Sunday, January 31, 2010

The importance of "gamer-talk"


Communication is key. How may time have you heard that cliché? Well, that’s because it’s true.  It’s common knowledge that communication is vital to community; they even share the same etymological lineage.
The importance of communication is so obvious, that we often take it for granted. Hopefully, by the end of this blog I will have articulated something worthwhile about communication and its relation to video games.
So, the purpose of communication is to transfer info from one entity to another. I use the word “entity” instead of “person” because the number of people sending or receiving the information can vary.  I’m sure I don’t have to describe the different possible scenarios.
Most humans love to transfer information from one entity to another; People love to communicate, and we have created many innovative ways to do so, but we’ll get to that on another post. The question I want to address is what do people love to “communicate” about? (Even though it’s doesn’t accurately encompass the meaning, I will now be using “talk” interchangeably with “communicate”.)
Common topics of conversation include the weather, work, politics, sports, and movies. Out of these examples, I would say that some people get genuinely excited when discussing sports, movies, or even celebrity gossip.
 A good political discussion can be very stimulating, but most of these are negative in nature, revolve around complaints or disagreements about an administration, party, or politician, and usually create a divide between people. Politics are a necessary evil; video games exist out of their own merit.
Arguably, conversations about video games are the most exciting, passionate, and engaging kinds of conversation. Just yesterday, some co-workers and I were in a conference room waiting for a meeting to start, and the subject of video games came up. We discussed everything from FPS’ to RPG’s, we reminisced on the days of Street Fighter II, and we lamented the fact that our busy lives hindered the amount of time we could spend with our favorite games.
I’m reminded of the Pringles slogan whenever video games come up in conversation. (Once you pop, you can’t stop)
I was browsing Reddit after work, and I was surprised to see that the very same Street Fighter match we talked about before the staff meeting had been posted on the site and was sitting pretty on the front page. This was a huge coincidence, but another thing that was huge was the amount of communication that this one link was generating.
Over 1,500 people voted on the submission, and 447 comments were posted at the time of this writing. This video is 3 years old. Man, people really do LOVE talking about video games.
A good example of what most video game conversations look like can be seen here. (notice the twinkle in their eyes as they speak fondly of their favorite past time)

IN CONCLUSION, the strength of the gaming community relies heavily on the fact that gamers love to talk about games.
In my next blog, I’ll make a list of the different topics that gamers talk about, and the different ways they do so. J/K, I forgot I needed to talk about common goals first ;D

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

What sets gamers apart?

The word community gets thrown around a lot, and has been defined and redefined so many times that it has almost lost its meaning. According to Wikipedia, there were 94 definitions of "community" by the 1950's.

Just so we're all on the same page, I'm going to list the most important facets of the gaming community.

-Mutually Shared experiences
- Communication
- Common Goals

For now, I will focus on mutually shared experiences.

When sociologist defined "mutually shared experiences," I doubt they had the simulated experiences of video games in mind, but the events that take place in the kingdom of Hyrule, on Shadow Moses island, and after the crash of The Pillar of Autumn are more than simple simulations; they are memorable and engaging adventures that have a lasting impact on gamers.

When you come across someone who has had the same gaming experiences, a bond is formed and nostalgic conversation is sure to follow. I'm sure that all the readers who recognize the references in the previous paragraph feel some level of affinity towards me as a direct consequence of having played, and maybe even loved, the same games.

Most people in our society have seen the same movies, watched the same TV shows, or heard the same songs, and it is true that people can relate to each other through these experiences, but video games are on another level. (pun intended =])

The biggest difference between video games and other forms of entertainment is the amount of personal investment involved in playing and completing a game.

For starters, movies, music, and shows are transient and partly independent of the audience; they require only minimal input from the user. A game, on the other hand, will not play itself. Games require cognitive and physical involvement from the audience. Many late nights were spent trying to beat "free bird" on expert, and a sore wrist was usually the consequence thereof.

Games also require more financial investment. TV shows, music, and movies are cheap compared to video games, which now cost an average of $60.00 a game and over $300.00 a console . Even in terms of illegal downloading, video games are much harder to find, download, and operate than other types of media.

Finally, games require much more temporal investment. Games can take anything from 20 to 120 hours of game-play to complete, and good games are usually played more than once. I've lost count of how many times I've played my favorite game, Star Ocean: the second story.

So, even though other forms of entertainment can be considered mutually shared experiences, and they can create a sense of community, they cannot compare to video games in terms of personal investment; therefore, the bonds formed by video games are much stronger, and this is evident in the
camaraderie of the gaming community.

A good example of the power of video game experiences is the recent release of New Super Mario Brothers. Consider that in this age of cinematic graphics, jaw dropping visuals, and complex yet intuitive games, this fairly simple 2d side-scroller is close to being the fastest selling game of all time.

I've played the game, and it is downright awesome, but I suspect that the real reason the game is selling so well is its nostalgic factor. The original Mario games were amazing for their time, and the chance to relive and updated version of these experiences is what is driving consumers to buy New Super Mario Brothers in record numbers.

Super Mario Bro's games were some of the first to gain worldwide success. I remember playing Super Mario as a kid in Colombia. Playing this game is a common experience for kids in the U.S, Japan, and other parts of the world. If you've played Super Mario games, you have taken part in a mutually shared experience with people all around the globe.

This experience was so influential that, 25 years later, we are forking out 50 bucks for a chance to save the princess all over again, and this remake is strengthening the ties of the gaming community by providing another mutually shared experience that bridges the gap between first generation gamers and younger gamers who missed out on the original.

For more on New Super Mario Bro's, check out wirebot.com

My next blog will examine communication and video games, or how gamer-talk unites and defines us.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Redefining Gamer.

Video games have been around for a few decades, and their popularity increases every year in spite of their negative portrayal in the news and the stereotypes that they're associated with. Fortunately,these stereotypes are disappearing as the industry becomes more mainstream.

Video games are the fastest growing entertainment industry, and statistics show that 60% of Americans play video games, while 95% of teenage boys and 90% of teenage girls partake in some type of gaming. (Source arstechnica and Grabtstats.)

The term “gamer” cannot be limited to any demographic, and to refer to someone as a gamer would be akin to labeling them a movie watcher, or a music listener. Yes, I’m exaggerating, but gamers are quickly becoming the vast majority of the population, and the impact that this relatively young sub-culture has on our society becomes more palpable by the day. However, numbers alone do not give a group any substantial authority. It is the ability to form a strong and cooperative community that truly determines a group’s influence in society.

Gamers have formed vast online communities and are adept at utilizing all types of media to communicate and coordinate their actions. A group with these characteristics can significantly influence the world around them. When gamers mobilize in support of a cause, the outcome is usually impressive, if not record breaking. These causes can be entrepreneurial, charitable, political, or just for the sake of entertainment.

The purpose of Gamer Babel is to report, analyze, and explore the gaming community’s remarkable ability to make a difference in a range of fields, to promote the growth of this community, and to increase the participation of gamers by informing them of the many worthy causes that the community has taken up.


In my next blog, I will break down the aspects of an effective community, and how they apply to gamers.

Some recent examples of the gaming community in action can be seen at Kotaku.com