Finding gamers at work...

[XPav]

So, at work today, a guy that just transferred into the department basically says "hey, you know about PCs, are you a gamer?" pretty much out of the blue.

So we get to talking about game and whatnot.

I didn't think I looked like a gamer, but I think the fact that I remember the config switches for EMM386.EXE gives me away.

[Kool Moe Dee]

We used to play "spot the game developer" when we went to the mall food court at my last job, as there were quite a few developers in the area.

"Spot the gamer" isn't much more difficult.

[Kryten]

We've just taken on a new customer and being a curious little monkey I looked over his blog - seeing a WoW reference I asked him about it, now our conversations are 40% work, 60% WoW.

Good way to build customer relations :)

[instant0]

Until you discover you play on opposite sides and you've pk'ed and corpse-camped him, alternatively If he Ninjaed your l00t. :-)

[Troy S Goodfellow]

There are gamers everywhere at my school. In my own department I have a guy who loves flight sims, a PlayStation nut and someone who loves casual games.

Plus my students who couldn't wait to ask me what I thought about the PS3 pricing scheme. I would say a good third of my students are "out" as serious gamers and almost half of those are girls.

You can find gamers anywhere if you have your gamedar set to active.

Troy

[EvilIdler]

Due to the environments I end up in, it would be refreshing to spot a non-gamer
occasionally ;)

[Ryan Markel]

I work in an environment that has no active gamers. And I've tried - actively - to find them. The closest is an editor with an office across from mine who plays Flash games all day at work.

It has the tendency to become slightly depressing.

[tromik]

This bickering is pointless?

[Balasarius]

I work in an environment that has no active gamers. And I've tried - actively - to find them. The closest is an editor with an office across from mine who plays Flash games all day at work.

It has the tendency to become slightly depressing.
/cry - I'm with you. EVERYONE I work with is 5-10 years older than me (or more - I'm 35) and never, ever touches a game. One of them bought an HDTV a while back, though, so we can talk about that... sometimes...

A few years ago we hired someone who was about 5 years younger than me. He played games. We became great friends. Then he moved away, got married, had 2 kids, and now never has time to play. :(

[Udarnik]

I am surrounded by non-gamers. And yes, it is depressing, because people don't totally lose their gaming instinct, they just play Solitaire until 3am.

Sometimes they have fond memories of playing Super Mario Brothers or Donkey Kong, though, so, like Troy's students I tried bringing up console pricing as a topic. I asked a couple of them how much they'd spend for a game console and they both, seperately, said, "I don't know, $100?" I kept pressing and I got one to go as high as $250 if it was a combined gift for a couple of her kids, but no higher.

[DeepT]

A few years ago we hired someone who was about 5 years younger than me. He played games. We became great friends. Then he moved away, got married, had 2 kids, and now never has time to play. :(

Damm those women! They are always getting thier claws into our buddies and then they devour his soul. All you are left with are memories of the good times that will never be, ever again.

[Hawkeye Fierce]

I work at MIT. You'd think I could throw a rock at random and hit a gamer. But no one I work with seems to be one. Most of them are significantly older than me, which probably has something to do with it.

I'm sure plenty of the students are gamers, but I don't really interact with them.

[DrDel]

I work in a hospital.

No one I know is a gamer.

We are so back-assward. People still equate "computer users" as geeks. And "gamers" are totally alien. Nothing is computerized in our hospital. Everything (including patient charts) are all circa 1960 paper reports. You can only imagine the amount of important patient care information that goes missing. It's a recipe for disaster!

The peeps at work don't even know how to turn on a computer.

Hence my involvement with this forum -- the only gamers I know are the peeps online. No one in my Real Life is a gamer (except 1 friend).

[SpoofyChop]

Well, when we go to the mall we play "spot the hot chick" which is quite a bit more fun.

[metta]

I work in a hospital.


Which one?

[Old Man Gravy]

I work in a hospital.

No one I know is a gamer.



Ouch, Doc. That's a pretty sad state of affairs. And it's pretty much asking for sanctions from regulating authorities.

