Post #4: Trollmates for Real

Hey there, Trollmates! 🙂

Sorry I haven’t updated this week! I have been so very busy this week eating pizza rolls  coming up with ideas for articles and even writing some guests posts, which will bring even more trollmates to our community!

Today though, I’m dedicating this post to my amazing boyfriend!

“But Taylor!” You might be wondering, “Why the hell should we care about your life?”

Well, ladies (and gents), you should care because I am living proof that a non-gamer to gamer relationship can work and be strong, so long as you work at it! Even more than that, it’s to share with you my story so that you know I’m not some random foreveralone person who knows nothing about relationships. I have one, a great one. And that’s why I made this blog.

So, today is my two year anniversary with my boyfriend! He and I, as the title suggests, are trollmates for real, and two years is a big deal for us! So to celebrate, I want to share some things with you that I’ve found extremely helpful in making our relationship last.

That brings us to the topic of today’s post:

• Rule Number Two: Ask Questions

Last summer, my boyfriend and I went through a really rough patch that called our whole relationship into question. Sometimes we felt like we simply had nothing to talk about, that we had settled into a routine and couldn’t get out of it.

That’s when we learned to ask questions. I don’t mean, “Why didn’t you call me?!” type questions. I mean questions about each other, and about the things we love. This is especially true for a gamer to non-gamer relationship; Gamers LOVE to talk about their games! But more importantly, they love that you care enough to want to learn. Which means you need to also follow this:

• Rule Number Three: Listen to the Answers

Ladies, asking questions isn’t going to help your relationship if you aren’t interested in hearing the answer! If you really want to make it work with someone, you have to be interested in the things that they care about! Now, that doesn’t mean you have to sit and play Guild Wars 2 for a few hours and become a fan of it; it just means that you like/love/care about the other person enough to hear what they have to say. Personally, it makes me feel really great when I listen to my gamer guy talk about games that he likes. It makes me feel like I can share in that part of his life, even though games aren’t really my thing. In fact, the idea of sitting at a computer for hours on end playing with 8 bit blocks sounds like my own personal version of hell. But hey, my man loves minecraft. I love the idea of marriage. Sometimes you just don’t agree. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have an amazing relationship! We just have to compromise, and become interested in the things the other likes.

So, long story short, he and I made it to two years, and I truly believe we’re in it for the long haul. Only time will tell, but I love him from the bottom of my heart, and I’m confident that I will forever have things to post on this blog, because he and I will always be together. 🙂

A cheesy tangent, I know, but hey! It only happens once a year, so cut me some slack!

Trollmates, continue to stay tuned! Within the next few days I will be posting a list of the top questions to ask your boyfriend about gaming, so if you found this post helpful, follow us @trollmatesunite to see when that next post goes live! Trust me, you will definitely want to read it, because it will be SUPER helpful, and they will all be questions I have ACTUALLY used to spark conversations (and closeness!) with my gamer guy. Because, let’s be real ladies: Sometimes you have no idea what he’s talking about, but don’t want to 4 hour explanation of something you really didn’t care about in the first place. I totally have you covered!

Like I said, there’s some really exciting announcements and things coming, so stay tuned! Keep coming back, keep showing your friends! Like us on facebook by either clicking “like” on the side of the blog or visiting our page. Comment, like, email me! I love suggestions!

Stay safe if you’re going to be affected by Hurricane Sandy!

~ ❤ ~

Taylor

 

photocred to funnyjunk.com

The Lowdown #1: Slenderman

Hey there, my lovely trollmates!

Sorry it’s taken me so long to update! My school was on Fall Break, so I was away from my computer watching Mean Girls over and over spending time with my family.

Anyway, as you can probably tell, I’m going to be starting a new type of post! It’s called The Lowdown, and it’s going to be posts that focus on one particular piece of internet culture or gaming, like a particular game, meme, or idea.

For this particular post, our topic is Slenderman.

Now, some of you may have heard of Slenderman via the game Slender. While this isn’t the first time Slenderman has appeared within internet or gamer culture, this game has increased this creature’s popularity by a lot.

