February 17, 2022 L.C.S.

Wikipedia says “A gamer is a person who plays interactive games, especially video games,

tabletop role-playing games, and skill-based card games, and who plays for usually long periods

of time. Some gamers are competitive, meaning they routinely compete in some games for

money, prizes or awards.” That’s the textbook definition of a gamer. However, your definition

might vary from this. What is a Gamer?

“Gamer” is a term that predates video games by over six centuries. “The first known record of

the word was found in the English town of Walsall and dates back to approximately 1422.” (Kate

Willaert. 2019) Around this time, the Code of Laws that were written in Middle English did not

approve of “any carder, dice-player, tennis player, or other unlawful gamer.” Can you imagine

how that would look in today’s era?

In today’s world, a Gamer is a person who plays offline and online video games, either

indifferently or professionally as an e-sports competitor. A gamer is someone who plays physical

games (e.g., card games, dice, and board games) as a hobby. Gamers can play a multiplicity of

titles, or they can focus most of their efforts on a particular game. In today’s world, Gamers

definitely have a large assortment of platforms to choose from. You can use your smartphone,

you can use your tablet. You can use your video game console, portable device or computer to

play your games on.

Gamedesigning.com has an article that expresses the different types of Gamers, as well as the

taxonomy Player Types. You have the Hardcore Gamer – the one that spends hours on hours

trying to reach all the reputation points, clear all the extra levels, and rule the game. You have

the Casual Gamer – the ones that make up most of the gaming population. They play their games

at their own leisure. You have the Mobile Gamer, which is self-explanatory. You have the

Online Gamer – the ones that play on the simulated gaming environment with other players,

either with them or against them. You have the Observer – the gamers that prefer to spend hours

upon hours watching others play games. Finally, you have the Armchair General – the gamers

that are keen on heavy strategy games. It’s an entire categorization of gamers. Some of you

reading this right now might fall into one of these, or you might fall into all of these. Which type

of Gamer are you? What is a Gamer to you?

The Origin of the Term “GAMER”. Kate Willaert. 2019 https://www.acriticalhit.com/origin-of-gamer/

Gamer Types. Bryan Wirtz. October 22, 2021 https://www.gamedesigning.org/gaming/gamer-types/