being a minority in gaming

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > General Bullshit > being a minority in gaming

Prorat: Aug 3, 2004; by FactsAreUseless

I saw this brought up in the Witcher 3 thread, and I thought it deserved to be talked about on its own...

Basically, there's a common element I've noticed among people who play mobile games where they see "video games" and "mobile games" as completely distinct entities. For example, using my own experience, I'm known at work as being a gamer of sorts, and sometimes teased about that. Yet, there are people at my work who don't consider themselves gamers, yet spend all day on shift playing Clash of Clans.

I think for a lot of us traditional gamers, we've always sort of experienced a marginalization in part due to our hobby. Most of the popular kids I knew in school grew out of gaming by Middle School more or less, and while gaming wasn't a totally death sentence for your popularity, admitting to playing anything other than like sports games or shooting games usually didn't go over well.

I feel a lot of the push against mobile gaming is partially due to the fact that a lot of traditional fans sort of feel like the hobby they've loved, and were mocked for loving, is now becoming more mainstream through different avenues, and the people who mocked them in the past now carry a lot of sway in the industry. And, because women typically were pushed away from traditional games in the past due to peer pressure and societal expectations, an unfortunate side-effect of this I think is that the idea of mobile gaming invading for many folks also goes hand-in-hand with the idea that feminism is attacking and destroying their hobby.

Now, that's not to say anyone who dislikes the rise of mobile gaming is a jealous nerd, or a woman-hater---there are plenty of real issues to dislike mobile gaming for which have been discussed such as the reliance on monetization schemes. But, I really think a lot of the dislike for it is rooted in insecurity and folks unable to let go of past slights against them.

I'll finish this by saying I don't mean to insult anyone here. I myself have definitely had these feelings in the past, much as I dislike to feel that way, and I think it's important to come to terms with them. For me, the "popular kids" moving towards mobile gaming is a very real barrier when it comes to me enjoying mobile gaming as I have trouble letting go at times. But, I think we have to try and come to a middle ground where we accept that things are changing, and we can't necessarily prevent that just because we think it's unfair because we were "loyal" to gaming or some other self-important justification.