For those of you who don’t know, here’s a little background information on Slenderman:

Once upon a July on 2009, the forum Something Awful had a “Create Paranormal Images” type contest/competition. Somebody posted this picture:

Freaky, right?

and Slenderman was born! Since then, Slenderman has become really popular within stories and Creepypasta. Visit the Trollmate Vocabulary post for my explanation of Creepypasta.

But here’s some information on the actual mythos of Slenderman:

• As you can probably tell from the above picture, the Slenderman is said to usually hang around kids.
• Slenderman has no face.
• Slenderman wears a suit, complete with the tie.
• Slenderman has long tentacle-like arms.
• The Slenderman is said to inhabit heavily wooded areas.
• Legend has it that Slenderman will stalk you until you slowly go insane.
• If he stalks you, you may start to black out, feel nauseous, and lose track of time, among other things.
• Some believe that Slenderman can teleport, or use the 4th dimension to travel. Others think that he simply remains completely still while you are looking, and walks fast (due to his long legs) while you are turned around. Either way, it’s a terrifying concept.

Now, pretty much like the day after Slenderman was created (or pretty close to that), MarbleHornets was created. MarbleHornets is basically a youtube channel paired with a Twitter that basically follows the story of a guy named Jay and a movie his friend Alex was making. To watch MarbleHornets, visit the Youtube channel and watch the videos and follow @marblehornets on Twitter! The story’s scary, but it’s addictive!

Slenderman (the Operator) as depicted in MarbleHornets

Now let’s cover the most recent obsession of Slenderfans: Slender.

As MarbleHornets started to gain popularity (it’s in its final season now), Slenderman became more and more popular. Because Slenderman was getting so popular, the game Slender was created. Parsec Productions basically made the game, which has the full name “Slender: The Eight Pages”. Pretty much what you do is navigate through a landscape and find 8 pages about Slenderman, while trying to avoid him. You have a flashlight and navigate through this creepy landscape, some of which is old buildings or dark woods, and look for the pages. You have to collect them all without Slenderman getting you, so pretty much you turn around and your little flashlight can sometimes show him standing there. The creators are now working on an even more advance version, but many people really like this one because even though there’s pretty limited gameplay, Slenderman never appears in the same place, so it’s not like you can avoid him.

This game has gained a HUGE amount of popularity. It is free to download, and because of the simple storyline and design, you don’t have to be a hardcore gamer to have fun playing it. If you love jumpscares and you’re interested in a little scary fun, I recommend you download Slender.

A screencap from Slender.

Besides Slender, there are tons upon tons of stories and memes about Slenderman; he’s very popular. MJDarklighter has a really freaky story called Slender Spot that is definitely worth reading. There are multitudes of documentaries and short films on Slenderman, but The Slender Man Documentary is a short scary one.

There’s also a lot of parodies of Slenderman, for instance, the idea that he only stalks you because “Gimme 20 Dollahs”. This one is my personal favorite, because it takes an actual MarbleHornets entry and makes fun of it. Beware though, the footage is pretty scary, but with the music it basically counteracts it.

Slenderman vs. Gangnam Style, featured below, is a great example of how popular Slenderman is and what Slenderman represents; no matter what the current viral videos or trends are, Slenderman will find his way into them. People love Slenderman, and ladies, if your man loves Slenderman, don’t pretend for 2 seconds that he isn’t going to try and suck you into the vortex of Slenderfandom too.

Personally, I really like Slenderman, especially MarbleHornets. While I’m really bad with jump scares (it doesn’t matter what’s jumping out; it could be a fluffy unicorn shitting rainbows and I would still jump if it popped out), my boyfriend absolutely loves the game Slender, and has actually downloaded the game via the Android market onto his phone. He plays it pretty much all the time, so I guess it gets the Boyfriend Stamp of Approval!

Okay trollmates, I know some of you may be asking, “Why Slenderman as a first post?” Well, ladies, Slederman is something that is quickly gaining popularity. In order to date somebody who’s keeping up with these trends, you too need to be aware of it. If your man loves Slender or Slenderman, you at least need to know the basics of what he’s talking about! To keep a relationship alive, there’s got to be communication, INTERESTING communication. What better way to have an interesting conversation with your man than to say “hey, so I saw this hilarious Slenderman video today”… chances are he’ll be WAY impressed that you recognize Slenderman. Plus, my boyfriend and I watch MarbleHornets together, and it’s hours upon hours of scary suspenseful fun! My boyfriend loves horror movies, but I can’t stand gore, so MarbleHornets is a really good compromise for us, because it has all the suspense with little to no blood! 🙂

Have any questions, comments, or thoughts? Feel free to leave it in the comments section below!

