Gamer Isolation

[Blade]

I dunno, I'm not exactly fully capable of playing people online through PS3 and PSP and such, due to circumstances which force me to only be able to use Wireless Network connections, which limits me. I live in Wisconsin (Milwaukee), where half the gamer populace plays either Halo or Black Ops and leaves people like me to play my own taste in games....by myself.

And after a while that kinda starts to suck. I don't play FPS, and I don't play Guitar Hero or DDR or Rock Band or Karaoke or the other mainstream stuff...

I collect fighting games, puzzle games, RPGs, and shmups of course...but the problem is getting to play such games with other people where I live on a regular basis with stuff that I like to play as well. I barely know anyone (who can speak English anyway) in my own neighborhood. And although there are some Wisconsinites in the fighting game scene, they're usually up north in Madison or south near Chicago.

It's not like I'm antisocial, it's just that:

1. I don't have a good means to travel places and game with friends consistently.
2. Most of what I have nobody's interested in or get tired of. Which bums me out.

I could really use some help or advice or something, regarding this.

[Siren2011]

My close friends do not really like what I like, so most of my gaming is done alone. You may have to settle for the same in the long run, hopefully not. I tried to convert them through the method described above, but I had little success.

Back when I had close friends, this is exactly how it went. People are so transparent these days that I can tell what kind of stuff a person likes merely by looking at them with 75% accuracy. "She's excited about Kinect, plays COD because it attracts members of the opposite sex. That dude plays Guitar Hero because I heard him mention Bemani. That emo guy over there probably wets himself over Persona and FF7, etc, etc."

"No man is an Island." I've come to terms with this. For the longest time I lived in solitude, but now I'd much rather socialize with like-minded people. Loneliness can be a blessing, but it can also be an unbearable curse.

Can't fix this unless you move.

This is like Russian Roulette. Moving does not guarantee that you'll run into awesome people. There are boring people everywhere, and more of them multiplying.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Are you over 21?
Work?
Got any responsibilities tying you down?
If no to all of those, move the hell out of Wisconsin.

[Jockel]

Shumps are best played with one player anyway.
What I did is bring a little taste to my friends.
Gift them awesome niche games for their birthdays or something.

Let them play your freaky nerd schmuck em ups, if they don't like it, so be it.
Find games you all enjoy, can't be THAT hard.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

Shumps are best played with one player anyway

True, but if Jamestown turns out to be a good shmup, we will all have a reason to get together with other shmuppers in RL, due to the fact the game doesnt have online co-op (shakes fist)

[xris]

Back when I had close friends...
People are so transparent these days that I can tell what kind of stuff a person likes merely by looking at them with 75% acuaracy.

You have allot to learn about people. It can be difficult, and there are always people that will disappoint you. It's always going to be the opposite as well. I have been so taken back by many people I have met in my life. The most seemingly over-looked person has ended up being capable of the most amazing achievements.
It's very clear from your posting on the forum in general that you are disenchanted in life currently. I hope that you can overcome this. You will only be able to attract the same quality of person as you, and if you want to be a hate-full little cynic, then you will never get the chance to be around happy, healthy, and productive people. You are only as good as the people you surround yourself with, and they will also choose accordingly. If you want to be around awesome people, you better be up to snuff as well.

As far as getting friends to play what you like, it is a matter of give and take. Set up a game night and be willing to rotate through games that people suggest. Give them time, and don't introduce the hardest stuff at first, let them warm up to it. Take a chance and talk to people as well. How do you know the heavy set trucker is not awesome at Street Fighter? Or, the two of you get along well enough that he would ask you to come to next weeks pig roast?

Blade: Try out a couple puzzle games with people. There's a really awesome puzzle-fighter type game on one of the Mortal Kombats that people will love.

[Siren2011]

It can be difficult, and there are always people that will disappoint you. It's always going to be the opposite as well.

I've learned this much, that's for sure. I've deliberately walked out of people's lives as well as had other (outstanding people, really, which is what makes it sad) walk out on me. I find it very weird that I know people who are friends with the same people who they were friends with in kindergarten, now in college. Not that it's a bad thing, but I'm impressed that at least one hasn't gotten jaded with the other after all this time.

It's very clear from your posting on the forum in general that you are disenchanted in life currently.

