I basically took this from a letter response in May's GameInformer that stood out to me.
I promise not to have an opinion too often ;P
P.S. Let's avoid any hateful/angry debate in the comments, okay? Everybody play nice.
I like this. Both make valid points, yet can still be countered. I only hope HCA is not the ganer that brags about PC graphics when playing an 8-bit game on it.
At least Fox News does its job and reports on things whether or not they agree with it!
Intrinsic
Saibot: Um… no. They tend to “report” things that aren’t true, much like a tabloid.
Every time a Republican has been caught in a sex scandal, Fox listed them with a (D) beside their name instead of an (R). Bill O’Reilly & Glenn Beck are nothing but sensationalists (basically, paid to lie for ratings). Carl Tucker makes a bunch of false, and very racist, claims – like “black teens make neighbourhoods more dangerous.”
During a recent study, Fox has been found to only tell the truth about 18% of the time; MSNBC is almost as bad, only telling true stories about 30% of the time.
While it is entirely reasonable to point out the glaring No True Scotsman fallacy that crops up in these sort of situations… it is downright undeniable that the act of trying to expand the gaming market to include those who would never have looked at a game twice before is changing the standard of game development to favour people who aren’t dedicated gamers… The more time, effort and money is put towards making F2P mobile games with microtransactions and the like, the less time, effort and money will be put towards big, high-profile, content-rich games.
In short…. those “filthy casuals” are shifting the industry in a direction harmful to the rest of us.
I don’t get it. I knew that the “hurr durr ur not a ril gamur if ur not hardcore” joke was inevitable in a gamer comic, especially one that introduces a female character (because we all know girls don’t play games and there are no girls on the internets), but he has already seen her buying/considering buying Assasin’s Creed. It might be a mainstream crap, but is definitely not a casual, mobile game. His questions don’t make any sense to me and feel forced.
He’s basically trying to confirm what he saw. She could have been picking up random games for all he knows. I realize I worded this poorly and it looks like the question is coming out of nowhere. My bad :(
And that DS game? She was steamrolling him in army size.
I dunno which game it is, but given he accepted it as a valid proof, it must not be ‘casual’.
That said, I am fine with this, like, its not so much as him re-checking as giving Pixel a chance to counter his opinion. And it shows us she is not a shy girl. ;P
Actually the Warrior’s Way game is very casual and not at all a valid proof of skill. You gain army size by Street Passing people and adding to it. Not very hard. It was just another silly example of validation that isn’t really validation at all.
Even Assassin’s Creed is questionable, as apparently a lot of people don’t think of it as a decent example of a game a “real gamer” should play. It’s all just pandering to Gamercat’s own idea of what he thinks a gamer should be.
End result, I didn’t word this particular comic properly. I should have had him ask something like “Are you REALLY a real gamer or are you just pulling my leg.”
Anon
Not a valid proof of skill. Wow. I’m sorry, I didn’t realise I had to go through 5 years of school and earn a paper that says “congratulations! You’re a real gamer with skills! Now you can finally enjoy playing games like any MALE gamer would do, except you will have to prove it every time by showing this!”.
Games. Do you understand that word? We play games. This is supposed to be fun, enjoyable, a funny thing to spend time. Not a fucking competition.
AC games are games, COD are games, mobile phone games are games, indie games are games, AAA games are games, and people with that “you don’t deserve respect ’cause you don’t play the same stuff as me” are shitty people.
Wait, are you angry at me? I’m the one saying anyone requiring a “valid proof of skill” before they’ll let you into their club are being elitist snobs.
That being said, no, Warrior’s Way doesn’t really require skill. That doesn’t make it less fun. I quite enjoy playing the game and encourage others to try it.
Kildare
I think he’s mad at being defined as a casual gamer?
Hana
I think the point is that skill isn’t the only metric that defines a gamer. Dedication can also be a sizable component. Just getting a number that big means you care about games, and have at least some of the requisite skills to play other games.
