I don't call myself an artist because I like to sketch or anything in particular because I watch movies.

I'm not even sure gamers would consider me a gamer. I don't know that I play the right games, or the right platforms, know enough gaming history, played enough of the classics, if I complain or get angry enough about anti-consumer gaming company practices, if I take online competition seriously enough, or if my perspective on diverse characters matters to gamers. Doesn't matter though, it's not a team or title I'm willing to fight for or defend.

 

[Raven117]

Among people I don't know, honestly, yes.

Im not going to broadcast it.

 

[Voidwolf]

I'm not ashamed I play video games but I don't call myself a gamer. To me it's just a hobby.

 

[AlexBasch]

I'm not sure you can look at how toxic gaming culture is and not be 'ashamed' of the people that video games attract and appeal to.

- racism and sexism and homophobia in games mean that it's primarily white straight dudes who gets represented and catered to
- corporate defense and allegiance where multi-billion companies have militarized fanboys to defend them from any form of criticism
- gamers are willing to support a hate movement because a woman has an opinion online
- gamers don't care how their shiny luxury items are produced and are more concerned with teraflops than with the people being exploited to produce them
- gamers would rather ignore and bury their head in the sand than take an active stand against the bigoted communities (examples aplenty here)
- mass consumerism with no regard for the environment
- gamers attack over-worked crunching developers if they are not pleased with the end-product.

The 'gamer' is just a social construct that was created by marketing companies to make people identify and buy more stuff. And that label includes a whole bunch of toxic garbage and affiliations

Agree with all of this. Nicely put.

Fuck that "gaming culture" bullshit.

 

[cr0w]

I play video games a few hours a week. I spend more time cooking on average than I do playing video games. I wouldn't consider myself a chef based on that.

Once a hobby defines who you are it's no longer a hobby, it's a problem. Frankly if all you have in life is being a 'gamer', it's pretty goddamn sad.

 

[KORNdoggy]

I always thought defining yourself by one hobby is a bit reductive and diminutive

why would you assume anyone is doing that though? you can have multiple labels and have them all ring true just as much as any other. for instance just because i identify as a gamer doesn't mean i don't identify as an artist, or a music lover, or a food lover, or model maker, or male, or gay, or white, or human... i'm all of those things. the labels just make things easier. i mean, i guess i could introduce myself to people with a broad statement like "i'm just me" but i imagine it isn't a very intuitive way to display my interests or attributes.

 

[raginrapids]

I'm too damn old to care what other people think, so no, I'm not ashamed.

 

[theepicoftyler]

I play video games, but I wouldn't ever let 'gamer' be my defining personality characteristic.

At the end of the day, this is a hobby. I'd probably never call myself a gamer either at this point because of the associations people could make.

 

[Peltz]

+1

I enjoy gaming quite a bit but I cannot fathom the idea of ever identifying as a "gamer" in light of all the terrible shit that one can attribute to the gaming industry on a regular basis. It is honestly baffling to me.


You know, this is not a good look.

Gaming doesn't suddenly look any better just because you don't have to associate gaming with its worst parts, especially when its worst parts are clearly visible in basically any popular online video game, even moreso in anything with public voice chat.

I didn't say I don't associate gaming with it's worse parts. I said I don't feel any personal shame and about playing games just because some bad people play them too. I don't hold myself personally accountable for a bunch of anonymous morons' actions particularly with regard to bigotry.

I also stated that classifying people who play videogames into some monolithic entity is also not productive or rational. This is different from "disassociation" or "burying my head in the sand." It's simply the acknowledgement that I can only feel shame or accountability for the things within my control and not the actions or shortcomings of others. I'll stand up to people who want to do harm, but will not let those people negatively impact my enjoyment and enthusiasm for the hobby. Do you see the distinction?

 

[Akuun]

deleted

 

[bunkitz]

Not of myself as a gamer, no. I love games and I identify as a gamer before anything else. Well, possibly art enthusiast first, but they kind of blend for me. Regardless, like many others, I have known of how toxic part of the gaming community is for a long time now--and not just the gaming community but a lot of "geek" communities out there, such as for comic books. I'm somewhat of a misanthrope, though, so I have a fairly low opinion on humanity and am not so surprised at how shitty some people are. It's tiring and frustrating, yes, but so is a whole lot of other terrible things happening in the world, so... it's definitely not something that's going to make me rethink my "hobby" (I find it hard to call it a hobby considering how much gaming means to me, though I suppose it's still technically just a hobby) or downright stop.

There are lots of good people out there in the world, while on the other hand, some are downright shitty and appalling. I'm not going to stop identifying as a part of human society, though. Of course not. I identify as a decent (and I hope I'm right to think of myself as such) human being, more specifically. Similarly, I like to think of myself as a decent gamer (in terms of the community), and separate myself from the immature and hateful gamers out there.

Although... well, I suppose this thread's got me thinking more about this now. Will have to revisit the idea on my own time.

 

[Amibguous Cad]

I think it's pretty silly to define yourself as a 'gamer' when almost everyone plays games of some stripe or another these days.

I was hoping that maybe semantic drift would turn 'gamer' into something like the equivalent of 'foodie' or 'film buff' for video games, but it seems like it's much more likely to just stay mired in gamergate type stuff. Oh well, I suppose we'll just have to stick with 'enthusiast.'

 

[Fury451]

I just play games for fun.

 

[yanipheonu]

Not really? Caring too much about what people think is a hopeless endeavor.