Gamers

I'm taking a speech class this semester. It's the last class I need to get my degree, but I hate the concept of standing up in front of people and giving speeches. Somehow, this doesn't really make sense as my job is to train people to use our software. I give 2 webinars a week, and train about 50 schools and clubs throughout the year. I also handle almost all of the client support issues and communication with our clients for both our school product and our home use product. It really makes no sense at all that I have an anxiety attack at the thought of presenting a speech in front of two dozen classmates who I will likely never see again.

Despite the inherent paradox, my anxiety still exists. I've come up with a plan to get me through this class, though. It's my belief that the anxiety is more of a product of the fear that people will judge me rather than the actual speaking. I have already made a fool of myself in one class activity, but since it was my intention, I had no problem speaking my part in our skit. To remove this fear from the four major speeches that we have to deliver, I have decided to reveal my deepest darkest secret in the first speech. I'm a gamer. What more could I say or do to make people judge me more? Here's the outline for the speech I intend to give:

When I was in High School, I took up a new habit, one which made people look down on me and caused no end of trouble for me at home. My mother didn't know how to cope with my new friends and my new habits, so she forced me to see a counselor. My entire family looked at me as a disappointment and a freak because I had become a gamer. Gamers are a little understood and much persecuted minority, but gaming actually improves the character and cognitive abilities of the gamer. I shall share styles of gaming, benefits of gaming, and details of my own struggles with gaming prejudice.

Gamers usually fall into three general categories, but many will actually participate in more than one style of gaming. The most common and generally peer accepted is the video gamer. Shooters are usually played by competitive and social gamers. Real Time Strategy games, or RTS, are usually played by competitive gamers. Massive Multiplayer Online Games, or MMORPGs, are usually played by competitive gamers and social gamers. Player versus Environment, or PVE, is designed for gamers who prefer to face of against a computer. Player versus Player, or PVP, is designed for players who prefer to face other live players.

The next most common and least accepted form of gamer is the table top roleplayer. Most roleplayers play in fantasy settings such as Dungeons and Dragons, Hack Master, and Middle Earth Roleplaying Game. Many roleplayers also enjoy science-fiction settings, such as Star Wars or Star Trek. Still others enjoy less popular genres such as old west, anime, super hero, or post-apocalyptic settings.

The last group of gamers is fairly small, but generally accepted. They are the wargamers. Most wargamers are interested in historical re-enactment. Many wargamers also enjoy fantasy settings. Most major roleplaying games have their own miniatures. Finally, there are a wide variety of starship combat wargames.

Gamers will usually display several advantages over their non-gamer peers. Gamers generally have better reading ability that their peers. Many games have copious manuals that must be read to play the game. Many games have charts that must be consulted to determine the results of certain actions. Most gamers also enjoy reading novels about their favorite games or settings.

Gamers generally have better math skills than their non-gamer peers. Most game systems require adding, subtracting, or multiplying several numbers to determine the results of a player's actions. Most game systems require players to keep track of constantly shifting modifiers to determine the results of the player's actions. Many players attempt to min/max their characters in order to maximize their potential in the game.

Gamers can usually adapt to odd situations better than their non-gamer peers. Decisions on how to deal with a new situation are usually based on one's prior experiences. Gamers are forced to make decisions about how they would react to situations that non-gamers would never be exposed to. Gamers are usually inclined to work with others to solve a common problem.

Gamers tend to face persecution, whether actual or perceived, for the hobbies that they enjoy. Movies, such as Mazes and Monsters with Tom Hanks, depict gamers as incredibly strange, crazy, or uncaring. Many people will blame the behavior of sociopaths on their hobbies, such as gaming, rather than other sources. Religious fanatics often equate gaming with devil worship.

Gamers very often feel like outsiders. Cruel peers will often call people geek, freak, weirdo, or the like for having habits outside of the perceived norm. Perceptive gamers quickly learn that non-gamers have no interest in a story about their last gaming session. Gamers can face job persecution as few bosses want to promote the weirdo, regardless of performance at work. Many women will immediately become disinterested in a man at the first hint of his gaming activities.

I have faced constant persecution from my own family for my hobbies. Despite regular church attendance, I was accused of devil worship. Despite exceptional test scores, I was constantly lectured for gaming when I should be doing my homework. My mother would sneak into my room when I was out and throw out the gamebooks that I had spent my hard earned money to purchase.

Despite, or perhaps because of, persecution for my gaming hobbies, I have developed into a mature, confident, and intelligent adult. I am a husband, a father, a provider. I am a Mensa and an educator. I have worked in a dozen different fields and done and exceptional job in each. I am a gamer, and I owe most of my success to the skills that I learned while gaming.