Call of Duty now Casual?

[stabnex]

Now before you all ignite a flame war with me at ground zero, let me explain.

I've worked at a video game store for 5 years now, and I've actively applied myself to the industry attending tournaments, moderating, judging and etc. during such events, even hosted a few. And I've come to a very simple conclusion: Call of Duty is a casual game.

"But it's a Triple-A produced game, with millions of players world-wide!" You may argue. And you'd be correct, but take away how much money goes into making these games and take a step to the side and you'll find the same voracious dedication to racking up kills as people who send you "Bales of Hay" as a gift on Facebook.

Break down what the qualifications of a casual gamer are. People who usually put hundreds of hours into very simple, very repetitive tasks with the exact same payoff each time, only to take shear pleasure in restarting a few hours later to do the exact same thing. People who maybe play two games total on an annual basis.

I see it every. single. day. Tons of kids, and adults alike coming in with stacks of the same two games: Call of Duty, and Madden. Or Call of Duty and NBA 2K. Or Halo and NHL. Nothing else is in their library. And I sometimes ask why they're trading them in. I get the same answers. This is all they play, and a new one is coming out. Or, even worse, this is all they've ever played and they're giving up on gaming. I get the impression they've only ever thought this was all there was to gaming without ever branching out.

These people call themselves 'hardcore gamers', something which without our even knowing, they took from us, and even worse we don't even remember exactly when that happened. And the more we each individually try to figure that out, the answers become both clear, painful, and even further each time. We made gaming successful by supporting it. They made gaming mainstream by making it just like Hollywood. We keep playing because the popularity has made it look better, like we always wanted, but the cost has been the soul of real gaming.

Does that make us all casual gamers now?

NO.

 

[synobal]

I find as I get older the FPS genre interests me less and less. I'm not sure if it's me getting older and my tastes changing or the over homogenization of the genre. Usually I buy maybe 1 new fps game every other year.

Lately I've been enjoying Dota2

 

[LetalisK]

Why does it matter if a game is casual or hardcore? Why does it matter that those people call themselves hardcore and/or they never branch out?

 

[broca]

If you take the wikipedia definition of casual games ("Casual games ... are typically distinguished by their simple rules and lack of commitment required in contrast to more complex hardcore games. They require no long-term time commitment or special skills to play, and there are comparatively low production and distribution costs for the producer."), it's clear that CoD isn't casual.

 

[thethird0611]

Ive got some beef with some of what your saying, so ill address it. #1, most of this 'casual or hardcore' classification stuff is bullshit. We are playing games. Now onto this....

"Break down what the qualifications of a casual gamer are.
People who usually put hundreds of hours into very simple"

-TF2? Thomas was Alone? The Binding of Issac? Also, what is technically very simple? DotA can be simple to some, and strategtic to others. CoD can be just a simple way of shooting everyone in the game, or it could be strategy of running with a squad, holding positions, and pushing forward through a held point. Believe me, I use to play CoD a lot, its not always simple.

"very repetitive tasks with the exact same payoff each time"

-DotA, TF2, Most ANY single player game, and nearly every multiplayer game.

"only to take shear pleasure in restarting a few hours later to do the exact same thing. "

-Im seriously just gonna repeat what I said on the last one.

"People who maybe play two games total on an annual basis."

Where did this come from? So are people who dont have money and cant buy more than 2 games casual now? Hell, I nearly only play TF2 and DotA, am I casual cus I cant afford current multiplayer games and they are F2P?

Yeah. Your criteria does not hold up.

 

[Zhukov]

Phht.

"They took it from us, guys. They took our hardcores! They took the soul of gaming!!!"

I take issue with you definition of "casual" and the implication that this is a bad thing. "Very simple, very repetitive tasks with the exact same payoff each time, only to take shear pleasure in restarting a few hours later to do the exact same thing" could be used to describe every video game I can bring to mind.

Pong? Casual.
Tetris? Casual.
Pacman? Casual.
Patriot Command? Casual.
Every Mario ever? Casual.
Every Zelda ever? Casual.
Doom? Casual.
Every FPS ever? Casual.
Starcraft? Casual.
Every RTS ever? Casual.
Every Final Fantasy ever? Casual.
Every MOBA ever? Casual.
Ever MMO ever? Casual.
... and so on and so forth.

If CoD is a casual game then I challenge you to name one that is not.

 

[stabnex]

If you take the wikipedia definition of casual games ("Casual games ... are typically distinguished by their simple rules and lack of commitment required in contrast to more complex hardcore games. They require no long-term time commitment or special skills to play, and there are comparatively low production and distribution costs for the producer."), it's clear that CoD isn't casual.

