What It's Like For a Gamer Girl

[Pielorinho]

Really? I'd argue that gamers as a whole are significantly MORE creative than non-gamers, a side effect of being forced to use and develop their imaginations. I'd also argue that gamers of both genders are more empathetic, as they are at least slightly used to the concept of seeing a situation from a third party's point of view.

(Is empathetic a word? You know what I mean; demonstrating empathy. Or something. Ahem.)

Maybe it's just the people I hang out with, but most everyone I know has some creative outlet or another. My sister is like a non-insider-trading Martha Stewart, doing every craft from papermaking to quilting ot stained glass. My brother's girlfriend is a potter extraordinaire. My brother-in-law is a woodworker. My boss is in a club where they all create book sculptures or something. My wife knits, cooks amazing meals, and researches interesting historical questions. My wife's best friend is a professional actor. Her matron of honor is a theater tech person. And lots and lots of my friends play musical instruments, in bands or otherwise.

I would say that gamers are often more oriented toward words and numbers than other groups: gaming is a verbal medium, and it attracts folks who like to mess around with words. Some of the gamers I know are good with numbers; others are not.

But I'm not sure that gamers are more creative than the population as a whole; we just channel our creativity into specific fields.

Daniel

 

[Teflon Billy]

Really? I'd argue that gamers as a whole are significantly MORE creative than non-gamers, a side effect of being forced to use and develop their imaginations.

Aren't you one of the big "No Generalizations" boosters?

The crowd I run with in these parts are artists, musicians and writers and , yes, gamers. My experience may be different from someone who spends their day entirely in the company of a road repair crew.

And for god sakes, any road-repair crewman who is about to chastise me for downplaying the creativity of himself and his colleagues can just save himsefl the time and not bother

I'd also argue that gamers of both genders are more empathetic, as they are at least slightly used to the concept of seeing a situation from a third party's point of view(Is empathetic a word? You know what I mean; demonstrating empathy. Or something. Ahem.)

"Empathic" is the word I think. Though I only know this from Star Trek.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Stealth nipples... Ok, I'm not asking.

To bring the thread a bit back on track, does anyone have a comment on my position that gamers are essentially the same as other people?

I've noticed it's a gamer myth (or maybe conceit) that we're somehow different, or special, and not in a short bus kinda way. Lots of folks want to make wild claims that gamers are more creative, more math oriented (pop psychology would say those two usually are mutually exclusive anyway) more intelligent, or on the more pessimistic side, less socially active or competent, more physically challenged and more hygiene challenged.

Lately especially, I've simply found this to not be the case; gamers are the same people I know from anywhere else. I mentioned in another thread that I have a big (nearly baseball sized) d20 on my desk at work, and it is my gay(mer)dar that never seems to miss.

So all these responses about gamers being socially unable to deal with women is simply wrong, IMO. Gamers on average are as able to deal with women as any other class of male from any other demographic.

Anyone agree or disagree with that thesis?

I would definitely say that gamers are not the same as others. I don't think it is necessarily bad or good, we're just different. Sure, we have a couple of married guys in the group (me), and one guy with a long term girlfriend... and, all three of us have good, professional jobs. But, the rest of the group would probably best fit into the "slacker" category... guys with college degrees (or near degrees) that work in very low level, but low stress, jobs.

And, there was this other guy that claimed his INT would be 17 if he was a D&D character, but could not do basic math if it involved a number higher than 9. <BTW, he has a law degree from a very good law school and is making under $25K>

All my non-gaming friends are married (or in a long term relationship/engaged), have degrees and have at least decent professional jobs.

 

[Pielorinho]

"Empathic" is the word I think. Though I only know this from Star Trek.

Strangely, Star Trek isn't the ultimate authority on modern English. (Although "empathic" is a synonym for "empathetic," as you'd surely know if YOU had ever had to spend long days out under the beating sun puring hot asphalt while people go whizzing by in their stinking air-conditioned cars nearly hitting you and flicking cigarette butts out their window but do they ever thank you for what you're doing? oh, no, they just post on messageboards about how a lump like you can't be creative, because they've never seen you collection of Velvet Elvises and have no idea about the things you can do with a guitar when you're good and stoned. But that's neither here nor there)

Daniel

 

[Teflon Billy]

Conventions may be an outlier in that they will tend to attract gamers that are much more serious about gaming, sometimes to the point of excluding other aspects of their life....

I think I get what you're saying Joshua, but I think that Game Conventions are the only place i really get to see "Gamers as a Group".

When you say (regarding gamers being misfits)...

Orignally posted by Joshua Dyal

I've simply found this to not be the case; gamers are the same people I know from anywhere else

...maybe if you could explain to me what "groups of gamers" you are using as your sample group when you found this not to be the case, I'd have a better grasp.

 

[Teflon Billy]

...Blah blah blah blah...

Daniel

Didn't I already explain that you were dead to me?

 

[Desdichado]

The crowd I run with in these parts are artists, musicians and writers and , yes, gamers. My experience may be different from someone who spends their day entirely in the company of a road repair crew.

And for god sakes, any road-repair crewman who is about to chastise me for downplaying the creativity of himself and his colleagues can just save himsefl the time and not bother

That's actually what led me on the path to my current position; I played with a group that included a tire mechanic, a union line worker at an auto transmission plant, and someone that as near as I could tell didn't ever really work at much of anything. They weren't any worse or better at gaming really than any other sampling of gamers I'd ever met. Then, I took a welding class for fun with my dad, and my preconceived notions about what professional welders would be like were completely shattered. While the two of us were certainly much more educated than anyone there, we weren't even close to the most intelligent or creative or whathaveyou. We also didn't make the most money. So, I decided that the position amongst gamers, or people with grad degrees, or any other demographic that considered themselves to be superior in some element than other folks were probably just operating on a vain conceit rather than any kind of reality.

Not only that, my dad accidentally set his pants on fire on night, which was kinda fun.

 

[Pielorinho]

Not only that, my dad accidentally set his pants on fire on night, which was kinda fun.

Okay, pardon my stupidity, but did he catch his pants on fire from welding, or from someone pointing at your post and shouting, "Liar, liar"?

(If the former, forgive me -- it's just that "pants on fire" is such a rare thing to see that it automatically calls up the rest of the phrase for me, and makes me wonder if you're making a subtle joke)

Daniel

 

[Desdichado]

...maybe if you could explain to me what "groups of gamers" you are using as your sample group when you found this not to be the case, I'd have a better grasp.

Both recent gaming groups I've had, and my gay(mer)dar at work; my big d20 that always makes gamers compelled to comment. I've run into dozens of gamers that way that I would never have guessed were gamers from looking at them.

Chicago ENWorld gameday was my other experience with a lot of gamers at once. I went with some friends of mine, and quite honestly we were concerned that the convention stereotype would be all over the place. I honestly can't say I met anyone that really fit that profile, though.

 

[Desdichado]

Okay, pardon my stupidity, but did he catch his pants on fire from welding, or from someone pointing at your post and shouting, "Liar, liar"?

(If the former, forgive me -- it's just that "pants on fire" is such a rare thing to see that it automatically calls up the rest of the phrase for me, and makes me wonder if you're making a subtle joke)

Oh, we all made that joke too, never fear.