Let's talk about the term "gamer". Like any other identifying label, the term gamer means different things to different people. In the title of this blog, I refer to myself as a "nerdy gamer mom". I should think that my passionate fangirl squealing over just bout anything related to Star Trek: The Next Generation and Dr. Who shows off my inner nerd quite well. The term "gamer" however, is somewhat contested. Some people say you're not a gamer if you don't obsessively chase every achievement that you can on every game you buy. Some say you're not a gamer unless you're a completionist (someone who plays every game they buy until they beat it).
When I call myself a gamer, what I mean is that I enjoy playing video games, and I have more than a passing interest in the video game industry itself. I play on the Xbox 360 or the PC, but that doesn't mean that I'm not open to other platforms. I enjoy almost any game - whether it's an expansive RPG that takes weeks or months to get through like Skyrim or Fallout: New Vegas, a simple BigFish game like the Nancy Drew series, or yes, even (gasp!) a Facebook game like Candy Crush, if it's enjoyable and fun I'll play it. When it ceases to be fun, I move on to something new. Sometimes this means playing a game all the way through. Sometimes that means stopping 10 minutes in. I've even been known to get halfway through a game, take a break for a few months or a even a year or so, and then come back to it and start completely over because I have no idea of what's going on. I have a modest Xbox Live gamerscore of 14501, and I only have one game that I have earned all achievements for - Beyond Good and Evil HD.
When I call myself a gamer - this is what I mean: I enjoy playing games for fun and writing about my experiences playing them. I'm interested in gaming industry stuff, and read a few gaming-related articles a day. I play both computer and Xbox games, but I also play table top games. I look forward to sharing my love of games and gaming with my children someday. If that's not a "real gamer," then I'm not sure I want to be one.
