Casual vs 'serious' gaming, how does it work?

[wolfshrimp]

Greetings all,

I've been playing games for some years now but have never really found a site where decent and reasonable discussion could take place save for here at the Escapist. So I'm going to ask you all for some help in defining stuff for me.

Everyone says with the rise of stuff like Peggle or Braid that casual gaming is a fast growing demographic. But I want to know how a casual gamer is defined. I'm not particularly skilled in any one genre of game, I don't play online at all (a bit of Battlefield Heroes and a few hours in FarCry 2 over the past 5 months), I don't have a Steam account, I don't invest lots of money in beefing my computer up to play newer releases, I haven't played every game and its mum owing to my late start in the gaming world, and I don't own a console of any sort. But I can and do spend many hours playing and by that token I don't think that constitues being casual about it. I really enjoy unwinding by blowing shit up or taking a shotgun to someone's head. That ain't casual in any way sense or form.

On other forums I have often had the accolade of being not 'serious' about gaming. Is there some form of internet based fraternity that assigns people who have outdoor hobbies and get laid to the same clan as WiiFit players? If so I want in so I can change the rules.

So what counts as casual gaming? Where are the battlelines drawn?

 

[Abedeus]

Casual - where you master the game before you get to the end. In online games, before you reach max level/finish the last quest.

At least that's my opinion. Any game where you don't need skill to win or anything except for time are casual, too.

 

[BolognaBaloney]

Casual vs. hardcore gaming refers to the amount of time and money you invest in gaming.

 

[Vrex360]

I have no idea. Honestly it exists only to make the really strong alpha male nerds assert their dominance over the weaker male nerds of the pride by way of flaming. The nerd equiviliant of locking horns together in a territorial dispute.

 

[wolfshrimp]

I have no idea. Honestly it exists only to make the really strong alpha male nerds assert their dominance over the weaker male nerds of the pride by way of flaming. The nerd equiviliant of locking horns together in a territorial dispute.

Right so it IS revenge for getting laid.

 

[GodsAndFishes]

I always think of it as:

Casual: play for fun
Serious: play to win

 

[Beltaine]

Yep, it's basically how much time, money, and effort you put into your gaming.

Pigeon-holing people into either Casual Gamer or Hardcore Gamer is oversimplifying, though.

For example, I've built a substantial gaming PC, own several consoles, and spend varying amounts of time gaming per day. I don't consider myself "casual", nor do I consider myself "hardcore". I tend to hop around from game to game, rarely spending a lot of time on any one title. I just really like hardware.

 

[joystickjunki3]

Casual gamers are a very vague group.

I've always categorized gamers into 2 main groups: mainstream and core, w/ many subcat.(s) in each. It just seems easier than using something w/ no real definition as of yet (referring to "casual") and something that might not describe everyone else ("hardcore").

EDIT: Mainstream = what many consider casual gamers, frat boys, soccer moms, etc.; people who otherwise might not play games if they weren't socially acceptable
Core = hardcores, fighting maniacs, fanboys, many arcade-goers, the importers, the collectors, etc.; people who consider gaming a critical part of their lifestyle and probably grew up gaming and were shunned socially (altho not necessarily)

 

[slevin8989]

Casual is easy gaming something any-one can pick up. something that you really don't have to invest time to be good at while Hardcore actually take time you won't be able to pick up the controller and master the game at that moment it takes more skill than a casual game that's how i see the difference each one has their niche and neither is better than the other it's just about personal choice

 

[iain62a]

Casual games are simple, often plotless, games that usually only have one dimension.

They can be fun, but because of the simplicity of their design, they usually get boring pretty quickly.

Also, pretty much everything on the Wii is a casual game.

 

[Time Travelling Toaster]

I always think of it as:

Casual: play for fun
Serious: play to win

This is pretty much on the money IMO.