Gamers: a term without clear definition

Lots of people have mentioned the label of ‘gamer’ and some of the issues surrounding it. I think it’s interesting how the label can be applied to a large or small field of people depending on who is using it and the criteria they’re applying to it. It seems to be a universal term without a universal definition.

I personally label myself as ‘someone who plays games’ rather than ‘gamer’ because I’m very casual about it and have never played any of the huge online multiplayer games which are so popular these days. So my definition of ‘gamer’ definitely includes the notion of ‘hardcore gamer’ and some genres of games I feel are necessary to the term. Obviously everyone is different in their own definition, and the media itself seems to use a very broad ‘if you play games you’re a gamer’ definition.

I think maybe this very broad definition in addition to the active, participatory nature of gaming is why the label has stuck when labels for other media enthusiasts haven’t, which Daniel Floyd put forth. Many other aspects of media do not allow the sort of agency that video games do, which require active participation. You can’t really passively receive games. You have to actively engage. This means that label can more comfortably apply on that very broad level without much argument. The term is still problematic, because not everyone under the broad definition thinks of themselves as a gamer, but it allows the media to use a very nice, neat application of the term.