A hardcore casual gamer?

[Trolldor]

I've found that as I've gotten older, and with heavier work loads, I'm finding that more and more of my time is spent on the easier(and est) settings on games.
The most fun I had with Dawn of War II (the original) was making Tarkus energy based, my FC ranged and Avitus a melee attacker.

Why?
Because the easiest difficulty granted me that freedom.

Tonight I was eating dinner while playing my Retribution Review campaign (distinct from the others as it's a "screen shot bonanza" powerthrough of the campaign) and I've had a hell of a lot more fun this time round than any other because I could eat my fresh curry while my units on screen did most of the work.

It just makes a goddamn nice change of pace, I think, and I realised that more games needed to cater to this - people who like 'serious games' without the difficulty.
And while I'm aware that some games rely on that difficulty as part of the experience, essentially what I'm asking is that when games have an easy mode it really is easy but not patronising.

I like the experience, the story, even the mechanics, but I want to have the freedom to approach a game my way, to experiment in play without having to think about optimal builds or tactics. I would like to not worry about having to restart my campaign because of a bad character build. On the easiest setting there should be no bad character builds.
Let me know this wouldn't work on harder difficulty settings without forcing me to maul my arms off in frustration at how my healer/tank does not have a high enough attack to kill random boss number 7.

There shouldn't be a difficulty curve. I should be able to cruise through the game at my own pace throughout.

 

[manythings]

Ok? So pick easy. BioWare games even have casual as a setting if you just want to run the story while "John McClane"ing the combat.

Discussion value?

 

[Wondermint13]

I'm with you on that one. Sometimes if I know I got a massive work-load to do I'll lower the difficulty settings so I can find out a little bit more of the story quicker without dying and dodging as much before starting another job or two.

Well said by the way!

 

[veloper]

Ok? So pick easy. BioWare games even have casual as a setting if you just want to run the story while "John McClane"ing the combat.

Discussion value?

John McClaning sounds hard. John always ends up beaten, bloodied and exhausted by the end of the film.
How about "Dragonballzing" the combat for casual mode? Sounds way more overpowered and unfair to baddies.

 

[New Troll]

I try and avoid Easy or Casual settings cause I know I'm better than that (except in shooters), yet my time is much more limited and even if I do find time, there's the constant interruptions. I do sometimes play in a lower setting to compensate, like in a Dragon Age playthrough for example, but even then it's not easy. That's why I've been playing a ton of actual casual games, like PopCap and MumboJumbo. Stuff I can pause or even quit in an instance. Or play with one eye elsewhere. I have been trying to get back into some of my old favorites like Diablo 2 and Dungeon Keeper 2 as a casual alternative, but still not quite enough. Even my beloved turn-based games like King's Bounty cause issues.

Granted, I love my life so much more now than in my youth, but I do sometimes miss the challenges of being a hardcore gamer. The challenges of life just aren't nearly as fun. Much more rewarding though.

 

[manythings]

Ok? So pick easy. BioWare games even have casual as a setting if you just want to run the story while "John McClane"ing the combat.

Discussion value?

John McClaning sounds hard. John always ends up beaten, bloodied and exhausted by the end of the film.
How about "Dragonballzing" the combat for casual mode? Sounds way more overpowered and unfair to baddies.

"John McClaning" is fighting and not losing no matter how much you get kicked around. "Batmanning" is... well fuck it's "Batmanning" it doesn't need to be explained.

 

[Trolldor]

Ok? So pick easy. BioWare games even have casual as a setting if you just want to run the story while "John McClane"ing the combat.

Discussion value?

I'm sorry, do I not meet your standards?


Perhaps I should draw you a flow chart.

I try and avoid Easy or Casual settings cause I know I'm better than that (except in shooters), yet my time is much more limited and even if I do find time, there's the constant interruptions. I do sometimes play in a lower setting to compensate, like in a Dragon Age playthrough for example, but even then it's not easy. That's why I've been playing a ton of actual casual games, like PopCap and MumboJumbo. Stuff I can pause or even quit in an instance. Or play with one eye elsewhere. I have been trying to get back into some of my old favorites like Diablo 2 and Dungeon Keeper 2 as a casual alternative, but still not quite enough. Even my beloved turn-based games like King's Bounty cause issues.

Granted, I love my life so much more now than in my youth, but I do sometimes miss the challenges of being a hardcore gamer. The challenges of life just aren't nearly as fun. Much more rewarding though.

I know what you mean. Some games are only fun when there's pressure - like in the 'action-horror' genre - but you just don't have the time or energy to sit there and do the same damn part eight times over because everything kills you in one hit and a perfect play is required.

 

[TheXRatedDodo]

Ok? So pick easy. BioWare games even have casual as a setting if you just want to run the story while "John McClane"ing the combat.