I don’t want to make a big deal about it, but I’m kind of on the side of “We already saw enough evidence of Pixel liking and being good at games, and it was done better the first time.”
This comic, while understandable, is necessitated by the world we live in, not the world the characters live in, nor the characters themselves. I completely understand why you would feel the need to make this kind of statement, but it’s kind of at odds with the tone of the rest of the comic, in a way that people trying to enjoy the comic as a work of art, rather than as a social commentary, are probably going to dislike.
Thank you for the helpful explanation, now I get it. And even can relate, too, as a non-gamer without any skill that has beaten a few games anyway :)
I also want to apologise for my first comment ever being a slightly negative one, I really like your comic, the story, the jokes, the drawings, the cute cats, and am looking forward to the next ones.
Thank you for drawing it, sharing with us and taking the time to reply nicely!
Glitch is cuter, Pixel is hotter. Now, can we get to the comic where hilarity and violence ensues when they try to agree on a game they all wanna play together?
thegAmercAtisbAckwArds
I think that Gamer Cat is the cutest…even if he is a guy. I just love the face ^-^
unidragon
I’m more interested in the comic where sweet comes over and steals pixel
I think my avatar should sum this up fairly nicely.
However, I am quite curious as to what made you decide to expand the cast, Celesse? I mean, yeah it’s great that you did, but WHY these added party members?
That says nothing about Gamercat’s owner that is a gamer, yet does not find it out there is another account in his consoles, and games appear out of nowhere that he did not buy.
I am hoping he finds out eventually as is all like ‘DUDE, AWESOME!’
I wanna know who’s gonna play as peach now, pixel or sweet… it would be cute to find that peach is sweet’s favorite character and that he refuses to let another person to play as her :3
Bet Sweet stays as Peach, just for the sake of reverse expectations, Pixel meanwhile shall use the most ‘evil’ characters and laugh while slaughtering the others, regardless of what game they play.
Though as a counter-point, there are toads and frogs, but both are actually frogs. Toads are frogs, and frogs are true frogs.
Likewise you could argue that there’s casual gamers and real gamers.
True, but its far less casual than angry birds, farmville, happypets, bejeweled, or peggle. But then most games being created today are extremely easy, that they might as well be those with greater graphics. And when you play older games, you find them easier than they were because your skills at those games get passively better as you age, even if you rarely played them.
AAA does not mean casual or bad (unless you’re some kind of gaming hipster), “everybody” does NOT play Assassin’s Creed, and it’s not rare for females to play ANY single game that males play. You just don’t notice them because they have learned not to advertise that they’re female, because of the horrible, immature, and misogynistic attitudes they get in “hardcore” games.
“Casual” implies little to no challenge. The first AC was considered a “serious” game when it came out, and was played by “hardcore” gamers. And even if it weren’t, there’s nothing wrong with casual games.
I think the “real gamer” is as real as a “real reader/movie/seriesjunkie/art connoisseur”.
In every medium there is a elitist/snobbish group looking down on everybody else. That’s normal (if you have consumed much of medium you have a broad knowledge and it can be boring talking to an novice).
But that is no excuse to be an asshole. Like in every other medium you should be open to someone who is new to the medium and wants to learn!
So true. I don’t get how gamers can be so shitty. I’m a girl, I have been playing since I was 5, I own lots of consoles and a pc with tons of games, and I regularly get this “oh but you didn’t play this, you’re not a real gamer”. I wasn’t aware there was a list of games you have to play to be considered a gamer, that only seems to apply to women.
And when people who don’t play tons of games tell you “hey, this stuff looks cool”, if your reaction is “omg fake gamer you just want attention” instead of “holy shit! You like the same stuff! I know lots of things about it! I’M GONNA SHOW YOU EVERYTHING!”, you probably shouldn’t be allowed around people anyway.
sooooo… i believe you, I started playing at the same age. the first game i played was MKDS (Mario Kart DS)
Actually, What was your first game? Just curious.