At one of our hospitals (a nationally prominent, modern facility in the northwest), we have a Chief Financial Officer who doesn't use the computer either. Can't even get Excel running. I'm absolutely baffled at how someone like that can rise to the top in a tech-heavy industry, but he did.

Anyways, have you sniffed around in the catheterization or imaging labs? At our hospitals, I'm always running into d00dz who love operating joysticks in those departments. :)

[Rob_Merritt]

I say 99% of the time if I find a gamer at work they end up being a Madden freak, World of Warcraft or some other type of gamer I can't relate too.

[Slainte Mhath]

/cry - I'm with you. EVERYONE I work with is 5-10 years older than me (or more - I'm 35) and never, ever touches a game.

This is my situation exactly. In fact, it's the very reason I'm here on the QT3 forums talking games with real gamers. You guys are my lifeline.

Hold me?

[Rob Beschizza]

I say 99% of the time if I find a gamer at work they end up being a Madden freak, World of Warcraft or some other type of gamer I can't relate too.

One would just be week at the knees to hear someone mutter, "What I'd do for Freespace 3" or "Bethsoft better not screw up the new Fallout."

[SlyFrog]

We are so back-assward. People still equate "computer users" as geeks. And "gamers" are totally alien. Nothing is computerized in our hospital. Everything (including patient charts) are all circa 1960 paper reports. You can only imagine the amount of important patient care information that goes missing. It's a recipe for disaster!

I'm in the same boat. Gamers are geeks here. I think if I came out, I would possibly be beaten and left for dead.

I'm serious (well, not about the beaten part). I don't think there is anything wrong with the people I work with; everyone has different hobbies. Their hobbies just all seem to be the somewhat generic (to me) ones; golf, dinner parties, receptions, etc. It does lead to a lonely work existence, however. Fortunately I know some people who, if they are not gamers, are at least bright enough to be interesting conversationalists even though they are primarily interested in golf, parties, and receptions. :)

[Ryan Markel]

One would just be week at the knees to hear someone mutter, "What I'd do for Freespace 3" or "Bethsoft better not screw up the new Fallout."

What if that same person were also a woman?

The consequences!

[Troy S Goodfellow]

Gamers are geeks here. I think if I came out, I would possibly be beaten and left for dead.

I'm serious (well, not about the beaten part). I don't think there is anything wrong with the people I work with; everyone has different hobbies. Their hobbies just all seem to be the somewhat generic (to me) ones; golf, dinner parties, receptions, etc. It does lead to a lonely work existence, however. Fortunately I know some people who, if they are not gamers, are at least bright enough to be interesting conversationalists even though they are primarily interested in golf, parties, and receptions. :)

Have you thought you might not be the only closeted gamer? I'm much happier now that I'm out and unapologetic.

From non-gamers, the most common reaction is curiosity. And there is a sizeable group of people who might like to experiment. You can be their guide.

Troy

[mono]

Heh. A friend and I were joking about this some time ago, back in the late 90's. Chatting with someone at work, and then working in an "Ummm, yeah, so..hey... do you play computer games?"

In my NYC apartment building there's a guy who I'd just spoken with briefly, friendly nods, hey, what's up, how's the wife kind of stuff. 2 weeks ago I was wearing my Doom 3 t-shirt and the flood gates opened. He's now told me his BF2 clan, and we're gabbing about PC system builds, BF2 mods and the anticipated ET: Quake Wars. Fun bonus: now our wives have someone they can comisserate with about our gaming.

[Kirian]

we're twenty-five million geeks... in a really big garage.
Should not be difficult to find another gamer, but it always is. We need that big garage.

Oh, and the source: http://www.edge-online.co.uk/archives/2006/05/postcards_from.php

[countzero]

Work for the church and it gets totally depressing. The only ones that could have an idea what I'm talking about would be choir boys. Even my fellow jesuits that are up to 10 years younger than me don't understand any references to games.
"I send an S.O.S. to the world..."

[Rob Beschizza]

I though Jesuits were supposed to be the hypermodern geeks of the Catholic world.

[Robert Sharp]

Have you thought you might not be the only closeted gamer? I'm much happier now that I'm out and unapologetic.

From non-gamers, the most common reaction is curiosity. And there is a sizeable group of people who might like to experiment. You can be their guide.

