Gamers, gaming culture, and the 'origin of the species'(in this case, a gaming blog).

OK. Here we go.

Video games are a bonafide, unquestioned cultural phenomenon. The sheer volume of websites, videos, and... yes, I know... blogs that deal with games and gaming is astronomical. Games have surpassed music and movies in revenue generated over the last two years. Triple A titles are covered in Time, Newsweek and the New York Times. There are art exhibitions that use gaming icons as part of their nomenclature. Business professionals relax by grinding on World of Warcraft, clearing gems in Bejeweled and bowling in Wii Sports. Video games have, in other words, officially arrived as part of our popular culture.

You already know that? I know you already know that. Everyone knows that stuff. Why am I wasting your time, then? There's a reason, I promise. I've been told that the first post is always hardest. It sets the tone for everything that comes afterwards. It's more for me than it is for you. I'll get there. Just give me a few paragraphs.

I've always been a 'hardcore gamer'. Like many hardcore gamers, I spend what's probably a disproportionate amount of my free time searching the internet for news, rumors and speculation about my favorite hobby; more time than I actually spend gaming if I were honest. I'm a member of no less than seven gaming forums and websites. I lurk on four or five others. I regularly read Gamasutra and other gaming business websites that are targeted toward the development community. I seize upon any mention of gaming in more mainstream media like a barnacle on a ship's hull; more evidence that my personal interests have relevance to the world at large. I listen to a bevy of gaming related podcasts. I visit Penny Arcade three times a week. And I'm not alone.

Like other sub cultures in other media, hardcore gamers are a finicky, difficult to please group of people. We can be hard for folks on the outside of gaming culture to deal with. We nit pick, make snap judgments, and turn on the very companies that actively court our attention. We bewilder and ridicule anyone who isn't a member of our little club. We're spoiled. We're widely believed to be social outcasts and deviants by popular media. And lately, the term 'hardcore gamer' has begun to be used disparagingly by the gaming industry and gaming journalism community. It's no wonder, they say, that the 'casual gamer' is the new focus for the development community. They bitch less. And sometimes they're right.

See? I can admit that. Make note of my obvious emotional maturity; I'll probably blow that perspective at a later date and we can all reminisce about when I admitted I'm part of a group that's known to be overly sensitive and insular . "Remember that post when Geoff admitted he was a whining, judgmental swine? He was right." I'm glad we've gotten off to such a good start.

I decided to start this blog because I noticed a niche that hadn't been filled yet. There are hundreds of websites devoted to covering games in a professional capacity, bringing previews, reviews and gaming news to hungry fans. There are thousands of excellent blogs and websites by gaming journalists and developers. There are even more 'fan sites'; websites lovingly created and maintained by devotees of certain games and genres of games. Then there are the sites and forums for collectors and modders. What I didn't find was someone writing about the dynamic that exists between those groups; the warp and weave of the gaming culture as a whole. That, good readers, is my goal. To provide whoever reads this blog with refreshingly frank, fascinating insight into what an average gamer thinks about the cultural zeitgeist that is playing and living video games.

I'll try to make it both fun and enlightening for everyone. In the coming weeks and months I'll be covering fan sites, gaming music, how design impacts the average gamer, and more. It's not just for you, either. I love the people and places that make up the wild west of gaming culture. I want to learn and explore it for myself. Sharing with anyone who cares to read is just icing on the cake.

There. It's over. That wasn't so bad was it?