I swear, everytime I hear this “YOUR NOT A REAL GAMER!” crap, I honestly wanna punch the annoying D-bag who opens his mouth about it. Honestly, if you are a person who thinks others should be looked down, because they don’t apply to your own personal standards, first off shut up and nobody likes you, second get a life.
I don’t think we have to be at each others’ throats as long as we acknowledge that there’s a difference. In my day you had videogames and then you had silly LCD handhelds that are basically toys.. Then you had videogames but you also had cheap simple java or flash games, fun for a quick diversion.. Now people are playing these “apps” and I’m not exactly sure what they are except that they’re inferior versions of existing games.. But if people enjoy them, great! Ideally it should be a gateway drug to “Real” games. Oh you enjoyed farmville? try Harvest Moon.. etc.
Farmville is completely different than Harvest Moon, if anything it would be Enjoyed farmville? Try these city building games instead, Ex Sim city 2000, pharaoh, ect.
You’re blowing it GamerCat, and it’s ruining your chances! On this topic, I’ve always thought the whole “real games” and “real gamers” was absolute crap and one of the stupidest, snobbish, and just all around discriminatory things devised by the fandom.
It’s not only that but why are women automatically questioned and discriminated against? When a guy says they’re a gamer no one bats an eyelash but when a girl says she’s a gamer either no one believes her or she gets ganged up on and is asked to answer tons of questions before being deemed a faker or a gamer. There are cases where no one will question a girl that says she’s a gamer but the instances where she’s questioned or labeled a non-gamer because she’s female completely outweigh the former.
You know, I’ve never seen this happen…ever… I have questioned some guys before but that’s cause I knew them personally and I knew they didn’t know what the hell they were talking about.
Where exactly does this questioning happen? As a 30-year-old woman who has been gaming since the NES days, I have never, not so much as once, had anyone question whether I’m a gamer just because I’m female. Not at stores, not to my coworkers, not to anyone else. I read a lot of articles and comments about it on the internet, but I’m not entirely convinced that this actually happens in real life.
Kiryn, it happens a lot online (either on the internet, or via services like XBL & PSN). My roommate’s a female gamer – 31 years old, been playing since NES as well – and has stopped using a mic during Halo because of the “fake gamer girl” accusations, rape “jokes,” and general awful/immature/sexist attitudes from males (mostly teens & younger, but a few adults) in certain games.
It’s most common in online FPS games, from what I’ve seen.
Why does anyone have to believe a girl is a gamer? I mean, yes, that does happen. But if a girl really just wanted to play games why not just play them instead of trying to prove it to everyone? People might question her over and over again but it’s not hard to ignore stupid questions. The most common reasons guys ask girl gamers those questions/ask her to prove it is so they have an excuse to exclude her, wanna laugh at her expense or just wanna make her mad. None of those are good enough reason to warrant a response unless she cares about labels and more about what others think rather than her own enjoyment.
You know, she hasn’t actually called herself a gamer yet either. :)
Yeah, we had a couple of D-bags in school that thought that way till our gaming group formed. Getting trashed in your favourite game by a bunch of girls who’d prefer j-rpgs to what your playing tends to jerk guys back to reality. And who says there isn’t going to be a clip of her with a laptop beside her while she’s playing mario anyways? Any mature fortress doesn’t require your full attention anyways.
Maybe you’re being too defensive about the idea. I’ll try to describe what I mean, and I would like to point out I am trying hard not to be insulting or offensive with anything I say.
Man 1: “I’m a gamer.” Man 2: “Oh? What games do you play?” Man 1: “(insert shooter, linear adventure, action game)” Man 2: “That’s cool. I like those, but I prefer (insert sandbox adventure RPG, survival, puzzle)” nods all around, shares of hilarious experiences. The End.