Troy

Well, it's a bit easier for us, Troy. As teachers, you can bet that some of our students are gamers, often hardcore gamers. We are around younger people. If you work with people in their 40s and 50s, the percentage goes way down.

And yes, I realize there are lots of gamers that age, but percentage wise, it's not as high.

[Troy S Goodfellow]

Well, it's a bit easier for us, Troy. As teachers, you can bet that some of our students are gamers, often hardcore gamers. We are around younger people. If you work with people in their 40s and 50s, the percentage goes way down.

And yes, I realize there are lots of gamers that age, but percentage wise, it's not as high.

Absolutely true.

But I came out in an environment not as conducive to geekery - social science academia full of serious people.

I certainly don't think that we are surrounded by gamers at every turn, and there is still a connotation of the whole thing being so much nonsense. But I don't see much sense in hiding my hobby. Even if no one around me gamed, I think I would still be reading my magazines in the teacher's lounge or reading manuals on the bus.

I wrote about this "gamer shame" thing last year and I think that mainstreaming public awareness that grown-ups do this thing can only have positive consequences.

Troy

[fuzzyslug]

Have you thought you might not be the only closeted gamer? I'm much happier now that I'm out and unapologetic.

From non-gamers, the most common reaction is curiosity. And there is a sizeable group of people who might like to experiment. You can be their guide.

Troy

I don't think I understand all the closeted gamer crap, even in other industries (I'm a programmer so I'll admit that I'm no fish out of water). Folks have different hobbies. I'm completely unashamed of how I spend my free time. Some people collect spoons! What am I worred about?

Around work, I'm one of the two folks identified as a hardcore gamer (you'd think the number would be higher but it is not). I've found that fact0 very helpful in terms of connecting to other gamers. If people are truly interested in games, they eventually end up at the door of my office.

[Slainte Mhath]

"gamer shame"

Fantastic description, nicely done.

I work with a bunch of attorneys, worse, they're nearly all conservative Republican attorneys. It wasn't always this bad though. Once, long ago, I worked in the IT department of a mid-sized market research firm where all the guys were into the early FPS games. Lunchtime Doomfests were the norm, and the day DoomII came out was damn near a holiday in the office. Ahhh...memories, good times.

It's not just work though, I have "game shame" even at home. My wife is not a gamer, so I feel like I'm making excuses all the time for my "silly habit". Like watching Survivor and Apprentice is really a more worthwhile way to spend a couple of hours than interacting with a game that requires logic, decision making and imagination.

I wear t-shirts I've brought home from GenCon and gaming conventions when doing yardwork and the neighborhood kids are all like "Cool! That game rules!" and the adults mostly look at me and shake their heads. So what, a t-shirt that says Corona (which I have) or some NASCAR number (which I don't) would be more "adult"? Whatever.

[fuzzyslug]

This whole thread makes me want to set up a Ticket to Ride game at work. We need another MD/PA/DC get together at someplace with a big table.

[Kryten]

I've discussed this before but I use my PSP on the train into work - I've now seen one other regular commuter with one (I think I've been at a LAN party with this guy - hee) but I still get people looking at me with an expression of "dude, aren't video games for kids?", and then proceeding to peer over my shoulder to see what I'm up to. So yeah, there's still a stigma attached to it, but then again a lot of people read their bibles on the train (I mean honestly, the service isn't *that* bad).

Working for an ISP makes finding gamers easy, we're a small company but there's another guy with a PSP so we swap games etc., and more than one of us has an Xbox etc. My previous job we had an active Counterstrike clan going with a nucleus of about 6 of us who all worked together playing (this, by the way, ended badly) - it's certainly slightly depressing changing to an environment where there's not people with similar interests around, but I guess that applies to almost any hobby.

[wisefool]

I'm in the same boat. Gamers are geeks here. I think if I came out, I would possibly be beaten and left for dead.

