Welcome to the next in the Becoming a Geek series. Today I’m going to cover the areas which I think a budding Game Geek needs to be adept in for him/her to be a true Game Geek. I’d like to make a clear distinction from the start that the Game Geek is a different beast to a Game Development Geek, and hence I won’t be covering the development side in this post. I will, however, be covering the game development details in a later post in this series on the Development Geek.

As a general overview, a Game Geek is a geek who has strong knowledge in most areas of gaming technology, understands the bits of the computer which make games run and run fast, and is aware of a plethora of gaming sites which he/she can use to make sure they’re up to date with what’s coming out, when, and what’s hot. So let’s go into a bit more depth…

1. Know your game types. There are many types of games out there, not just the standard FPS or RPG. Read up on the various categories of games, and understand the differences.
2. Know the guts of a game. Games are very hard to build! The developers of games are really on the cutting edge of technology and making the most of the hardware is a very difficult task from a development perspective. Read up on the major components of a game (eg. engine, graphics, artificial intelligence, physics, etc). Learn to appreciate the effort that goes into creating the worlds that you explore when you create them.
3. Get involved in an online clan. Many online games allow team play, and becoming part of a regular group (or clan) is a good way of learning more about the game, and becoming a better team player.
4. Learn the difference between fixed-function TNL, vertex shaders and pixel shaders. Back in the good old days before graphics hardware became what it is at the moment, games developers were stuck working with a fixed-function transform and lighting (TNL) pipeline. This didn’t give a great deal of flexibility when outputting funky graphics. These days we have Vertex Shaders and Pixel/Fragment Shaders which give developers a lot move power and control over the end result. Figure out what it all means. Learn why the programmable shaders have had such an impact, and become familiar with the different shader model versions.
5. Learn your graphics hardware. Yes, the CPU is a key part of the machine when you’re playing games, but arguably the most important these days is your graphics card (GPU). If you’re keen on staying in touch with gaming and playing the lateste and greatest, you’re going to need know the capabilities of the cards. You should be able to understand what the specifications of the cards mean, and whether or not it’s going to suit your needs for a given title.
6. Familiarise yourself with the major graphics APIs. In short, OpenGL and Direct3D! Read, learn, use. You’ll need to know about these when you’re building your computers and making sure that your cards are compatible.
7. Get a fairly beefy machine. How can you be a true Game Geek without having a large ePenis? Pimp your machine, get some kick-ass hardware, and tell everyone about it while you’re mowing them down with your MG42. A PC is by far the best option for playing FPS games, and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot. FPS games are fun on consoles, but the level of control you get with a keyboard/mouse combination by far surpasses that which you get with a controller. RTS can also be a pain on console, so I think PC really is the best option for this kind of game too.
8. Get yourself a console or two. Some games really lend themselves to playing on consoles. RPG, Adventure, and Sports are general categories where the console shines over the PC. Some examples of games which are much better on consoles are PES, Mortal Kombat, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, and Geometry Wars!
9. Get yourself a hand-held. There many options these days ranging from the old school Game Boys through to the NDS and PSP. Mobile gaming at its best!
10. Read gaming sites. Some of my personal favs are GameSpy, GamesIndustry.biz, IGN, GT.tv. This will give you good coverage of what’s going on, what’s coming out, what’s hot and what’s not.
11. Read some games mags. Yes, sometimes a great deal of content that you get on the web for nothing is regurgitated in mags. The good gaming mags don’t do that. Get yourself a subscription to something like AtomicMPC, PC Powerplay, Edge, or games™. You won’t be disappointed.
12. Get the low down on the devs/publishers. Learn about the major players such as EA, Valve, Ubisoft, Sierra, Midway, Epic, etc. Learn where they fit into the big picture. Why? Because you may find that the attitude and methods of a particular company may just have an effect on which games you buy
13. Support some indies! There are a lot of smaller game houses out there making some really funky games, but they don’t get the coverage that they should because the market is swamped by titles made by the bigwigs.
14. Play games. This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many apparent Game Geeks don’t actually play that many games. Play online, offline, single-player, multiplayer, console, hand-held, mobile phone, PC, and board games!
15. Don’t pirate! Gaming piracy is a huge issue. If you love games you should support the people who make them. When you consider the cost of a game these days against the level of entertainment they give you, they’re actually quite cheap. Keep the industry going, and pay for the games you play. This is more of an issue for the smaller players who invest more in original IP than the likes of EA, because their budgets are smaller and their pockets aren’t anywhere near as full.
16. Don’t cheat! Cheaters suck. They’re losers. Just… just don’t do it!

There are more things you can do, but this small list should get you underway. If being a Game Geek isn’t quite your thing, then perhaps you’re more interested in being a Hardware Geek? If so, stay tuned - The Hardware Geek is next up in the series!