Video game discrimination.

[Maximum_Chill]

Would you rather have games, or a social life?

This is so much a false dilemma it's not funny.

Totally agree.

Fallacy!

[Maximum_Chill]

If all you really know about is video games, it can get pretty vexing for others. It's about the same as trying to carry on a conversation with a sports freak, or one of those girls that are just a little too into U2.

It's just that, while it is socially acceptable to walk around in nothing but body paint for the home team or to be really obsessed with really bad music, it is also socially acceptable to view video games as nothing more than a toy. That's the whole reason we get these Jack Thompson's that rise up against violent video games - they remain convinced that video games are nothing more than another way for parents not to have to spend time with their kids.

The best thing you can do not to be discriminated against for liking video games (or cartoons, or toys, or anime, or scifi, or Dungeons&Dragons, or any thing else of the sort) is just don't make it your defining characteristic. Make sure it is but one of many things that defines who you are as a person.

Yeh, I totally agree.

Which really bugs me because I do not just talk about games, and I don't define myself just by games. Games are a hobby, they're something interesting to do, but they're not "me".

However, i still get tagged as "gamer guy" or (in different situations) "comic guy", usually just by mentioning a game or comic once or twice.

[the7k]

Well, I rarely mentioned gaming in high school, unless someone else did. In fact, I was pretty quiet in high school.

Strangely, after moving on from one social group to another in high school, I somehow gained the reputation of a stoner - even though I have never once puffed on a peace pipe. But hey, being seen as a wastoid is better than being an outcast.

All that is ancient history, though. While middle and high school was basically "Lord of the Flies", college was the exact opposite. It sucks that your experience was crappy, but I was actually quite popular for having just about every system since the NES at my apartment - even chicks seem to love the retro stuff. Of course, I do love throwing parties - I get a massive stiffy out of keeping people entertained.

[Luuper]

I have some good stories about this I will post later. But I have to say Ack has the absolute best story about this. Ack tellem about the frat you rushed.

You mean the time they asked me to go to a party, so I showed up in a Hawaiian shirt, with a PS2 under my arm, and all they asked was if I played Tekken?

What school do you go to, Max?

I go to Dalhousie University.

+1 for Halifax

[Ack]

I just find that a little weird that they're acting like that, especially when you've got things like this going on.

http://www.cs.dal.ca/news/news-2019.shtml

There's stuff going on, you just have to look for it.

[Ack]

I just find that a little weird that they're acting like that, especially when you've got things like this going on.

http://www.cs.dal.ca/news/news-2019.shtml

There's stuff going on, you just have to look for it.

Here's something else I found, while I'm at it.

http://my.dsu.ca/tiger_society/society/show/257

http://www.thevesl.com/

I'd suggest talking to those guys. Even if they're not playing games you like, they might know somebody who is.

[Maximum_Chill]

I just find that a little weird that they're acting like that, especially when you've got things like this going on.

http://www.cs.dal.ca/news/news-2019.shtml

There's stuff going on, you just have to look for it.

Here's something else I found, while I'm at it.

http://my.dsu.ca/tiger_society/society/show/257

http://www.thevesl.com/

I'd suggest talking to those guys. Even if they're not playing games you like, they might know somebody who is.

Goodness.

I've never heard of these things!

I even e-mailed the student union club area and asked them specifically about gaming related stuff...

Thanks!

[Original_Name]

You just have to let people see more than your gamer side. We're not very interesting or fun to be around when our faces are glued to a glowing box. If you jump right into your PSP as soon as the bell rings, then people aren't really going to get to know you.

And yeah, there is a belief out there that only nerds and man-children play videogames, but I've been able to get people who would never play a game otherwise to rock out on some Karaoke Revolution or Guitar Hero at a party as long as it was just one of many things going on there.

Of course there will still be people that just think you're a geek, but I say embrace your geekdom and don't let them think their opinion holds any weight. Nerds run shit. They all can fuck off.

Ha ha. Oh wow.

I think you've completely misunderstood my point.

Congratulations!

Dude, what are you talking about? He obviously understood your point, but instead of elaborating on discrimination, he made a valid attempt to remedy your poor social situation. I really hope that response wasn't meant to come off as obnoxious as it did.

Anyway, I've never had a problem with people discriminating against me for my choice of past-time. I don't make it the central purpose of my being like many gamers do, though. You'll know me as Logan, that really funny kid who tries to make friends with everybody before you know me as Logan, the kid who can talk for hours about how the Sega Dreamcast's message to fans and skeptics transcends video games. I have friends who only have passing interests in video games (read: their favorite video game is Mario Kart because that's the only game they've played upwards of seven times), but will absolutely flip their lids to see that I've brought my fabled Sega Dreamcast along for a study session. You'd be shocked at the excitement which comes from such gaming sticks-in-the-mud when they start playing Cosmic Smash, Crazy Taxi, Ikaruga, Rez, Soul Calibur, Power Stone 2, The House of the Dead 2, Guilty Gear X, Samba De Amigo, Dead or Alive 2, Sega Rally 2, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Chu Chu Rocket!, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Sonic Adventure 2, and Virtua Tennis!

It's a quirk, really, but people find it loveable. Video games have been a part of my life ever since the day I first played Sonic the Hedgehog on my brand new Sega Genesis, and that's never going to change so long as nuclear fallout and the like doesn't stand in my way. Like TJ said, don't denounce it just because it isn't popular, but all the same, try to let your true personality shine through above all else.