Thank you for that. I'd forgotten I should quote a source when making a point. And I think you made it for me to a T. As I said, eliminate the production cost and from my perspective that was an exact definition of a standard CoD game. No skill is required beyond ability to stay awake for extended periods of time typically during daylight hours.

Call of Duty once upon a time required skill and a desire to play out historical events, but has boiled down to an excuse to claim superiority over the very people who made it possible for games like this to even exist.

The people who CoD is aimed at now, and who mostly play it have no use for gaming, gamers, or the culture surrounding it unless they're viewing them the same way a bully views someone smaller than them.

Worst of all are the parents who buy CoD for their barely-out-of-diapers children because they just want them to-and I'm quoting-"..shut up for a while." And then these same parents are the ones who demonize gaming as violent and inartistic. Ok, that's a lie. They don't even know the word 'inartistic'.

These are also the same people who steal copies of games before they come out just to post spoilers online, thus ruining our name even further. Look at what happened with CoD MW3, stolen straight from booths at a convention before its release and pirated copies put online. It just happened again with GTA:V. People who hurt our names as gamers for the sake looking like a big shot in the internet.

 

[thethird0611]

If you take the wikipedia definition of casual games ("Casual games ... are typically distinguished by their simple rules and lack of commitment required in contrast to more complex hardcore games. They require no long-term time commitment or special skills to play, and there are comparatively low production and distribution costs for the producer."), it's clear that CoD isn't casual.

Thank you for that. I'd forgotten I should quote a source when making a point. And I think you made it for me to a T. As I said, eliminate the production cost and from my perspective that was an exact definition of a standard CoD game. No skill is required beyond ability to stay awake for extended periods of time typically during daylight hours.

Call of Duty once upon a time required skill and a desire to play out historical events, but has boiled down to an excuse to claim superiority over the very people who made it possible for games like this to even exist.

The people who CoD is aimed at now, and who mostly play it have no use for gaming, gamers, or the culture surrounding it unless they're viewing them the same way a bully views someone smaller than them.

Worst of all are the parents who buy CoD for their barely-out-of-diapers children because they just want them to-and I'm quoting-"..shut up for a while." And then these same parents are the ones who demonize gaming as violent and inartistic. Ok, that's a lie. They don't even know the word 'inartistic'.

These are also the same people who steal copies of games before they come out just to post spoilers online, thus ruining our name even further. Look at what happened with CoD MW3, stolen straight from booths at a convention before its release and pirated copies put online. It just happened again with GTA:V. People who hurt our names as gamers for the sake looking like a big shot in the internet.

You seem to have some really bad hate against someone who plays CoD.

1. Believe it or not, CoD does require skill. You cant just jump in and play with people who have been playing for years. It is the arcade shooter of this generation.

2. Actually, CoD is pretty widespread over the gaming community. People who enjoy many different things enjoy CoD. Oh, and they still are gamers. You may not like them, but they are gamers, and many of them are pretty cool. Hell, I used to play CoD pretty much all the time when I played on the 360, and it was fun to just chat with people in lobbies.

3. "a bully views someone smaller than them."
"Worst of all are the parents who buy CoD for their barely-out-of-diapers children because they just want them to-and I'm quoting-"..shut up for a while." And then these same parents are the ones who demonize gaming as violent and inartistic. Ok, that's a lie. They don't even know the word 'inartistic'."
"These are also the same people who steal copies of games before they come out just to post spoilers online, thus ruining our name even further. Look at what happened with CoD MW3, stolen straight from booths at a convention before its release and pirated copies put online. It just happened again with GTA:V. People who hurt our names as gamers for the sake looking like a big shot in the internet."
^All of that right there. That is just trying to demonize a section of people who enjoy a game. You have no idea who stole the copies, who puts them up to pirate, and its actually people who act like YOU are acting who hurt the name of gamers.

 

[LetalisK]

If CoD is a casual game then I challenge you to name one that is not.

Dark Souls. Oh, fuck, wait, never mind, you die over and over trying to accomplish simple tasks for the shear pleasure of restarting a few minutes later to do the exact same thing.

Yeah, this definition of casual is looser than my poop after eating honeydew.

 

[Doom972]

I'd say that it's in a gray area. It's a hardcore franchise that's played by casuals. It does require gaming skills both on the harder difficulties of single-player and on multi-player, but popular enough for non-gamers to give it a play it. Should a game be defined by its audience or the other way around? I'm not sure.