~ ❤ ~

Taylor

Let’s Play: A Short Explanation

Hey there, my lovely trollmates!

Let me just take a second to thank you all for reading! I absolutely LOVE this blog, and I hope you guys are just as enthusiastic about it as I am!

That being said, lets get into our topic, shall we? 🙂

Today’s topic is Let’s Play videos!

Ladies, ever been on YouTube watching Jenna Marbles when all of a sudden you see a suggestion that says “Let’s Play Minecraft/Slender/Skyrim”? Ever wondered what that was?

Basically, here’s the answer to that question:

A “lets play” video is basically the guy equivalent to makeup tutorials or cute videos. Lets Play videos are what happens when somebody films their screen while playing a game. So instead of taping you from your webcam, you basically film the screen. So Lets Play videos are like a way for guys to watch other people they don’t know play video games instead of doing it themselves.

As crazy as that sounds, guys (and gamer girls!) love this kind of video, especially when it’s by someone either really great at the game or really weird or funny or crazy.

For instance, PewDiePie is a really popular guy for let’s plays videos. Here’s one for Minecraft:

Clearly, it’s pretty entertaining. Even if you aren’t a gamer, lets play videos can be pretty entertaining. The ones for Slender are pretty scary, because that game is like, shit your pants jumpscares, but still pretty fun!

“But Taylor,” you ask, “Why would you spend a whole post on Let’s Play videos?” Because, darlings, in the weeks to come I will be doing posts that focus on one particular game, meme, site, or other part on Internet “nerd” culture, and lets plays will be a big part of the ones on games!

So, stay tuned trollmates! There’s more fun in store!

~ <;3 ~

Taylor

;

photocred to tgnMinecraft

Post #3: Boom Headshot! 4 Gamer Stereotypes Debunked

Hello there my lovely trollmates!

For this post, I’m going to talk about stereotypes that gamers face, and what YOU should know as a girl who is dating/wants to date/wants to know more about a gamer and his or her gaming.

Why am I posting this, you ask? Because my boyfriend texted me excitedly this morning to let me know that he had found the “most HILARIOUS video” for my blog. He then proceeded to link me to this:

Watch it! Not only is it is it entertaining, it’s also my inspiration for this post!

Basically, this video is a mock interview with a gamer, who basically proceeds to be a complete and total freak of nature. While it’s pretty entertaining and fun to watch, it brings up a few stereotypes that we trollmates need to realize aren’t really true!

1. All gamers are nutjobs.

This one is really emphasized in the video. The guy just keeps yelling “BOOM HEADSHOT!” over and over again like he’s certifiably insane. Towards the end of the video, when he starts losing, he starts to get physically angry and basically freak the hell out!

Contrary to popular belief, not all gamers are crazy! While yes, a few if them are admittedly quirky, finding a gamer of Gary Busey level insanity is actually pretty rare.

The same is true of guys who browse 4chan or the Internet in general. People sometimes think that making friends with someone on the Internet is basically inviting them to stalk and kill you, when this simply isn’t this case. I’m obviously not saying “hey ladies, go on chatroulette, flash everyone, and give them all your home address”, but if you’re smart (and follow the guidelines I’ll set forth in a later article about Internet safety ;D), then it’s perfectly okay to talk to and meet people online.

The world is changing, ladies! Not everyone on the Internet is a psycho.

2. All gamers are disconnected from reality.

The guy in the video seriously has no concept of reality. He thinks life is really like a video game, and when he’s not playing the game, it’s like he can’t stop thinking about it. He’s seriously obsessed.

This is a really common stereotype of gamers. Many people think that all gamer guys care about is their high score. Ladies, I want you all to realize that this simply isn’t true!

Just like it the cartoon at the bottom (which I don’t own, btw), the stereotype is that a gamer guy will totally ignore you simply because he loves his games more. That’s simply not the case, as clearly shown in that lovely cartoon.

