Cole Luke - Blog
My Partner is a Gamer and I don’t care what you say
No, we will not 1v1 on rust, bro
Much has been said about gaming’s toxicity over the years. It’s disheartening — though not entirely surprising — to discover the extent of Blizzard’s awful work culture.
This and many other reports illustrate we still have a long way to go to ensure both gaming and development are safe-spaces for all.
With this macro-company under the spotlight, it’s turned my attention to the micro.
My partner exclusively plays The Sims 4 on a 2017 12” MacBook. They are a gamer.
There is no debate to be had, no equivocation and no point of entry to reach this definition. Yet, many would argue otherwise.
Casual gamers are cringe.
They do not live and breathe the meta. Unbased!!
You play unranked??
These are the same people who would deduct internet points for using emojis on Reddit. Yet, despite their angst, my partner is still having fun.
They do not care about framerates, only visual candy. Settings are cranked up to the absolute max, resulting in sub-10 framerates at times.
In my teenage l33t years I would have scoffed at this sort of blasphemy, but now I find myself jealous that my partner simply does not care — as I once did playing Half-Life 2 for the first time on a seriously decrepit machine.
These days, I find myself screeching at bad frame pacing and image-tearing. What have I become?
I’ve lived long enough to become the villain.
Most astonishingly, they know exactly when to put the game down. The second it is no longer fun, they either make new Sims or close the game and go do something else.
What? I couldn’t afford many games growing up. As a result, I felt obliged to grind through — whether I liked them or not — the games I did buy, and especially those graciously gifted.
Not having this looming burden is liberating. We can all learn from my partner. Eschew the drama, the toxicity, the hangovers and hangups. Just have fun.
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