What exactly is a 'gamer' and why does it matter?

What does the word ‘gamer’ actually mean? Imo Kaufman, a PHD student at the University of Nottingham who has been conducting research in collaboration with the National Videogame Museum, sought to unpack the term at during another breakneck Hyper Talk at AMAZE Sheffield.

Taking to the stage for just five minutes, Kaufman explains she wants to unpack the identity and experiences that surround the term–for both players and developers. “My research is about oral history, which means I interview people about what they think about and feel about games,” she says. “But importantly I look at gaming culture, not video games themselves.”

It’s a crucial distinction. Kaufman isn’t interested in looking at video games like a book or text, but rather hopes to understand how they shape people and their perspectives. “My special interest is gamer identity,” she adds. “So, what is a gamer?”

A terminological paradox

In searching for answers, Kaufman sifted through comments provided by her interviewees to summarize all the ways people tried to describe the ‘gamer’ identity.

“A gamer is ‘someone who plays video games of any gender or sexuality.’ ‘Someone who enjoys video games.’ ‘Someone who spends a lot of time playing video games.’ This all seems pretty normal at the moment,” she continues. “‘Someone who knows a lot about video games’–for example, who knows about the latest releases or hastechnical knowledge. And then ‘someone who plays a lot of big triple-A games.’

“Then it starts to get a little bit darker. ‘Someone who is abusive about video games.’ For example, you might yell at a woman in an online game. Then we have ‘someone who enjoys video games too much.’ ‘A man–probably a white man.’ ‘Then someone who believes in toxic, patriarchal world views.’ It’s not looking good. Then we have ‘someone who feels like white men are under attack.’ Finally, we have ‘someone who holds far right or nationalist belief systems.’”

Kaufman acknowledges those definitions are “contradictory.” For instance, some interviewees felt ‘gamer’ could include people of any sexuality or gender, while others felt it would primarily encapsulate white men. Another obvious paradox was the contrasting beliefs that ‘gamer’ could mean someone who enjoys playing video games, versus someone who actively spends a lot of time playing video games.

“You might not think these would contradict each other, but you might be someone who really enjoys playing video game but for some reason doesn’t have the time. For example, you might be a single parent with two jobs. Or you might just struggle to get internet access to play the types of games that you’d like,” she says.

“Finally, we had someone who plays a lot of triple-A game like RPGs and first-person shooters, and someone who’s abusive in video games. Now, these two contradict in a slightly different way in that you might really enjoy shooters, but don’t enjoy being yelled at because of how your voice sounds. This is one way that certain type of gamers can identity police other people who might identify as them.”

Kaufman says her research highlights the complexity of a term riddled with “contradictory meanings.” It’s important, she says, to understand that ‘gamer’ can mean wildly different things to different people.

“This is about who gets to play games. Who companies and developers anticipate will play games. And who feels like video games belong to them,” she says. “Importantly, the good stuff doesn’t cancel out the bad. Just because some people think ‘gamer’ is an inclusive, joyful identity, doesn’t stop the fact that some people associate it with all these really negative and sometimes dangerous ideas.

“Language and the way we talk about things matters. Gaming culture obviously faces a lot of challenges, and I hope the gaming space is one that can acknowledge and recognize this. The National Video Game Museum mission statement is ‘video games are for everyone, forever.’ I think it’s important to remember that sometimes takes work, and not everyone always agrees with us.”

Kaufman’s broader point is clear: when one part of the colossal, diverse ‘gamer’ community attempts to seize ownership of that tag, it can dictate who gets to play.

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