I find this to be an interesting question to ask myself, especially as the "gamer culture" has been growing and changing, or in some ways, resisting change.
So let's back it up a little bit, how do I think about the phrase, "gamer"? I suppose to me it means some one who both uses games as a major source of entertainment, and identifies as a "gamer". Kinda circular, huh? I can't find an immediately obvious way around that.
Personally, I don't only see video games as a source of time-killing amusement, but also as a medium to tell stories and display art. Some games even take this further and as a player you create things inside the game, and shape your own story as you play. This is a large part of why I enjoy video games so much, my desire to pretend I live in another world is small; I still enjoy imaging characters in other worlds and realities, and the fantastic stories and adventures that go with them.
All this being said, this is specifically how I view video games, and it doesn't really speak for all gamers. Also, how I choose to express myself socially and my beliefs are not the same as all other gamers. This has been made pretty obvious to me by a review of GTA V that seemed to light gamer-trolls up in a fury. Why? Because a woman reviewed it and gave it "ONLY A 9 OUT OF 10!?!?!?" and mentioned also that it didn't do a very good job of including and portraying women(EDIT:No one really expected it to, but it's still something to hope and aim for). I'm still trying to get past to baffled stage of trying to grasp such a strong and violent overreaction.
Anyways, games are great story-telling devices and artistic mediums, and there will be some stories and art I like, and some I don't. Just like with not-games. Funny how that is. We're all different in so many ways, yet we still often use our similarities to try to drive each other apart.
Game On Everypony,
Alturiigo
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