How it also goes:
Woman 1: “I’m a gamer.” Man 2: “Oh? What games do you play?” Woman 1: “(insert JRPG, Complex RTS [eg starcraft, command&conquer], Platformer)” Man 2: “That’s cool. I like (insert Rhythm game, Stealth game, simple RTS [eg overlord, pikmin])” nods all around, shared experiences ensue. The End.
How it sometimes goes due to misconception.
Woman 1: “I’m a gamer.” Man 2: “Oh? What games do you play?” Woman 1: “What, I have to prove that I’m a gamer just because I’m a girl? I have to have proof? (Insert backhanded insult towards him as a prejudiced gamer).” Man 2: “No, I just meant…. Well, I play (insert some game, any game, little big planet why not)” Woman 1: “Oh what, now I guess I’m not a real gamer because I don’t play the games you play? (Insert prejudicing rant).” Now that girl really HAS been labeled as not a gamer, because when given a chance to talk about games, she chose to talk about how she feels girls are in the game industry and start a debate, rather than… Talk about games.
Granted, I will say far too often it goes like this:
Woman 1: “I’m a gamer.” Man 2: “Really? Girl Gamer?” Woman 1: “W-well yeah. So? Just games.” Man 2: “I bet you’re a casual. What games? I play real games like (insert Shooter, car racing, some random indie that is popular, etc., you get what I mean).” Woman 1: “I play those too!” Man 2: “Whatever! Then play me in them!” Plays. Man loses, it’s because woman isn’t real gamer because she used ‘cheap’ tactics. Man wins, woman is seen as attention seeking fake. Either way, she loses. The End.
I’ve never actually seen that happen once in real life but I see it happen in forums a lot and I hear stories about it happening too. However, I don’t think this comic was going for the sexism approach. Maybe you’re being too sexist by thinking that? Just because one’s a man and one’s a woman, it has to be about sexism? Pixel is just a new character and is bringing some new light to the situation. Once again, I’m just trying to share my viewpoints and not offend you.
uhm… were not sexist. we want to know what games you play. most guys probably either
A) Don’t say anything
or
B) Is considered mental
trust me, if you play games, you are considered mental.
118 thoughts on “Real Talk”
The mudkip
I like this. Both make valid points, yet can still be countered. I only hope HCA is not the ganer that brags about PC graphics when playing an 8-bit game on it.
assasincat49
On gamercats side he has a strong idea of it
What pixel said about validation to the game gave him that point he was making
But still on the other hand pixel is right about discrimination against so-called fake gamers
Wow . Whoever thought that politics would go into play in video games?
Eat your heart out FOX News
The mudkip
They will only do so if Obama takes a side.
Saibot
At least Fox News does its job and reports on things whether or not they agree with it!
Intrinsic
Saibot: Um… no. They tend to “report” things that aren’t true, much like a tabloid.
Every time a Republican has been caught in a sex scandal, Fox listed them with a (D) beside their name instead of an (R). Bill O’Reilly & Glenn Beck are nothing but sensationalists (basically, paid to lie for ratings). Carl Tucker makes a bunch of false, and very racist, claims – like “black teens make neighbourhoods more dangerous.”
During a recent study, Fox has been found to only tell the truth about 18% of the time; MSNBC is almost as bad, only telling true stories about 30% of the time.
Ezio the Zoroark
I’m on GaMERcats side the only mobile game I found myself enjoying was SoulCalibur. (And I realize nobodies gonna read this) forever alone :’)
FireHeart
Except that SoulCalibur is was born on a console and is always better played on a console. Also, I read it ;)
.
I mainly only play browser and mobile games because I’m not allowed to get a console and my 3ds is broken :(
SotiCoto
You may like it. I’ve no liking for it.
While it is entirely reasonable to point out the glaring No True Scotsman fallacy that crops up in these sort of situations… it is downright undeniable that the act of trying to expand the gaming market to include those who would never have looked at a game twice before is changing the standard of game development to favour people who aren’t dedicated gamers… The more time, effort and money is put towards making F2P mobile games with microtransactions and the like, the less time, effort and money will be put towards big, high-profile, content-rich games.
