I don't think I ever discuss gaming unless someone else brings it up. It never even occurs to me to do so.
The subjects I have to consciously avoid on dates or when meeting new people are politics, sports and horror. I'll get into sports if the girl shows a genuine interest, but the other two are no-nos for me. The issue with horror is that after working on a horror novel for a few years, I have a tendency to gush about what I found effective in different movies/stories, and most girls just aren't down with that. "Creepy" is probably the worst label you can ever have.
gush, by all means. if they can't understand why you like something and jump immediately to "ohhh mah gawd, so creepy" then bail the fuck out. I'd rather be alone forever than be with someone who is dumb and paranoid enough to jump to shitty conclusions about me.
There are a lot of women that rely on snap judgements and if you want a relationship outside of your calloused right hand, you might have to cut down (read: eliminate) discussion of hardcore nerdery unless you know she's down or will tolerate it.
Not speaking from personal experience but I do know of women that drop a dode who admitted to playing Xbox 360 on the weekends. I guess she thought it was too immature or some shit.
To be fair, I kind of do the same. Any woman that owns the complete set of Sex and the City and wants me to be the Mr. Big to her Carrie will result in me backing the fuck away. It's happened a few times btw :'(
yeah, i backpedaled a bit, there's certainly some tact/timing to it.
but if "I play 360 on the weekends sometimes" disqualifies you, it's for the better.
lol @ the sex and the city box set. My comments about that show were prompted by a girl who had it prominently on display in her apartment (along with the complete Friends set) and sure enough, she twisted, turned, warmed up, cooled down, and generally couldn't decide what the hell to do with me the whole time...while I just kind of sat there knowing it was FWB (something we agreed on and constantly reminded each other of) and that all of that extra shit was her own brain torturing her.
All she had to do was be clear when it was gonna be over (I was rebound dude and knew my role and I was gonna enjoy the free sex until it was over), but she even screwed that up by dumping me, then calling me over a week later, twice. Third time she lured me into her apartment with the promise of sex as usual, then just sat there not saying anything, then mumbled something about calling it off. I got pretty mad at that point and blew it up...no reason for someone who was pretty solid in life otherwise to be so unconfident and irresponsible.