The core of the matter is a certain sense of ennui that I think a lot of gamers get. But before we go further let's go through a few quick definitions.
I use the term gamer as a noun to mean 'one who games', and in this context it relates to role-playing games but can also extend to other forms of entertainment gaming such as computer games, most commonly large virtual world games.
If you're not familiar with role-playing games some examples would be: the ever-popular (or at least extremely well-known) Dungeons & Dragons by Wizards of the Coast; any of the individual games within the World of Darkness - or Scion, or Exalted - by White Wolf Publishing; or Shadowrun by Catalyst Game Labs (which is new to me, it was Wiz Kids last time I looked).
Computer games, on the other hand, might cover things like: World of Warcraft and Starcraft, both by Blizzard Entertainment; Lord of the Rings Online by Turbine, Inc; and Champions Online by Cryptic Studios.
It's worth noting that the only game mentioned there that isn't either a role-playing game (RPG) or a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) is Starcraft. I only just realised I have very few games that are actually up to date and all of those are MMOs and Starcraft. Yeesh.
Anyway, I'm a gamer. I'm an unashamed gamer, in fact. There's a lot of stereotyping surrounding the whole gamer sub-community (or sub-communities, if you prefer) but there's also a great deal of gamer pride growing across the globe. No end of different people play WoW, for example. It's getting harder and harder to pick gamers out in crowds; while there are definitely still unwashed creepy mouthbreathers out there you can also find gamers who are not only entirely normal but disproportionally hot (and that's not even new, just more common than previously).
Hell, geeks even have our own dating services nowadays. That might not seem remarkable until you consider that stereotypically we've always been considered 'un-dateable'.
None of that is quite my point, though.
Gamers have lives that revolve around their preferred games in the same way that, say, a football fan's life revolves around that game (Americans, substitute 'football' for 'baseball' if it makes it easier to picture; Canadians, substitute 'hockey' instead). Generally it's not an actively unhealthy thing but it does take up the bulk of our leisure time, much like watching 'the game' might (only role-playing is far more interactive and social in most cases).
The games we play are driven primarily by our imaginations. That's the nature of role-playing, you see. If you can't get into the role it's not going to work. Some people are focussed less on the roles and more on the dice (whom many of my friends call 'roll-players', usually requiring they spell the variant out in verbal conversation) but nonetheless, even the least imaginative of these hack'n'slashers needs to have some feel of the setting of the game to understand what it is they're doing, and the imagination supplies the internal cinematography required to let this happen.
What happens, though, when motivation and imagination are lacking?
See, this is a problem that [insert favoured sport]-fans don't have to face (or, at least, not that I know of). As their hobby (watching a game) isn't particularly interactive it means the entirety of their fandom - and therefore the enjoyment they derive - is vicarious. By this I mean they experience the thrill of the game remotely, by watching the players rather than playing themselves.
Gamers, on the other hand, don't. Sure, it could be argued that it's a kind of vicarious enjoyment, as it's not actually us down there kicking the shit out of kobolds or whatever it is that our characters are facing off against, but bear in mind we control our character's movements. We're not just watching. To call role-playing 'vicarious' is, to me, the same as saying a puppeteer lives vicariously through his puppets. It's not the same thing.
The other thing that sports fans generally don't face, which strikes gamers very commonly, is the sheer variety of choice. There are many, many sports out there but only two, maybe three are particularly big anywhere. Within each is a wide selection of teams but what you're getting out of each is more or less the same in terms of experience.
Not so for the gamer. The role-playing games mentioned above all have some similarities but the experience you'll get from Dungeons & Dragons is almost definitely going to be markedly different from what you'll experience playing Shadowrun or Werewolf. There are thousands of role-playing games and no end to the worlds you can explore.
Well... almost no end. See, this is exactly the thing. The experience you can have through role-playing is limited by imagination - and if you lack it you can often find yourself lacking enthusiasm for any games.
Of the above games mentioned I play World of Warcraft by far the most, and how I 'play' it certainly pushes the definition of the word. Mostly I role-play via Skype, using the chat function rather than call. I don't tend to get in-game and play it that way very much (if at all).
Gamer Blues, then... What are they?
I think gamer blues are that feeling we get when the motivation is low and imagination is tired. When getting people together physically for a game is difficult or impossible, when logging on to play online is hard or unappealing at best, when swapping to a different game just isn't doing it.
If you've been gaming a while you probably know exactly what I mean. It's not a lack of desire to game - I'd love to get around the table and sling dice, chop up a few bad guys, whatever. But my heart's not in it right now.
It's hard to explain. 'The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak' doesn't cut it. 'The spirit is willing but it's damn tired and couldn't currently be buggered' is probably closer the mark.
And it's 4am and I have no idea where this post is going. So I'm ending it here.
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