A user by the name of cl_theo posted a touching, heartwarming thread on Idea Factory‘s online forum. The letter told a story about a niche gamer attempting to spend as much time with their father who’s dealing with late stage Parkinson’s Disease. When he visited his dad, cl_tleo would bring along bag of items that reflect who he is as a person. One of the things cl_theo shared was his taste in video games. This is what he writes about that exchange:
One that was shared was Senran Kagura and Neptunia since they’re games he doesn’t know I really enjoy. He knows I’m a big fan of FPS games but not niche titles like this. He liked the designs of the characters for one and thought the idea of human representations of consoles was funny considering he actually was around when the very first home consoles were launched. It was a nice moment between us.
Sometimes it can be hard to be a niche gamer. Our hobbies face judgment every day when our mainstream counterparts pick on that one ecchi game you heard about from us, or a friend’s subtle joke. Cl_theo is not an Twitch personality or YouTube celebrity, he’s a normal gamer that faces the same problems as any of us. If there’s one thing I learned from his story, it’s to not be ashamed of what I enjoy, and that it’s never too late to make a new Neptunia fan.
Our hearts at oprainfall go out to cl_theo and his family. Thank you for your story.
Here at oprainfall, we would like to open the comments section and invite you to email us at [email protected] with your own niche gaming stories. We’re interested in collecting similar anecdotes about facing possible judgment about ones anime or niche video game interest. Whether you overcame it or if you’re still dealing with it, we’d like to hear from you guys. The cast of Total Control shared their stories in the newest episode and would like to share yours next week.
