I did see the video. I could comment on that, but feel it is better off I go my own way with this.
I want to chime in on this subject. I used to be on this site years ago. I am now back. I had a number of life challenges I went through, left social media and everything. I am now back. You can use "true gamer" with my thoughts, but I don't care. I am not a fan of "gamer" as a term, because it implies things that no one knows that people think they know what it means. It can simply mean someone who is a fan of the game culture even if they really don't play. It can mean someone dedicated to a single game. It can mean someone who is a fan of a publisher or platformer. It can mean a lot of things. I will give myself as an example, and I don't care one way or another. Some details:
* I am credited by Neogaf as coining the term "Metroidvania". I apparently have one of the earliest use of the term on the Internet. I am sure others thought of it also. For me, it was pointing to Circle of the Moon, not Symphonies of the Night as my attempt to describe what it is.
* I coined the term "polyludic" because I could not find a term to represent "pertaining to two or more different games". I had the term to reflect my interest in games, but also what I like to play, and also other things related to this. "Gamer" may be thought to be this, but even a person who plays a single game is considered a "Gamer". David Cage (Heavy Rain, Detroit, etc...) was hoping Call of Duty players would like his games. Thinking "gamer" means one thing does this. It can mean a lot of things and doesn't express interest in this. It can mean any sort of interest in games in general, even if it is one. But it is too all over to be relevant. Because of this, one can't say "real gamer" because how is something "real" when it can mean like a dozen or so different things, with a number contradicting.
* One way to view "gamer" is what you play, and the range of games you play, or have an interest in. I had someone, when I was discussing "polyludic" say he used the term "omnigamer" to describe what he was. He said he liked to play everything. I don't believe everyone may like every single possible game out there, to the dismay of David Cage. Because of the videogame industry, "games" doesn't even mean a competition that players do to beat an opponent. It can mean something with a story, or a sandbox you play with, or something you socialize in with some structure (structure play). For me "game" means competitive play and competing, but due to the change in the term, I have to denote "competitive games" to express my focus.
* I design games, I develop Esports for games normally don't have competition. I am looking to have a consulting company get off the ground focused on Esports and other competitive games. I also know history of games, watch the crash of the 1980s first hand. I also like and design tabletop games. I do not do RPGs, just competitive games. I am just not that great at a lot of things. I will compete but might not win. I do what I can to win, but in life I am more cooperative. Am I a "gamer"? Am I a "true gamer"? Do I get a cookie or a star if I do? Do I need to be this to fit into some mythical club?
* As I wrote above, "gamer" can refer to skill level someone plays at. It can correspond to how much committed someone is to a game. But someone can commit but may not be good. Do you count "true gamer" as someone who can compete at the highest level and do it professionally? Does being "hardcore" refer only to the game you commit to or the skill level? Can't a person play any skill game casually or at a high level? Is it not possible to take what is called a "casual" game, like some sort of Flash based game, or something on a smart phone you download from a Marketplace, and play to get the best score and beat most others? Or, can't they play something like some sort of top end competitive game, say League of Legends or another Esport, and end up just playing every now and then? I recall back in the day, arcade games were designed to first appeal to people who played casually, but then ramped up so top players got rewarded with longer play if they were good. "Hardcore" referred to skill, as did "casual", and there were not differences in game types, and no different demographics.
* I have an interest in tabletop (board and card) games and design these, in addition to videogame stuff. I also like pinball. Does this make me more or less of a gamer? Does the platform one play on matter? Is one more or less of a "true gamer" if they commit to one company only or one platform, or if they like them all and are based more around genres? Does being a fanboy of a given publisher, console maker, etc... make one more or less of a "true gamer"?
* Does one arguing that "games must have stories" make one more or less of a "true gamer"?
* Does caring about specs of games make one more or less of a "true gamer"?
* Are you more or less of a "true gamer" if you buy official merch, and spend sufficient money on a game to be a "whale"?
* I am into Esports now, trying to organize play for games you don't need to play at the same time online, but online can be used to record scores. I also look to find players who are good across a wide range of games and can play them at the top level. If "gamer" and "true gamer" is a thing, then should not a "true gamer" be able to be most other people by natural talent alone? The song by MC Lars and MC Frontalot "O.C Original Gamer" touches on this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_4nuGczOL4
I personally think what matter more than being a "true gamer" is if you are able to get along with others, enjoy yourself, and have an ability to be appreciated for what you are good at. This is a litmus test for something that doesn't matter in life. And if Esports ends up being a thing, it is a bonus if you can even have people who don't play follow those who do. This means people can make a living actually playing games full time. And this here will make for a "true" something. Videogames can end up being respected both as art but also as viable forms of human competition. Policing people for meeting certain mythical norms that appeal to you personally does not really work much, outside of maybe telling people if they SWAT someone, or DOX someone, they really are out of balance.
Just my 2 cents... Drop me a note if you want to do any sort of general game interest competition. I am thinking using Antstream or Game Pass to run tournaments and having people connect who can play. So, would a "true gamer" compete Minecraft, Tekken, Pinball, Fortnite, and Warcraft all in the same multigame? I know I would like to find out exactly how much crossover people can have in what they play. Does one have to be professional, which I consider this question to be, in order to be a "true gamer" or the fact I take it seriously make me not really a "gamer" because my interest is more in enabling people to play than play myself, even if I am interested in playing?