When I think of a casual game, I think about a game that most non-gamers can pick up and play. Anyone who ever tried to introduce the FPS genre to to someone who never played these games before, knows that it takes awhile for people to get adjusted to it.

 

[TehCookie]

No it's a shooter. Unless you mean the players, and that depends on what else they play since both casuals and core gamers can enjoy it. Though a lot of it depends on your definition of casual. With my defition of core gamer being someone who has an interest in games/plays them as a hobby people who only play CoD aren't core gamers in my eyes. They're not interested in games, they're interested in a game. Reading a book doesn't make you a bookworm.

 

[MysticSlayer]

I don't really mind the terms "casual" and "hardcore", but if there is one, just one place I'd like it to be dropped is in reference to Call of Duty and similar games. The two terms are already ambiguous as-is, and now people just throw it around, applying it to games they just simply don't like and/or doesn't help them build their ego because they play games that "require brains and real skill."

Yes, Call of Duty is a relatively simply game, but so is every single FPS game to have ever released (minus tactical shooters), and I seriously doubt any "hardcore elitist" would try to argue that games like DOOM (which is actually even more simple and repetitive than CoD) are casual games. It's a popular game in a simple genre, but that doesn't make it casual.

 

[Smeggs]

Games are only as "hardcore" as their players. Dark Souls is considered by many to be Hardcore, but if someone just picks it up every so often, plays a bit, doesn't do very well, and puts it back for later...you see where I'm going here?

If you sink a shitload of your time and effort into a game, then you're playing that game as a Hardcore gamer.

So, CoD in a sense is both. It's Casual because any Joe Average can pick it up and play it, but it's Hardcore because fanboys will rage and frag and noobtube and teabag until they've reached 80-septillionth prestige.

 

[Hero of Lime]

When it comes to the casual vs. hardcore debate, my take is there are few inherently casual games, only casual players. I'm not trying to sound elitist by any means, there are people who can play a "hardcore" game, yet have little interest in gaming.

My sister for example is playing Last of Us right now. She only plays maybe one or two games a year, she is a casual player, even if she is playing something that many would not consider "casual" based on prior determinations. I don't care for the causal/hardcore labels since plenty of people have messed up perceptions of what is hardcore, especially the "since I don't like it, it's casual" crowd.

COD players can be either one, if someone plays to prestige and then return it to the store, that's a lot different than someone who plays it all year round and 100 percents the single player, and truly loves the game. I certainly can't imagine playing a game all year like that, but some people can, and I won't call them casual just because they don't play games the way I do.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Call it what you want its just a game many find simple to pick up and play and enjoy. Getting good does require skill but just as much fun can be had running around and randomly gunning people it appeals to many thats why its popular.

It does have a lot of buttons though so if you are not used to a pad or mouse and keyboard you wont find it easy so its not casual in that sense but at the same time it dosent require heavy execution and learning of intricate rules and strategies just a knowledge of the map basic player understanding and ofc good reflexes and accuracy which although difficult for some people like those not used to games and die on the first enemy in mario because he too fast it is still a low enough point of entry to be able to be played by many and do reasonably well at straightaway i.e you will likely get a few kills.

You are not going to have to spend hours practicing or have a lot of past experience with the genre before you see some reward.

 

[josemlopes]

Casual or not it depends on the consumer and what he is used to (also comparing to the other similar games).

COD does end up being a very casual game in comparision to others since you are constantly rewarded even for failing and while the game has skill there is also a lot of things that dont need skill at all (strong auto-aim, killstreacks that kill almost no matter what, overpowered weapons and perks, etc...)

 

[Wolf In A Bear Suit]

What makes a game casual anyhow? I play every game as casual, it's just for fun. I reckon how you play it is what determines what type of game it is.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

COD is not a casual game but it's one of the most casual shooters out there just based on its mechanics being more basic and simple in comparison to other shooters. For example, knifing in MGO was a 3-step process; you get close and slam the enemy player down, then press triangle to go into 1st-person view, and lastly actually stab the enemy player (who has a chance to roll away). In COD, it's just press the melee button. Also, shooters shouldn't have grenade buttons so you can be shooting someone and miss, and just pull a nade out of you ass and chuck it at a moment's notice, there needs to be some premeditation to it. COD has grenade buttons, melee buttons, generous aim-assist, health regen, there's no leaning mechanic for crying out loud and it's a FPS. That is mainly the reason why 10 million people buy it on like day one.