Generation Why?

One of the things that make humans most unique in the animal world is our odd, rather egocentric desire to understand Who We Are. Included in this quest is the need to understand our place and reason for being in this world. All too often, the staff here at The Escapist is too busy playing games to ponder such topics, unless spurred by a severe lack of sleep or the occasional preponderance of good scotch, as we all sit around with our fancy suits, puffing away on fancy cigars; we are Team Humidor, after all.

Then again, that may not really be who we are, but rather one of the many personas we try on online. We may really be a bunch of nerdy goofballs who sit around in silly hats and shooting nerf weaponry at each other. If that’s who we were, we’d likely have a giant pirate flag on the wall … and maybe some toy monkeys hanging from the ceiling.

Or, it could be we are often found discussing the import (or lack thereof) of the ’80s on the current music scene. This would, of course, lead to a heated discussion of whether or not anything at all good came from the ’80s. Which might then move into a discussion on the economic climate of the country, nay world, and what part that aforementioned decade has had on the Now.

But no. We are just gamers. Which, if we listen to popular opinion, makes all of us 16-year-old boys. (Which is weird ’cause I could’ve sworn … well, it’s gonna be interesting telling Mom about that.) And we live in our mother’s basements. (Which is also strange, as I’m pretty sure I don’t … anyway.)

Or perhaps popular opinion is a tad off the mark? This week, The Escapist highlights several trends and groups within the gamer community. Are we normalizing, as Roger Travis suggests? Perhaps we are just becoming a bit more casual, just like Aaron Griffith. Maybe growing up with games and a game-playing parent is having an effect, as it did on Leigh Alexander. Game/toy/movie/TV licenses, all the rage with movers and shakers in the children’s media world, are also affecting the gaming populace, as discovered by Sara Grimes. And then, of course, are the true blue fans of games, the fanboys – but who are they, anyway? Charles Wheeler has some answers, along with all these others, in this week’s issue of The Escapist.

Cheers,