NEWS: Confessions of a Shy Gamer

I can relate. I'm trying my damnedest to adapt, but it's not easy.

I can relate. I used to be big offline only. Now I'm starting to dabble. I'm in the middle between the top and second row.

I feel you, but mostly because I am on the opposite end of the spectrum from you. Gaming is a very social experience for me, I like traveling, and I like getting to know people from different areas. Luckily xbox helps me find a medium, aka. killing stuffs, to help relate with others. But there are a ton of games that I switch my status to "offline" to play.

The upcoming sequel to the last Elder Scrolls: Oblivion...named Skyrim will most likely mean the end of my social gaming for months. Those games suck me in deeper then, well anything I have ever played before. I am sure you have heard about it, but if you haven't definitely look up Skyrim on the gaming group here, or wherever.

Either way, your not alone, gamers unite!!!!

I am the same. I found pinball games in the 70s and then pong and atari and so on. The games where mush better than the humans.

I'm with you. I'm not really into the whole multi-player online thing. I like WoW, but I stick to mostly solo stuff since I hate playing with other people I don't know. It's actually kind of stupid as most of the people I've played with in the past have been elitist jerks and what-not. Ugh... talk about taking a supposed fun experience and turning it into a miserable one. No thanks. I'll stick to solo time ^^

I'm not alone!!! Yay for us. I just recently learned how to answer my new cell phone without hanging up on the person.

Being older and playing WoW I tend to play alone in my guild. Was shy at first, friends abandoned me due to RL, then got social only to have it backfire in my face. I actually stood up for myself. Now, I'm back to keeping my mouth shut and keyboard quiet.

Pug's don't work due to the anxiety of having to know the instances the minute they come out. Don't like the getting booted aspect from the elitist a-holes!

I'm pretty good at what do in game but solo is always more fun. Thankfully there is the ability to run up to 50 characters.

totally feel the same way

I fit into most of the shy gamer. I love just sitting at home and playing games, with friends or myself. It doesn't matter. I can waste away hours and still never get bored. Although, I do play the multiplayer aspect of games as well. I just don't talk or type. And I mute all those people with mics... I can't stand listening to someone telling me what I'm supposed to be doing. I concur with the, we started playing games because we were to shy to have conversations with complete strangers. Just let me play my game and have my fun and don't talk to me.

Excellent.

I'm not shy (though I do hate speaking to people on the phone) but agree wholeheartedly about multiplayer taking over. I generally dislike multiplayer games because it brings out the inner douche in people. Multiplayer is becoming more important than singleplayer and that makes me a sad panda.

You might want to challenge yourself and get out of that comfort zone. I play WoW, and like you I hate vent, like you. I'm also a geek and an introvert but that's not helping me in the realm of IRL. Do you have a girlfriend?

This post really mirrors thoughts and feeling I've had: I'm a video gamer who enjoys most single-player efforts, I'm terribly awkward at social gatherings, and I too can't seem to break the awkward feel when using online chat or a mic in a game. Granted, I'm much less awkward around certain close friends, and there's nothing like getting together with one of those friends and doing some local co-op, but I feel that applies to many people. My lack of social skills in uncomfortable situations is still something that jumps to the front of my mind at least once a day, and still puzzles me. I find that I also log on to SG much less these days, mainly because I feel like there is that social factor (groups that demand you have a constant social upkeep and the like) that I'm just not capable of maintaining.

+2

I feel you Bob. I've found there are upsides to being socially awkward: on occasion, you can do something everyone finds totally awesome simply because you don't feel the same normal fear everyone else does in front of a crowd. But something simple like sustained conversations? Nope, sorry. We'll have to wait 6 months or at least until I can find some kind of common ground to talk about.

Gaming allows me to get what apparently is my chaotic goodness on. Death to campers!

I'm not a shy gamer in the least but I do have to say that i'm not the best at playing multiplayer all the time and getting beaten all the time by people who play it all the time sucks, games are becoming increasingly popular and the multiplayer is getting harder for the casual gamer. I'm an assistant manager at a gaming lounge at to see what middle schoolers can do in a match of call of duty MW2 is crazy. But I love gaming and if anyone ever wants to play well message me.

Social Gaming is the best.

yes i kno exactly where your coming from. im the same way. i say you should continue gamer life as usual and dont fret about it. but you should at least try it once whenever you feel like it. no rush it'll still be there.