The Gamer Mentality

Written by Holly Green

Wednesday, 21 October 2009 00:00

We've all been there. You're sitting at a traffic light, sighing deeply at yet another minute and a half wait. Then you see it. An open spot on the sidewalk. You could just slip through, bomb through the pedestrians, and take your turn blocks away before anyone knew what happened. Maybe you'll get a few nicks on the car, or maybe you'll run over a hooker or two... but you're only in trouble if you get caught, right?

Then as the light turns green you snap back into reality wondering what in the Tommy Vercetti hell you were just thinking while debating the long hours you've thus far invested in Grand Theft Auto as a series and its effect on your mental stability.

While that was once me, lately my gut instinct reactions have been of the Fallout 3 variety: shuddering when I see 50s themed imagery, feeling blood thirsty when I hear Billie Holiday. The other day I saw a hammer lying in the bushes and thought, "Meh, I never need one of those things", much like I do when one crosses my path while looting the Wastelands. So I guess my question is, what game does that to you? What triggers your "gamer's mentality"?

Comments (6) Add Comment

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written by Willberg, October 21, 2009

My friend's text message alert is that surreal hooting siren you hear in City 17 from Half Life 2.

The first time I heard it, I just about curled up in the foetal position in fear.

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written by Jim Squires, October 21, 2009

This actually just happened to me on Sunday. I`d JUST finished a marathon weekend of Uncharted 2, and then took my wife to a film screening at our local University's theatre. While looking around I noticed these four strange rectangular objects sticking out of the wall down by the third row, and my first thought was "oh -- THAT'S where you're supposed to go next."

What can I say? They looked like perfect Drake climbables, and my brain wasn't as done with UC2 as I'd thought.

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written by JJ BANKS, October 21, 2009

Are you trying to give lawyers evidence that gaming can influence a person's actions? smilies/grin.gif

After playing a lot of Call of Duty, I find myself checking doorways for claymores.

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written by Holly, October 21, 2009

You know, I thought about that JJ and decided, eh, fuggit. Jack Thompson's been disbarred, no more big bad wolf, lol.

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written by MC, October 21, 2009

Don't say his name... he shows up when you do like a demented genie.

My gamer mentality creeps in whenever I see an upside down cardboard box... because it makes me think that someone is trying to sneak in somewhere.

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written by MRY, October 27, 2009

This used to happen to me all the time when I was obsessed with Morrowind, and to a lesser extent, Oblivion: I would be harvesting veggies from my garden, or even walking past a bush and mindlessly pull a twig or leaf off, and my first thought would involuntarily be, "You have successfully harvested "