The desperation in gamers to be defined

I was perusing the news at BGG and this caught my attention:

boardgamegeek.com/thread/1079768/what-pe...ers-briggs-meyer-i-a

Why is it that so many people in our hobby are so seemingly desperate to be defined? I really am curious why people have this overarching desire to define themselves based on some set of moving-target criteria. I realize that it's outside of gaming, but it really seems to me that gamers have this "need" to be defined and to organize things in small little boxes. This is evidenced by the aforementioned thread, plus the fact that there's many categories and subcategories of games, all neatly placed into little boxes, and then further drilled down by mechanic, genre, etc.

At least with games, I can understand the need to define them so that they can be easily searched and sorted, but with people, why? Why does someone need to say, "I'm a euro gamer", or "I'm an FPS player" as if that defines their existence in some meaningful way?

Just sort of had this question...it's probably unanswerable, but I'm very curious why people need to do this to themselves. Is it validation? Is it to feel like they're part of something greater than themselves?

For what it's worth, I took the test for giggles and came back as...

ENFP-A

ENFP PERSONALITY (“THE CAMPAIGNER”)

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for - and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool - for love - for your dreams - for the adventure of being alive.
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
The ENFP personality is a true free spirit. They are often the life of the party, but unlike Explorers, they are less interested in the sheer excitement and pleasure of the moment than they are in enjoying the social and emotional connections they make with others. Charming, independent, energetic and compassionate, the 7% of the population that they comprise can certainly be felt in any crowd.

YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD WITH JUST AN IDEA

ENFP personalityMore than just sociable people-pleasers though, ENFPs, like all their Diplomat cousins, are shaped by their Intuitive (N) quality, allowing them to read between the lines with curiosity and energy. They tend to see life as a big, complex puzzle where everything is connected - but unlike Analysts, who tend to see that puzzle as a series of systemic machinations, ENFPs see it through a prism of emotion, compassion and mysticism, and are always looking for a deeper meaning.

ENFPs are fiercely independent, and much more than stability and security, they crave creativity and freedom.
Many other types are likely to find these qualities irresistible, and if they've found a cause that sparks their imagination, ENFPs will bring an energy that oftentimes thrusts them into the spotlight, held up by their peers as a leader and a guru - but this isn't always where independence-loving ENFPs want to be. Worse still if they find themselves beset by the administrative tasks and routine maintenance that can accompany a leadership position. ENFPs' self-esteem is dependent on their ability to come up with original solutions, and they need to know that they have the freedom to be innovative - they can quickly lose patience or become dejected if they get trapped in a boring role.

DON'T LOSE THAT 'LITTLE SPARK OF MADNESS'

Luckily, ENFPs know how to relax, and they are perfectly capable of switching from a passionate, driven idealist in the workplace to that imaginative and enthusiastic free spirit on the dance floor, often with a suddenness that can surprise even their closest friends. Being in the mix also gives them a chance to connect emotionally with others, giving them cherished insight into what motivates their friends and colleagues. They believe that everyone should take the time to recognize and express their feelings, and their empathy and sociability make that a natural conversation topic.

The ENFP personality type needs to be careful, however - if they rely too much on their intuition, assume or anticipate too much about a friend's motivations, they can misread the signals and frustrate plans that a more straightforward approach would have made simple. This kind of social stress is the bugbear that keeps harmony-focused Diplomats awake at night. ENFPs are very emotional and sensitive, and when they step on someone's toes, they both feel it.

ENFPs will spend a lot of time exploring social relationships, feelings and ideas before they find something that really rings true. But when they finally do find their place in the world, their imagination, empathy and courage are likely to produce incredible results.

Myers-Briggs gets a lot of play, but I think it's basically astrology. I find it really hard to believe that there's 7 billion people on the planet, and only 16 types of personalities.

all categorisations are subjective attempts to order our understanding of the world around us in language terms. People tend to take terms and categorises and imbue them with absolute universal meaning. I can see why a psychiatrist might use such a system to help understand their patients but the category you use for some ones mentality does not define them and such categories are always a loose fit at best. Im not sure why people love labelling things so much though.

Labeling "things" makes sense to me - they can be easily categorized and defined. People, however, are not quite as simple, despite various attempts to do so.

I'm a FATtie.

I'm a dick

I'm whatever personality type it is that finds this type of thread solidly uninteresting.

Black Barney wrote: I'm whatever personality type it is that finds this type of thread solidly uninteresting.

I am a dick.

Ok Barney, I fixed that for you.

This population of gamers does the same thing with game terminology so why should it be any different with their own personalities?

I get your distinction, Pete, about object/product vs person, but usually the infinite recession of categorizations, genres, terminology on BGG broaches different qualities of game experiences, not just the games as objects. This fosters a culture of seemingly endless obsession over these taxonomies and their elaborate valorization systems. They can be interesting sometimes, but most of the time they just become a point unto themselves rather than a tool to understand or discuss anything meaningful.

This creates (or is part of) a habit of developing a shorthand & "ranking" system for any kind of experience. I think it's just a way to feel connected to some sort of shared network of significance.

We're pack animals mostly, so we like to be a part of a group. It feels nice, like communion or something. But we're also fiercely individualistic so we fight against it too. Just part of the paradox that is the human condition.

Nerds are generally the introvert type (the 'I' in Briggs-Myers), and with that comes little quirks like organizing and defining things, especially in their interests. I know I have it, but I'm old enough to be just a casual nerd now. I'm not going to fight over canon vs. non-canon or whatever.

And Pete, you didn't say if you thought your Briggs-Myers type was accurate or not?

stoic wrote:

It's interesting that Darth and Luke are complete opposites and Princess Laia is a lot more like daddy.

Black Barney wrote: I'm whatever personality type it is that finds this type of thread solidly uninteresting.

I'm thinking it's CVNT.

Applejack wrote: And Pete, you didn't say if you thought your Briggs-Myers type was accurate or not?

First, I think that these things are quite bullshit because if you take it at different stages in your life, you will have different results. I didn't actually put any thought whether it is accurate or not, to be honest. The real question is whether others think it's accurate, because people are generally worst at knowing how their personalities project to others.