“I’m such a nerd,” he said as we sat in The Courtyard, both of us munching on burgers. “I’ve spent so much time playing Pokémon HeartGold; my house mates totally don’t approve.”
I blinked in surprise. I wasn’t expecting the conversation to turn to video games. Outside of a certain crowd, bringing up gaming often feels like some kind of filthy taboo.
“I get what you mean,” I replied. “Ever since Fable III was released, I’ve just burned so much time on it.” An awkward pause hung in the air; and a puzzled look crossed his face. “What’s ‘Fable’?”
Maybe I expected too much – even if he did self-profess to be a “nerd”; it’s now cool to identify as one – whether it’s true or not. I guess we have Scott Pilgrim to thank for that. It sounds incredibly pretentious to assume that only a special few can discuss your hobby; but despite the best interests of many, gaming (as compared to books or movies) is still something of a niche interest. And that’s just a little bit unfair.
Enthusiasm for a film you’ve watched or an album you’ve listened to – even when the listener hasn’t – isn’t a conversation breaker; but an attempt to discuss a game can often be swatted aside with a “Sorry, I’m not into games,” leaving the conversation cold, and the speaker feeling like more than a bit of a loser.
It might be something of a pipe dream to picture a world where games are treated socially the same way as any other media (though let’s not get into a “are games art?”-type discussion here, they don’t end well); but there has to be a solution we can use.
Firstly, it’s up to us gamers to talk about interesting games. No one is going to care about your World of Warcraft raid, nor know what “Kill:Death Ratio” is. If talking about different games assists in you discovering new genres or old classics – so much the better.
Secondly, all you non-gamers out there: please don’t run a mile when someone brings up their PS3, or new favouite game. We’re sharing it because you might find it interesting! If it’s something new to you; take comfort in learning something new about pop culture.
Finally, it’s down to the game developers and producers to release interesting games to play. Call of Duty: Black Ops is a good game, but it has little in the way of discussion scope for people who haven’t played it. Remember when The Sims was a new phenomenon? There was near infinite potential to chat and laugh about the TV Drama-like events that the game offered – and it was so accessible that near everyone played it.
So take my advice – be proud of your hobbies and interests, if they’re as worthwhile as you feel they are; others will take interest. And please don’t feign ‘gamer-cred’ by calling yourself a nerd. It’s a bit embarassing.