By popular demand… with ratings!
The Gamer Test: How much of a gamer are you?
Score one point for everything you can answer “yes†to. Technicalities count. (Warning: spoilers exist below!)
Miscellany.
1.I’ve played a game.
2.I’ve played a game continuously for more than an hour.
3.More than 4 hours.
4.More than 12 hours.
5.More than 24 hours.
6….and it wasn’t an MMO or MUD.
7.I’ve discovered a bug in a game.
8.I’ve modded a game.
9.I’ve created a game.
10….that runs on something without a keyboard.
11.I know who Shigeru Miyamoto, Peter Molyneux & Will Wright are.
12.I’ve met one of them.
Systems.
13.I’ve owned a PS3 or PS2.
14….an Xbox 360 or Xbox.
15….a Wii or Gamecube.
16….a Windows PC.
17….that I upgraded for gaming purposes.
18.I’ve owned an N64 or Playstation.
19….a Dreamcast or Saturn.
20….a Nintendo DS, DS Lite, GBA or GBA SP, or PSP.
21.More than one of the same type of machine.
22.I’ve got my console chipped.
23.I’ve bought an import game.
24….and learned Japanese to play it.
25.I still have an original Gameboy.
26.I once bought a console and I only ever had one game for it.
27.I’ve owned an arcade machine.
28….and multiple boards for it.
29.I’ve owned a SNES or Megadrive/Genesis.
30….an Atari ST or Amiga.
31….a Neo Geo, Turbografx-16/PC-Engine or other “minority†console of that era.
32….a Colecovision or Intellivision.
33….a Vectrex.
34….an Atari 2600.
35….a MAME PC.
Games.
36.I’ve played Quake.
37….Doom.
38….Half-life or Counterstrike.
39….Halo.
40….Command & Conquer.
41….Starcraft.
42….Populous.
43….Sim City.
44….a Civilization game.
45….The Sims.
46….one of the GTA series.
47….Ultima Online.
48….Everquest.
49….World of Warcraft.
50….a Final Fantasy game.
51….a Super Mario Bros. game.
52….Super Mario 64.
53….a Pokemon game.
54….a Legend of Zelda game.
55….a Super Mario Kart game.
56….a Street Fighter game.
57….Dance Dance Revolution.
58….Guitar Hero or Beatmania.
59….a Castlevania game.
60….Gran Turismo.
61….Tetris.
62….Space Invaders.
63….Pong.
64….Galaga.
65….Pac-Man.
66….Frogger.
67….Joust.
68….TIE Fighter.
69….Elite.
70….Grim Fandango.
71….a “Gold Box†Game.
72….an Infocom game.
73….a MUD.
74….Nethack.
75….Microsoft Flight Simulator.
76….Spacewar.
Gaming Culture & Age Bias 🙂
77.I cried when Aeris died.
78….gasped when Samus took off her helmet.
79….bawled when Floyd sacrificed himself for me.
80….solved the Babelfish puzzle.
81….escaped the Goblins’ dungeon.
82….cursed when the bat flew off, leaving me facing the red dragon with nothing but a key.
83.I have maxxed out my level in an MMO game.
84….with multiple characters in the same game.
85.I’ve seen Tron.
86….The Wizard.
87….The Last Starfighter.
88.I’ve attended a games conference or expo.
89….dressed as a game character.
90.I’ve stood in line at midnight to get a new console.
91….a new game.
92.I’m on first name terms with the guys at my local game store.
93.I’ve completed a game.
94….in a single sitting.
95.I’ve “clocked†a game.
96.I’ve repaired a joystick.
97.I know what lag is.
98….what mipmapping is.
99….what attribute clash is.
100. I think games these days are too easy.
Ratings:
0-20: Where have you been for the last 25 years? If you’re a kid, I can’t believe you haven’t heard of games, so it’s time to start diversifying your game experience. If you’re an adult, try mixing a game or two into your media consumption. They’re better for your brain than TV!
21-40: You’re a newb. But that’s nothing that time and study won’t fix. You’re standing on the sidelines of gaming culture. You are probably influenced by the limited view of games you see in the mainstream press. Do yourself a favour and play some of the games on the list. Dive in! There’s a whole world of great games out there!
41-60: You’ve got game, but your skills can stand improvement in some areas. You probably have a certain game or two that you are really good at, or perhaps you used to be a gamer and have lapsed. Try harder! Bring yourself up to date. Try reading some online gaming sites (www.gametab.com is a good one). Try an MMO. Spend some quality time gaming with your offspring, if you have any.
61-80: You can call yourself a gamer. You probably haven’t played all the games in this test though – take them as friendly recommendations. With just a little more application, you can fill in some of your blanks from this test, and level up to…
81-95: You’re the person that everyone wants on their team for “gaming quiz night”, and that nobody wants to come up against in the tournament. Your SO has probably given up playing against you. Keep up those skills, and remember: be magnanimous in victory. Party games should be fun for everyone.
96-100: You might want to spend some time in the big room once in a while. You know, the one with the blue ceiling during the day and the cool black-with-pinpricks-of-light at night? Go ahead and close that MMO window you have running. Try reading a book or taking a walk. You never know, it might give you inspiration – have you ever thought of getting into the games industry?