While gamers absolutely love their games, it’s a hobby. And just like any other hobby, while it is a big part of someone’s life, it’s not their ONLY focus. You don’t think your grandma has a sick obsession with knitting or cats, do you? Those are things that she loves, but it’s not like that’s the only thing she thinks about all day. Gamers are the same way, trollmates! They love their games, but they do other things too!

3. All gamers are violent.

We’ve all heard it before: Violent video games increase violent behavior. Well, I used to believe this too. However, in doing research for one of my classes this semester, I discovered that this is not actually the case. Trust me, they’ve done studies on it. It seems everyone wants to find a reason to explain why all the bad people in the world are bad. When adolescents or college students commit insanely heinous crimes, they seem to always find a way (or their parents do) to blame it on video games. Because of this, it seems to be a really widespread belief that video games make people more likely to be violent. This isn’t true, scientifically.

Now, I’m not saying that it’s necessarily okay to let your toddler play MA-17 rated games. They’re rated for a reason.

However, there’s no scientific research (not that I’ve found, anyway) that supports the idea that video games make people more violent. While I do think that allowing a REALLY young child to play and incredibly violent video game could possibly make them unable to realize that death in real life is permanent, which could seriously have affects of their mental development, I see no reason to believe that video games make people more violent, especially when played by teenage or adult men.

So ladies, don’t immediately write off gamer guys because you think they’re violent. Any guy can be violent, and domestic violence is NEVER okay. But no guy is more likely to be any more violent than another, especially because of playing games.

4. All gamers are unemployed and/or live in their mother’s basement.

This is a really common one. For some reason, it’s an increasingly common stereotype that all gamers don’t work and just sit in their mom’s basement all day on the computer. This stereotype also includes a large amount of acne, suspenders, and glasses.

Ladies, the times, they are a changin! Spending time on a computer is no longer for guys named Eugene who do the creep!

Not only are most gamers employed, most are the the guys who, 20 years from now, will be making ALL THE MONEY! Computers and technology are the way of the world, my lovely trollmates, and if you’re in with a guy who already knows his way around a laptop, you’re good to go!

But seriously, even if your man just games as a hobby, chances are he’s somewhat intelligent. While it may not seem like it, it takes a bit of strategy and/or skill to play games (some more than others, obviously).

While yes, of course there are gamer/internet literate guys out there who really spend 23 hours a day on their computer, most do not do this. Don’t let the Big Bang Theory fool you, ladies. Not all nerdy-type guys are pretentious or socially awkward.

And there you have it ladies. Those are the stereotypes. And now you all know they’re just that: stereotypes! Of COURSE there are a few outliers; the nerdy suspender wearing, game playing, lives in his momma’s basement guys. But there are also a couple big, stupid, thick football players, a couple dumb blondes… But not every blonde is dumb. Not every football player is big and stupid. Far from it!

So before you write off a gamer because of those labels, get to know the person first. You might be surprised 🙂

I leave you with a very funny and very relevant cartoon, which pretty much shows that you can’t always trust stereotypes.

Remember ladies, he’s a man first, a gamer second. ;D

~ ❤ ~

Taylor

A Girl’s Guide to Gaming: An Introduction

Hey there fellow (or perspective)  gamers and geeks! I thought I would start helping out by giving some general info about gaming vocabulary and what to expect from a particular game. So, here goes.

First, I’ll list the main types of time-consuming console and computer games that most gamers swear by. These are the boyfriend’s time-suckers and hoarders of attention that a lot of girls hate but can be very addictive. I’ll spend more time later posting details about each type of game, too.

