The "g" word

It's that sinking feeling you get. You know the one. You've been addicted to a brand-new game, playing it for hours, whether it's an engrossing single-player adventure or a multiplayer frag fest…

And then it happens. The Guilt sets in. Sometimes it's because you begin thinking to yourself "I should probably be doing something more productive." At others it's induced by others, maybe your significant other giving you a call and asking "so, what are you up to?"

The answer, of course, is somewhat embarrassing. Yet at the same time, you don't want to be lying. So maybe you turn off the console and only then answer something like "oh, nothing much." In the case of one of my gamer friends, Haig, he says he'll call back in five minutes. "Usually the call is a sign that I should be doing other things. It's kind of like a bell that pulls you out," he says.

Why do video gamers do that? It's probably one of the last hobbies in the world that people are still somewhat embarrassed to talk about. Think about it. You don't get embarrassed telling people you're watching a movie or TV, do you? You certainly don't get embarrassed telling them you're reading a book, or you're about to go for a jog.

Despite its surging popularity and the fact studies show video gamers are, on average, 18-35 year-old males, the hobby is still seen by many as a childish way to pass the time, something that you will one day do away with entirely.

Truth be told, the thought has occasionally crossed this gamer's mind as well. In fact, my history of spending less and less time on average strapped behind the controller with each new console leads me to believe that the next time all the big console manufacturers upgrade for the new generation, I just might not have the inclination to make an investment.

I'm not alone out there either. My colleague Elyse, who occasionally likes to get her thumb on a joystick as well, is actually a step ahead of me in a sense, still relying on a seven year-old Playstation 2 to get her gaming fix. In fact, she doesn't even always have it plugged in. "I was always made to feel guilty about it (as a child)," she said. Nowadays, it collects dust in her closet most of the time. "Oh my God, you still play?" she expects to hear from visiting friends otherwise. Of course, there is the other side of it too. Male friends sometimes find themselves only interested in playing video games if they see Sony's old warhorse.

It might be a generational thing. By and large, both Elyse and I are still among the first group of people who were children right at the cusp of the 80s popularization of video games. It's only normal that parents of people our age would find the hobby rather juvenile, and it probably doesn't help that the majority of video games really don't concern themselves with mature themes (unless you consider scantily clad ladies and buckets of blood mature). "My parents never really knew what (video games) were" when growing up, Haig said. "We couldn't play games until we had our homework done or if it was a very nice day outside," he added. Haig thinks this kind of upbringing affects the way he thinks about video games to this day, to a certain extent.

So maybe as video gamers get older and games gain even more mainstream popularity, this so-called 'stigma' of being a gamer will disappear. I'm not quite sure I'll ever be able to do that completely myself though, perhaps because my upbringing in some ways is similar to that of my friends. I'm afraid my own kids will, one day, have to hear about how they'll have to do something more productive with their time…and it won't necessarily be from my wife.