In short…. those “filthy casuals” are shifting the industry in a direction harmful to the rest of us.
anonymous
i think mobile and at home games are great no difference to me except the device i use
BoomBoi
Funny he says “Do you play **REAL** games?” Because he plays cookie clicker.
Banana
The Gamer card is a real thing.
NotSoNoob
Get me one.
Banana
You have to earn it.
SStefania
I don’t get it. I knew that the “hurr durr ur not a ril gamur if ur not hardcore” joke was inevitable in a gamer comic, especially one that introduces a female character (because we all know girls don’t play games and there are no girls on the internets), but he has already seen her buying/considering buying Assasin’s Creed. It might be a mainstream crap, but is definitely not a casual, mobile game. His questions don’t make any sense to me and feel forced.
CelesseAdministrator
He’s basically trying to confirm what he saw. She could have been picking up random games for all he knows. I realize I worded this poorly and it looks like the question is coming out of nowhere. My bad :(
RGT
And that DS game? She was steamrolling him in army size.
I dunno which game it is, but given he accepted it as a valid proof, it must not be ‘casual’.
That said, I am fine with this, like, its not so much as him re-checking as giving Pixel a chance to counter his opinion. And it shows us she is not a shy girl. ;P
CelesseAdministrator
Actually the Warrior’s Way game is very casual and not at all a valid proof of skill. You gain army size by Street Passing people and adding to it. Not very hard. It was just another silly example of validation that isn’t really validation at all.
Even Assassin’s Creed is questionable, as apparently a lot of people don’t think of it as a decent example of a game a “real gamer” should play. It’s all just pandering to Gamercat’s own idea of what he thinks a gamer should be.
End result, I didn’t word this particular comic properly. I should have had him ask something like “Are you REALLY a real gamer or are you just pulling my leg.”
Anon
Not a valid proof of skill. Wow. I’m sorry, I didn’t realise I had to go through 5 years of school and earn a paper that says “congratulations! You’re a real gamer with skills! Now you can finally enjoy playing games like any MALE gamer would do, except you will have to prove it every time by showing this!”.
Games. Do you understand that word? We play games. This is supposed to be fun, enjoyable, a funny thing to spend time. Not a fucking competition.
AC games are games, COD are games, mobile phone games are games, indie games are games, AAA games are games, and people with that “you don’t deserve respect ’cause you don’t play the same stuff as me” are shitty people.
CelesseAdministrator
Wait, are you angry at me? I’m the one saying anyone requiring a “valid proof of skill” before they’ll let you into their club are being elitist snobs.
That being said, no, Warrior’s Way doesn’t really require skill. That doesn’t make it less fun. I quite enjoy playing the game and encourage others to try it.
Kildare
I think he’s mad at being defined as a casual gamer?
Hana
I think the point is that skill isn’t the only metric that defines a gamer. Dedication can also be a sizable component. Just getting a number that big means you care about games, and have at least some of the requisite skills to play other games.
I don’t want to make a big deal about it, but I’m kind of on the side of “We already saw enough evidence of Pixel liking and being good at games, and it was done better the first time.”
This comic, while understandable, is necessitated by the world we live in, not the world the characters live in, nor the characters themselves. I completely understand why you would feel the need to make this kind of statement, but it’s kind of at odds with the tone of the rest of the comic, in a way that people trying to enjoy the comic as a work of art, rather than as a social commentary, are probably going to dislike.
(And yeah, extreme necro, but what can you do?)
SStefania
Thank you for the helpful explanation, now I get it. And even can relate, too, as a non-gamer without any skill that has beaten a few games anyway :)
I also want to apologise for my first comment ever being a slightly negative one, I really like your comic, the story, the jokes, the drawings, the cute cats, and am looking forward to the next ones.
