Cormyr and the Dalelands

Finally someone said it!

Gross overgeneralizations?

Game journalism being corrupt?

Last time I checked, all forms of journalism were corrupt.

It is so incredibly disappointing that the minority and the "bro gamers" have given us such a negative image. As they say, whomever yells the loudest gets the most attention. People don't care that the "average" gamer isn't a caffeine-pumping 14-year-old; it's a late-twenties/early-thirties, politically-informed, full-time job, productive member of society, just like everyone else.

They don't get attention because they don't scream.

Yeah, that's pretty typical "journalism" there.  Idiots and mouth-breathers, the lot of them.

Glad we can say we're more so than.  By Leaps and bounds.  

When even Will Wheaton is saying he's ashamed to be a Gamer you know a fortnight was bad, really bad. This fortnight has been depressing on that front. On the plus side I think it's because this is reaching critical mass, the market is changing and that change is now irreversable that is what makes them so nasty, that last desperate throw of the dice, but it's doomed to fail.

Publishers can smell the money and the money is in having as large a customer base as they can get, not in limiting themselves to a customer base they have already tapped out. Do I think the tag Gamer will die out, no, it will still refer to Table top fans after all but it might be less useful to describe a computer gamer, since we are reaching the point where a large section of folks you meet would call themselves that. At some point it may be as common as someone going to the movies, or watching TV.

Like Demonic said, the toxic crowd of gamers, ones that brought alot of attention to games like League of Legends, are actually a small crowd.
I consider myself a gamer, been playing games my entire life, it's something I'll likely never drop as it just became a normal part of my life. My brother and I never tried to shank each other if one of us died early in Contra, nor have I ever felt the need to give death threats to someone who kicked my ass in a competitive game. This toxic behavior isn't native to gamers, therefore I wouldn't call it a gamer trait, the sad truth is that this toxic behavior is present in almost all crowds as there are just -some- people that give everyone else a bad name.

Thing is, I'm one of those guys who are proud to call themselves a Gamer, not because I'm trying to be apart of some crowd or anything, or that I'm trying to prove I'm superior than others, but because some time back there was a time (at least where I lived) where if you played video games, you were considered a degenerate, someone who wouldn't make it in school, never get a job, lazily mooch off of his or her parents their entire life or resort to a life of petty crimes, and generally someone that people didn't want to associate with. From then, to now, that stereotype has been proven wrong time and time again, people are actually starting to ditch that, I'm even seeing fads formed from gaming communities.

All this article tells me is that we're moving from one stereotype to another, and most of the folks falling in front of the crosshairs of this generalization aren't actually to blame, nor had a say in it.

Small groups of dedicated jerk wads can tar entire nations. It's something that should be taken into account. There's a type of person that's just incredibly aggressive about being as obnoxious and offensive as possible. I remember when NWN was full of them and they made regular appearances on all popular servers.

I have to doubt whether a site called "Jacobin" with a little logo getting some sort of stylish push off a bunch of executionnists, is from the same planet enough to understand how large and layered gamer culture as it's defined now really is. The name itself prioritizes style over substance, which makes it unsurprising the piece is just a cookie cutter PC bit.

The article is not wrong, but eh.  Like many others say, the loudmouth twits get more attention by the media than the other sorts.


Sincerely,
Arya

That's so true...

Eh.. it's still not as bad as saying you rolepay.

Or LARP.

Those still carry all sorts of negative aspects.

Yeah.

I have done a lot of DMing, and borderline-administrative work on my time in NWN, especially here. And I can never, ever put that on a resume, even if it would guarantee some awesome positions if it were not for...the gamer stigma.  That stuff tends to make people think you have absolutely no life.

...Well, that is partially true, but for the opposite reasons of what they might think. <.<

Sincerely,
Arya

Hmm my brother has been talking about Zoe and Anita a lot recently he thinks some of the stuff that has gone on seems a little suspect. I don't advocate anyone sending threats or the publishing of private details by a jilted ex though it seems to me if some of the accusations are true it sounds like a dirty job. People in jounalism are supposed to have ethics and although i know there are some who don't there are many who do.

I can and have been a Jerk at times. I am not a young man anymore but i can remember being a teenager and doing stuff that proabably in retrospect isn't right but i was young and stupid. People grow up. Lets hope they do. I can remember playing Halo and turning on the chat and hearing some people (who sounded under 15) saying horrificly racist and homophobic abuse. Do i think they believe it. No they are saying it because they are young they don't see any consequences and they think it's funny. Lets hope the people involved in the death threats and that are just kids and that given enough time they grow up and develop into well rounded adults... i did.. well mostly.