Saturday, August 11, 2012

Gaming Is Gaming

 I've noticed that there are gamers who actually look down on others for playing casual games like Bejeweled, Farmville, Sims Social, and numerous others in that category. They feel that people who play casual games aren't gamers, that they're not really into video games because they only play casual games. I've even had a couple of friends tease me about it saying it doesn't really count as gaming because there's no console, pc, or handheld involved. I've seen and heard these gamers mock or belittle casual game players, simply for liking and playing casual games.
 Honestly, it annoys me. It shouldn't matter to anyone that someone likes to play casual games. I personally love Bejeweled because for me it is fun and I like challenging myself to get a better score than the last time I played before the timer runs out. I like playing the Marvel Avengers game also because again it's fun for me and it actually has pretty decent game play for a casual game. There's also the factor that it appeals to my love of comics. Casual games for me are a nice distraction when I have a few minutes waiting for a cake to bake or a load of laundry to be done.
 The other side of that is I also love games such as  Persona , Final Fantasy, Diablo, Tekken, Metal Gear, God Of War, Okami, Suikoden, Assassin's Creed, and many others that are on the computer, console, or handheld. I genuinely enjoy those games and have a good time playing them. I love the various stories, characters, art work, and music. I have personal favorites in certain genres because of playing them as a kid or because I felt the story was great.
 Have I ever thought I was less of a gamer for having fun in the world of casual gaming? Of course not. To me, if you truly enjoy a game be it a story about being dragon born or matching colored gems as fast as possible in one minute, then you're a gamer. There's no hardcore or weak for me. Gaming is gaming. It doesn't matter what you play or how long you've played. What does matter is that you have fun playing any game you like. It also matters how we treat each other. If you're looking down your nose at someone for having the best little virtual farm in Farmville and they're happy about it, please kindly get over yourself. If you're lecturing someone on how they're not "REALLY A GAMER" because they play casual games, do everyone a favor. Just stop. Walk away if you have to, but stop doing that to people.
 For one thing, it's not nice and for another if this is what you waste your time on instead of playing an awesome video game, that's pretty sad. The person that does this comes across as an elitist jerk and let's be honest, a lot of people don't like the elitist jerks in the world. They're just not any fun. What is fun is playing whatever you like and not worrying about who's really a gamer and who's not. Besides, if you really think about it Tetris could be considered one of the first casual games and I know quite a few of you who love a good round of Tetris. Just a thought. 

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