Gamers Gaming
Who am I?
I have been a gamer most of my life, I have been picked on, ridiculed, question by parents, nearly given up thanks to certain people no longer in my life but I am still here 41 years after I started.
In my lifetime I have been wrong, I have been right, there have been up, there have been downs. I have been addicted when I shouldn’t have been, I have suffered and sacrificed, I have learnt a thing or two.
I have seen change come and go, I have played every console made since the 1983 (and a few from before), I have played PC. My favourite from the past is the Amiga, my favourite from now is PC (though the Series X is close 2nd).
I love the Xbox’s inclusive echo system (also amazing accessibility options), I hate Sony’s closed minded exclusive mindset forcing others to do the same.
‘Exclusive’ is not a word I want in my industry, I want it to be inclusive or everyone.
I am now a streamer, an advocate for inclusion, a Xbox Ambassador, an Indie Games advocate, a volunteer game Q&A tester, I am an official content creator for Beyond Contact, Astroneer, Lost Ark and Sea of Thieves, I am disabled, I suffer from mental health issues, I am 49, I am a friend, I am a supporter, I am inclusive, I am a Gamer!
Why are you a gamer/Why Gaming?
I have seen sunrises off the shores of distance worlds, swam the depths of alien oceans, climbed mountains on worlds that are more beautiful and just as believable as we know exist in reality…
I have shot ships down around distant stars, helped alien raced survive dying worlds, raided tombs deep in hidden places on Earth, rescued hostages from every kind of villain, killed tyrants.
I have flown through the clouds as a bird, in an aircraft, as a hero, as an alien, as nothing but air. I have travelled far and wide across the infinite space and delved deep in oceans. I have seen things non-gamers will never see based of fiction and fact.
Our exploits and desire for more and more realistic worlds to experience has driven technology that has helped medical science, the aerospace industry, the automobile industry and so done much more for the real world than you can imagine.
Gaming has brought me happiness and joy as it has to so many around the world, it has change my life as it has others, saved my life as it has others, brought me closer to people as it has others and while it has never done so to me, it has sometimes split them apart but not always for the worse in the long run.
Conversely as a gamer, despite what people want you to believe, I have never once wanted to hurt another human being, never considered replicating anything from a game in real life, except maybe dressing as a favourite character (Cosplay), I have never known anyone who has been affected by a game in a way that would make them want to destroy another human or non-human life (animal, plants etc).
We are Gamers!
Gamers are more intelligent, have better reflexes, better memory, better hand eye coordination, can learn skills faster and much more.
Some are more sociable, some are not, BOTH ARE OK
Some define themselves as straight, gay, bysexual, transgender, gender fluid and some are undecided. ALL ARE OK.
Some have trouble with Mental Health, others are well adjusted, some are not aware of either and just are who they are. ALL ARE OK.
Why? Because they should ALL BE OK anyway, the world should accept people for who they are and not judge, it is not our business, does not harm us nor is the human race defined singularly by writings in a book or teaching of others, the human race is diverse and THAT IS OK.
Also though it is OK because we are Gamers and not our gender, sexuality, political view, religion, creed, race or any other such label, we are all one label, Gamers, we see things others will never see, experience things others will never experience and real or not they affect us in the same way as being there.
We have all experienced a full spectrum of emotion from peace to fear, happiness to sadness, solitude to the overwhelming company of others.
We have lived tear jerking, heart wrenching moments or extreme happiness and joy while sharing lives or living lives we could never live. We have felt the adrenaline rush of speed, of success, we have felt the bittersweet agony, the pain of loss, the joy of reunion.
We are Gamers, we did all of the above, what did you do today?