I can't deny that. I have a lot of potential and talent/was fortunate to be born handsome, but I feel like I'm wasting my life away and becoming too self-absorbed and narcissistic...but that's totally irrelevant and not part of this discussion, though. I don't like talking about it with people who I barely know, no offense xris.

I have been so taken back by many people I have met in my life.

How do you mean?

I hope that you can overcome this. You will only be able to attract the same quality of person as you, and if you want to be a hate-full little cynic, then you will never get the chance to be around happy, healthy, and productive people.

Thanks for the kind words. I am not always filled with "hate", and I hope you don't believe that it encompasses my whole life. Just some parts of it. I can't tell if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I've got conflicting concepts of "good" and "evil" clashing swords in this head of mine, so it's hard to make sense of life at this point in time.

[xris]

It is difficult to really gauge an impression of people just from the Internet, but usually when given anonymity people will speak honestly, sometimes they might just be a jerk for the sake of it. I'm sorry if I seemed out of term, but I just think it is never worth it to just give up on trying to find something with other people. Hell, I am a bit of a loner, and live by myself, but I put forth a ton of effort it maintaining my friendships with people that are awesome. It's a serious two way street, you have to really put forth effort sometimes.
It's always the geekiest mofo in the room that does the coolest shit. The little guy that nobody thinks looks cool enough to stand around with is sometimes the one with the most, talent, skill, knowledge, will-power, and ability. That is usually the person that is really doing something, the guy that is making the next thing that you find really cool. The good looking guy, with lots of bragadocious, the one that is not going to come through, that's the one that is going to fall for the simple trappings of life, and come to a stop.

OT: I also suggest trying to change it up, and incorporate other types of gaming into the mix with people you want to play with. Everything from board games; to going to the bar for a round of darts. For me, I just got stuck playing a month or two of D&D because they want to. My compromise is that they get to come with and play paintball for my b day next month.

[Acid King]

Eh, I've been in a similar situation for years and don't really mind. I've gotten used to the fact that I don't really like the games people around me like,. My best friend moved near me recently and it's fun to hang out and play games with him but his tastes are limited and it's hard to get him engaged in older games. Recently we've been playing Gain Ground and he's been digging it. Sometimes it's a matter of trial and error before you find that game that hooks people with more modern tastes.

[neorichieb1971]

The USA's geography is something of a burden. If your hobby or job is not universal your in a world of hurt (Potentially).

[rancor]

The USA's geography is something of a burden. If your hobby or job is not universal your in a world of hurt (Potentially).

I'll say!! That's why I left Texas and moved to Tokyo! Any hobby you could possibly be interested in is well represented and easy to access here. Have to admit though, that after living here a few years the polish has worn a bit thin and nothing seems that special anymore...

[evil_ash_xero]

The USA's geography is something of a burden. If your hobby or job is not universal your in a world of hurt (Potentially).

That's definitely true. I live in the middle of nowhere, and until the internet showed up, I could barely get anything here(like imports, or certain CDs). I have to drive like 2 hours to get to anything interesting.

[dunpeal2064]

That emo guy over there probably wets himself over Persona and FF7, etc, etc."

You called?

I wouldn't consider myself "emo" anymore, although in high school I was. Now I'm more happy-go-lucky stoner-esk.

I still loooove Persona and FF7 though

[Domino]

I'll say!! That's why I left Texas and moved to Tokyo! Any hobby you could possibly be interested in is well represented and easy to access here. Have to admit though, that after living here a few years the polish has worn a bit thin and nothing seems that special anymore...

And since it's Tokyo that could mean one thing: Overprice junk.

[ncp]

its video games.

if you want to play with other people, convince them to play your games, or play theirs.

for christ's sake, call of duty may not be your favorite game but you can calm your inner hipster for 5 minutes and have some fun.

[ryu]

for christ's sake, call of duty may not be your favorite game but you can calm your inner hipster for 5 minutes and have some fun.

do these games even support split screen multiplayer anymore?

[Mischief Maker]

The problem with multiplayer games nowadays (that aren't #1 hits that practically everyone owns) are the freaking unlockables. You can't bring over your friends to play your new racing game all night, because all you've got are 4 cars and 2 tracks to play with. Instead you've got to hunker down and EARN all those cars and tracks you already paid money for. Several hours later, your game is finally unlocked to a state that's acceptable for multiplayer with your friends.

