Am I a Gamer: Signs that Point to YES

Whenever offline-world people find out I play PUBG, Guild Wars 2, Overwatch or whatnot they go, "Oh so you're a gamer."

To this I would usually, hesitantly, politely nod to and say, "yyye-eeah?"

Deep inside I would wonder with a squint, 'Am i? I mean, it's not like I stream on twitch or boost people in-game...I don't. I just like to play.'

I do post my keks on youtube. Just for fun.

Then again, everyone has their own point of view on this.

Peeps and Perception

For some people, you're not a real gamer until you've committed to ranking up, sweat blood and lost sleep to unlock secret corners of the game. Then again, for others, as long as you're enthusiastic about games, mobile or whatever, you're essentially a gamer.

Others argue, you'd have to grow into it; as in you should have been playing for years already to earn the title. We're talking about the very beginning, think Atari era. . . .

Yeah. STRONG OPINIONS; THEY RUN AMOK. 

So who exactly falls into the category of Gamer and who comes short? Are mobile gamers eligible? Do you have to be a console owner, at least? Ultimately, we ask Am I a gamer enough?

Are you?

SIGNS YOU ARE INDEED A GAMER

Scraped off from a number of sites, article posts and several mutual conversations here are the most telling signs that you are, generally, what is called a Gamer:

You Own a Video Game

I know, shocker. Seriously though, if you have deliberately bought or saved up for a game, wait for it to go on sale even, you are a gamer by standard. The point being; you love gaming enough to actually go out of your way to own one.

And I mean not just to play it once but to keep coming back to it whenever mood swings and feels urge you to. Mind you, games aren't as cheap as you think and even the cheap ones aren't exactly light in terms of memory usage (for either PC or mobile). So when you choose to buy a certain game it means you've invested emotionally on it, it has caught your attention.

You Have a Certain Wallpaper

During my Guild Wars 2 enthusiasm I had a Sylvari elementalist for my wallpaper. Sometimes I'd switch it to an Elder Dragon. Then on my phone I had Mercy's wings and even have a Lucio's speed and heal boost sticker on my laptop.

I'm not a geek, I'm just kind of probably, maybe, just slightly assuming, likely emotionally invested in the games I play. Especially when it's story mode, I sometimes end up replaying the plot in my head or coming up with alternatives. Do you experience these too?

You Relate to and Feel for the Characters

It's not that you cry in a corner after learning about the ending or end  up speechless and catatonic for a good half hour. Talk about emotional investment.

More of; you've internalized the story enough that you can relate to it in a sense that you actually can understand your character's point of view. Even though there is no way you could relate to an android or a genetically enhanced soldier, even a titan, somehow you just get it:

The characters, the plot, why it ended that way, why it started so. 

You've Followed Certain Youtube Channels for Game-related Content

Another obvious sign you're emotionally invested in your game is putting thoughts of it, when not playing, to rest by watching YouTube videos about it. It can be a gameplay, your own game records, videos on hints, tips, lore-related podcasts, updates, overviews, funny moments... the list can honestly go on.

You Have One Nickname/Tag for All Your Games

Because the idea of coming up with a different nickname each time you create a profile or save file is a bit time-wasting. I mean, just get it on, there's character customization to spend 2 hours on and who wants to sacrifice 10 minutes thinking of a name?

That might actually just be my point of view. Oddly enough, as it turns out, many people do tend to stick to one nickname or "game tag" for all or most of their owned games. That or an odd set of variations of that one name.

Believe me, you can get so used to a nickname, it's hard to change and even harder to shake off once you make friends who know you by that tag.

You Have Lost Sleep Over a Game
Yes, you have gotten so engrossed that you lost sleep over a game. Actually, scratch that. 

You may have also lost the ability to hear when someone is trying to talk to you, may have grown immune to hunger and smelliness. Eesh.

You Have a Ship

For those who took it literally, no. Not an actual ship that floats. Rather, it is what metaphorically represents two non-actual-life characters, existing in a movie, game, story, novel, comic or tv series, that are not canonically a couple.

In simpler terms; a fan-made couple. Mine is Gency. Please don't kill me. *Genji & Mercy from Overwatch.

I cannot, for the life of me, explain any more on this subject. It is honestly hard to explain how ships make you a gamer. It isn't existent in all gamers but it is there. The ships exist and armies with it.

You Are Reading This

Honestly, anything game-related you stumble upon you click. So here you are in all your curiosity, wondering what games and memes I'll be dropping, thinking I will probably relate to these signs.

Or even intently reading to see which signs I will miss. 0_0

I suddenly feel pressured. . .

P.S.

Please do message me if you think I missed a good few, comments are below, go crazy. I can update this post or actually make a part two. In any case, please don't hurt my feelings. I have had my fair share of toxicity and flaming within my gaming life, please don't sprinkle salt on my blog too :(