Historically, the term "gamer" usually referred to someone who played role-playing games or wargames. A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters. A wargame is a Game that simulates or represents a Military operation. More recently, however, the term has grown to include players of video games. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. While the term nominally includes those who do not necessarily consider themselves to be gamers (i. e. , casual gamers)^[1], it is commonly used to identify those who spend much of their leisure time playing or learning about games. Casual gamer is a loosely defined term used to describe a type of video game player whose time or interest in playing games is limited compared with a Hardcore gamer.

There are many gamer communities around the world. Many of these take the form of web rings, discussion forums and other virtual communities, as well as college or university social clubs. A webring in general is a collection of Websites from around the Internet joined together in a circular structure An, or message board, is a Bulletin board system in the form of a discussion site A virtual community, e-community or online community is a group of people that primarily interact via communication media such as Newsletters A club is an association of people united by a common interest or goal Stores specializing in games often serve as a meeting place to organize groups of players. Prior to the emergence of the Internet, there were many play-by-mail games developed communities resembling those found surrounding today's online games. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks Play-by-mail games are Games of any type played through postal Mail or e-mail. Online games are games played over some form of computer network.

In October 2006, the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) was established as the first non-profit membership organization formed to represent American game consumers. Entertainment Consumers Association ( ECA) is a United States-based nonpartisan non-government, Non-profit organization dedicated to the interests of individuals A similarly-named entity, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), was formed in 1994 to represent the entertainment software industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA is the Trade association of the Computer and video game industry in the United States The ECA was formed, in part, in response to the seemingly imbalanced representation (e. g. , the ESA, IGDA and others) of gaming in the United States Congress. International Game Developers Association (IGDA is a professional society for video and Computer game developers worldwide The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses ^[1]

Types of gamers

• Video gamer: A type of gamer who enjoys playing video games. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device.
• Tabletop gamer: A type of gamer who enjoys playing tabletop games. Tabletop game is a general term used to refer to Board games Card games Dice games Miniatures wargames Tile-based games and other This term is often used for gamers who play miniature wargames but it could also refer to players of board games, card games, or role playing games. Miniature wargaming is a form of Wargaming that incorporates Miniature figures and modeled terrain as the main components of play A board game is a Game in which counters or pieces that are placed on removed from or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface usually specific to that game A card game is any Game using Playing cards either traditional or game-specific A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters.