Thank you for drawing it, sharing with us and taking the time to reply nicely!
Jalmos
“It might be a mainstream crap”
Methinks you find the questions forced because you’re not fully grasping the concept.
pOkEgAmEr7
Dude u r blowing it! shape up or she’ll dicth u
Schablon
You Beta. Gamercat is just beeing himself
Emtu
The biggest reason PC gaming will never die – mods.
johnson
Yeah, although you`re missing out on a few great games if you don`t have a console
nkh
Last of Us, y u no have PC port? ;_;
Knuckles
To avoid any arguments about “real” gamers over not “real” gamers, I think Pixel is cuter than Glitch; let’s argue about this instead!
CelesseAdministrator
Oh, you just opened a can of worms!
BarGamer
Glitch is cuter, Pixel is hotter. Now, can we get to the comic where hilarity and violence ensues when they try to agree on a game they all wanna play together?
thegAmercAtisbAckwArds
I think that Gamer Cat is the cutest…even if he is a guy. I just love the face ^-^
unidragon
I’m more interested in the comic where sweet comes over and steals pixel
WikiDreamer
I think my avatar should sum this up fairly nicely.
However, I am quite curious as to what made you decide to expand the cast, Celesse? I mean, yeah it’s great that you did, but WHY these added party members?
CelesseAdministrator
It’s more material to work with. Different genders, personalities and priorities create varying situations and opportunities for different jokes.
Alexiiii
Don’t call a cat hot. It makes you sound like a furry or someone who fantasizes gamer girls. (Glitch is cuter.)
Melody
Nyan and Pusheen were cutest. I love Glitch, though. I want him as a real kitten.
joshnickerson
I think there’s a more pressing controversy that everyone seems to be ignoring… how can these cats play video games… WITH NO OPPOSABLE THUMBS???!
White Rice
They’re all polydactyl cats. All of them. In colors they can’t be, yet are.
…
Yeah.
(Okay, fine: a wizard did it)
RGT
That says nothing about Gamercat’s owner that is a gamer, yet does not find it out there is another account in his consoles, and games appear out of nowhere that he did not buy.
I am hoping he finds out eventually as is all like ‘DUDE, AWESOME!’
erisofchaos
He knows ! Kind of…
Remember the cookie clicker game ! He saw Gamercat play ! :D
Glixel
Shhh! shhh. SHHHH!!!!!
gamerpete
I wanna know who’s gonna play as peach now, pixel or sweet… it would be cute to find that peach is sweet’s favorite character and that he refuses to let another person to play as her :3
RGT
Bet Sweet stays as Peach, just for the sake of reverse expectations, Pixel meanwhile shall use the most ‘evil’ characters and laugh while slaughtering the others, regardless of what game they play.
SStefania
This is actually pretty accurate, women are evil.
Source: I am a woman.
Marscaleb
Though as a counter-point, there are toads and frogs, but both are actually frogs. Toads are frogs, and frogs are true frogs.
Likewise you could argue that there’s casual gamers and real gamers.
Though I would urge for a different term.
Cam
Wow, like 2 speaking parts in and this already? :(
Videogamedude
But assassin’s creed is casual AAA bullshit. Everybody plays that. Its not rare for a girl to play ass creed.
Ps. Stop using strawmen
yellowcrash10
Please refer to the fourth panel of this strip for my response to this nonsense.
zfzhcgjhkfj
True, but its far less casual than angry birds, farmville, happypets, bejeweled, or peggle. But then most games being created today are extremely easy, that they might as well be those with greater graphics. And when you play older games, you find them easier than they were because your skills at those games get passively better as you age, even if you rarely played them.
Intrinsic
AAA does not mean casual or bad (unless you’re some kind of gaming hipster), “everybody” does NOT play Assassin’s Creed, and it’s not rare for females to play ANY single game that males play. You just don’t notice them because they have learned not to advertise that they’re female, because of the horrible, immature, and misogynistic attitudes they get in “hardcore” games.