1. First-person shooter – These games include Call of Duty, Halo, Star Wars Battlefront, and Battlefield. This is a type of game where the screen shows the perspective of the person you’re playing as – you see what your character sees. This usually includes whatever gun (or other weapon) you’re holding at the time. They’re called shooters because the usual point of the game is to kill people with whatever guns you’re holding, and there are usually a broad assortment to choose from. I’ll go more in-depth about these later.
2. RPG – Also known as a Role-Play Game (not the weapon in the types of games in #1). These can sometimes be switched between first and third person, but not always. These types of games include Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and the Elder Scrolls games (like Oblivion and Skyrim). These are usually more fantasy or sci-fi oriented and have weapons like swords, bows, crossbows, etc. Thees types of games tell a story and usually have a custom character that the player can create (and that can be either gender).  Then sometimes there are crossover-type games like Mass-Effect that are both roleplay and third-person shooter, or some mix of everything. These are sometimes called Action RPG’s.
3. Third-person shooter – These are games in  which you are shooting enemies with some type of weapon while the character you’re playing as is visible, such as Heretic 2, Brute Force, Infamous, GTA, and Max Payne.
4. MMORPG – These are Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplay Games, like World of Warcraft and Runescape. These constantly have new material added to them and can destroy your life by giving you new ones to live in a virtual world, though their graphics aren’t the best. They can be customized and never run out of new material and questlines and often are money and time-suckers. Some are worse than others, with WoW being at the very top.
5. RTS – These are Real Time Strategy games like Age of Empires, Command & Conquer, and Halo Wars. They include building up your forces from a God’s eye view to face enemy resistance.
6. Minecraft is a weird outlier. It’s an open-world and sometimes multiplayer game of survival and infinite LEGOs and customizable graphics. People can spend hours and hours trying to build something or write songs – yes, it’s possible to write songs in Minecraft – and it can waste big chunks of life (chunks, ha ha…).
7. Sports games. I honestly know nothing about them, but there are tons of them out there. They usually have to do with moving as a player in a team or switching between each player. Then there are racing games – they’re pretty self-explanatory. (The closest I’ve ever played to a sports game was a PS2 Quidditch World Cup game, and I’ve never gotten very far.)

Then there are all of the other games out there, for DS and consoles, computers and smartphones. Those usually aren’t much to worry about (unless you’re on a Guitar Hero binge for an entire day – it’s happened to me before). You never know, though – some people can spend an entire weekend straight playing Angry Birds.

Anyway, have fun and I hope this helps!

Post #2: If I’m a Trollmate, Then What’s a Troll?: A Internet Culture Vocabulary Lesson

Hello, my fellow trollmates! 🙂

I’m glad so many people have visited this blog! I’m loving all the comments coming in! Continue to like my blog’s page on Facebook, and follow me on twitter @trollmatesunite!!!

Now, some of you may be wondering the title question: if I’m a trollmate, what’s a troll? Well, I hear your thoughts ladies, and so I’m here to help define some key Internet culture terms for you! Some of these may be basic, some of them may not be, but if you wanna understand anything your man says, it’s important to know what certain terms mean! Communication is key in any relationship, and if you have no idea what the hell he’s talking about half the time, conversation could be a bit hard.