I'm serious (well, not about the beaten part). I don't think there is anything wrong with the people I work with; everyone has different hobbies. Their hobbies just all seem to be the somewhat generic (to me) ones; golf, dinner parties, receptions, etc. It does lead to a lonely work existence, however. Fortunately I know some people who, if they are not gamers, are at least bright enough to be interesting conversationalists even though they are primarily interested in golf, parties, and receptions. :)

You know, that's why I hang here like you guys. There's only so much I can talk about history, politics, winemaking, etc etc. I really want to bitch and gossip on how much the gamespy game browsing lobbies suck, or something like that.

What we need is the equivalent of the left-ear earring from the 80s or something. Maybe T-shirts or cufflinks with small, subtle initials. BFME, EQ, BF2:SF, HOMM5, etc. That way nobody can out you, you look all totally normal unless they can recognize it. I mean, unless you can wear a Doom 3 T-shirt around with a BFG to work.

Aside:

Small setting healthcare is also pretty backwards technologically. I think a nice hybrid tech would be RFID tags in all the paper charts! I am really curious how feasible it would be to buy a small machine. Price limit would be say 5k, but I doubt they will be cheap enough. The younger coworkers are pretty comfortable with the PC - they must have been 10 or so when dialup internet started being available. Older people have problems figuring out telephone conference calls and the fax machine for god's sake.

[ElGuapo]

This whole thread makes me want to set up a Ticket to Ride game at work. We need another MD/PA/DC get together at someplace with a big table.

I'd come.

Agreed with everything said. Gaming is still looked at as weird and juvenile by a lot of the population. Ever weirder though is when I walk into an EB Games or whatnot to buy a release day game and some nerdy idiot is tyring to show he's all cool and make me feel "welcome". . . "Hey man, you heard about the PS3? Hey man, you tried the new football game called Madden? It's off the hook!". Maybe because I look like a normal business professional, like I wandered in to their store on the way to Brooks Brothers. It just makes me uncomfortable. Just sell me the game, man.

You guys think being a gamer is looked at as weird: try being an AFOL (adult fan of Legos). Actually, it's almost so bizarre that people respect it, like if you announced you killed random hookers and put them in your freezer.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, interesting. What's that like?"

[SlyFrog]

I don't think I understand all the closeted gamer crap, even in other industries (I'm a programmer so I'll admit that I'm no fish out of water). Folks have different hobbies. I'm completely unashamed of how I spend my free time. Some people collect spoons! What am I worred about?

I used to think this, and I still mostly do, but I am softening on the question. It is easy to say, "To each his own," but I'm more than willing to admit that there are certain activities and hobbies I would probably say, "Grow up," to if I saw another person engaging in them past a certain age. If you are particularly interested in something it is hard to be objective; I think you may have no real way of knowing whether something is different or something that you probably should have grown out of with the rest of the kids.

That being said, the prejudice (and it is a prejudice) does exist. Some industries require more of a veneer of professionalism than others (not attempting to be insulting; just true). I feel like I'm going to fall back into the software industry thread, but a lot of CEOs simply do not want their corporate attorney playing Super Mario 8, even if it never comes up and does not affect them. There will be a taint associated with such activity. An implication that something is wrong with a supposedly serious, mature adult who does such things, and more importantly, is responsible for helping him make $$$ decisions.

I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it's there.

[ElGuapo]

Exactly. What if you found out your accountant/lawyer/boss went home and played with Barbie dolls at night? Not collected them like Waylan Smithers, but acted out little dramas and drove around the pink Barbie convertible.

It's all degrees of gray lines.

[gdunbar]

I've found that having a game of RoboRally setup in my office (we play one turn everyday at lunch) has pretty much "outed" me. But I'm a computer programmer so maybe I didn't even need to do that.

Geoff

[fuzzyslug]

I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it's there.

This is, most definitely, true. But personally, I just don't care. I don't worry about my hobbies influencing my career (and, admittedly, that really isn't an issue in my case) and I really don't worry about it changing what folks think of me.

I spend about one day a week playing with a plastic guitar in front of my TV. I've lost ability to judge others on their hobbies and, oddly, I think the same thing applies to others. Who is claiming the moral high ground here? The guy who spends his weekends drinking? The guy who spends his Sundays walking around a field, swinging a stick, and yelling "damn" constantly?

I've seen the bias. Hell, I've seen it in my own family. But gaming is becoming mainstream and, as a result there is a lot of curiousity about it. My DS, DDR, and Guitar Hero have given me great tools to take advantage of that curiousity. I do so.

