Gaming Pride / Gaming Shame

[Mr. Wilson]

I wear a Horde hat almost everywhere. I have 3 or 4 t-shirts that reference either video games or RPGs (DnD, Zelda, Warcraft).

I'm pretty out. I also look pretty normal so mostly I get a "Zug-Zug" or polite nods.

 

[S'mon]

I'd certainly tell people if asked about hobbies. I may mention it in discussion about weekend plans etc - once I've known people a year or so.

 

[Olli]

to quote the KOTD:

I´m a geek, hear me roar

 

[Grendel_T_Troll]

I have, in my 28+ years of gaming, never hidden my hobby - even when it hurt me. From fellow soldiers who tried to badmouth me to the C.O's and First Sergeants about me being a subversive to co-workers complaining about the books I was reading during breaks.

I guess I am a glutton for punishment but I can't help it.

 

[amethal]

If it comes up in conversation (e.g. in a "any plans for the weekend?" kind of way), then I'll mention I'm a gamer.

I used to be more reluctant about mentioning it, until I responded to a "gamer seeking game" advert in my FLGS and found out I'd known the person for years. We could have saved each other a fair bit of hassle in getting a group together had we been more open about our hobbies, so I try and behave "normally" about it these days.

If someone knows I play football on a Sunday morning, chances are they also know that I play D&D on a Sunday afternoon.

(Only a real geek knows that actually I play True20 on a Sunday afternoon; I use D&D as a general term when talking to non-gamers as "normal" people aren't interested in the distinctions ebtween various RPGs.)

 

[Ahnehnois]

I doubt I'll be mentioning it in my med school interviews.

In fact, I don't often discuss the subject outside of my gaming group. When I do mention it, some people are turned off. In any case, I'm not real big on revealing personal details, and I've gamed only intermittently for most of the past few years anyway.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

I work in a professional organization that requires a lot of customer interaction and others' views of me are important to my daily job.

Ditto. I am in the media, press and PR, and I don't bring it up but neither does anyone else. I'm also in the cloest, so to speak.

Considering how many people here are in the closet, does that make us the new gay? Maybe we need a pride parade...

 

[vagabundo]

My group consists of close friends and family. We talk and slag (mock) each other about it, however for "outsiders" we say nothing.

Those rules dont apply to my Mam or my Wife, who openly mention it at the drop of a hat, sometimes in awkward social situations.

My younger brothers and sisters get embarrassed if they are outed, it is seen as childish from people who have issues with being "cool". Other, more open minded people, are usually just curious.

Still not something I would admit to or defend too much in public. "Oh DND, I hath denied thee three times before the cock crowed."

 

[wedgeski]

Most of my very best friends are cut from the same cloth as me, and I meet most new friends through extra-nerdular activity, so I have no reason to hide my hobbies and proudly display my books, minis, and other stuff at home. In fact my dinner table, where the weekly game takes place, only ever gets cleared of D&D stuff when I have guests over specifically for food.

I met my wife as a friend-of-a-friend, in a totally un-nerdy social. However, she is so unbelievably cool that even though she had never heard of D&D before she met me, she joined straight in the game and has been a gamer ever since.

 

[el-remmen]

I rarely if ever volunteer my gaming habit, uh. . hobby. .

However, if asked about it I don't deny it.

The funny thing is if I say "I was gaming with friends this weekend," few people ever ask for clarification.

Any who ever googles my name would find out about it quickly enough, though. . .