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They are out there.
Earlier, I wrote about Metacritic and how a friend will not buy a games unless it rates with a high score than 85. As all of us chimed in on the subject there was one friend who kept quiet and composed. Our friend — get this– does not play any video-games, board-games nor Angry Birds. Gasp! I know. What’s in his anatomy? Do we despair and try to change our love ones? Is there any hope?
What defines the non-gamer.
The non-gamer, a member of the non-nerd family, is the dullest of not being part of the four "fanatical" groups; Sports, Movies, Literature and Video-Games. Native to all parts of the western and eastern world, one can find them roaming around the Internet spewing random facts of nonsensical matters.
Aside from their intellectual features and snooty capabilities, their most recognisable feature is a pattern of avoiding entertainment mediums. At times, the non-gamer is a narcissist — hardly played with others on the school playgrounds, more often lived in a habitat of being the only child. They clinch with their cold fists only to mutter to us, those who love their games, never will I play such a silly game.
Yet, my friend was neither of these. He often lacks passion when it comes to football rarely cheering for each first down, but follows his team win or lose, he says. The video-game industry rarely helps. He begins to cites the most popular titles are just a regurgitation of the same game series. Count all the Mario, Halo or Grand Theft Auto games he says. For non-gamers the repetitiveness is not a sign of imaginative efforts rather an effluvium of innovation.
Can the non-gamer change
The common issue with non-gamers is the lack of a personal experience with video games.
Being a passive observer rarely helps understand the notion of play. Can one really appreciate soccer while never holding a ball? Imagine of having the experience running down field to score the winning goal, yet only to passively observe the play.
While some non-gamers may have a basic rudimentary notion of what constitutes a video-game one needs to play one to understand it. One needs to play it to get it. Do I dare trot out a loved one who hates soccer to play only to nervously hope that this is the time that they begin to love it?