In a discussion on Twitter, adult US gamers talk about their memories of school days, what it was like to be a gamer in the early/mid-2010s: Gaming was already mainstream, but not every game was cool. Those who played shooters like Call of Duty could show it off and were popular. However, those who were enthusiastic about MMORPGs like Runescape should probably keep their hobby secret, otherwise, they would have been bullied.
This is the discussion: On Twitter, gaming journalist Jake Lucky (21) talks about his school days with TikTok streamer “Tdawgsmitty” (30):
- The 21-year-old says that in elementary school it was still okay to be a gamer, but as graduation approached, gaming became somewhat embarrassing and many grew out of it.
- The 30-year-old cannot understand this at all. He says gaming was always cool during his school years, everyone he knew played Call of Duty, the whole group.
The positions seem to contradict each other. How can this be?
Runescape is considered a “classic” MMORPG:
“We would have laughed at you too if you played Runescape”
This is the point: Lucky then says he played MMORPGs like Runescape. That might have been something different.
A fourth user on Twitter says: He met his best friend through Runescape. She is the best person in the world.
Here’s what it’s all about: Gamers notice something here that we also encounter in everyday life. Labels like “MMORPG” or “MMO” are not liked by companies when they want to promote games for consoles:
- Games like The Division or Destiny have always had strong MMO elements but avoided the label for a long time. It was only when Activision Blizzard was out that Luke Smith from Destiny could speak of it as an “Action-MMO”.
- Even The Elder Scrolls Online shies away from the term “MMORPG” and prefers to call itself an action-adventure, probably to avoid scaring players on PlayStation and Xbox.
Clearly, there’s a fixed image:
- “MMORPG gaming on the PC with mouse and keyboard is uncool, the PC is for work and for nerds”
- “Shooter gaming on consoles with controller and on the couch is cool, that is relaxation and leisure”
In fact, this trend also exists today on Twitch. Shroud is one of the coolest shooter gamers on Twitch, but his passion actually lies with WoW:
Shroud is so addicted to WoW Classic that he plays it but skips Twitch
And the 30-year-old says: Yes, that’s true. He always played Call of Duty with his friends:
“We would have made fun of you too if we had known you played Runescape. Can you blame us for that?”
Lucky then has an epiphany: Now what happened to him in high school makes much more sense.
Call of Duty was cool in school – Runescape could only be played secretly
In the discussion on Twitter, a trend emerges: YouTuber “LifeofTom” (2.5 million subscribers) says: “It was exactly the same for me. CoD was the cool game, we played CoD 4 endlessly. But Runescape could only ever be played secretly. It was never cool to admit that.” But all the cool and tough kids knew he played Runescape and came to him secretly to whisper about the game.
Even CoD pro Censor (28, Title Image) says: He played MapleStory and Runescape secretly, and when someone found out, he didn’t go to school for a week out of pure shame.
Another adds: The equivalent of Call of Duty is Fortnite. Those who play it are considered cool.
A fourth user on Twitter says: He met his best friend through Runescape. She is the best person in the world.
Here’s what it’s all about: Gamers notice something here that we also encounter in everyday life. Labels like “MMORPG” or “MMO” are not liked by companies when they want to promote games for consoles:
- Games like The Division or Destiny have always had strong MMO elements but avoided the label for a long time. It was only when Activision Blizzard was out that Luke Smith from Destiny could speak of it as an “Action-MMO”.
- Even The Elder Scrolls Online shies away from the term “MMORPG” and prefers to call itself an action-adventure, probably to avoid scaring players on PlayStation and Xbox.
Clearly, there’s a fixed image:
- “MMORPG gaming on the PC with mouse and keyboard is uncool, the PC is for work and for nerds”
- “Shooter gaming on consoles with controller and on the couch is cool, that is relaxation and leisure”
In fact, this trend also exists today on Twitch. Shroud is one of the coolest shooter gamers on Twitch, but his passion actually lies with WoW:
Shroud is so addicted to WoW Classic that he plays it but skips Twitch
