Hear the old myths about gamers and gaming explained and dispelled!
Cult status, ties to satanism, and a gateway to witchcraft - all debunked.
Meet a group of modern gamers and hear their stories!
At a Meet-and-Greet in Ohio, this group of City of Heroes players tell all!
Hosted by gamer historian Dr. Jeffrey Smith
Dr. Smith has been a gamer since 1979, and a gaming activist since 1985.

The Gamer Evolution

The Gamer EvolutionIf someone tells you that they are a "Gamer," what are they really telling you?


Are they saying "I'm an adolescent male who doesn't do well in school but I can rock a mean game of Halo," or "I'm an unemployed, lethargic person who has no goals, no life, and no plan... except to play games, that is," or "I'm an overweight individual, living in my parents basement, and spending all my free time doing nothing constructive," or "I have no social skills, and can't communicate with fellow human beings face-to-face, so I hide in games where I feel safe"?

The correct answer is "None of the Above."

That is not, however, the answer most non-gamers would choose. This is largely because of the negative media attention gamers receive from the news industry, who sieze on the most spectacular stories in an attempt to secure readers and viewers. 21st century gamers have suffered the negative "slings and arrows" of sensationalist media for decades, with little opportunity to set the record straight.

That's why we are proud to present The Gamer Evolution, a 30-minute news documentary focusing on the 21st century social phenomenon of being a "gamer" including how that moniker began, how it became an epitaph, and how it has now evolved into the title of a thriving international sub-culture. Gamers are now heads of industry, shapers of social perception, communicators, and a prime market force in the 21st century global economy. This documentary seeks to find the truths of the stereotypes, examining the history of gaming, from face-to-face pencil-and-paper role-playing games, through the foundations of interactive multi-user online gaming, to today's world of computer- and platform-based interactive multi-participant media.

The Gamer Evolution also highlights several unique aspects of identity and community that come from being a part of an online or electronic world, and spotlights a group of gamers from a single online massively multi-player online role-playing game who gathered to camp, eat, drink, and enjoy each other's company in a face-to-face environment one Summer!