There is a clear difference between a "casual gamer" and then a "gamer." There is also a difference between them when it comes to dating one. A casual gamer is someone who will turn on their games for a few hours every few days or an hour every day and who, if you walk in and say "lets go out," has no issue turning off their game and leaving. I'm going to tell you what it's like to really date a "gamer."
1. You leave and come back and they are still on the game.
It's like you get up to go to work and can be gone four to six hours and then come back and they are still sitting in front of whatever game they are playing with whoever is on the other side of the headset. Like, do you ever get tired of looking at that screen?
2. You need to find ways to keep yourself busy.
Find a show to binge watch or a good book to read because once something like a scrim or a match starts you are pretty much on your own to pass the time and not be bored.
3. Random outburst of anger/frustration.
Don't be shocked if you are sitting on the sofa watching your favorite show or just relaxing and all of a sudden you hear, "Why can't this team..." or, "Can we not do that right?" or, just the normal, "Oh my God, why!?"
4. When you ask them if they want food.
This is pretty much what happens; the food can even get cold waiting by the computer or whatever else they could be playing. Whenever they take a break or die they will quick take a bite and then go back to the game.
5. When you ask them if they want to do something...
When there is something you would like to do, like go to a movie or go out to eat and maybe do some shopping or even travel to see family, you will hear things like, "I have to make sure I don't have a match," or "It's scrim night so we will have to see," even, "As long as we are back by..." These answers will make you feel like the GIF above. You sometimes feel like you have to work your life around a game.
6. The things you hear...
I've heard some pretty random things, "Give me an arrow before I move on," or "Medic down," and then every now and then I can hear the noise that comes from the head set and sometimes I question what the games they play are really about. Trust me if you could see some of the characters in these games you would too.
In the end while dating a "gamer" can be frustrating, it's not all bad, but that's a talk for another day. I love my gamer boy and I wouldn't trade him for anything. While everything above is something I deal with daily, at the end of the day and the weeks that this happens we end up snuggled up together and everything is fine. This is what it's truly like to date a gamer.