“Casual” implies little to no challenge. The first AC was considered a “serious” game when it came out, and was played by “hardcore” gamers. And even if it weren’t, there’s nothing wrong with casual games.
TL;DR – What yellowcrash10 said.
c3p
I think the “real gamer” is as real as a “real reader/movie/seriesjunkie/art connoisseur”.
In every medium there is a elitist/snobbish group looking down on everybody else. That’s normal (if you have consumed much of medium you have a broad knowledge and it can be boring talking to an novice).
But that is no excuse to be an asshole. Like in every other medium you should be open to someone who is new to the medium and wants to learn!
Anon
So true. I don’t get how gamers can be so shitty. I’m a girl, I have been playing since I was 5, I own lots of consoles and a pc with tons of games, and I regularly get this “oh but you didn’t play this, you’re not a real gamer”. I wasn’t aware there was a list of games you have to play to be considered a gamer, that only seems to apply to women.
And when people who don’t play tons of games tell you “hey, this stuff looks cool”, if your reaction is “omg fake gamer you just want attention” instead of “holy shit! You like the same stuff! I know lots of things about it! I’M GONNA SHOW YOU EVERYTHING!”, you probably shouldn’t be allowed around people anyway.
zfzhcgjhkfj
I usually just don’t tell anyone my gender, or make a big deal over it if someone calls me a “he” in game, works fine.
Rednaz
sooooo… i believe you, I started playing at the same age. the first game i played was MKDS (Mario Kart DS)
Actually, What was your first game? Just curious.
Kanashe
I swear, everytime I hear this “YOUR NOT A REAL GAMER!” crap, I honestly wanna punch the annoying D-bag who opens his mouth about it. Honestly, if you are a person who thinks others should be looked down, because they don’t apply to your own personal standards, first off shut up and nobody likes you, second get a life.
M505
Quote “P.S. Let’s avoid any hateful/angry debate in the comments, okay? Everybody play nice.”
*coughs*
ColdFusion
I don’t think we have to be at each others’ throats as long as we acknowledge that there’s a difference. In my day you had videogames and then you had silly LCD handhelds that are basically toys.. Then you had videogames but you also had cheap simple java or flash games, fun for a quick diversion.. Now people are playing these “apps” and I’m not exactly sure what they are except that they’re inferior versions of existing games.. But if people enjoy them, great! Ideally it should be a gateway drug to “Real” games. Oh you enjoyed farmville? try Harvest Moon.. etc.
zfzhcgjhkfj
Farmville is completely different than Harvest Moon, if anything it would be Enjoyed farmville? Try these city building games instead, Ex Sim city 2000, pharaoh, ect.
doomrider7
You’re blowing it GamerCat, and it’s ruining your chances! On this topic, I’ve always thought the whole “real games” and “real gamers” was absolute crap and one of the stupidest, snobbish, and just all around discriminatory things devised by the fandom.
Whatevs
It’s not only that but why are women automatically questioned and discriminated against? When a guy says they’re a gamer no one bats an eyelash but when a girl says she’s a gamer either no one believes her or she gets ganged up on and is asked to answer tons of questions before being deemed a faker or a gamer. There are cases where no one will question a girl that says she’s a gamer but the instances where she’s questioned or labeled a non-gamer because she’s female completely outweigh the former.
crazyredemu
You know, I’ve never seen this happen…ever… I have questioned some guys before but that’s cause I knew them personally and I knew they didn’t know what the hell they were talking about.
Kiryn
Where exactly does this questioning happen? As a 30-year-old woman who has been gaming since the NES days, I have never, not so much as once, had anyone question whether I’m a gamer just because I’m female. Not at stores, not to my coworkers, not to anyone else. I read a lot of articles and comments about it on the internet, but I’m not entirely convinced that this actually happens in real life.
