It's going to be another sleepless night tonight.

I don't suffer from insomnia, if that's what you're thinking. At least, it's not the kind of insomnia that comes from fear or anxiety. It comes from the thirst for victory.

I'm talking about the feeling you get when the enemy base explodes in a glorious, pixelated fireball. When you shoot down the last enemy aircraft after what feels like hours of dogfights in deep space. When the other trainer's Pokémon finally faints despite withstanding dozens of attacks.

People talk a lot about the "gamer" stereotype these days. When I was a young kid, the gamers were the recluses, the shut-ins, the NEETs. Weird, obsessive people who did nothing but stare at screens for hours on end for what seemed like no real purpose. After joining their ranks as a young adult, however, I've discovered why that screen becomes the gamer's focal point for hours on end. I've also seen that anyone can be a gamer in the current virtual market of gaming.

You never know what to expect from the "gamer" stereotype anymore. You can't just pick someone out on the street and say, "They have to be obsessed with video games. Just look at how they dress." The spread of easy-to-access games on computers, phones and handheld devices has rendered the old generalizations moot. Not only the people, but the games themselves have evolved too. Genres of games have expanded to be as broad or specific as one could ask for. Sports, puzzles, shooters, racing, cards; you can find any kind game for any walk of life now. The advent of online gaming has also made it easier to connect across the globe with like-minded gamers. It's no surprise that gaming has hit the mainstream, in contrast to the old days of Halo LAN parties and little-known Super Smash Bros tournaments.

So what drives the masses? What draws millions of people to sit in front of a screen for hours on end, clicking and pointing and shooting?

I do it because I can win. Whether it's duking it out with Pokémon, ducking under bullets and returning fire or calmly trying to outplay my opponent's next move in an online game of "Hearthstone," I have the potential to show that I am, in fact, a winner. I have the ability to perform better than the next guy, and to me, it's one of the most amazing feelings in the world.