Life is too fucking short. I'm at heart a timid worrier... at least I'd be if I let it run my life. Whenever that fucker starts to whisper in my ear 'They'll laugh, dude!' I grab him by the scruff of his freaking neck and toss him as far as I absodamnloutly can! I'm not just talking about being a gamer.

I guess I'm unwilling to be afraid to be me.

The Skiing club at the college I went to was so obsessive - they make us gamers look wholsome , safe and normal.

 Remember - I'm in fucking Ohio - they had to invest megabucks to get to any good Ski locations .....group trips to Colorado and such.

 We're talkiing insanely obsessive.

- Ed C.

Quote from: Spike..  I imagine a similar adjustment period is had by people who were obsessive about anything as a teenager and had to give it up as an adult, like sports guys who don't go on to pro ball..

Actually that's what happened to me, my childhood dream was to play on the NBA, but reality turned out to be different and I found myself playing on a third division team and struggling to earn a position on the first team, at that time I was 19. After that season was over I didn't watched a game nor went to a court for almost a year.
But now I got over it, and I still enjoy watching and playing basketball.

Quote from: darLife is too fucking short. I'm at heart a timid worrier... at least I'd be if I let it run my life. Whenever that fucker starts to whisper in my ear 'They'll laugh, dude!' I grab him by the scruff of his freaking neck and toss him as far as I absodamnloutly can! I'm not just talking about being a gamer.

I guess I'm unwilling to be afraid to be me.

See, the funny thing about this is that some people can doubt themselves all by themselves, without having to worry about whether other people will laugh at them.

I hate being self-reliant in that department.

Never applied it to gaming specifically though. I at least have confidence enough in my ability to tell a disinterested person from an interested one.

Everytime I read such a thread, I feel a large disconnect.

This whole being a gamer must be linked to this strange casting system happening in high school.

The stuff Ron talked about when I met him, regarding social development of gamers, also struck me as totally parochial to the US casting system.

@JimBob: Over here, there´s the same thing with skiing happening with Motorcyclists. "I´m a Motorcyclist!" is a oftenheard statement, defining parts of your personality. All Motorcyclists also feel a bond and will wave at each other without knowing each other, just because they too are "Motorcyclists".

People like to belong. There's nothing very special on that. What we must bear in mind is that 'gamers' are a normal group, just as any other. It's a group of people who share an interest.

Imperator is right, but that applies to all groups of interest.

Whereas in this thread´s OP there´s the notion of a certain exclusiveness and one-way character of being "casted".

Quote from: KoltarThe Skiing club at the college I went to was so obsessive - they make us gamers look wholsome , safe and normal.

 Remember - I'm in fucking Ohio - they had to invest megabucks to get to any good Ski locations .....group trips to Colorado and such.

 We're talkiing insanely obsessive.

- Ed C.

Ohio - where you can set down a marble anywhere in the state and it won't roll...

And here I thought it was round at both ends and hi in the middle! :O

-clash

Quote from: SettembriniImperator is right, but that applies to all groups of interest.

Whereas in this thread´s OP there´s the notion of a certain exclusiveness and one-way character of being "casted".

Maybe I'm too old, but I was never casted. I was a rock-n-roll musician who played sports, sang, and did art stuff in high school. I had a blast.

Of course, that was before RPGs even existed...

-clash

Quote from: beejazzI at least have confidence enough in my ability to tell a disinterested person from an interested one.

Sure, I don't want to bore someone to tears.

I wasn't addressing his point about gamers going on about their character or game, I was addressing his and my own timidity. About gamers telling their stories, though, I'll try and give everyone a chance. I've been dazzelled before by someones exposition about a game they had or a character they ran. I enjoy someone talking about and reminiscing about those experiences that were cool. On the other hand, I won't let someone waste to much of my time.

Quote from: flyingmiceOhio - where you can set down a marble anywhere in the state and it won't roll...

And here I thought it was round at both ends and hi in the middle! :O

-clash

 Wrong!!
 Thats Ilinois that is known as the flat state of the midwest.
 Ohio has HILLS , just no mountains that are worth skiing.

 Heck, Cincinnati itself is known for having 7 big hills - thats where the name comes from, an allusion to Rome and its 7 hills. (Cincinnati, short for Cincinnatus the Roman General)

- Ed C.

Quote from: darSure, I don't want to bore someone to tears.

I wasn't addressing his point about gamers going on about their character or game, I was addressing his and my own timidity. About gamers telling their stories, though, I'll try and give everyone a chance. I've been dazzelled before by someones exposition about a game they had or a character they ran. I enjoy someone talking about and reminiscing about those experiences that were cool. On the other hand, I won't let someone waste to much of my time.

Same, really. Just pointing out that any timidity I might have about me just doesn't apply. It's like the one part of life where I know what's appropriate or not... or one of several.

And yeah... I spend at least some of my time on the internet looking at and critiquing peoples' homebrewed rules and settings, and posting mine for critique myself... I consider that plenty of chance.

Quote from: KoltarWrong!!
 Thats Ilinois that is known as the flat state of the midwest.
 Ohio has HILLS , just no mountains that are worth skiing.

 Heck, Cincinnati itself is known for having 7 big hills - thats where the name comes from, an allusion to Rome and its 7 hills. (Cincinnati, short for Cincinnatus the Roman General)

- Ed C.

Watch it now, Koltar - you pick Illinois to be one of the few things I actually see you bad-mouth? If I didn't think you were such a nice guy, I might hafta...

Spike - ignore JimBob, you'll be healthier that way.  I'd love to see his data on statements like "the more money people spend the more obsessive they get."  I mean, it could be that people spend money when they become obsessive about something. Oh, that's just his opinion? Wouldn't know by the way he comes across. Damn - shouldn't have said anything.  Now I'll get a three page dissertation on how I'm misreading what he says and how communication really works - him being a Sensitive Former Army Australian Jew Chef would make him know this, of course.

You're just grumpy. You're just bummed about your current situation. Hey, look at the bright side, at least you have a group about which you can be bummed! You're also a bit conflicted.  Because I can point to a really cool thread right over there in the design forum wherein you talk at length about Fu. And you seem to enjoy the ideas in your head.

I'm surprised you don't talk about paintball online with others.  Those guys seem jsut a niche/geeky/obsessive as "gamers."  Don't even get me started on the Nerf Gun guys.

So relax - you're among friends; not just because you game, but because you're intersting and you game.  That seems to be the modus operandi around these here parts...

Oh...and Sett...the bikers all wave to each other here in the States as well...

QuoteOh...and Sett...the bikers all wave to each other here in the States as well...

Which makes the example all the more powerful!
All bikers in the world are brothers!

IME gaming has always been ridiculed by those not 'within' - and i've met plenty of people 'within' who were not conducive to the good name of gaming.

I remember when i used to play in the back room of a local pub (i don't find pubs ideal venues, even in private function rooms) and some 'others' peeked around the door. My friend said 'it's ok we're gaming'.

I think they heard 'gay men'. Go male gamers.