Your opinion on "Gamers"..

[Jango Fettish]

I went to the "Con-Carolinas" show this afternoon with Depmode/James..and we walked out 5 minutes after getting our passes. Why? Because it just so happens that it was virtually a "gaming convention". It was billed as a "Sci Fi" convention, but it was literally saturated with "Magic: The Gathering", "Everquest", and "Warhammer" CCG players.

James and I, feeling totally out of our element, left disgruntled and made a big toy run instead of spending another second in gaming hell.

My question to you guys is, how do you feel about gamers in general? Are they out of touch with reality, or do they just have a very broad imagination? Do think they are just as "different" as hardcore Star Wars collectors?


I say to each his own, but, please take into account, alot of these people, half old, half young, were in FULL DRESS, i.e. armor, gypsies, cloaks, and talking in tongues.

[dustrho]

That crap reminds me of the days when I used to play Dungeons & Dragons with my friends.  I don't like that stuff anymore.

[Angry Ewok]

You don't know how far-gone this generation is until you see a Furry Convention... These people don't dress up in cool-looking armor and carry guns around... They put on face paint and wear fake tails, running around making whatever call that pertains to their animal.

I'm not a "Gamer", in that I don't take pride in being good at games... I grew out of that around the MK2 era, but I've known a few guys who are full-blooded RPG Gamers... They can be cool people, just a bit more spaced out than most.

[Jesse James]

I don't know that I'd have any lower an opinion of a "gamer" in full dress for their respective game than I would a 501st stormtrooper decked out in armor that required him/her to make a vacuform machine, find a plastics distributor, make negative molds, and then the process of making the suit (Then buying the pieces one could not make such as shoes, the body glove, etc.), and then making accessories for said suit, such as an accurate E11 stormie blaster.

Are they losers?  Well, loser is in the eye of the beholder.  I guarantee my friend Dan would say "yes", but I personally don't feel so...  Then again I like Star Wars.

Gamers just have their niche hobby like we have ours I suppose...  Or ST fans have their hobby they love, dress up for, and speak a recognized language for (Klingon).  To each their own I guess.

Personally I've only done Star Wars Miniature's Battles gaming myself (Which still is actively played at cons) though that game doesn't have the public support that ones like Magic The Gathering do.  Personally the whole CCG thing never appealed to me, but then again neither does poker (Though Blackjack's addictive at the casinos).

As far as RPG's and such though, those can be fun...  I find them tedious to be involved in now though, especially with computer games there to fill the RPG void.

Still, with the lacking "realism" of real-time strategy games, or the lack of "scale" in them sometimes, that's why a game like SW Miniatures battles holds a great appeal for me.  I was at an event where the one guy came dressed as an Imperial Officer (Controlled the Imperial side) and took it quite seriously.  He even ran things with less of his own personal "strategy" and tried to think like the Imperials in the movies (Straight forward attacking, very violent and swift assaults).  I mean, whatever floats your boat I guess, but it cost him a couple games as I recall.

Anyway, I really see it as just like Star Wars fans (Some anyway) but in a different hobby.  Maybe the gamers laughed at people dressed up for the last STar Wars movie and waiting in a line for 4 or 5 hours?   Who knows...

[JediMAC]

I don't know that I'd have any lower an opinion of a "gamer" in full dress for their respective game than I would a 501st stormtrooper decked out in armor that required him/her to make a vacuform machine, find a plastics distributor, make negative molds, and then the process of making the suit (Then buying the pieces one could not make such as shoes, the body glove, etc.), and then making accessories for said suit, such as an accurate E11 stormie blaster.

Are they losers?  Well, loser is in the eye of the beholder.  I guarantee my friend Dan would say "yes", but I personally don't feel so...  Then again I like Star Wars.

Gamers just have their niche hobby like we have ours I suppose...  Or ST fans have their hobby they love, dress up for, and speak a recognized language for (Klingon).  To each their own I guess...

Anyway, I really see it as just like Star Wars fans (Some anyway) but in a different hobby.  Maybe the gamers laughed at people dressed up for the last STar Wars movie and waiting in a line for 4 or 5 hours?   Who knows...

This is pretty much exactly what I was about to post earlier Jesse, but hadn't yet gotten around to.  For some people, gaming is just "their thing", just like Star Wars collecting is ours.  A number of folks that we are friends with right here in JD have SW costumes that they dress up in and wear out to SW functions and events.  We go to conventions.  We do all kinds of wacky stuff to and with our figures and various other collectibles.  It's just all about having a hobby that you love and enjoying it - sometimes a WHOLE LOT.

To them (the gamers), we might be every bit as odd as they are to us, or as many people see Trekkies.  Basically to each their own is what it all boils down to.  It's all in good fun for the respective people involved, be they Star Wars fans, gamers, Trekkies, whatever.  That obviously doesn't mean that any of us (like Cory or James) would necessarily have to enjoy one of "their" conventions though, just as they might not have dug C2 in Indy too much.

I can certainly understand being somewhat bummed after making a trip and showing up to a convention with a different idea as to what it was going to be like inside though.  But that also doesn't mean that all the gamers/CCG'ers are anything less than us Star Wars diehards are.  They just have a slightly different interest than we do.  Oh well.  Hopefully you guys found some decent stuff on your subsequent toy run after you bailed on the show...

BTW, I've never done any gaming myself, but I've always wondered what the Star Wars one would be like to check out...

[JoshEEE]

Call me crazy, but I personally don't think ANYONE posting to this board (or any board like it) has any room to be calling anyone a "loser".  Take a step back and realize that Trekkies, Star Wars fans, RP Gamers, Furries, Members of the 501st, Tailgaters, Hot Wheel Collectors, Comic Book guys, etc, etc, etc......they're ALL dorks, and to largely the same degree. Just about different things.


I'm not a gamer (I don't like D&D, Everquest, or any of that Magic  Card stuff) but I do see myself buying a copy of Star Wars Galaxies when it comes out. That's the same thing as Everquest, but in "our" universe.

Besides, as someone who has an entire room of his house devoted to a movie from the 70's.....I don't thinK I should be wakling around calling anyone else a loser. Especially some guy playing Everquest......because I'll probably be meeting him on "Galaxies" When I try my first MMRPG later this year.