Common conceptualization about gamers

If you are in asian countries like where I came from, more often than not, you will hear people giving out comments like "don't play games, you're just wasting your time", or "go do something beneficial" or worse.... "go build your character instead of playing computer games". Many of the generation Y people in the Asian country will definately hear that alot, especially from the mouth of the generation X people (a.k.a. your parents). There are no disputes, playing games whole day is bad your for character, as it deprive people from sleep and meeting new friends, but after coming to the states and with plenty of time to self reflect, I realize that this might not be entirely true.

I am not sure about other gamers, but for me, I found out that much of my traits are corresponding to the effect of playing games for the past 20 years in my life. Games attracts me, I like to stand there and see people play, trying to understand why that guy wanna turn left instead of right, trying to think why he chooses that place to set the bomb instead of there, and stuff like that (and occasionally get a negative feedback from friend that ask me to stop staring and start playing).... and I kind of like to analyze people, not judge... just analyze and ask questions about why he wanna say that, why she wanna do that...

Then I remember when I was young, I like to transform my hand into an airplane and fly around visualizing barrel roll, loop and those difficult maneuver, yeah... I kind of still do that now but without the hand sign. I believe this is also coming from the visualization skills I have when I started to involve in playing computer games.... Coz nearly all of the games out there are NOT real, you have fantasy or science fiction with plenty of effects and impossible maneuver in games, you have gruesome murder in games that even TV doesn't show and I never question it to be impossible.... That is how much I trusted myself in games, and I believe it kind of skewed the actual life that my eyes are seeing... kind of scary if you ask me, but I believe I'm still sane.

Not only that, but the never say die spirit is there, I believe this is the result of being too involve in games in the past, in game losing is a normal thing, loading a game probably took 10% of my total game time and even playing games that CANNOT die like "Fahrenheit" and "Days of the tentacle", losing will be in the sense of how to make the game advance till the end, and that I believe is the fuel to propel a gamer to reach the end point because there is a promising cake lies in wait...

and speaking of end point, most gamers will do in life with an end in mind, maybe not the final end in life, but a little distance away point where I have something to look forward to. This is enforced even more by my parent earlier when they give incentives if you achieve something insignificant like passing your PMR and stuff like that :P But the point is my mind has been shaped to chase for something, and without a goal, my life can be a total disarray with no direction, and this is where I can turn into something different if not careful....

After been in the States, alot of my colleague say that I am 'fearless' albeit in a stupid way, and they credited this to the reason that I have no problem take the free fall ride in 6 flags, I bravely rented an AR-15 rifle instead of starting out with a 9mm pistol during shooting range and I even suggested to have parachuting out from 15,000 feet from a plane.... and nobody interested in jumping from the sky.... lamers
Anyway, I believe this attitude steam from the fact that most gamers dare to face whatever the world throw at them, they have face crazy fuhrer in Wolfenstein, they have faced with impossible puzzle in Prince of Persia, and executed world record maneuver in Wing Commander or Descend 3D... So gamer never say die, especially for an atheist :P

So basically there are many wrong intepretation on gamers nowadays, and it really sux when we have to take the blunt for the failure in society. But I guess this is life, and as long as it doesn't take away the time and energy for one to concentrate on their love ones and important task at hand, it definately will build character.

Gamers forever!