Jen C

The first thought that comes to mind is what’s so wrong with being labeled a gamer?  If a person play sports they are considered an athlete, if a person sings they are a singer, if they act they are an actor and so on and so on. In looking at the label a “gamer” it seems pretty clear to me that the label is not the problem. Instead it is the narrow-minded attitude towards the world of gaming. Let me go out on a limp and say the word thieves, so thieves in society are deemed no good, liars, not to be trusted. What if we took that word and turned it into a positive thing. What if society said thieves were not born that way but created? If they are born into poverty and a less than caring society, and are ill equipped to survive in the world. Does that mean we create thieves and that they are not born that way? Why do gamers that may have grown up playing games have such a negative connotation to the word? If we look at religion, race, sex, there are words for each that society deems offensive or negative. Why is it that something like games are so hard for society to view in a positive light? Are we all perpetuated to live in a world where fun is bad and unnecessary? It is my thought that if we change the negative tone of the word gamers, then it wont matter if the label still exists. Bogost wants gamers to be normal everyday people eventually. I say that gamers are already. Gamers are average people mothers, fathers, kids, teenagers, seniors, educators, athletes and so much more. It is only a big deal in society because people make it a big deal. If games continue to teach many things to children and young adults, society will have no choice but to change the tone of being a gamer to positive. Of course like most things, it doesn’t happen over night, it takes a series of patience and perseverance to enable positive change. However the answer should not be that being a gamer is a bad thing. Instead it should be a name that is worn proudly by creative, interesting, fun people.

via Bogost 3.