Origin
Gamers are the descendants of the subjects of Project Orange Powder, a US Department of Defense project to genetically engineer humans into ideal pilots & operators. This was a direct response to the push to remove all vestiges of AI from society as a response to the devastating AI Wars.
The original genetic contributions were seeded from the top performers in the professional gaming industry, as well as from pilots and astronauts. Then, clones were raised and evaluated in VR Wombs and successively cross-bred into new clones as soon as they could generate the proper stem cells. In this manner, dozens of generations were made in a matter of a century, one of the most famous examples of Hyper-Evolution.
The result is a somewhat malformed creature only fit to do one thing - play games. The definition of a game might be interpreted broadly, as it was in the original experiment's design.
Physiology
Gamers exhibit the following genetic physiological traits in comparison with Baseline humans:
- Shorter & narrower skeleton with decreased bone density. Increased necessity of Caesarian delivery in females due to narrower hips. Lordosis, Scoliosis, and other disorders of the spine are frequent.
- An additional phalanx on the fingers & toes, excluding the thumb & big toe.
- Dysregulation in skeletal muscle, leading to poor muscle tone and relentless atrophy. Increased fast-twitch muscle fibers in the hands and eyes.
- Metabolic dimorphism toward extremes, frequently emaciated or morbidly obese.
- Poor circulation in lower extremities. High chance of sexual impotence.
- Near-immunity to Eye Strain, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome & Arthritis.
- Enlarged eyes. Dark circles under eyes.
- Weak immune system.
- Weak digestive system, usually only tolerant of extremely rich and simple food.
- Sleep dysregulation, often requiring sedation or exhaustion to sleep.
- Enlarged & hypersensitive cochlea, leading to an ability to maintain orientation in high- and low-G environments.
Gamers subjected to Regestation tend to exhibit the following in comparison with baseline Gamers:
Psychology
Gamers exhibit the following genetic psychological traits:
- A preference for overstimulation, and some anxiety in understimulating environments.
- Dysregulation of Dopamine system, leading to withdrawal symptoms (See GamerWithdrawalSyndrome) when not engaged in rewarding activities.
- Obsessive drive when engaged in rewarding activities, often to the point of self-neglect.
- Extreme reflex times, the median score being 35 mSec (baseline humans average 150-200 mSec).
- Greatly heightened spatial awareness.
- Greatly heightened performance in many logical & spatial tasks.
- Tendency toward avolition.
- Slightly higher occurrence of Autism-Spectrum Disorders.
- Addictive personalities.
Gamers have observed tendencies of interpersonal manipulation and mercenary attitudes toward social connections. Researchers argue that this is because to a Gamer, people are a game as well. But to go against this trend, "treating people well" can be a game too. Many Gamers are obsessively upstanding.
Culture
Gamers tend to prefer overstimulation in their environments, often cramming their habitations with as much audiovisual stimuli as they're able.
They are frequently drawn to and employed in industries that meet their need for frequent rewards and high levels of stimulation:
- Gaming
- Gambling
- Piloting
Some, with adjustments to the normal routine, are able to flourish in professional fields like Law & Medicine.