The new problem? YOU no longer are. You've had to jump through so many technical hoops to unlock the tracks that now you wipe the floor with your friends who are trying the game for the first time. Races are so lopsided that your friends aren't having fun because you win EVERY SINGLE TIME, and you're not having fun because your friends are less of a challenge that the game's rubberband AI.

$50 down the drain.

Remember when the sound test was just some throwaway afterthought feature in the options menu and not some ultimate prize you must scale mountains to obtain?

PS. Milwaukee isn't a cow town in the middle of nowhere, you live in a freaking Metropolis. Red Letter Media comes from Milwaukee. If you can't find nerdy friends, you're either too picky or aren't looking hard enough.

[ncp]

do these games even support split screen multiplayer anymore?

Not sure about call of duty (never played it though it looks pretty fun), but I know Halo still does.

[Arcatech]

Kind of in the same boat here. I have some friends around that like to play shmups, but they are doing their own thing now.

But its all good though because these are single player games in the end.

[Blade]

Hey guys...this is just me asking but...

Do you know of any places someone could socialize with other gamers and pick out IRL meeting spots according to region?

That is to say, I post that I live in Milwaukee, and wanna meet other gamers in my hometown and we pick a place to meet and discuss games/play games etc...and just overall hang out and share our junk with eachother. Is there a place dedicated to setting up meetings like that?

[Udderdude]

Here is the best advice I can give you: Move out of Wisconsin :P

Really though, there's sites like meetup.org, or you could just try posting on a popular gaming forum if they have a meetup forum thing.

[EIHoppe]

...of all the things to bring me back out of my multi-year stint of logged off lurking. (seriously, this was still using my yahoo mail account--apparently I was last logged-in June 2007.)

Are you in the downtown region or in the suburbs? If you're relatively close to any of the universities in the area a lot of them hold various events throughout the year that can get you connected with other gamers. I have a decent circle of friends who I'll admit don't share my gaming interests entirely (though there is certainly decent amounts of overlap), but at the least none of us are playing Halo or Gears of War in general; I met the majority of them through school (either high school or college).

PS. Milwaukee isn't a cow town in the middle of nowhere, you live in a freaking Metropolis. Red Letter Media comes from Milwaukee. If you can't find nerdy friends, you're either too picky or aren't looking hard enough.

Very much this. My own circle of friends speaks to that. Don't give up hope; keep looking for people, they're definitely out there.

[xbl0x180]

Count me as one who doesn't care for playing video games with anyone else. It's one of the main reasons I love shoot-'em-ups; they're the types of games that can be enjoyable to play on your own. It's sort of a mental-visual masturbation and other people just get in the way. It's the same with movies and music. I thoroughly enjoy watching movies and listening to music, but not with other people. Ironically, I started collecting video games, music, and movies because of talking with other people. However, once things are set rolling, I bail on them and strike out on my own

I think just about the only people I'd tolerate watching movies, playing video games, and listening to music with are my mother and my middle brother - and that's 'cause they're a little more like me [for better or worse]

[gabe]

I think my advice would be "don't be so one dimensional." There is more to life than video games. Most of my friends aren't into gaming (certainly not the type of gaming I'm into) so in turn, gaming has turned into "that thing I do when I don't feel like hanging out with other people." I do other stuff with my friends, like riding bicycles and drinking beers.

My girlfriend and I sometimes game together, but most recently that has taken the form of one of us playing Mr. Driller on the arcade cabinet, while the other plays it on the Dreamcast (which is pretty anti-social).

I'm guessing that is not the advice you are looking for, so I will tell you that in my city there is a Street Fighter "scene" that gets together every so often to play fighting games (http://grapsf.com/). If I wanted to hang out with like-minded gamers, I would probably start there. If one such group doesn't exist in your area, you could try creating one.

[MR_Soren]

My close friends do not really like what I like, so most of my gaming is done alone. You may have to settle for the same in the long run, hopefully not. I tried to convert them through the method described above, but I had little success.

