Gamers
I got an interesting email a couple of days ago from a student and aspiring game designer named Lucas (which, given how awesome Lucas was, has to be a good thing).
Lucas wants to make games – so he spends his time making them, as opposed to playing them. He plays, mind you – just not everything, all the time, or even whatever’s new. Partly it’s time, partly it’s that most games leave him thinking about how to improve the form.
Passionate gamers and industry affiliates have warned him. No dice as a game designer if he’s “not a gamer”. Lucas is curious: do I consider myself a gamer? Do I think they’re right?
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On Thursday I played through the first mission of Thief III. Today I did the first course of Ribbit King, and tomorrow, I’ll probably crack open Disaster Report. Over the next few weeks, I’ll play all of the games in my “playing” list, until they are done, or I’ve had enough.
My list is not necessarily a typical selection of games, and it’s often short – or empty. In fact – for almost a month, the only thing in my “playing” list was Yeti Sports’ Seal Throw (they have a new one – check it out).
And when I do game, I game on a pretty tight schedule. I play as a reward for progress on one of the zillion little things I’m cooking up, and try (tho not always successfully) to avoid “having dessert first”. I also try not to blow all my “free time” on games…
Damn! I just spent 45 minutes playing the Yeti game. Was checking the link in my html file – had to! Swear!
Yeah, I guess I’m a gamer.
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So why do I hesitate?
Part of what makes me wonder about my status as a “gamer” is my attitude about play. Part research, part fun, and part procrastination. I love games but rarely (at least, these days) indulge in a whole day of not-showering, in-my-pjs, up-till-3 gaming. And when I do get obsessed with a game, it’s more often an… evangelism that I feel – a compulsion to call my friends and expose them to something awesome (as with Katamari Damacy earlier this year).
The other thing that keeps me from flying the game freak flag is that my early gaming experiences (Atari, Commodore 64, NES, SNES, and early 90’s PC and console gaming) all happened on *other people’s hardware* (friends, my brother, boyfriends, or the university labs I worked in). Despite all the time I spent playing, I didn’t consider myself a “gamer” because I didn’t buy games.
What makes a gamer? Owning games? Playing lots of games? Playing often? Is it better to have passion about a particular game or genre (as in fandom, like with music and performers) or to be a connoisseur of the “right” games or the “best” games?
And does any of this matter when it comes to working in games?
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Lots of people who work in games don’t play games. Lawyers and secretaries, biz, marketing and sales folks. Plenty of cases where playing often doesn’t have a *clear* advantage job-wise (tho there are arguments to be made about that).
My $0.02: If you work as a developer, games should *excite* you. You may make time to play every top-selling title, you may prefer board games; could be that pro sports is your poison, or that you seek out the oddballs (like Yeti Sports and Incredible Crisis). But you should really relish what fits your tastes. It’s not a quantity thing or quality thing – it’s a love thing.
Find what you love and learn from it, enjoy it, make it part of your world. Talk to people about what *they* play – it can only do you good. And don’t be snobby or embarrassed about what you play. No matter what it was – if you played the shit out of it then you’re doing alright. Even if it was the only game that moved you all year. Even if you rented it, and played it on a borrowed Xbox.
The real question is: what KIND of gamer are you?
Chances are – you are one of the many “underserved” – a gamer in search of a niche. But that’s not a bad thing, necessarily. At some point, so was Will Wright!
So keep at it, Lucas. Don’t worry about how much you play, or whether you fit the Penny Arcade demographic. I sure as hell don’t. Love what you play – and when you can, build what you love. Nowhere to go but up!!
