Hardcore games

[ThePlasmatizer]

A lot of people mention hardcore games, but how do you define a hardcore game?

A while back I used to think of hardcore games as games where you spawn on the level and are then royally owned by legions of enemies or a platformer where you need exact timing and skill or the platform disappears beneath your feet resulting in instant death.

Now with the focus on casual games, is every game that's not casual now considered hardcore?

(I usually define hardcore games as games that are so difficult they have a vertical learning curve.)

So what's everyone's thoughts on "hardcore" games?

 

[ElephantGuts]

I would loosely define a hardcore game as one that you don't just sit/lean back and enjoy absent-mindedly. You're sitting up, concentrating thinking. It'll stress your mind, maybe even your body if it's a really quick game, getting blisters or cramps isn't uncommon for me. But of course when I say mental stress, I don't mean bad stress, it's like a sports, you're working for it but it's still fun. Also an adrenaline rush is always nice.

 

[Wonko the Sane]

I see hardcore games as games you actually have to put time into, like using training modes and experimenting with items/weapons/moves.
Games that takes ages to complete.

 

[TomWhitbrook]

I agree with you that the definition of hardcore has naturally widened with the explosion of casual gaming.
To be honest, I think the term's primary purpose is to denigrate players or games that you personally don't like. For example, taking a totally ficticious group of PC RPGer's, a hardcore game is a totally impenetrable wall of numbers and special circumstance modifiers with the graphical fidelity of a spreadsheet. However, our example does not consider Pokemon to be hardcore, despite it being at heart a totally impenetrable wall of numbers, because you know, its for kids?
To be honest, although I can't stand using that specific term, I'm guilty of the same linguistic put downs, with my constant references to the Wii as "not a real console". The impression I'm giving is that I, as a real man, and dare I say it, "teh hardc0reZ", allow it to collect an almighty level of dust and you, enjoying your games with goddamn primary colours and innovative gameplay or whatever, are totally weaksauce.

 

[Shock and Awe]

Well, "Casual" and "Hardcore" are some of the worst terms used in gaming today. Take Super Mario Bros. it is a hardcore and a Casual game. And just because somthing is hard dosent make it "Hardcore" But that is just a opinion

 

[fix-the-spade]

Serious Sam.

That pretty much sums it up.

 

[khululy]

Hardcore games are games that must be completed by skill alone.
Games that tend to hand you your ass on a golden plate, served with a smile.
Games that put gameplay and overall experience over sales and graphics.

 

[Xvito]

Battletoads, is what most people would call pretty "Hardcore", although I wouldn't obviously because "Hardcore" is a phrase I despise.

 

[Eiseman]

I don't much care for the term "hardcore" either. Makes games sound like pornos, if you ask me.

I prefer "tenacious," because that's what these games usually involve. A very, very sharp focus that borders on hostility. That's the definition I'd give you. If most of the game is comprised of content that needs a certain level of tenacity, then I would classify it as "hardcore."

 

[Cheesus333]

I've recently decided that a hardcore game is the type of game that used to be looked upon with a frown by wide-set high-school 'jocks', as you call them, as their feeble minds translated the optic signals into the word 'nerd.' But that's me.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Battletoads, is what most people would call pretty "Hardcore", although I wouldn't obviously because "Hardcore" is a phrase I despise.

BattleToads isn't hard core, it's bloody well armour piercing!

 

[Bane07]

Id say any game that can be played for a long time, or in log spans, multiple hours.
Games with alot of content can be.
hard games arent necessarily hard core

 

[Dudemeister]

Super Mario World
Teh hardcorez!

 

[meatloaf231]

Hardcore is any game you have ever sworn at in frustration.

 

[Chiasm]

I think the way I understand is that "Hardcore" it's any game you can brag about and people think your cool,Why for some odd reason talking about say Bejeweled is considered not "cool" but "casual."

 

[tobyornottoby]

I'd say it's measured by how easy it is to pickup 'm play, without any earlier game experience.

Second try would be what you are doing. Shooting stuff just doesn't appeal to casuals, whereas hardcore games seem to have it at its core.

Here's a lame one: the colors. I'm sure statistically, if the game has bright pastel colors, it's more likely to be casual

maaaaan definitions are HARD. Every one has countless of exceptions that can be named

Not to mention that some games can be played both ways... sure Zuma is a casual game, but if you see some addicted housemoms play... that's pretty highscore hardcore

 

[Zukhramm]

I used to think of myself asa casual gamer. I like Mario, Zelda, and more casual playing of MMORPGs. But with the wave of things such as Wii Sports and other "casual games" I suddenly find people calling Super Mario Galaxy a hardcore game.

 

[Graustein]

A hardcore game is any game that draws you in effectively, one into which you put time and effort, or one that's intense.

A hardcore game should not be contrasted with a hardcore one, methinks, because it implies that casual and hardcore are mutually exclusive. A casual game is one that you play casually - that is, for leisure. Halo, CoD4 and all those may be "hardcore", but unless you play them in competitions and live off the prize money, you're playing them casually.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

Any game that demands concentration, skills, and training. Or a serious view on bludgeoning murder.

 

[BolognaBaloney]

Any game that demands concentration, skills, and training. Or a serious view on bludgeoning murder.

As a note, people typically do not like old threads to be resurrected.