So here’s DomesticMajestic’s Internet Culture Vocabulary Lesson

1. Troll: A person who posts inflammatory or negative things on the Internet in an attempt to be funny or to make others mad. A whole lot of people on the Internet are trolls, so be very wary when posting! These guys (and girls!) can be anywhere from stupid to downright mean, so be very careful about what you post, as someone will find a way to discredit it or make fun of it! It’s also important you remember that trolling is really common, and not to get discouraged by it. The word troll can also be a verb, as in “trolling”. This is incredibly common on 4chan (see below).
2. Meme: A meme is any piece of media that becomes incredibly popular in Internet culture. It can be in the form of a picture (ever seen the same picture over and over with different words on it? That’s a meme), a gif (see below), a video, or any other concept that becomes incredibly popular. QuickMeme is a good website to find memes, particularly images. They’re usually pretty entertaining, so I’d recommend looking at a few. I will also eventually write an article listing and explaining some popular memes, so stay tuned ladies! Feel free to comment with suggestions for that article. 🙂
3. 4chan: 4chan is a image board website. That means its basically like a forum on drugs… There are tons of different boards, covering almost any topic you could think of. All the board names are letters, and basically everyone is anonymous, meaning you don’t have to sign up to post. Because of the anonymity, people are more free to share, ask questions, and troll other people. Although this community this community is sometimes known as the hellhole portion of the Internet, it’s actually quit interesting if you find a board that interests you. However, if you’re interested in browsing 4chan but aren’t sure where to start, keep tuning in as I’ll soon be writing a trollmate’s guide to 4chan.
4. Reddit: Although people sometimes regard it as the smaller tamer 4chan, Reddit is actually a beast of a completely different kind. Reddit focuses on upvotes, meaning that the community basically gives your content a thumbs up. You do create an account on Reddit, however you are still anonymous. Reddit is more focused on news and what’s hot now, rather than just random images like 4chan. However, there are many subreddits (basically smaller topics of bigger parent topics) that become very content specific, so pretty much anybody can find something to like. As a general rule, someone usually prefers either Reddit or 4chan, and chooses to browse either one of the other.
5. Gif: A gif is a moving picture clip, usually only a few seconds long, and named for the fact that the file extension is .gif. This type of media is used commonly on image boards, including 4chan and sites like Tumblr.
6. Otaku Culture: With an entire boards dedicated to it, Otaku culture is an important part of many gamers lives. Otaku is a Japanese term referring to any who is obsessed with something, usually anime, manga, or another piece of Japanese culture. There are entire conventions dedicated to it, Otaku culture is incredibly prominent within Internet culture. Otaku is not necessarily my thing, but its an incredibly important part of Internet culture as a whole.
7. Anon: This term can refer to anyone who uses a website where they can post anonymously. However, it is most commonly used in reference to anyone using 4chan.
8. Redditor: Someone who browses or posts on Reddit frequently.
9. CreepyPasta: This refers to both a website and a genre. Creepypasta is a site where people basically write in depth stories or create detailed videos where they tell scary stories to freak each other out. These stories can also be referred to as Creepypasta. It’s addictive. Some stories are much more terrifying than others, and some creepypasta will haunt you every time you close your eyes. It depends. Other Forms: Copypasta (a story or video advertised as original creepypasta, but in reality is just copied from someone else’s creepypasta).

Well, those are the most important terms that I can think of as of now!

Leave me a comment if you have another term you’d like me to include, or if you just have something to say! Show your friends this blog, and keep those followers coming!

~ ❤ ~

Taylor

A Gamer Girl’s Guide: How to Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!

Hello there all you gamer girls! We may be the abnormalities of society, but we need love too! My name is Chelsea and I will help anyone with particular questions about the life and times of female gamers and geeks, as I am one myself. I also happen to be dating a gamer guy, so I can get advice from the other side, too – relationships or otherwise.

My personal favorites happen to be Skyrim, Portal, and Minecraft, though I know my way around Modern Warfare 3 as well. I also play a little tiny bit of Magic: the Gathering and D&D and I watch a little Anime, but even with all of this I’m only scratching the surface. Heck, my video game career only started with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Before that I knew nothing of the video game world.

So how did I get into gaming and Geekville? Honestly, I have no idea. I guess I have a lot of guy friends who talk about the wonders of the mythology of the Elder Scrolls too much and a boyfriend who can “No-Scope” the entire opposing team in seconds on MW3. I guess I also spend a little too much time in my own fantasy land – I can thank Harry Potter and my ADD for that.

But is there a life outside of gaming? For some, that’s questionable. You’ve heard of those people who have to go to rehab for World of Warcraft, right? For me, though, there’s a bit more going on. I’m a college student; an Art Therapy major, actually. I make art (plus some crappy comics based on my Skyrim experiences), have friends (some of which are as nerdy as myself), obsess over a couple of TV shows (like Supernatural), and I’m writing a fantasy novel.

I’m here to help! Ask me any questions about the lives of gamers or how to get their attention; I’ll do my best to answer them, even if it means doing a little research.

Post #1: It’s Me Or Call of Duty!

My lovely trollmates, as you all know, having a gamer as a boyfriend can be tough. Sure, some of them are ultra-romantic, but the vast majority of them are not. So how do we get them to appreciate us? And more importantly, how do we get them to put down the controller?!

Even if you are a gamer yourself, you’re still a woman, which means you have certain needs for your relationship. Women need some tenderness and affection, can I get an AMEN?!

However! This blog is not for those girls who think their boys should just put down the game console permanently and go watch the Titanic in 3D while brushing each other’s hair and talking about Gucci handbags. This leads us to the first rule of dating a gamer!

• Rule Number One: Don’t make him choose.

