Tricky Dick’s

Rage is quite an emotion. It is defined as “violent and uncontrolled anger; a fit of violent wrath.” It’s not a topic that is discussed lightly usually. As much as it may be shocking *cough* sarcasm *cough*, some video gamers do “rage” from time to time. Far be it from me to judge others but this is a topic I’d like to address as it’s greatly looked down on by most.
Video games probably do cause SOME people to become overly angry. However it’s usually AT someone doing something to the player in the video game and not necessarly JUST the game itself. Lets face is MOST video games are multiplayer now a days. Even if they are not online most support some sort of 2-4 player mode. There still does exist those single player games in which frustration can take over and a broken controller can arise. So why does this happen.
Video games are USUALLY played with a goal to accomplish or something the player is trying to acheive. When this is interrupted or unable to be attained it can lead to frustration. This is both good and bad as it allows the player to get out their anger or frustrations in general in a venting manner. People vent about life all the time, video games DO provide a release for this in a sense as the anger that is expelled at the game or other players is usually non-detremental. Of course there is always the flip side that people would never get that angry to begin with if they had control.
I differ in this opinion, because video games are intense. Most games require players FULL concentration to perform well Sure many games can be played while not sober and are quite enjoyable, however when gamers are serious and trying to accomplish a task they focus on it. This intense focus raises ones senses and increases the adrenaline flow. The game itself is a form of stiumlation. Combine those and you can beging to see how or why some individuals can become so angry when playing a video game.
Now people may say that the same should be true for atheletes, and as far as I can tell I think it pretty much is. I’m not saying that ALL video gamers or athletes go postal, but they do become angry more than someone who is just mad, they rage.
Now I have been known from time to time to RAGE. No I’m not apoligizing for it, yes sometimes I KNOW that I get too angry. It’s also a form of release. Beyond that is a sense of success. When you can become so upset that you would throw a controller for example, FINALLY acheiving that final goal is extremely satisfying. Which is one thing that gamers do need and a large reason they play.
The sense and pleasure attained from beating something that was SO difficult, and caused one to get extremely angry, is enourmous. As with any thing hard in life, finishing it is that much sweeter. So to those that frown upon the anger issues, just know that if the person isn’t harming those around him or hurting anyone, or himself, his final fruition will be all that much more.

So it’s been a while, guess I got lazy about writing. Since I’ve decided to make this more than just video games I’ll probably change the topic up from time to time but still who reads this anyway.

What makes a gamer a gamer? I don’t think any gamer doesn’t know they are a gamer. How does an artist know they are an artist, it’s almost a self defining thing. But to put it simply, if you play video games with a purpose your a gamer, but of course there are going to be varying degrees.
A gamer doesn’t have to be someone who plays 24/7-365, hell they could still be playing on a Super Nintendo (SNES) and be a gamer. Really it comes down to a feeling of desire and enjoyment in participating in what the games creators are trying to get across. Game creators are artsy, intelligent, creative people. There are video games that are kinda just put out there with a movie release as part of some cross marketing garbage crap, but most games are created with an ultimate team of people trying to get across a fun or entertaining or just neat interactive idea.

But gamers are not your 18-32 males, they are all ages, races, sexes, etc… Even those people that play solitare in your office for hours while they have no calls to answer are gamers. However there is a select breed which I would call the hardcore gamer. Those that shy away from sunlight, people that would subject themselves to 48 hours of gaming in a dark small room with dozens of others, unshaven, unbathed, feasting of of delivered pizza and soda. People who have a passion for video games. Here also lies a misunderstanding in that games that subject such an active response are not common. There are a handful of games that can elicit such unaccepted behavior, however the majority of games produced fall short of such accomplishments. Or perhaps were designed to have a beginning and end to them.

Now the hardcore gamer is a different breed all together and I think from time to time depending on the games, many gamers fall into this mode, but they do surface for air here and there. These are probably the actions that society frowns upon the most, but with any hobby or pasttime, addiction is usually a self responsible restraint.

As for myself I’ll shift modes from time to time. With any activity I usually dive pretty deep into it and go all out with it, this is just my personality and isn’t necessarly true of gaming. I will say that some genre’s of video games, in particular massive multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGS), do lend themselves to be more time consuming than others, however people wouldn’t participate if the activity wasn’t enjoyable.

Stay tuned.. hopefully updates will be more frequent

Although I’ve already written this before I figure I’ll start it off again like this.

What’s in a gamer. A video gamer. I’m writing this because I am a gamer and I see the life of a gamer as misunderstood by a large portion of society. So this isn’t necessarly for gamers, but I hope that they will enjoy it as well. I’ve played video games since I was about 7 years old. The first system that I remember playing was my atari 5200, that I got for christmas. I have a picture that I remember of myself as a child playing video games for what I believe was the first time.

The same christmas I also received a mini bike. Which when I tried for the first time, I promptly become my age and utterly forgot where the break was. Screaming my head off, my hand stuck on the throttle turned back, and my father running down the street screaming “Step on the break!” I flew down the street about a quarter mile and figured I needed to stop so at about 20mph I ran the bike into a chain link fence about two feet high. The bad part being the other side of the fence was 14 foot drop onto concrete. Luckely the bike was pretty much stuck on the fence and I didn’t go over in the minute it took my dad to catch up to me and slap my hand off the throttle.

Needless to say that stunt forced me to enjoy my Atari 5200 much more than my minibike. Strange to think of the situations which direct a person’s hobbies and ultiately a large portion of their activities later on in lifre at such an early age. Regardless I’m rambling and the ultimate point of this blog is to try and give an insight into what it’s like to be a gamer. What motivates us, what thrills us, what destroys us, what addicts us, what offends us.

As a note to all of this I hope that no one takes this as being what a gamer is. This is just my own personal take and look at a situation which more and more of society is becoming a part of in some way. Ultimately what I mean to say is that in any sub-genre of society one finds a diverse sub-culture within. Humans are all diverse in any regard, but video gamers are a sociologist playground.

Well that’s a start I guess.