There have been many classifications attached to the overriding definition of the word “gamer”. From the original tag for a player of board games, to the current whiz-bang, technology oriented geek description; gamers have come a long way.

                                              Grandfather gamers.
 

The way the word “gamer” has gained currency and become more prevalent over the years show how big a part it is now playing as an entertainment option and a pass-time. But of course a gamer today is definitely very different from one who’s described in that way years ago. In fact, nobody these days would think to describe someone participating in a game of checkers as a “gamer”.

                                              A very famous game on TV - anyone wants to hazard a guess?

As a literal, descriptive word, “gamer” was attached to people who played games. These people weren’t really “gamers” though, in the modern sense of the word. On the other hand, those who participated in sport activities are of course called “athletes”. But it was only recently that the word “gamer” become something akin to a job description. The gamer today is no longer simply a descriptive term for someone who wiles away an afternoon over a game-board, the gamer today means serious business.

Leagues and guilds comprised of friends or mere acquaintances have come together to participate in competitions that are usually reserved for more “sporting” events – the most well-known example being the World Cyber Games (WCG). This particular event boasts of literally hundreds of thousands of dollars invented in promoting, setting up and financing the amazing prizes prepared for the most skillful and dedicated of these gamer-athletes participating in the event. This is obviously a far cry from Monopoly and Risk.

                                             Participating in a killer competition while sitting down - such is progress.

These professional gamers have many similarities to those who participate in sporting events like tennis, basketball, soccer or skiing. Teamwork is often a necessary ingredient in success, as well as proficiency in the chosen game, good coordination, fast reflexes, and practice, practice, practice. Gamers like these make playing games their bread and butter; the way they bring home the bacon.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is the casual gamer who relies on games for fun and entertainment, like the gamers of old. The “casual gamer” is the person who sets aside an hour or two per week, usually during the weekends, as a form of relaxation or enjoyment. They have similarities to “athletes” who play a quick game of basketball, or a golf round of nine holes.

Then there’s the person in the middle who doesn’t have a descriptive ID to go along with them. I like to call them the “life-gamer”. These gamers don’t or can’t compete professionally, although they more often than not want to. At the same time, they cannot survive on a two-hour per week schedule of gaming – they absolutely have to game when presented with the chance, which generally means that they are gaming when they’re not eating, sleeping, or working. In other words, they are people who game to “escape” – hobbyists and fans that have made gaming into their pass-time and their passion.

                                              Some "casual" gamers spend months living in another reality through their virtual avatars.

All of the three above are gamers. All three game for different reasons, but all three can rightly be described as having games as part of their lives. Even some casual gamers, in the short time that they spend on games as compared to professional and life gamers, can be very passionate for the state of their Sims characters, for example, or the level of their online avatar, or the position of their virtual bowler in the (virtual) world rankings.

As part of the very fabric of the current life-style, we can only look forward for games that will replace every other form of entertainment as the main leisure activity, or if not replace, then at least supplant most other dominant forms of entertainment in the near future. It has the potential; since it promotes interactivity, and already has elements of community and of course fun, it is not an activity that deserves the amount of ridicule and blame that it currently receives from many sources, mainly for issues of violence.

                                             "Gamers" in this game are becoming advertisers, salesmen, parents, kids - it's a glimpse into the future.

So, look forward to the day that everyone can be called a “gamer”, perhaps in the same way that everyone watches TV or listens to the radio. Being a gamer is a serious part of our lives, and it is only a matter of time when people look at you strangely when you don’t profess to being a gamer of some kind.

                                                Seniors playing on the new Wii console.