gamer body image/self image

[Angcuru]

Well, yeah, there's a reason the rest of us don't put them up.

*anime-style face-plant*

 

[Ranger REG]

Also, all this talk about gamer self image, I thought it would be cool to put a face with my name, and really hope others do the same. I really doubt the majority of us, if any, fit the various stereotypes.

Of the people who have self pics as their avatars, I have not yet seen one who looks like the stereotype, and they all seem to be fairly good looking people.

And there are those (like me) that are too shy and very self-conscious about wanting the worldwide internet community to see what we really look like.

Trust me, I'm nowhere near you or Mark's standard of good-looking.

 

[Angcuru]

I think it's all well and good that people want to use their faces for their avatars but personally, I don't see the point. Unless you're really confident, sure of yourself, vain *cough eric noah cough*, silly, or good-lookin', I don't see why you'd want to. Me, I like to see avatars that show something about the person by their choice of the avatar. Like Ryoga here. I get lost easily and I'm a wimp around my crush. Nich.

 

[Agback]

Originally posted by Djeta Thernadier Of the people who have self pics as their avatars, I have not yet seen one who looks like the stereotype, and they all seem to be fairly good looking people.

Have you ever heard of self-selection?

My avatar is a picture of a gorilla. I chose this picture instead of a self-picture because the gorilla is cuter.

Regards,


Agback

 

[fusangite]

[quasi-sarcasm]

This is unbelievable! I cannot get my head around the idea that people are actually encouraging others to put up their pictures on a gaming site -- a gaming site! This is supposed to be a site based around a hobby involving people pretending to be someone other than who they are.

I'm not even sure how I feel about the pretty people around here (Djeta Thernadier, Teflon Billy, Eric Noah, etc.) putting their pictures up! Good God! Is there no place left where we unattractive people can avoid noticing our relative unattractiveness!? What is going on in this country when people are confronted with this unpleasant reality on a D&D web forum -- if anywhere in the world should be free of such unpleasant realizations, it should be here!

[/quasi sarcasm]

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

Me, I like to see avatars that show something about the person by their choice of the avatar

Mine won't be a self pic forever. I like to put names with faces, but I also agree with this statement a bit. Up till about a week ago, my avatar was a bat since I love bats and my PCs familiar is a bat. I'll probably switch random graphics for my avatar often, since I have a pretty short attention span

 

[Angcuru]

Mine won't be a self pic forever. I'll probably switch random graphics for my avatar often, since I have a pretty short attention span

Well, any ideas on what you're going to switch to? I recommend perhaps something like a character from a movie or anime that closely but not completely matches your personality. That's what I did.

In the meantime, perhaps a self-pic with...I dunno...a little less glare? Try photoshopping the pic to reduce the gamma a bit, or have someone else do it.

 

[Mark Chance]

I don't know what you guys are talking about. Stereotypes? Pale and fat? Pshaw. Here're are some pix from our last gaming session.

The first is Deron, playing a diviner, trying to get into character:

Next is Wes, playing the group's paladin. Note the lack of in-character seriousness. Wes is a roll-player.

Here's Mike, starting to get intense in his role as elven "chosen one" of Corellan:

Fred, the boyish one in the group, is always late. He's trying to strike an apologetic pose:

Lastly, me, the DM. Thinking: "Hoo-yah! A crit!"

 

[EricNoah]

I think it's human nature (not necessarily a good side of human nature, mind you) to want to put things into little boxes. So "gamer = fat pale nerd" becomes one of these little boxes. Fortunately, the more you live the more you learn that these little boxes don't hold as much as you think they do. TV and news media and movies, etc., seem to do their best to keep those inaccurate perceptions alive, sadly.

That said, gaming is a pretty sedentary hobby and, like computer gaming and watching movies, it's not surprising that if someone spends a lot of time participating in such a hobby their bodies will reflect it.

Diet and exercise are kind of the banes of my existence. I frequently fail to have the willpower to stick with what I ideally "should" be doing. But when I do stick with it, I find that I am enjoying a slightly more "balanced" life and I end up being happier in many ways. It's funny (not in a "ha-ha" way) for me to look back on my journals over the past 10 years or so -- every year around this time I write something like "Ok, it's time to start doing a better job of exercising and watching what I eat." I'm like a broken record!

'course it doesn't hurt that I get 8-10 weeks every summer to bum around and hike, go bike riding, etc. That's a great perk of being in education. And in this past year I have learned a dieting technique (reducing carbs -- not loading up on meat/fat, mind you, but just cutting down on bread and potatoes) that I can live with and seems to be doing a good job of keeping me in shape.

 

[Angcuru]

And in this past year I have learned a dieting technique (reducing carbs -- not loading up on meat/fat, mind you, but just cutting down on bread and potatoes) that I can live with and seems to be doing a good job of keeping me in shape.

Potato chips and pizza, while the staple of the gamer's diet, are responsible for making the gamer not in shape. Cut down on your breads and starches, start moving around a bit, and you'll be good. Eric knows what he's doing, people!

*Looks out window*

*@&(*$&#@ DAMMIT it's raining again!