> In this sense, the gamer does not only include those who play video games (nor does it necessarily include all those who do). The gamer is a synecdoche; skateboarders, people who seriously play sports, interested music listeners, cinephiles, chess players, big wave surfers, and anyone else who orients their lives towards experiences that contain fun as a major ingredient are all subsumed into the persona. Casually playing a game on a subway or after a busy day to unwind doesn't by itself garner the gamer moniker, while taking paid vacation time to spend a focused 100 hours on Elden Ring does.
I think at the heart of tech, the pure hackers, and basically all great things come from these people. They are the people who take what they do seriously, and strive for perfection even where it is not utilitarian. It's how you avoid slop, and build great things...
To some extent I think the labels "gamer" and "nihilist" are overly generous. The divide is "people who love the tech" and "grifters". Creating video game is the least financially profitable venture for an expert software engineer, but (because of this) it is the most spiritually fulfilling. Every gamer knows the indie project made with love beats the billion dollar AAA project 9/10 times.