What I am (not)
When I started this blog a few weeks ago, I wasn't certain exactly what I wanted from it. To give people the impression that I considered myself a gamer would be false. I'm casual like many people - men or women - and like many of them I have systems of which I am fond out of nostalgia. I've had experience with games as a kid so that I can say things like 'I remember when I beat my cousin at a pizza parlor while playing Street Fighter 2 when I picked Chun and he picked Guile.' I remember years later when I picked Dhalsim and he kicked my ass.
I can even say that I put too much money into arcade machines within the last six years when Tekken 5 had come out and I spent money on sticks and watched as the console versions rapidly killed the arcade scene.
But knowing gamers, ones who traveled, who competed, who remembered combos, and who were, for the most part, consistent in their execution, means that I see myself as being something completely different. I cannot comfortably call myself a gamer because when I think of gamers I think of my spouse and our closest friends.
I know what people mean when they say FRC or Burst. I understand what they mean when they say hard slash, or when they say ultra, or when they say just frame. But knowing what they are and performing and wanting to perform are separate.
This brings me to why I would even want to start a blog like this in the first place. This isn't a blog about video games in the sense that you are going to get reviews on games, you're not going to get combo videos linked here (well, maybe) or advice. You can hit up SRK or Zaibatsu for that.
What this is
About the same time that I made this blog, a friend's wife asked me if I played games and I said no. Again, I play games but I just never consider myself a gamer and it's easier to say 'no' than explain to people that for me a gamer is someone who is at a certain skill level or at least has a certain amount of dedication to gaming in general.
Anyway, when I said no, her immediate response was 'How do you put up with it?' My spouse & I consistently discuss this. So many people who had been members of the fighting game community are dropping out as they get older not necessarily because they are not interested in games, but because they have reached a point in their relationships with significant others/spouses in which they have had to put games aside because their partners did not approve of the interest.
Long before Paul & I were married, we had had an understanding that he wanted to travel to tournaments. Agreeing to this wasn't a concession on my part. In fact, I didn't even have to agree to it as though we were working out some bargain. The person I met, the person with whom I fell in love, and many of my friends and even partners before him, is a gamer and just as I have my passions (I traveled halfway across the country to start a new school to work on my PhD), he too has his.
My view on marriage is this: Never get into a marriage or even an engagement unless you have the relationship you want at that very moment.
I wonder how many of our friends were married to people who wanted to change their habits after their vows. The pace at which they stopped playing games after getting married or getting into serious relationships was a fast one. This isn't a comment about women, though it is obvious that in the case of the fighting game community, it is most often men who leave it for their female partners. This isn't even the case with games in general. In fact, it seems that I know more couples who are able to game in certain areas (PC MMORPGs for example) than in say competitive fighting games or competitive FPS tournaments.
So to answer her question on how could I stand his gaming, the answer is this: I love him. I love this interest. I support it & it's a part of who he is & what he loves to do. I'm very into it, not just because of him, but because I get along with so many people in the community and have developed amazing relationships with some of the best people I will ever meet - that anyone will ever meet. I never have to compete with his interests as he does not compete with mine.
Having the experience of being inside the gaming community without actually gaming to the extent that these people do has been interesting. At times it's frustrating because I'd like to put some energy into it and participate, but I also know that I have a tendency to spread myself thin and my ambition is academic related.
So this is a blog about what I see when I'm with my friends & when I'm with my partner & they are gaming. This is a blog about that community, because people really should maintain that community & keep the games they love alive & well. I want to support them in it... and I've got a few SLR cameras & a million blogs for a reason - I want to document everything.
-Monique