Types of video gamers

• Casual gamer: A person who enjoys playing games with simple rules or which do not require large blocks of time to play. Casual gamer is a loosely defined term used to describe a type of video game player whose time or interest in playing games is limited compared with a Hardcore gamer. They might not even identify themselves as a gamer. Because even the most occasional game player qualifies for this category, it is likely the largest in size.
• Hardcore gamer: A person who spends much of their leisure time playing games, often on the hardest difficult level. Hardcore gamer is a widely used term applied to describe a type of Video game player . There are many subtypes of hardcore gamers based on the style of game, gameplay preference, hardware platform, and other preferences.
• Retrogamer: A hardcore gamer who enjoys playing or collecting vintage video games from earlier eras. Retrogaming, also known as classic gaming and old-school gaming, is the Hobby of playing and collecting older computer, video, and Retrogamers are partly responsible for the popularity of console emulation. A console emulator is a program that allows a computer or modern console (cross-console emulation to emulate a Video game console. Some collect old video games and prototypes, or are in the business of refurbishing old games, particularly arcade cabinets. An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or coin-op, is the housing within which an Arcade game 's Hardware resides Some even make their own arcade cabinets (see MAME arcade). MAME is an Emulator application designed to recreate the Hardware of Arcade game systems in Software, with the intent of preserving gaming
• Import gamers: A hardcore gamer who enjoys playing or collecting video games produced internationally. Import gamers are a subset of the Video game player community that partake in the practice of playing Video games from another region usually from Japan The most common imports are from Japan, although some European and Japanese gamers purchase games from North America. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Depending on the gaming platform involved, these gamers may use devices such as modchips, boot disks, and/or Gamesharks to bypass regional lockout protection on the software, though some prefer to purchase imported consoles. A modchip (short for modification chip) is a small electronic device used to modify or disable built-in restrictions and limitations of many popular Videogame consoles A boot disk is a removable digital data storage medium from which a Computer can load and run ( boot) an Operating system or utility program GameShark is the brand name of a line of video game cheat cartridges and other products for a variety of console video game systems and Windows based computers Regional lockout is the programming practice code chip or physical barrier used to prevent the playing of media designed for a device from the country where it is marketed on the A number of Import Gamers import games that fall in to genres that are generally not releases outside of Japan, such as dating sims or anime/manga-based licensed games. Dating sims (or dating simulations) are a Video game subgenre of Simulation games usually Japanese with romantic elements (anime in Japanese, ˈmɑŋgə is the Japanese word for Comics (sometimes called komikku コミック and print Cartoons In their modern form manga date from shortly
• Power gamer: This kind of gamer has elements of the hardcore and competitive gamer. A power gamer is someone who primarily plays Computer games that place particularly high demands on the hardware, requiring the latest Graphics card and
• Cyberathlete: A professional gamer (often abbreviated "pro gamer" or just "pro") that plays games for money. Electronic sports, abbreviated e-sports or eSports, is used as a general term to describe the play of Video games as a professional Sport. ^[2] (The term, electronic sports, is used to describe the play of video games as a professional sport. Electronic sports, abbreviated e-sports or eSports, is used as a general term to describe the play of Video games as a professional Sport. Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively ) Whether a cyber athlete is a subtype of the hardcore gamer largely depends on the degree to which a cyber athlete is financially dependent upon the income derived from gaming. Insofar as a cyber athlete is financially dependent upon gaming then the time spent playing is no longer "leisure" time.

The average gamer

The average gamer is usually an aggregate of all the above types of gamers. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA is the Trade association of the Computer and video game industry in the United States The average gamer has achieved a somewhat mythical status. The situation is rather murky; even experts in the industry don't really know "who" the average gamer is. ^[1] Knowing who the average gamer is is seen as important when targeting a product for the market. Market specialization is a business term meaning the Market segment to which a particular good or service is marketed Sometimes the term is adapted by designers/publishers to refer to the average player within the particular group of gamers they are targeting. ^[1]

The average gamer has also frequently fallen victim to the ire of the hardcore gamer or normal gamer (see above). Reasons cited include a lack of appreciation for the history of video games, as well as a lack of appreciation for the finer nuances of "better" games. Video games were introduced as a commercial entertainment medium in 1971, becoming the basis for an important entertainment industry in the late 1970s/early 1980s in the United ^[3]

Game name

A game name or handle is a name (usually a pseudonym but most commonly known as a username. A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) ) adopted by a gamer, of console or computer preference, used as a main preferred identification to an entire gaming community. Usage among people is most prevalent in games with online multiplayer support, or at electronic sport conventions. Online games are games played over some form of computer network. Electronic sports, abbreviated e-sports or eSports, is used as a general term to describe the play of Video games as a professional Sport.

Clan or team tag

A clan tag is a prefix at the end or beginning of a name to identify that the gamer is in a clan. These gamers are usually here for fun or just larger in size. These kinds of people play in larger size and play more then one type of mod usually.

A team tag is a prefix at the end or beginning of a name to identify that the gamer is in a team. These gamers are usually in a ladder of some sort and are trying to increase their skill. These kinds of people are more serious.

Rationale

The reasons for a player using a game name are similar to those for actors using stage names. A stage name, also called a screen name, is a Pseudonym used by Performers and Entertainers such as As the usual form of address in multiplayer games is not by a person's real name, some are prompted to think up a creative and unique alias that they wish to be universally known as.

Screen names differ from game names in that they're primarily used to identify a user account in a computer system, rather than provide an alternate name for a player. The only exception to this is if a player chooses to make both the same.

See also

• Consumer
• List of gaming topics
• Gamers Outreach Foundation
• The ECA

References