[fuzzyslug]

I'd come.

Hey, I'm serious. Ticket to Ride rocks.

[Ryan Markel]

This is, I believe, where Reggie hit it on the head during the Nintendo E3 event.
How many people do you know who have never watched a movie, or watched television, or read a book? Now how many people do you know - even within your own home - who have never played a video game?
Or something like that.

Hell, my wife thinks that video games are immature and a complete and total waste of time even compared to other media. We disagree on the spending of money on them constantly.

[XPav]

There are other people at my work -- we've got an "aged" group of people (ie: over 30, save for me, who'se getting close) that play Halo 2 every now and then.

I'm the nerd of the bunch though. I said "yeah, I asked on this gaming forum I frequent"... and then get the "Neeeeeeerrrddddd" response. This from a guy with a PhD in optics that plays Halo 2 on XBox Live. I mean, shit, how nerdy is that?

[Justin Fletcher]

What we need is the equivalent of the left-ear earring from the 80s or something. Maybe T-shirts or cufflinks with small, subtle initials. BFME, EQ, BF2:SF, HOMM5, etc. That way nobody can out you, you look all totally normal unless they can recognize it. I mean, unless you can wear a Doom 3 T-shirt around with a BFG to work.
I've found that the Half-Life 2 t-shirt with just the "lambda squared" symbol on it is an effective low-key announcement of your gamer status. Gamers recognize it immediately, while non-gamers have no idea what it means (A band? A chemical? A fraternity?).

[metta]

I've found that the Half-Life 2 t-shirt with just the "lambda squared" symbol on it is an effective low-key announcement of your gamer status. Gamers recognize it immediately, while non-gamers have no idea what it means (A band? A chemical? A fraternity?).

Unless they're gay :p

The lambda was first chosen as a gay symbol when it was adopted in 1970 by the New York Gay Activists Alliance. It became the symbol of their growing movement of gay liberation. In 1974, the lambda was subsequently adopted by the International Gay Rights Congress held in Edinburgh, Scotland. As their symbol for lesbian and gay rights, the lambda became internationally popular.

[ElGuapo]

I've found that the Half-Life 2 t-shirt with just the "lambda squared" symbol on it is an effective low-key announcement of your gamer status. Gamers recognize it immediately, while non-gamers have no idea what it means (A band? A chemical? A fraternity?).

Or that you're gay. I got a lot of gay-lesbian-alliance flyers handed to me for some reason, mysteriously, when I used to wear my HL baseball cap all the time.

Apparently the lambda means something in gay culture.

[Troy S Goodfellow]

Fantastic description, nicely done.

Thanks. I'm pretty sure I'm not the first to use the term, but I'll take credit for the coinage for now.

My original "gamer shame" essay can be found here (http://uticensis.blogspot.com/2005/05/gamer-shame.html).

Troy

[Justin Fletcher]

Unless they're gay :p
Or that you're gay. I got a lot of gay-lesbian-alliance flyers handed to me for some reason, mysteriously, when I used to wear my HL baseball cap all the time.

Apparently the lambda means something in gay culture.
That explains some interesting looks I've gotten on the train. And here I thought I was just devastatingly handsome.

[Jack Black]

That explains some interesting looks I've gotten on the train. And here I thought I was just devastatingly handsome.

You were. To guys.

[SlyFrog]

You were. To guys.

I think he was very fortunate to probably not have run across a gay Half-Life fan; the lust may have been uncontrollable.

[DrDel]

Ouch, Doc. That's a pretty sad state of affairs. And it's pretty much asking for sanctions from regulating authorities.

At one of our hospitals (a nationally prominent, modern facility in the northwest), we have a Chief Financial Officer who doesn't use the computer either. Can't even get Excel running. I'm absolutely baffled at how someone like that can rise to the top in a tech-heavy industry, but he did.

Anyways, have you sniffed around in the catheterization or imaging labs? At our hospitals, I'm always running into d00dz who love operating joysticks in those departments. :)

You bring up a good point. Some of the CT technicians at my hospital are into gaming a little bit -- but I don't work anywhere close to where they work so I never see them. Most of the computer geeks at Radiology rip music and movies rather than play games.

