If you can sit for hours at a computer hitting the keys or mouse at lightening speed, odds are that you are a gamer. Focused on shooting mythological creatures, moving up to the next level, or gaining a power shield, the true gamer can spend hours in this virtual world.
Gaming is not gambling. Instead, it can include online games that gamers throughout the world play alone or as part of a team. It is a 24/7 activity that people can play from anywhere they have computer access. Time never stands still.
Today's U.S. gamer
Average age is 35
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According to the Netlingo Internet Dictionary, a gamer is: "a person who plays any one of many electronic games, including video games, PC games, online games, handheld games, wireless games, and interactive TV games. The term 'gamer' is often reserved for enthusiasts who are considered to be experts in the realm of playing interactive online games".
By participating in a gaming network, serious gamers can play together simultaneously from practically anywhere in the world. It can broadens the knowledge of a teen gamer. Their friend world expands from their local school, to other states, provinces, and countries. Through new friends, these gamers learn about the cultural differences between other countries and their own.
Computer and video software products that gamers use are based on traditional game categories, such as adventure, role-playing, first-person shooters, strategy, etc. Battles between guilds can be coordinated. Puzzle, board, and card games are also popular. Software for today's games continues to grow in complexity and interactivity.
Gamers are required to develop hypotheses, problem solving strategies, along with learning to work as part of a team and make decisions. For some what starts as a form of entertainment becomes traits that are applied to the workplace. For these gamers, playing games can be more than fun.
Article by: St. Louis Public Library staff