The Gamer Subculture
The best part about the gaming subculture is that anyone can be apart of it. It’s really easy to get started and have a lot of fun. When I was only in elementary school I asked for a playstation 3 for Christmas and that’s when I started my journey into the gaming subculture.
One of the first games I played was Modern Warfare 2. I would spend hours with my dad just playing video games. In middle school, gaming brought a lot of people together because everyone was playing the new Call of Duty. I remember doing worse in school because I wouldn’t spend that much time studying. The first year of high school the playstation 4 was going to be released and everyone wanted it. I had an issue though. I wanted something different from the playstation. I wanted a PC. PCs can be very expensive and so I knew it was going to be difficult to get one.
There are so many different types of PCs that you need to really look into it before you just go buy one. So I did plenty of research online and went to my parents and provided them information on what I wanted. When Christmas came around I was pretty excited but some people we’re shocked because I wasn’t going to have a PS4. On Christmas day I got exactly what I wanted. Since that day my perspective has changed on the gaming subculture because having access to a PC lets you do so much more with gaming. It has such a variety of games and you are able to communicate with people much easier. The best part about it that almost anyone can buy a PC and be apart of this subculture.
Different Kinds of Gamers
There are plenty of different types of gamers considering that almost anyone can become one. One of the first type of gamers are “casual” gamers. These people play video games when they just want to relax but these people don’t play video games that much. The 2nd type of gamer is a “Core” gamer. These people will play more and different types of video games then the casual gamer. They might play harder or more complicated games. The 3rd and final type of gamer is the “Hardcore” gamer and these people play video games whenever they get a chance. They know a lot about every type of video game. Part of the “Hardcore” gamer category exists something called a Professional gamer. Professional gamers usually play in high-tier tournaments around the world playing for millions of dollars.
People from all around the world watch professional e-sports teams. Also people can attend large tournament venues usually located in large stadiums. Professional gamers are usually paid on salaries and they can make really good money. They also get their winnings from tournaments.
Clans and Guilds
Clans and Guilds make up a huge part of the gamer subculture. Lots of clans are formed with friends or gamers with similar interests. Usually professional gamers are apart of a clan and then with that clan they enter tournaments. There are so many different clans for so many different games that its hard to really explain them all but clans can range from 10 members to 1000 members. I’ve been apart of a few clans in my life and its really a great experience to talk to a lot of different people and interacting in a community. Communication plays a huge role when you are in a clan. Most clans use some form of communication which can include teamspeak, mumble, and discord.
Guilds play a huge part in video games. When you join a guild that’s within a game it will allow you to get extra rewards. Also you can chat with people in your guild and possibly get resources or help from them. The same guild can have its guild in more than one game Lots of guilds try to maintain a presence in the community then just one certain game. So you might see the same guild in 3 or 4 different games.
The Future of Gaming
The future for gamers is bright. In the next 1–4 years lots of different content is being released to the gaming community. One of the most popular devices on the market right now is the VR headset. VR stands for virtual reality. You put them over your face and you can experience everything in your first person view.
Another big step for the VR machine is the online feature that they are releasing. It will allow you to play with different people around the world on your VR device. Also popularity is growing for the gaming community including the e-sports side. A game called Counter Strike:Global Offensive is shown on live TV. When the season for it starts its on Friday at 10pm on TBS. More and more people are getting into e-sports and they are trying to make it the norm.
E-sports is growing and growing and lots of people say its basically the future of the gaming industry. Lots of games try to shape their game in some sort of competitive way because that’s what people like. The biggest prize pool for an E-sports tournament was at the 2017 Dota 2 International tournament. The prize pool was over 24 million dollars. The winning team took home over 10 millions dollars.
The last 4 prize pools for the dota 2 international tournament has been over 10 millions dollars and its growing every year and soon it might reach 30 million. Even some of the smaller games are having bigger and bigger e-sports events. The growth of the e-sports community is incredible.
Conclusions about Gaming
I think we have only scratched the surface of what gaming can be. Its only really been around 20–25 years so I think games and gamers could be anything in the next 20–25 years. So much will change of how games will run and be played. Gaming has had a huge impact on peoples lives including mine. Life can be so much different if you add a little gaming to your schedule. I think a lot more people will be adding it to their schedules because gaming is going to be better then it has ever been before.
