After reading Rath`s latest column update it reminded me of the times I`ve been asked a online gaming question by a non-gamer and attempted to explain it in a few words without sending him / her into a coma. The topic alone would be hard to sum up in a book let alone in a few sentences!

Take this scene. You`re sat in your local pub, and your enjoying a few drinks with some mates. Suddenly out of the blue one of them (who has never played online) asks a question about playing games online. How would you reply?

Answer 1: Well it`s just fun. (Then quickly change the subject)
Answer 2: Yeh it rocks. There are clans... (Already lost his attention...)
Answer 3: Well, um... Ah it`s my round. I`ll get this one in. Pint wasn`t it?

Is it a case of the topic not being that hard to answer, but that some of us are afraid of the stigma we get from non-gamers? The pro gamer Hakeem (He hates being called a pro ;)) has told me countless times how he could talk about gaming anywhere in the world without being viewed as a geek or odd, but in the UK people take that view if someone mentions they are a gamer? I`m not sure if this is totally true because I tend to not talk about gaming a lot unless it`s with people I work with or who I know actually play. To us gamers online gaming and indeed gaming in general is a hobby. It`s a way to relax and entertain us, and in most cases meet people with similar interests. Although the typical stereotype of a spotty teenage boy sat alone staring at a screen, showing no emotion still seems to stick in the minds of most people who don`t understand gaming. Companies like Sony who brought the Play Station to the masses with mass advertising have helped to crush this image, but it still remains in some form today. However if you`re a gamer then why hide?

Everything has stereotypes attached to it. Blondes are all dumb (not true); Americans are stupid and loud (you can`t tar everyone with the same brush!); Students are drunken layabouts (having been a student I can confirm most work hard and of course party hard ;)). There are countless others, but the fact is why should us gamers not stand up and be counted? Why can`t we tell the world we play games and are good at it? The answer is I don`t know :/.

I have the added problem of actually working in this field. If I`m asked what I do job wise I give up saying too much and just say I`m an editor, while mentioning the word content and electronic boutique before quickly changing the subject. When I sit down to eat, my Dad will say how he built another scaffolding rig in record time. My mum and sister will also talk about their day and I`ll be sat there munching away on my meal knowing if I even attempt to mention anything to do with the day I had in my job I`ll get puzzled looks :/

Anyhow over to you. I`ve started a thread here. Lets see how you would go about explaining online gaming in a few interesting words :).


A friend joins the gaming collective

Leading on from the main topic... I have a lot of my friends who don`t play games online, yet do play them offline. To fix this I came up with a cunning plan.

I needed a test subject who I could give a game to and tell them to "get online and play it". This was to aid me in highlighting areas newbies have problems with. One of them offered to help so he popped over and I explained to him the basics of what he will need to do. Since my computer was on with Tribes 2 running I let him have a "quick go". He sat down and I explained how Tribes 2 worked. "3 hours later" and he was still at my machine enjoying the game. At one point I popped out of the room to get some drinks and returned to see him laughing his head off with tears streaming down his face. It turned out he had ordered a shrike, but a teammate nicked it so he ordered an assault vehicle instead. As it started to appear he heard a noise and looked up. Some how the team mate who stole the shrike caused it to exploded and debris started to fall from the sky landing on and around my friend along with the body of the player, who landed beside him with a thud. Ok it might not sound funny, it`s one of those things that you have to be there to experience, but that moment he`ll never forget :).

We can all remember highlights in games, where something odd happened, or we managed to grab a flag in a game of CTF to capture it against all odds, and of course in Counter Strike where you single handy saved the team from failure. I can remember a game on the old map de_Fang where my team got wiped out in an ambush leaving me to face the last 5 terrorists alone. Having the bomb near me I took up a position where I knew a terrorist player would instantly spot the bomb and either hesitate or walk up to collect it thereby given me an advantage. With hardly any health left and no armour I took out each terrorist as he came along, by listen carefully and judging my movements carefully, knowing one slip up would mean certain death. When the last guy came he knew something was up and rushed in. Having no ammo left I was armed only with the knife and managed (don`t ask me how) to kill him and win the round :). Only a gamer can relate to thrill a player gets from playing games, and explaining it to non-gamers is near impossible.

Anyhow back to my mate. After Tribes 2 he was eager to get home and do the tasks I gave him (see I already had him hooked :)). I gave him a copy of Counter Strike and told them to use BW to get online and play, and to log any problems he faced. Sure enough he went ahead. He had a few problems (mostly with gamespy), but in the end did make it online and got stuck into Counter Strike. It`s been a few weeks since he started and although he`s no hardcore gamer, he has tasted the online world and has already set his sights on Operation Flashpoint because he liked the demo, and the promise of good multiplayer action got him interested. I just hope Codemasters don`t mess up the multiplayer code like they have with pervious games.

He`s now a gamer :).

Now back to this stereotype of a gamer. I`ll have to disagree with what Rath said:

...All of a sudden she asked me a question about all of this clan stuff, fragging, tournaments etc - what is it? I answered her briefly that it was only about teenagers eager to form groups, being important to someone and making efforts to amuse one another.

It`s not about teenagers eager to form groups, and trying to feel important. Gaming is about enjoying the games and playing against other human players who each have their own way of playing a game, which ensures 2 games, are never the same. It`s about being there in the thick of the action allowing you to relax and be entertained after a hard days work / study. I won`t go on because if your reading this column chances are you already know why you play games online :).

In the real world a typical gamer is around 18 - 25, but in fact the age range is hard to pin down, but 18-25 is about right. There are old gamers 40+ and young gamers around 14, and countless numbers in-between. Gamers come from a wide range of backgrounds. For example a gamer called GrannY had a carpenter in one day who spotted his PC and said "Ah so you play counter strike as well". They then had a quick chat about CS :). Most gamers appear to be male, although there is a sizeable female following, which is growing daily. There are 2 types of gamers, casual (pop online now and then to have a quick game), and hardcore gamers who take part in the community side of things involved with gaming online.

Borg had this to add: Gamers come in all shapes, sizes and ages. You cant pigeon hole it. :)

To sum up. Where ever you are. Where ever you live. There`s a gamer nearby somewhere...

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