Ready to Brand Yourself a Gamer for Life?

Is old skool the way to go?

At this point in time it’s reached a stage where many of us supposed “older gamers” can happily say they have gamed all their life and have no intention of stopping… ever… even when we’re 70 (by which point I assume holodecks will exist for home use and achievement points will give you shiny gold coins in real life!). To many of us, gaming is no longer a hobby but a way of life, with our otherwise adult houses decorated with gaming artwork and shelves of collectibles, many of us proudly displaying our special editions, all of this much to the disgust of our non-gaming peers who really don’t get it. But where does it end? At what point do you say this area of my life is not touched by gaming? With my home life, social life and work life all relating to gaming you have to find when to stop, or whether you are happy to fill your life with gaming in every way.

Tattoos have always been a bit taboo. Let’s be honest, there’s still a truckload of cringe-worthy “artworks” tattooed on people who proudly show that they love their mum etc. As much as they’re not to everyone’s taste, tattoos are about having something important to you marked on you for life and as people are realising this, there is a growing trend to have a gaming tattoo. You must have seen a friend with one by now: something old skool like Mario, Sonic or our beloved Ocarina of Time, or something cryptic to the non-gamers such as a symbol from Assassins Creed or Final Fantasy.AssassinsCreedLogoAlthough I have seen some fascinating pieces of artwork for the older games, with ridiculous levels of detail and stunning concepts, I have to admit a cryptic symbol works better for me. Something to be admired by all gamers around me but to be considered a “cool design” by those not in the know.Β  And that is why I am crossing into the void of branding myself a gamer for life. My holiday present to myself is a gaming tattoo. Is it a step too far? To some maybe, but I like to think that my tattoos are a collection of the parts that make up me, and I think the concept of me ditching gaming completely out of my life is so ludicrous it should never even be thought of. Gaming and I are life partners, for better or for worse and I’m willing to stand up and be counted! So who of you have already taken the step? Anyone else joining in with a present to yourself this year? Anyone want to shout no at me before it’s too late?

halflife2symbol4_2Are you ready to brand yourself a gamer for life?


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15 responses to “Ready to Brand Yourself a Gamer for Life?”

  1. Darach avatar
    Darach

    πŸ˜€ Nooooo! Get a smokin’ hot Bayonetta instead!

    Nah, I’m kidding. That’s cool, if you’ve got something that really appeals to you. Just be sure to pick one that will date well. I’ve seen some people with Gears of War death’s-heads, and it really made me think about how five years from now nobody will care about Gears – it’ll all be about Half-Life 3, or whatever the big shooter of the day is; or maybe shooters will be old hat altogether. *shrugs*

    Still, good on ya, sister. I’ll be getting a (non-gaming) tattoo myself in ’10, and I’m going for Japanese characters to get a similar semi-abstract feel to the Half-life lambda, so I’m sure whatever you go for will look really great.

    Is it too late for a Ready-Up forum vote to decide what you get? πŸ˜€
    *crosses fingers for Bayonetta*

  2. Rhyle avatar
    Rhyle

    While tattoos are not for me, how about taking something important to you from gaming and applying it to a different view?

    A Big Daddy from Bioshock in the style of da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man would look pretty cool and still baffle most non gamers!

    Anything Sonic / Mario / Alex Kidd related is a massive no no

  3. MrCuddleswick avatar
    MrCuddleswick

    It’s a nice thought – I’ve considered getting a tattoo before, but I’ve never cone up with anything i’d want permanently etched onto my body.

  4. Duncan avatar
    Duncan

    Love it!

    But what are you going to get?! πŸ˜€ (RU Forum vote!)

  5. Fran avatar

    I have my beloved ‘Chain Chomp’ tattoo on the back of my neck, and soon I will be getting a Space Channel 5 logo, err, on somewhere that has not been decided yet. πŸ™‚

  6. Barry avatar
    Barry

    I’ve always fancied getting the Jin Kazama lightning tattoo done one day, Dan Maher (MrPointyhead of Inside Xbox) has it and it looks pretty cool indeed πŸ™‚

  7. GraeXZ avatar
    GraeXZ

    That was a really interesting read for me, because I’ve been wanting to get a tattoo for years now but I could never decide what to get, I didn’t even consider getting something related to gaming, but when I think about it that would be really good and abstract, I wouldn’t mind getting the N7 from Mass Effect or something on my shoulder, or even the Horde symbol from WoW

  8. Markatansky avatar

    The cryptic idea kinda worked for my ringtone on my mobile. To the unknowing ear, it’s just a ringing noise and a sharp note – but to anyone who has played Metal Gear Solid it would instead be an incoming call on the Codec and a guard who had just spotted you.

  9. NorfolkNChance avatar

    I nearly did it with a Mario tattoo over 10 years ago, settled for Hong Kong Phooey. I still think each year what would be a defining gaming tattoo for me.

  10. Martin avatar

    A gaming tat is something that I’ve always considered but could never decide on the equilibrium between geek and cool. That said 2010 might just be the year for it, but what to get?

  11. Gene avatar
    Gene

    Get one of the atma markings from Digital Devil Saga.

    http://www.digitaldevilsaga.co.uk/chars.php

    Cannibalistic tendencies not included (hopefully)

  12. Celeste avatar
    Celeste

    The whole tattoo thing in general is something I’ve always been unsure of. As you quite rightly say, you are branding yourself for life. My argument has always been that if you look back 15, 10 or even as little as 2 or 3 years at the things you were interested in, you will no doubt see that these have changed, sometimes quite radically. The chances, therefore, that you are going to be happy with one particular branding for the rest of your life is relatively small.

    BUT, I can certainly see the allure. I like the look of tattoos on some people, especially guys, and I have entertained the idea of getting one myself a fair few times, only to decide that it would not be β€˜sensible’ where I was concerned. When the hell did I become such a sickeningly level-headed grown-up?

    If you really want to know the truth, though, I’ve thought about getting Lara’s fine ass tattooed on myself on a number of occasions.

  13. Pete/Bearhugger70 avatar
    Pete/Bearhugger70

    Nice idea but you really have to be sure the tattoo artist you’re going to is up to the job! Especially with something like a game logo or geometric symbols like you’ve shown here πŸ™‚

    Too often the artist is not up to the job and can’t follow the clean lines and perfect curves of that sort of thing and it ends up looking weird and out of shape!! πŸ™‚

    Good luck with it though!! :oD

  14. MarkuzR avatar
    MarkuzR

    For me, the decision to get my particular design was two fold… first of all, I have never gone off any of my “dedicated” games from even 20 years ago and so I knew it was important to pick a game that would stay with me forever even if I never played it again. Fallout 3 was a very easy choice, in that it has become the most immersive game I’ve ever played – from a gaming point of view as well as the psychological aspect.

    Another factor was making sure the symbolism would be something that wasn’t necessarily obvious to anyone that wasn’t a gamer. I can’t imagine something crass like a Pac-Man or a Mario on my arm, and so the tattoo had to be symbolic as well as representative.

    My final tattoo ended up being 27cm tall (10.5 inches) by 12.5cm wide (5 inches), which surprised quite a lot of people as they were expecting something maybe 3in x 3in but I’ve never regretted mine for a second and am still immensely proud of it, for what it represents and for the incredible detail that Leesa in Blancolo managed to produce.

    http://www.markuzr.com/tattoo_small.jpg

  15. Celeste avatar
    Celeste

    So have you gotten the tattoo yet?

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