Discussion value?

John McClaning sounds hard. John always ends up beaten, bloodied and exhausted by the end of the film.
How about "Dragonballzing" the combat for casual mode? Sounds way more overpowered and unfair to baddies.

"John McClaning" is fighting and not losing no matter how much you get kicked around. "Batmanning" is... well fuck it's "Batmanning" it doesn't need to be explained.

Batman's gotten way more fucked up than John McClane ever has. The worst ol' McClane's had is some cuts and bruises. Batman has outright died in more than a few books that I have read. D:
(Good analogy though!)


I find "hardcore casual gamer" actually describes myself pretty well, but for different reasons that you state. I tend to play on normal-hard level difficulty, avoid most multiplayer games now (I'm not one for a competetive spirit anymore. I would rather get involved in a powerful story than be top of a leaderboard,) but still stick to games at the hardcore audience. I have been working my way through Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for the past couple of months (I find myself gaming very rarely at certain times, I do a lot of spiritual work and electronic devices make me feel pretty ill during such periods, but that is an aside that is not really of discussion value for this topic,) and have been enjoying that immensely.

But yeah, this is basically how I game nowadays. Long periods of very little gaming interspersed with periods of 2 months or so where I play mostly singleplayer games with mechanics aimed at the "core" audience at a pace of my own choosing (generally slowly and steadily) strictly for my own enjoyment.

 

[twistedheat15]

Always found the whole "Hardcore, Casual, and every other name that gets thrown in" and ppl's fascination with placing themselves to a name stupid as hell. I always thought of casual gaming is someone who does it once in a while, not what they play, or what difficulty they set the game on. If someone plays call of duty for 2 hrs on the weekends, does that make'em more hardcore then someone who plays farmville 10 hrs a day, and sets up timers in the middle of the night to make sure their crops don't wither, just cause it's a casual game. But to each his own I suppose.

 

[Chibz]

I could go for this, but only if they name the easiest setting "Coward". Or similar.

 

[Trolldor]

I could go for this, but only if they name the easiest setting "Coward". Or similar.

Why coward?
Should we rename the hardest setting to 'lonely virgin' and the middle difficulty 'fence sitter'?

 

[Judgement101]

I go hardcore in Plant v Zombies ......why is my captch in greek letters?

 

[Chibz]

Why coward?
Should we rename the hardest setting to 'lonely virgin' and the middle difficulty 'fence sitter'?

With today's incredibly easy games, there's practically no excuse to play on the easiest setting.

And I thought megaman 2's easy mode was easy as a kid...

With that said...

When I say "Start" I need you to go upwards red-ways! But only when I say the word "Start"! And make sure that when you back up, you go more than fifteen, but less than four! Ready? GO!

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

I could go for this, but only if they name the easiest setting "Coward". Or similar.

Why coward?
Should we rename the hardest setting to 'lonely virgin' and the middle difficulty 'fence sitter'?

You know, I think that sounds a lot better but video game designer don't have the balls to insult anyone anymore.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

What's the point to that?

If you just wanna watch cool things happen without thinking much about them while you eat, watch TV, a movie, something lol.

Games are engaging because of the demand of your input and because of the effects of that input. If there's no bad build, there's also no good build, everything will do thus nothing matters.


Instead of making your games meaningless, how about gaming only when you can properly devote yourself to it and doing something else when you're in between 5 tasks and can't wholly concentrate on it.

 

[veloper]

Ok? So pick easy. BioWare games even have casual as a setting if you just want to run the story while "John McClane"ing the combat.

Discussion value?

John McClaning sounds hard. John always ends up beaten, bloodied and exhausted by the end of the film.
How about "Dragonballzing" the combat for casual mode? Sounds way more overpowered and unfair to baddies.

"John McClaning" is fighting and not losing no matter how much you get kicked around. "Batmanning" is... well fuck it's "Batmanning" it doesn't need to be explained.

Both have to make an effort though and sometimes even use a strategy.

Casual mode would be more like "Supermanning" then. You win effortlessly.

 

[manythings]

Ok? So pick easy. BioWare games even have casual as a setting if you just want to run the story while "John McClane"ing the combat.

Discussion value?

John McClaning sounds hard. John always ends up beaten, bloodied and exhausted by the end of the film.
How about "Dragonballzing" the combat for casual mode? Sounds way more overpowered and unfair to baddies.

"John McClaning" is fighting and not losing no matter how much you get kicked around. "Batmanning" is... well fuck it's "Batmanning" it doesn't need to be explained.

Both have to make an effort though and sometimes even use a strategy.

Casual mode would be more like "Supermanning" then. You win effortlessly.

Very true.