Back when I had close friends, this is exactly how it went. People are so transparent these days that I can tell what kind of stuff a person likes merely by looking at them with 75% accuracy. "She's excited about Kinect, plays COD because it attracts members of the opposite sex. That dude plays Guitar Hero because I heard him mention Bemani. That emo guy over there probably wets himself over Persona and FF7, etc, etc."

I know what you mean. I often try to save myself the hassle and say "nothing you'd be interested in" when asked about games. Unfortunately, that implies I'm into some secret underground gaming scene and they press me for details. I give in and tell them. They say, "Oh, never heard of that." Do you like... (insert random thing I do not like.)


Topic: I feel the same way about isolation. One of the reasons I come here is that nobody I know is the least bit interested in shoot-em-ups and it feels too solitary without a person to discuss or compare scores with. Same problem with other genres. Fighting games are awesome against somebody sitting/standing next to me, but that happens maybe once a year and I rarely play as a result. Other days I might be gushing about Dark Souls, and my friends just say "I heard it's hard. I'm waiting for Skyrim."

Difficult to stay enthused when sharing said enthusiasm is met with blank stares from people who are waiting for me to shut up so they can tell me about their games.

[Gus]

Count me as one who doesn't care for playing video games with anyone else. It's one of the main reasons I love shoot-'em-ups; they're the types of games that can be enjoyable to play on your own. It's sort of a mental-visual masturbation and other people just get in the way. It's the same with movies and music. I thoroughly enjoy watching movies and listening to music, but not with other people.

Yeah, this. Nothing wrong with doing what you love in a small room with no one else around.

[Siren2011]

Count me as one who doesn't care for playing video games with anyone else. It's one of the main reasons I love shoot-'em-ups; they're the types of games that can be enjoyable to play on your own. It's sort of a mental-visual masturbation and other people just get in the way. It's the same with movies and music. I thoroughly enjoy watching movies and listening to music, but not with other people.

I'm already there, finally.

They say, "Oh, never heard of that." Do you like... (insert random thing I do not like.)

I know, right? Even though I at least try to be interested in the game they bring up, they don't ask so much as a single question about mine. It's like, oh you like a game called Mushy hee may sime? That's cool. BAM, let's talk about what I want to talk about, already.

"I heard it's hard. I'm waiting for Skyrim."

lol. That sums it up, basically. I've heard that quite a few times.

Fuck 'em. Stop worrying about stuff you can't change. It's better to adapt in spite of this seemingly unfortunate state of things, because it's not changing in our favor anytime soon, if ever. Actually, if you told me you had a magic wand that could instantly get everyone to like the same shit I like and to talk the way I talk, I would flat out decline. I like my eccentricity. It's why I make so many people laugh nearly everywhere I go. It's why people who I don't even remember are the ones who shout my name out to me and wave from inside of their cars at the stoplight, asking me if I need a lift. Being an odd duck can be a pleasurable fate, though it seems the exact opposite at first. When I contemplate being born in an alternate universe with a drab personality, ugliness, and poor taste, a shiver runs down my spine. Most people who go to this forum are really fortunate to be smart enough to love this genre. Stop and think about it for a second. How much would your life be different if you never gave shoot 'em ups a chance? I like the saying "success breeds success." By disciplining myself to get so far in these games, and even beat some of them, I have learned to be more self reliant and confident and to not give up as easily when I start something. These tools have carried over into areas of everyday life. That's why I think people who say "games are not educational" are full of shit, and should shut the fuck up (pardon my French) until they have actually played these games. And if they STILL don't think they are learning experiences, then those people are simply terrible at learning how to play videogames.

[xbl0x180]

Hey guys...this is just me asking but...

Do you know of any places someone could socialize with other gamers and pick out IRL meeting spots according to region?

That is to say, I post that I live in Milwaukee, and wanna meet other gamers in my hometown and we pick a place to meet and discuss games/play games etc...and just overall hang out and share our junk with eachother. Is there a place dedicated to setting up meetings like that?

I'd think it should be easy around the college area(s). I remember when I attended UC San Diego there were a few student lounges where kids would h00k up their consoles and play Guitar Zero all night long. Hell, I used to sneak around the school and get inside hallrooms to use their projectors to watch videos at night. I wouldn't think it too far-fetched to walk around with a console and a game on a campus, and then proceed to connect it to the teevee in the student lounge... just pretend to be a student and see if other kids gather 'round to check out what's going on