I played two entirely different video games professionally for multiple years. That is, I traveled around the country often on a sponsor's dollar and competed in video game tournaments for money. I believe I can provide good insights into professional gaming. If you want to know more just ask!
I'm now lead developer at LiveNinja an internet startup that I will shamelessly promote here.
My parents hated when I played video games as a kid. I had a daily limit of a couple hours of screen time; this includes video games, tv, general computer use and so on. I already moved out before I started winning money at that point they became at least more neutral on the topic.
For people who play games competitively I'd say the stereotype is not that true. Not the coolest people in the world by any means but, professional gamers in my experience tend to be much closer to "normal" than some of common stereotypes portray. For the random gamer, I don't know. There are definitely gamers who play single player games or mmorpg non-stop that fit that description, but those aren't professional gamers.
Beta testing is pretty public these days, so I've beta tested several games but that didn't require me having a pro graming background. For earlier stage game testing the job tends to be a lot of look at every wall and report if it is there. That is to say not that fun. I've heard of pro gamers being recruited to test some games that were designed to be competitive but that is pretty rare and I've never been specifically recruited.
For very top players but, not that many. That's assuming when you say groupie you mean more then just a very dedicated fan. If we are just calling groupies super dedicated fans then there are a lot.
Programmer
What lessons can you share about past and present start-ups you've worked with?Pharmacist
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Can a man sue if he's denied a job at Hooters?I've never actually discussed it with another gamer. I personally don't believe violent video games lead to behavioral problems in kids or at worse the media exaggerates the effect. I think the research on the topic is mixed but, I haven't ever seriously looked into the research so consider that more of an uneducated view on the topic.
I like the xbox 360 and you can't go wrong with a good pc. It really just depends on what games you or your kid wants to play.
I do try to break up my sessions with exercise and such. Besides being healthier, I find if you take a break and come back you're generally more refreshed and can get more out of the game.
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