Gaming Culture

Geeks and Nerds are typically associated with online gaming and making friends with strangers from the internet. Its chliched but in reality everyone does it without even knowing. So this isnt really the way gaming is, Its actually quite a different world

Playing games isnt always the case of lone teenagers in their bedrooms with the door locked, I often enjoy going around to other peoples flats and having a blast at whatever games just so happens to be on. This can range from halo to guitar hero and usually involves either multiplayer or a single player 'passy the parcel' style gameplay where the controller gets passed around to whoever fancies the next go at trying to nail a guitar solo. The night is casual, layed back and contains a light hearted atmosphere where jokes and mocking are usually made about someones futile attempt to pass a level, but this is all in good fun as what goes around comes around and the favour is returned during their next turn.

There's also another type of gameplay that usually gets stereotyped. this is the more serious nature of gaming, LAN gaming. Me and a few other from our course who have probably mentioned the same on their blogs go to gaming society every Tuesday night. This can range from comical peggle races to your more serious team fortress 2 competitions which can get pretty intense. This brings out the competitive side of everyone as on many the occasion you will find yourself defending a flag with no one over your shoulder to support you, so the mocking becomes real as you turn around to throw remarks at your team mates for their absence as back up only to find your brief absence of attention has left you open for a headshot with the resulting death of yourself. Enraging you even more as mocking continues to the blame game of who's fault it was you were left open. This competitiveness can also go a stroke too far, as abuse can get thrown towards the weird looking guy in the corner of the room who's joined your game of left for dead. No harm done until he starts deliberately killing your own team out of what we could only rationalise as boredom because of the time it was taking us to advance through rooms with tactical precision. Friendly fire isn't really the best idea to entertain yourself or to make new friends, but this is the nature our serious gaming

But this although this is an activity which is a considerable part of my lifestyle I wouldn't call it geeky or uncool is to be honest everyone does it, not as precisely as LAN parties but even online socialising and communities such as facebook and MSN can be branded under the same category as online gaming. I mean how many people on your MSN or facebook have you got added but don't know? Bout the same as we do on Xbox live me thinks? yet we get the nerdy reputation for it.

As a leaving present i thought id leave a link, i know its old but if anyone hasn't seen pure pownage its a perfect example of how online gaming can go just a little bit too far...BOOM headshot! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9qXbgrx9rg