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Five Gamer Cliches That Need to Disappear
These Phrases Have Lost All Meaning
by Sarah
Have you ever heard something so many times that you don't even remember where it came from or what it means? Everyone uses clichés to get a point across from time to time, and gamers are no exception. We've all done it, but there are some overused phrases that continually rub me the wrong way, usually because the reasoning behind them is flawed. Let's make an effort to eradicate these phrases from our lexicons, and hopefully begin to express our feelings about the gaming industry in a more concise way.
“Dust Off My Wii”
Hearing this from any gamer severely irritates me. It's meant to make him or her sound "hardcore", but it comes off as silly and uninformed. Wow, you're so cool because you haven't played your Wii in months/years/millennia! Instead of whining about waggle, why not try one of the stellar Wii games that you surely missed this generation? Believe it or not, there are a lot of them, and playing them would probably be more fun than complaining.
“Girl Gamer”
This needs to stop, and some of the biggest offenders are female. I’ve written about this before, so I won’t get into it all over again, but what it boils down to is this: it really doesn’t matter what sex you are. Gaming preferences aren’t determined by boobs or a penis, they’re attributed to each individual’s personal tastes. If we stop making such a big deal about it, maybe shovelware publishers will stop trying to market such obvious garbage towards a female demographic.
“Fuck GameStop!”
As a former GameStop employee, I could give you plenty of legitimate reasons to hate the mega-retailer. However, it appears that some gamers would rather whine about GameStop’s used game prices and employees’ relentless pursuit of your pre-orders. Here’s a novel thought: if you don’t like GameStop, don’t shop there. While you’re at it, find something else to bitch about besides a corporation trying to make a profit.
“Casual Game”
I don’t even know what this means anymore, and I don’t think anyone else does, either. Earlier this generation, casual games referred to easily accessible (but usually still fun) titles that lifelong gamers and their non-gaming friends and family could easily play together. Now it could be anything from Bejeweled to Rock Band to Modern Warfare 2, depending on who you ask. Furthermore, who cares? Calling out someone else’s gaming habits doesn’t make you more “hardcore”.
“(Insert Game Here) Clone”
I will admit, I am as guilty of this as anyone, but I’m pretty tired of hearing it. As a writer, it’s sort of a lazy way to describe a game, and gamers tend to use it as an insult, whether or not it has any basis in reality. Just like any other form of media, game developers and designers are going to be inspired by what came before, and the more the industry grows, the more we will see familiar gameplay elements being repeated. That doesn’t mean every sandbox game with guns and cars is a Grand Theft Auto clone, and every shooter set in World War II is a Call of Duty clone. If you want to complain about a game being unoriginal, that's totally understandable, but there are better ways to do it.
Comments
but how will millions of tweens learn how to raise babies if there's no girl gamer shovelware?
Excellent post on the tip of an iceberg I've been chipping at myself. One thing that's been bothering me yet again these days is the poor state of vernacular within gaming culture and journalism. I've said a lot of this before, but those five examples highlight some of the worst tropes that people fall into. Phrases like that are nearly meaningless at this point, and are used in an attempt to be more personable or clever, but actually wind up as regurgitated fluff that takes the place of actual thought, writing, or criticism. This is the kind of writing you find Gamefaqs forums fans emulating . . . and these are the kinds of phrases we need to get away from if we ever, ever want to move toward real criticism and analysis of the culture and product as a legitimate medium.
I have to say, my Wii is really dusty. It's probably a combination of factors: limited gaming time as a new dad, lack of interest in the library of titles (MadWorld is an exception- I haven't tried it yet), but mostly my indifference toward the chore of dusting.
As far as the clone thing goes, I think more than familiar gameplay elements being repeated, it's the financially successful ones that are more likely to be copied. Like, we didn't see a bunch of GTA clones because GTA was such a good game. We saw the clones because GTA sold a shit ton of units, and every other publisher/developer wanted to match the success.
Ooh, ooh, I thought of another video game cliche that I would like to see disappear: Useless video game lists that don't say anything and are designed solely for the purpose of artificially generating web trafic. Why do you care so much if these cliches are used? Does it hurt your feelings when people say the phrases above? Does it make you feel superior knowing you are smarter than everyone because you don't use any of the phrases you personally deem to be outdated cliches? Are you saying that the reason "shovelware publishers" make shitty games targeted towards women is because people use the term "girl gamer"? For future reference here is a list of phrases you used in your "article" that you could have easily included as part of your "overused phrases that continually rub [you] the wrong way": "hardcore", "if you don’t like _________, don’t shop there", "showelware."
Hey ozymandias, I'm as guilty as anyone (which I said in the article). Thank you for pointing out some overused words and phrases I used, as a writer I'm always trying to improve. I put "hardcore" in quotes for a reason, believe me, I hate that expression too. At the end of the day this is all just my opinion, so yeah, I get to decide which overused phrases I'd like to get rid of.
@Sarah: "At the end of the day"? Really? What a cliche... you asshole.
Am I the only one here who knows what a casual and hardcore gamer are?
This is what it means to me anyway, from all my experience.
A Hardcore gamer is some one who's life is consumed by Video Games. He or she is into the world of Video Games. It means they're very knowledgeable about the game industry. They know the history of gaming. The names of game developers. They check gaming news everyday. They know the release dates of games they want. They talk Video Game lingo. They basically live and breathe Video Games. A Hardcore gamer!
A casual gamer is the opposite. They can enjoy games, but they don't care about the history of the game. Who made it. The latest game news or anything like that. They just enjoy the game of the moment. It's a similar mentality to walking into an Arcade in the early 80's. You never really cared about the background story of the game. You just had fun with that one game and then moved on to the next game. It also means that games don't dominate your life. It's just a casual thing you do to relax or pass the time. A fun little diversion. A casual gamer!
The Beef is now The Troll.
I like what you've done here.
I totally agree with you. There're a lot of people who call themselves "Hardcore-gamers" and are always trying to build a wall to separate themselves from the "Casual(non-expert)Gamers". I think that's stupid and nonsense. The thing is to enjoy gaming, any game you play, and whoever you play with.
RE: girl gamers. I kind of see where you're coming from, but unfortunately at this point, unless you DO differentiate yourself as a girl gamer instead of a guy, you're generally assumed to be a guy. I agree that we need to take the novelty out of gamer girls, but at the same time there are still stereotypes that have to be broken down...pretending the problem doesn't exist doesn't make it go away.
@CuddlyCoin It's simple. These people who collect board games, trains etc. Have defined themselves as hobbyist. Gamers who have immersed themselves in the world of Video Games define themselves as Hardcore. If you like trains, but aren't a huge collector. You might be more of an enthusiast than a hobbyist.
Casual gamers don't even know what E3 is, it's not like Grandpa at the Nursing home is checking E3 news. I mean it's possible, but only because he just discovered Video Games and wants more info, but the average casual gamer is clueless when it comes to the gaming industry. These are grownups who stopped playing Video Games when Pacman went out of style. Hardcore gamers have been following the industry for years.