Zijn gamers nerds?

Ik ben het er natuurlijk niet mee eens dat gamers nerds zijn, maar ik vind ook wel dat je niet de hele dag moet gamen, hooguit een paar uur per dag is wel genoeg.

TE veel is nooit goed namelijk, zelfs te veel sex is dodelijk...

Maar hier komt ie dus:

Posted on "03/01/2003"

The Video gamer. Also Known as "Nerd/Geek".
Public stereotypes to us gaming folk haven't really changed over the past years, could they? Should they? Who cares if they do? Are we all mindless idiots who spend our lives engrossed in pointless games or are we just as weird as someone who loves good films? Or who enjoys a good book now and again? Of course, there are differences to be considered. While one gamer could play videogames for an hour or so a day, another could spend well over 10... That just isn't healthy. Well, to get to the bottom of this long-lasting stereotype, I've written this article, aptly titled "A.K.A. Nerd". On with the speculations then...
How do you play yours?

A lot of how this image of a no-hope videp gamer totally drunk of playing games arose in the 80's, with the mass craze of arcade machines. Children (and adults) of all ages would spend hours in these arcades, fighting for a higher score at their favourite game. Many say if it wasn't for the arcades, modern gaming wouldn't have come about - arcades kick started the video game world. So, naturally, your average Joe looks into an arcade, what does he see? About 20-40 kids focused on a screen. He can't see the screen, so from his point of view it looks a little strange. He doesn't think of what may be on this screen he just says to himself, "Tsk, silly kids, looking at a screen all day!". Well, that's all very well, but the public must remember that entire civilizations can be captured on those "screens." Worlds, endless in size and excitement. Characters, dynamic and interesting, all going on in this mass beast of brilliant entertainment. Why do people think playing games is "pathetic" in the first place is beyond me, they obvously just haven't experienced it or listened to the opinions of a gamer.
Sure, this might not be your idea of fun, but many people enjoy it. Now, if the world had said, "Ok, videogames are pointless, let's leave it at that", things might not have got the way the are today, but once people had seen videogame, natural instinct told them that something wasn't right. "Oh dear" they said, "Those kids must be brainless to like those silly games". And so, the "brainless videogamer was born."

Prodegy Child

The main cause to the arrival of videogaming stereotypes was the fact that mostly children played the games. Adults can be incredibly arrogant people (I say this as a teenager, filled with the rebelious nature that makes my life worth-while). "Hoho!" They say, "Stupid kids, playing with their silly games." Aha! So maybe it's not just videogames alone that made the rest of the world label gamers "fools." Perhaps it was the adults, who, in their arrogance disregarded our activities and failed to understand the pleasure and "magic" behind video gaming. Ok, not all adults thought this (that would be stereotyping them, wouldn't it?) and not all are arrogant, but you get the picture. Somehow, this view stuck.

Anyway, we learned to live with it and although this view hasn't really changed, it's interesting to see how that even with the changes in the industry, people still think of gamers as losers who sit around all day and play games.

Little Girl Gamer

Another thing contributing to our plight, women. It is usually seen that men and boys play games and that women generally don't. This is, of course, untrue - many a lassie has set her hands upon a game controller and many have yet to do so. But, the majority remains male. Why is this? Games aren't generally designed to appeal to men... is it a gender thing? Are guys just more attracted to flashing lights and technological wonders more than women? Probably, but then wouldn't that make the fact that women see videogames as "sad" just another sexist opinion? Perhaps... But then again, look at who is in our video games. Lara Croft, undisputed slut of the virtual world. Women seem to play a big roll in the games we play, those little french "maidens" in TS2, Joanna Dark, Princess Zelda, Bimbo Queen Princess Peach and many others come to mind.

Web Opinions...

After searching on Google for "video gaming nerds" I came up with a site called popcultmag.com. One of their articles detailed E3 2002 (I think it was 2002...). I have selected a quote I found particularly optomistic about the event...

"Truly, this is a geek wonderland: unlimited video games, hot babes, and rock n' roll. In fact, 30,000 of these professional nerds have congregated here at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) from around the globe, breathing in the sweet euphoria of their favorite pastime as EMF radiation tingles in the smoky air, reveling in the white noise of pixilated adventure roaring overhead."
That's probably the most typical reference to video gamers I've ever heard. Ok, we do get a bit over-excited at E3, but who cares? We have our fun, most of us are healthy and a good percentage of video gamers know there is a life in this world other than playing games. Which brings me to my next point... the health factor. Are we damaging our minds/bodies by playing games 24/7? Let's see...

A Video Game A Day keeps the voices away...

We've all heard the frightening stories of people who become so hooked and addicted on a particular game that it takes over their lives. They don't sleep or eat, they just play it more and more. The prime example of this is "Everquest". A popular PC RPG. You've probably heard about the guy who played this in an internet cafe for hours over the night and died of a heart attack. This is, of course, the extreme of things, but it doesn't help the view of games being healthy. Are we damaging ourselves by playing too much? And how much is too much? You'll find in the manual for your games console some health recommendations. One of them states that you should take 5 minute breaks every hour while playing games. Good advice, this is. It's proven that playing games can cause fatigue, headaches, sore eyes, back ache, muscle pain and a host of other unattractive symptoms. Even whole conditions have risen because of people playing games too long, it has even been suggested that games induce violent and anti-social behavior.

I'm not going to dig to deep into the realms of videogaming health problems, but it's worth noting that video games are not 100% healthy. And if they're not treated with care, you can end up with some nasty conditions. This is unlikely, but as many have said, "There's no chance of that if you just read a book." Well, I'm sure if someone read a book for long enough their eyes would hurt too, the fact is, it's easier to inflict injuries upon yourself while playing games - another reason for "the outside world" to disagree with our gaming habits...

Changing Times

Video gaming will always be the same. People who don't play games will always think the same things about it, that can't change. What can is the popularity of games. More and more people are becoming engrossed in video games each day. Video gaming is becoming more of a normality, but, the people refuse to accept it. I guess we'll just have to wait until the world accepts us.

- Chris

Die laatste zin

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Op woensdag 8 januari 2003 10:54 schreef SlaadjeBla het volgende:
NERD

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Maar dat geeft niet, ik vond het gewoon een mooi artikel

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Op woensdag 8 januari 2003 15:35 schreef I.R.Baboon het volgende:
Ik vind dat PCgamers nerds (kunnen) zijn.

Consolegamers zijn gewoon cool. .

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Ik kan nl wel zeggen dat ik redelijk veel game en er veel geld aan uitgeef. Te veel denk ik soms, maar dat doet er niet toe...

Verder boeit het eigenlijk niet zoveel.