Intrinsic
Kiryn, it happens a lot online (either on the internet, or via services like XBL & PSN). My roommate’s a female gamer – 31 years old, been playing since NES as well – and has stopped using a mic during Halo because of the “fake gamer girl” accusations, rape “jokes,” and general awful/immature/sexist attitudes from males (mostly teens & younger, but a few adults) in certain games.
It’s most common in online FPS games, from what I’ve seen.
Arkan
Why does anyone have to believe a girl is a gamer? I mean, yes, that does happen. But if a girl really just wanted to play games why not just play them instead of trying to prove it to everyone? People might question her over and over again but it’s not hard to ignore stupid questions. The most common reasons guys ask girl gamers those questions/ask her to prove it is so they have an excuse to exclude her, wanna laugh at her expense or just wanna make her mad. None of those are good enough reason to warrant a response unless she cares about labels and more about what others think rather than her own enjoyment.
Necrisha
You know, she hasn’t actually called herself a gamer yet either. :)
Yeah, we had a couple of D-bags in school that thought that way till our gaming group formed. Getting trashed in your favourite game by a bunch of girls who’d prefer j-rpgs to what your playing tends to jerk guys back to reality. And who says there isn’t going to be a clip of her with a laptop beside her while she’s playing mario anyways? Any mature fortress doesn’t require your full attention anyways.
Rednaz
does the sex matter?
Glitchead
Maybe you’re being too defensive about the idea. I’ll try to describe what I mean, and I would like to point out I am trying hard not to be insulting or offensive with anything I say.
Man 1: “I’m a gamer.” Man 2: “Oh? What games do you play?” Man 1: “(insert shooter, linear adventure, action game)” Man 2: “That’s cool. I like those, but I prefer (insert sandbox adventure RPG, survival, puzzle)” nods all around, shares of hilarious experiences. The End.
How it also goes:
Woman 1: “I’m a gamer.” Man 2: “Oh? What games do you play?” Woman 1: “(insert JRPG, Complex RTS [eg starcraft, command&conquer], Platformer)” Man 2: “That’s cool. I like (insert Rhythm game, Stealth game, simple RTS [eg overlord, pikmin])” nods all around, shared experiences ensue. The End.
How it sometimes goes due to misconception.
Woman 1: “I’m a gamer.” Man 2: “Oh? What games do you play?” Woman 1: “What, I have to prove that I’m a gamer just because I’m a girl? I have to have proof? (Insert backhanded insult towards him as a prejudiced gamer).” Man 2: “No, I just meant…. Well, I play (insert some game, any game, little big planet why not)” Woman 1: “Oh what, now I guess I’m not a real gamer because I don’t play the games you play? (Insert prejudicing rant).” Now that girl really HAS been labeled as not a gamer, because when given a chance to talk about games, she chose to talk about how she feels girls are in the game industry and start a debate, rather than… Talk about games.
Granted, I will say far too often it goes like this:
Woman 1: “I’m a gamer.” Man 2: “Really? Girl Gamer?” Woman 1: “W-well yeah. So? Just games.” Man 2: “I bet you’re a casual. What games? I play real games like (insert Shooter, car racing, some random indie that is popular, etc., you get what I mean).” Woman 1: “I play those too!” Man 2: “Whatever! Then play me in them!” Plays. Man loses, it’s because woman isn’t real gamer because she used ‘cheap’ tactics. Man wins, woman is seen as attention seeking fake. Either way, she loses. The End.
I’ve never actually seen that happen once in real life but I see it happen in forums a lot and I hear stories about it happening too. However, I don’t think this comic was going for the sexism approach. Maybe you’re being too sexist by thinking that? Just because one’s a man and one’s a woman, it has to be about sexism? Pixel is just a new character and is bringing some new light to the situation. Once again, I’m just trying to share my viewpoints and not offend you.
Rednaz
uhm… were not sexist. we want to know what games you play. most guys probably either
A) Don’t say anything
or
B) Is considered mental
trust me, if you play games, you are considered mental.