The first step of being a trollmate is understanding that games are just as much as a part of your man’s life as you are. If you tell him its you or the games, be prepared for him to show you the door, not because he loves the games more than you by any means, but because you would be taking away something that he enjoys. That would be like him telling you to choose between him and a pair of Louboutin red bottoms. You shouldn’t have to choose between two things you love, why should he? This is especially true for those trollmates who are also gamers. He wouldn’t ask you to quit playing your game, so why should his situation be any different?

Now, many of you ladies might be saying: “But Taylor! My man is too old to play those games! He’s an adult, video games are for children!” And at one time, I would have agreed with you. But remember, no one will ever say a man is too old to hunt or fish! To which you ladies might respond, “But hunting and fishing are skills that would be useful! Video games aren’t!” To which I would respond: Honey, if the zombie Apocalypse happens, you’re gonna be glad you found a man who knew exactly what weapons to bring and where to hide.

But seriously, as childish as they may seem, video games are really a way for guys to de-stress. I mean, hey, if my boyfriend wants to kill something, I’m just glad it’s zombies in a virtual game rather than him actually going out and committing actual crimes. No, this does not mean that men who play games are more violent than those who don’t. All men have some type of aggression or masculine energy that they need to use up. Some guys play sports. Some guys play video games. It’s all good.

Now, of course this doesn’t mean that men should be allowed to play video games all day every day while we make them sammiches and clean the house. This IS the 21st century ladies, and we need some attention once in a while. I mean, they ARE our boyfriends, after all.

Basically what I’m saying here is that video games for some guys are a hobby; they love them, they want to play them, and they aren’t going to stop playing them just because some girl wants to talk to them 24/7. If you really wanna be with your gamer, you have to show him that you’re totally cool with him taking some time to play his games. Do this, and I promise he’ll appreciate you.

So ladies, the next time your man is playing his xbox for an hour or two, let him. Once he sees that you’re okay with his first love, his xbox, he’ll be more willing to let YOU into his life, permanently.

~<3 ~

Taylor

A Girl’s Guide to a Gamer Guy: An Introduction

Hey guys!

Because this is my first official entry, I just want to do a little bit of an introduction for you all, not only to this blog, but to me and my reasons behind this blog.

Basically, I’ve always wanted to write a book called A Girl’s Guide to a Gamer Guy. Admittedly though, I’m not exactly the best author in the world. Maybe someday this blog will take off and somebody will offer me a million dollar book deal. Or maybe I’ll just sit here writing this blog for myself.

Throughout my life, I’ve dated quite a few “gamer guys”, including my current boyfriend of nearly two years. As this picture suggests, my boyfriend is a total gamer. While this picture is not mine, and I didn’t create it or anything, it’s a pretty good representation of what it can feel like for the girlfriend (or wife) of a gamer. Every gamer has his own poison, be it Pokemon, Diablo, Minecraft, Skyrim, or all of the above, and it can sometimes feel as though you’re being left behind.

Contrary to the name of this blog, your beau doesn’t have to play video games for this information to apply to you. As a general rule, most guys who would identify themselves as gamers are also well-versed in internet culture as a whole, so if your man likes to browse 4chan or reddit, this is the blog for you, too, whether or not your man has an xbox. This means you too, girls who are sitting thinking “what about Runescape/Dungeons and Dragons/Yugioh/World of Warcraft/anything that hasn’t yet been included”. If your man spends an hour or more a day sitting in front of some type of fantasy or virtual reality, be it the internet or a game, this blog is for you.

In addition to gamer guys, this also applies to gamer girls. Ladies, no matter WHAT your preferences are, if you or your partner is a gamer, this blog is for you 🙂

Long story short, it’s hard for me to find other girls who can relate to the experiences I have with my gamer guy. The dynamic is often quite different for a gamer couple vs a non-gamer one, and in this day and age as internet culture is becoming more and more prominent,  it’s important for us ladies, trollmates, if you will, to band together and share our experiences. Therefore, this blog is meant for my fellow trollmates, so that you can (hopefully) laugh at some of the things I say and know that there’s someone else out there asking “wait, so which button is jump?”

Thanks for reading! More posts soon!

~ ❤ ~

Taylor

Photo credit: Melissa Davila’s 365 doodles