Nerdism at its best

June 28, 2016

Gaming

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What is a gamer? We rarely ask that question because we are usually certain what a gamer is. If you’re reading this, then chances are you see one in the mirror every morning. Being a gamer, however, is not the same thing anymore. When I say ‘what is a gamer?’ I mean ‘what is a person whose lifestyle involves, or is based around, playing video games?

I consider myself a gamer, and I have a friend who plays video games but he does not identify as a gamer. How we play games are entirely different. His gaming ‘methods’ are incoherent to say the least, and consisted of running around like a chicken without a head blasting zombies, the Ai survivors and pretty much anything without knowledge of what he was doing. We barely survived any round of any game we played. I’m not mad at him.

Casual gamers were essentially created as a result of games attempting to reach out to a wider audience. Games like Call of Duty and GTA, games with no inherent tie to fantasy or sci-fi, appealed to people who might enjoy games if they were less ‘nerdy’. While good games by most standards (in quality, this isn’t a morality topic), they essentially teared a hole in the boundary between gamers and the rest of society. People who never even played games before enjoyed a universe they could identify with, but one that didn’t have the same boundaries.

And since then that has been the focus of the gaming industry. It must be remembered that any video game business is still a business, with profit being the number one priority. Instead of cultivating the gamer lifestyle, companies tend to capitalize on it.

There would normally be a tenuous to kinship-like peace between these two groups who share a common hobby albeit for different reasons, but recent conditions in the gaming industry are creating a Cain and Abel esc effect.

First and foremost, there is a freezing tension between the two over the favoritism of the gaming industry. As previously mentioned, game developers are businesses with the intention of making money. Their focus is primarily that, which means they will make games that appeal to the majority, which at the time is casual gamers. With that respect there isn’t enough in terms of time and energy to go around, which means that if the gaming industry is appealing to the majority, they will make games geared for casual gamers first, and then regular gamers if there is any money left to use. Strategy games, survival horrors and certain rpgs play second fiddle to games such as multiplayer oriented shooters and rhythm games. You can imagine how unhappy a pc gamer who loves FPS games will be when FPS’ stop being made. It already starting to happen with the rise of third person shooters.

I was a bit annoyed that my friend enjoys gaming only as a novelty when I practically view it as an art-form, so I can only imagine how often strangers meet under similar circumstances and create tension.

In the end video games mean many different things to different people. They can be art, culture, hobby, time waster and even a drug, but when people view games in one light and not the others it creates problems with those who don’t share the same beliefs.

I will continue to play video games with my friend, because he is my friend. Nothing will ever change that. My belief is that there is more to being a gamer than just playing games. Being a gamer means having a passion for everything gaming. What does that make people who just play games?

If I had it my way I’d give them the word “gamer”. For the rest of us it’s just life.

June 25, 2016

New DSLR Camera

So I have been playing with a new to me DSLR camera a Canon Rebel EOS T3i. I am still learning how to use said camera and with the help of the internet I have been able to learn a few tips and tricks. A DSLR is something I have been wanting for a very long time, but has never been high on my list because there is a lot of stuff on my list that I need way more than a camera. The price was right. This camera may be a generation old, but it is still extremely high tech for a camera. It has a high resolution moveable display, takes 18mp uncompressed photos and 1080P video, and can shoot 3.7 frames per second. It also offers the EOS utility which allows for live capture from the camera of images onto a computer.

I have always loved Canon digital cameras my first canon was a Powershot A20.

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When compared to the T3i this is a crap camera but that little point and click will always be my favorite point and click. It was also a compact flash card camera. After this quit working I had been through several other brands of point and clicks, but nothing was ever the same as that old canon I had. The last couple of years I was able to score a Canon Powershot ELPH 300HS and all of a sudden all the features I loved about my original Powershot was back.

I still love the ELPH, but what most impresses me about this camera are its low-light capabilities. And the built in image stabilizer, which is something the A20 had. When the successors of the A20 came out the stabilizers were either non-existent or just a lot worst than what was in the A20. All my pictures were blurry and not quite in focus. The ELPH 300 HS brought back that stabilizing function I so remembered.

Now I have only been using the T3i for a couple weeks just playing with it and trying to learn about what the DSLR has to offer for me. I have a long way to go. I am learning slowly though. Long exposures, learning to focus, and what setting does what. Look forward to me posting more photos and video as I start to get better with this DSLR.

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