Friday 16 February 2018

Editorial | Gaming bringing people together



By Sam Coles:

When most people think of gamers they generally assume that we are anti-social shut ins that don’t want to communicate with others, however that is far from the truth as we have a thriving community. I want to do a short editorial outlining how I use to be labelled that nerdy child who liked comics, Transformers and games to game critic who loves talking about the subject all over the world.

In 2004 to 2009 I was at secondary school, I was completely alone due to the fact my parents sent me to a school where none of my friends from my primary school went to. At the time I was playing mostly PS2 and GameCube games with only a few games as at the time I wasn’t old enough to play or buy certain games. When 2007 rolled around I was fixated on the game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, I loved the setting due to my fascination of Tolkien’s world of Middle Earth as they shared similar themes. During this time I was bullied because I was into the whole fantasy world of wizards and elves etc. as well as my other interests such as comics and the Transformers series, but I carried on and escaped to Oblivion when I was feeling down.

When I left my secondary school in 2009 and went on to pursue my A-levels, things got better because I was in a more mature environment I encountered more open minded people and we would chat about leaks and rumours about the at the time upcoming Modern Warfare 2. I felt for once I was accepted for who I was and I have fond memories of signing into Xbox Live, where I would play a few rounds of Halo 3 or a few rounds of Search and Destroy in the Call of Duty games that came out in the following years. It wasn’t until 2012, where my reach would go globally in the gaming community with my introduction to Twitter.

In 2012 I was studying creative media and production and one of the requirements with coursework was to increase awareness on social media, Twitter more than anything else. At first I saw it as ticking a box and I didn’t really use it that much, but I did start to meet and interact with people from the US and eventually I could even call them my friend. It wasn’t until around 2014 when I started to use it properly and I have interacted and even met some most wonderful people in the gaming community, they are now my closest friends compared to people I have met through traditional means. It started because at the time I left a website I use to write for due to creative differences, where start my blog where I talk about video games with no restrictions and this opened up to fellow gamers.

I’m now a part of many gaming communities on Twitter, from PlayStation users, Xbox gamers and even retro gamers. I have a big community of friends through gaming, so remember don’t let it get you down because you have a specific interest there is always someone with the same hobby that will want to converse with you and I have met some wonderful people through this medium. I have great moments chatting on PSN or Xbox Live where I’m not even playing a game and just sat there at the dashboard and just having a good chat, or when I am in a game I have forged some good moments that no one else can replicate.

At the end of the day your interest in gaming shouldn’t be a weakness, but instead should be a badge of honour you should discuss with others. I have truly met some wonderful people with my interest, yes it took a while, but best things take time and I can thank the advent of social media for expanding my friendship.  

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