I went over to the IT Department once and (at the risk of sounding racist but not meaning to) I thought I immigrated into China. I couldn't communicate my IT request to anyone because, I swear, they didn't understand what I was saying.

Not even the interns and residents are gamers... being the younger generation you would think they would be! They use computers for email and some of them know what "IM" stands for. Looks like I was the only idiot who was stupid enough to play games during medschool rather than study harder.

You don't want me getting close to you with a scalpel!

[Lorini]

Being an 48 year old African American female gamer just flips people out. Yesterday I bought my Xbox 360 and the salesperson says "this is for YOU??!" she couldn't believe it. I used to be able to "hide" my hobby from people as I kept my games 'behind closed doors' so to speak. But now my board and computer games are out there for all to see, and yes people think I'm "wasting my time with them" but they watch Lost and a whole lot of other (trash to me) TV and that's just fine for them.

As a gamer (and I may be wrong here) I think I do a far better job of reacting appropriately (not always though :) and problem solving than non-gamers my age.

I also married a gamer (my ex-husband was the producer for Star Trek 25th Anniversary) and the gaming part was great. Hopefully someday in the future I'll meet another gamer guy and we can have some fun.

Lorini

[Robert Sharp]

First, Lorini, get ready to start deleting random marriage proposals from your PM inbox.

On a more serious note, I didn't marry a gamer, but she games now that I introduced her to them. She likes WoW, but she's also played NFL2k and lots of other games with me (Team Fortress, for example...any coop, pretty much). So sometimes you can introduce people to gaming.

Second, I think the whole culture is changing anyway. Yes, it's hard to find someone who has never watched TV, but it wouldn't have been so hard 50 years ago. I think in the next decade or so it will become increasingly hard to find people that didn't at least play as kids/teenagers. And more and more people will continue to play as they get older. After all, I'm 32 and basically video games have only been around during my lifetime. I grew up with them, but anyone 10 years older than me didn't have video games as a young kid. But that means anyone younger than me probably did, or at least knew someone who did. So the culture is changing and this won't be an issue much longer.

[Old Man Gravy]

You don't want me getting close to you with a scalpel!

Yeah, put down the scalpel, but you (or another gamer) would be my first choice if I had to have something done with the endoscope.

Just don't make the WOOOOOOO guy face while doing it.


By the way, that reminds me of something, I'll see if I can dig it up...

[Kryten]

I have the pewter Baron figure from Doom on my monitor stand - that's about it for outward signals. I've refrained from putting the Edge magazine Nintendo wall planner for 2006 up though.....

[Old Man Gravy]

Okay, here it is... from the Advisory Board's medical daily briefing from early 2005:

Video gaming strengthens surgery technique at Beth Israel


02/25/2005


Feb. 25—Surgeons at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York are not goofing around by playing video games on the job; they are actually honing their laparoscopy skills, the New York Times reports. The process of manipulating laparoscopic instruments while monitoring the surgical site on a video screen is similar to that of operating a video game controller, and Dr. James Clarence Rosser, Jr., chief of minimally invasive surgery and an avid video gamer, is using Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube to train new surgeons at his Top Gun Laporoscopic Skills and Suturing Program. He collects data on their performance and so far has amassed records for more than 5,000 surgeons; a study Rosser co-authored found that surgeons who spent at least three hours each week playing video games were 37% more accurate and 27% faster than surgeons who did not play. Video games allow surgeons to fine-tune their skills in between procedures without expensive simulator equipment, which can cost $200,000 (Marriott, 2/24/05).


Guilty Gear X Black Alpha: coming soon to a medical school near you!

[metta]

I didn't marry a gamer, but she games now that I introduced her to them.

Same here. My bride had a ton of crappy wiring about how games were juvenile and misogynist. When we met I was playing Diablo II and she figured, knowing me as she did, that anything I was into couldn't be harmful, so she tried it out...and loved it. From there she took on Baldur's Gate II and No One Lives Forever and Dark Age of Camelot and now she's a game nerd.

She learned that games are just like any other media - some are juvenile and misogynist and some are not - but there's nothing inherently childish about playing games.

