Level Up Your Love Life: Navigating the Game of Online Dating for Gamers

It can feel like finding a needle in a stack of digital haystacks when it comes to online dating, because in the big wide world of digital romance everyone’s trying to find their perfect match. For a community of gamers, however, shared passions and interests can melt sexual tension and, in some cases, create relationships stronger than all of the women throwing themselves at you in GTA’s online mode. So how do you embrace love in the digital age? You’ve got to make the MOVE to do it.

Why Gamers Swipe Right for Love

Today, we are more connected than ever thanks to the digital revolution, which has enabled us to reach out to people from the opposite side of the globe with a flick of a finger or a swipe of the screen. For gamers, it means sharing in the experience of quests and victories, not only with local friends but also with fellow player-fanatics from around the world. And today, thanks to the boom in dating apps and gaming dating sites, players can make their first MOVE not only in a game but in finding a partner.

Making the Right MOVE: Choosing Your Platform

If Tinder and Hinge have democratised the swipe-crazy love hunt, the dating web is chockablock with options catering specifically to gamers on the hunt for a Playdate. Picking one can seem like choosing your next game – fun, but also a pressing decision. Here’s what you need to know: the way you spend your dating time can literally be the difference between finding your Player Two and finding – well, not.

Free vs. Paid: The Best MOVE for Your Wallet

The age-old dilemma: to pay, or not to pay? If, like me, you give in to the pull of Tinder – the freemium dating app, with its swipe-to-decide-if-you-like-them set-up, and for which there is no monetary commitment to dive into the dating world, you will still enjoy the same opportunities as those who pay. However, adding on a premium to your dedicated websites could boost your chances of finding love with the pick of the bunch. Matchmaking, more sophisticated filtering, community chatrooms – these are just a few of the perks you might find are worth a few pennies.

Making the First MOVE: Breaking the Ice

After all, the first MOVE on online dating doesn’t have to be an intimidating one. You can talk about your favourite games, recent accomplishments or the upcoming gaming events you’re anticipating. It’s all about the agora — creating a shared space for you and a prospective partner to get to know each other through the games they love.

From Virtual to Reality: Taking Your MOVE Offline

Only later, if you want, do you meet in meatspace. This stage can feel like emerging from a safe tutorial level where the rules are understood, into an exciting sidequest where anything is possible. Safety, comfort and common interests should be your guiding checkpoints here. Suggest a visit to your city’s gaming bar to see the latest VR system and relax with some retro arcade games, go along to an esports event, or just suggest coffee and chat about your favourite games.

Level Up Your Dating Game: Final Words on Making Your MOVE

And to flesh out his gaming persona in the real world – that is, to open oneself up to the world of dating – is to strike a tricky balance between the poignancy of something new and the joy of shared interests and digital comfort. Attack it with a spirit of openness, honesty and willingness to make the first MOVE, and you might just find a partner for life.

Making the MOVE: A Closer Look

What does ‘make the MOVE’ mean in today’s dating (and digital) vernacular? It means putting yourself out there, stepping outside your comfort zone, at every opportunity, embracing the technology-evolved version of the universal human need for connection. It’s hitting the send button on that first missive, upgrading your free account to a premium subscription for better content and matches, agreeing to meet in person for the first time at the end of what promises to be a very good online date. Each development in the path from swipe to first, then second, third and then 50th date, is a MOVE on a potential partner, representing an opportunity for companionship, love, lust, or whatever it is you’re seeking. Every MOVE is a game score towards the greater game of life – so better make it a good one.