I'm starting to feel this is completely arbitrary. Not so sound Hipster, but I think if it has mass appeal, it's not geek culture. To me, geek culture is niche, but not all niche things are geekery if that makes any sense. (Like a Square being a Rectangle, but not all Rectangles are Squares)
Remember when Video Games were "geeky"? What about watching Star Wars or consuming in media with Comicbook characters? I don't see any of those as geeky because they got a huge mainstream audience and if they weren't, the ending of the Empire Strikes Back would still be a spoiler. How can something be called a "geek thing" when it's actually an everybody thing?
Do you think our definition of geekery is changing? Is it moving to "Ok, Video Games aren't geeky anymore, but the kind of games you like are geeky" like what happened with Star Trek, It turned from a Utopian future with morality plays devolved into "Lens Flares 'n 'Splosions Part III" so they can appeal to people with a shorter attention span?
My advice to frustrated geeks out there that are tired of seeing IP holders mess up "your" precious media would be to become a content creator and make your own stuff. You don't like what Betheda is doing to Fallout 4? Learn how to play a G.U.R.P.S. RPG and make your own. That's kinda like what the ShureAI team does with Bethesda's assets, but you don't need to learn how to use any tools and it doesn't use any copyright material unless you put it in there and who knows, it might evolve and people might be buying your stuff.
This statement just struck me really hard. It is so true compared to even ten years ago. Even the difference between ten and fifteen years ago is insane.
Yes, I think this is still somewhat the case, but Bethesda imo has brought the RPG genre through Fallout/Elder Scrolls to mainstream. Hardcore RPG is still considered to be nerdy or even geeky imo though.
@commodore256 Geeks and Nerds can be completely different depending on who you ask. The definition is pretty relative in my opinion.
@noenken reminded me, being a geek usually is like a badge whereas nerd can be derogatory, besides that, many people have different ideas about them
“Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating.”
Bethesda's games aren't even RPGs anymore, they're just power fantasies with no consequences.
Well, I know the meanings of those words could be the same or different, but even if you could use those words interchangeably, "you are probably being a geek about what being a geek really is." really doesn't make any sense to me.
OK, you turned a quote about a beautiful view on life into the worst shit about paedophiles and religion. Twice. Since you are clearly out of your mind, I will leave this conversation now... very.... slowly...
I've always viewed being a geek or nerd or whatever as just being very passionate about something. Building a culture around it is like trying to herd cats, I'd like to think. Something shouldn't be looked at as nerdy or not nerdy, there shouldn't be set criteria for something to officially achieve the sacred seal of the elder geeks or whatever your standard is. Nothing is inherently nerdy or geeky, it becomes that by establishing a fan base of interesting, passionate people who do more than just consume said content: They build upon it.
I think you should consider chilling out about the whole affair. Let's not start trying to regulate nerdom yet, like what marketing companies and other such cynical organisations are trying to do. It's always been a network of enthusiastic, independent people, a Syndicate you might say. And I'd like it to stay like that.
Well, that was a replay to this comment and I wanted to use an extreme to make a point of me seeing a certain group of people that are honest about what they enjoy and aren't afraid to demonstrate their affection, but it went to shit:
Nerd is academic. Geeks is social. My nerd side looks at games and movies and yells bullshit. My geek side which is much less there says that's pretty cool id like to vaporize stuff. I dislike when people get the two mixed. Ask me what the natural log of something is and I'll get it to a thousands place. That's nerdy.