You don't stop playing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing. - George Bernard Shaw

[ElGuapo]

So anyone reading this work in DC and want to come back to my place and play games? Fun games? Games we can play together, just the two of us? My wife doesn't even have to know. Or maybe we could go to your place and play games.

See how hard it is? It always sounds teh gay.

[fuzzyslug]

So anyone reading this work in DC and want to come back to my place and play games? Fun games? Games we can play together, just the two of us? My wife doesn't even have to know. Or maybe we could go to your place and play games.

See how hard it is? It always sounds teh gay.

I was interested until I started worrying about you playing with my Wii.

[Nathan]

You guys think being a gamer is looked at as weird: try being an AFOL (adult fan of Legos).

The other day at Target, I bought two Exo-Force models and the clerk asked "Are these for you or someone else?". I don't know how she knew. I think she's probably a witch.

[fuzzyslug]

Related story:

My wife went to EB yesterday to check for Wii pre-orders. The guy behind the counter was impressed she knew how to pronouce it. When he mentioned E3 and she not only knew what it was but talked about it (she gets E3 osmosis from me), he attacked her in conversation. She thought he was going to ask her to marry him.

Her remarks later-on:

"If you are a woman over 30 years of age and looking for a man, brush up on some gaming lingo. Then go find someone who actually has a job." I'd hope he doesn't work at EB. :)

[DrDel]

Okay, here it is... from the Advisory Board's medical daily briefing from early 2005:



Guilty Gear X Black Alpha: coming soon to a medical school near you!


Yes, I have seen this literature before. It is probably correct, however the years of studying probably makes a better doctor than does video gaming.

[Justin Fletcher]

Unless, of course, they're really good at Trauma Center: Under the Knife.

[Lorini]

Related story:


Her remarks later-on:

"If you are a woman over 30 years of age and looking for a man, brush up on some gaming lingo. Then go find someone who actually has a job." I'd hope he doesn't work at EB. :)

Yeah, the job part's the problem :)

Lorini

[Troy S Goodfellow]

[H]e attacked her in conversation. She thought he was going to ask her to marry him.

Are verbal attacks usually a prelude to a marriage proposal? Or is this a Pennsylvania thing? ;)

Troy

[fuzzyslug]

Are verbal attacks usually a prelude to a marriage proposal? Or is this a Pennsylvania thing? ;)

Troy

Sorry, I believe I misrepresented the conversation. I should have said he wouldn't stop talking to her. He'd just found a friend. She had to cut the conversation short.

I haven't lived here for long but I believe a clubbing is still the proper prelude to a marriage proposal.

[Robert Sharp]

So he attacked her WITH conversation, not in it...that's what confused me.

[Troy S Goodfellow]

So anyone reading this work in DC and want to come back to my place and play games? Fun games? Games we can play together, just the two of us? My wife doesn't even have to know. Or maybe we could go to your place and play games.

See how hard it is? It always sounds teh gay.

Just noticed this shameful plea...

We've had a couple of DC get togethers, but for eating and drinking only so far.

I think a proper gaming session would be a good idea. As would a huge East Coast Qt3 shindig.

Troy

[fuzzyslug]

Just noticed this shameful plea...

We've had a couple of DC get togethers, but for eating and drinking only so far.

I think a proper gaming session would be a good idea. As would a huge East Coast Qt3 shindig.

Troy

I might even be willing to host something at some point, provided I can get everyone to sign "I'm not a serial killer waivers." I live around here (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Littlestown,+PA&ll=39.739534,-77.089348&spn=0.061116,0.196381&om=1), which is about an hour outside of Baltimore. I talked to Dave about trying to drag the PA folks down this way but never really followed up on it.

[_Fury_]

I'm a software engineer in the medical field, and we've got more gamers than not on our team. We're currently mostly playing WoW, but we've all got proper gamer pedigrees, completed Ultima 7, pine for a Torment sequel, etc.

We all play on the same server, so twice a week or so we grab our characters and do an instance or two with whomever is online that night. Makes for entertaining morning coffee conversation, calling one of our most experienced engineers a noob since he forgot crippling poison...