This month’s guest blog is from A.B. Harris. With a professional background in engineering, his early interests were in game design academia. A.B. now offers the occasional Op-Ed piece on gaming culture. (Rumor has it that he’s also hard at work on a weekly radio program that will feature game music and soundtracks).

The article may look familiar to readers of Computer Games Magazine. An edited version of the article below appeared in the final “Speakout” column. I had mentioned to Harris that I was going to comment on his column, but he suggested that any comment would make more sense if more readers had a chance to see it. With the permission of the former editor of CGM, here is the column.

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According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), I fit the “average” U.S. gamer profile perfectly: I’m a professional, early-30’s head-of-household male that plays games almost 8 hours a week. I even fit some of the ESA’s more obscure data, such as “devoting more than triple the amount of time spent playing games each week to exercising . . . creative endeavors . . . [and] cultural activities”, as well as “reading books or daily newspapers on a regular basis.” Is this sufficiently average? How about—and hold your hats—“exhibit a high level of interest in current events . . . [and] vote in most of the elections for which they are eligible.” Yes, that’s me, the ESA’s poster child of gaming.

Why is it, then, upon attempting a nonpartisan appraisal of my alleged brethren in the gaming populace-at-large I feel so different? So alone? Consider the recent next-generation console launches; all across the country myriad gamers queued up outside of their favorite big-box retailers, in some cases up to a week in advance. Surely within this dedicated group, I thought to myself, I’d find a generous sampling of the average gamer. But amidst amateur, shaky-cam event coverage, I saw not professional early-30’s head-of-households, but rather a motley of Mountain Dew-addicted juveniles that somehow shirked life’s responsibilities for a weeklong urban campout. Dubious whether my initial judgment was biased, I watched further as those in line were briefly interviewed. Unsettling snatches of conversation equivalent to leetspeak confirmed my fears—I was certainly not a member of this stratum, be it average gamers or potential eBay sellers.

Dumbfounded, I silently questioned where exactly had the ESA gathered its data? Perhaps it is merely pandering to the mainstream press and their portrayal of gaming. But this assertion was promptly nullified, for I knew all too well the plebeian view of gaming is rife with Hot Coffee-style shenanigans and ghastly tales of game-induced violence. Games are, according to mainstream media and the general public, a sordid and seedy form of entertainment, debauching our youth with sex and violence—a far cry from what the ESA suggests.

I therefore shifted my attention away from the mainstream to focus on the gaming press itself; certainly our industry has a responsibility to represent the average gamer, to be able to define its veritable consumer base? Or so one would think! But after scrutinizing game magazine advertisements and fan forums, gamer interviews and reviews, I took no solace in what I discovered. Aside from occasional, clever advertisements and infrequent, constructive commentary, I found brainless ads and immature journalism. Sex and violence? Check. Tasteless banter? You bet. Shallow visual appeal? All present and accounted for. A sophisticated and insightful manner? . . . Bueller? . . . Bueller?

Years ago, when the video gaming industry was in its infancy, the brainless ads and immature journalism may have been more acceptable, for all young industries have a learning curve. More importantly, the average gamer certainly wasn’t the professional, early-30’s head-of-household, but more likely a teenage technology enthusiast that the mainstream would have deemed a “nerd”. But this is the year 2007, not 1982! And within that quarter-century, our industry has seen untold amounts of technological evolution surpassing anything before it. More than ever, we have seemingly limitless options in the games available to us. We are closer than ever to creating truly virtual worlds that permit us to indulge personal experiences otherwise impossible in real life. And as time continues to pass, this evolution will assuredly continue unabated. But some perplexing questions still remain: if gaming has evolved to such a high caliber, why has the culture surrounding gaming and the mainstream’s opinion of it remained so inert? And if indeed our industry’s culture is stagnant or, worse yet, actually devolving, who exactly is to blame? Furthermore, what steps can be taken to rectify the debasement?

I alone can offer no solid answers to the above inquiries. Nor can the gaming magazines, journalists, and marketers; they simply cater to the perceived gamer demographic—the “average” gamer. And what about the ESA’s gamer profile? Although my findings suggest an entirely different profile, I still maintain the ESA in high regard. In fact, I consider their Game Player Data to be a paradigm to which we should all aspire. Dear friends, consider this a call-to-arms to demonstrate to not only our fellow gamers but to the general public that we are far more credible and intelligent than our perceived demographic suggests. Consider this a plea that we should all serve as ambassadors, whether among our own or in foreign company. Maintain our awareness of gaming academia and share this knowledge with non-gamers. Live up to our average gamer profile. For as a group of responsible gamers, we can change the mainstream.
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Want to contribute a guest post to Flash of Steel? Just drop me a line at troy DOT goodfellow AT gmail DOT com.