Question of the Day, May 30, 2010
- Thread starter The Escapist Staff
- Start date
I think it's the reason you play. If you just play to pass the time, nothing more, I don't care how many hours you've logged on bejeweled. If you play for a brilliant story, made more poignant by the fact that you're playing, or just from that supreme sense of satisfaction that some people don't understand, then I think you're a hardcore gamer.
Your attitude, your reason for playing. That is what distinguishes between a hardcore and a casual gamer.
Your attitude, your reason for playing. That is what distinguishes between a hardcore and a casual gamer.
There are several things that makes you "hardcore". You will strictly speaking not need all of them but at least some of them are necessary.
Experience - Here I am talking about the breadth of games you have played. You will have a clearly defined pecking order of what games you like the most and which you like the least.
Skill - You are comfortable with games. Understanding game mechanics and control schemes are second nature to you.
Specialization - There is a game or a small number of games that you are extremely good at. You may not be world class but you are definitely well above average.
Self aware - You are a aware and accept that gaming and games are a big part of your life and who you are.
Knowledge - You know about games. Who developed them. Who published them. Different developers and publishers reputation. You know a lot of games even if you have not played them all.
Quality aware - You know what games are good and why. You may decide a game is bad but keep playing it to the finish to be sure of your verdict.
Meta gaming - You spend time thinking about the direction and trends of gaming in a more general sense. You may also participate in debates on the future of gaming.
I believe that is a fairly comprehensive list though we could add some more fun and inflammatory ones
Fanatic - You fly into a rage whenever the hobby is criticized or questioned.
Superior - you look down on people who are not hardcore and people who are not even gamers at all. "Casual" gamers have special place of loathing in your heart.
Recluse - You don't seek out people outside your computer.
Bad diet - A diet of Red Bull and Twinkies may give you a sugar high but you will be seriously down on vital vitamins and minerals.
Anyway those are my thoughts. Hope someone can use them.
Experience - Here I am talking about the breadth of games you have played. You will have a clearly defined pecking order of what games you like the most and which you like the least.
Skill - You are comfortable with games. Understanding game mechanics and control schemes are second nature to you.
Specialization - There is a game or a small number of games that you are extremely good at. You may not be world class but you are definitely well above average.
Self aware - You are a aware and accept that gaming and games are a big part of your life and who you are.
Knowledge - You know about games. Who developed them. Who published them. Different developers and publishers reputation. You know a lot of games even if you have not played them all.
Quality aware - You know what games are good and why. You may decide a game is bad but keep playing it to the finish to be sure of your verdict.
Meta gaming - You spend time thinking about the direction and trends of gaming in a more general sense. You may also participate in debates on the future of gaming.
I believe that is a fairly comprehensive list though we could add some more fun and inflammatory ones
Fanatic - You fly into a rage whenever the hobby is criticized or questioned.
Superior - you look down on people who are not hardcore and people who are not even gamers at all. "Casual" gamers have special place of loathing in your heart.
Recluse - You don't seek out people outside your computer.
Bad diet - A diet of Red Bull and Twinkies may give you a sugar high but you will be seriously down on vital vitamins and minerals.
Anyway those are my thoughts. Hope someone can use them.
I guess a mixture of the first two options. If you spend most of your time playing games, then that would be considered hardcore I guess. But if you play, say FarmVille, for hundreds of hours, that doesn't really count.
Checking for hardcore gaming is difficult, but possible. Take a large sharp knife, and attempt to cut the gamer through the midsection. While most gamers will reveal a soft squishy core (betraying their lack of l33t), a few will be surprisingly hard to bisect. Those few are the true "hard core" gamers.
I chose the other option. I think that it's not the kinds of games you play or how long you spend playing them, but more how you choose to play them.
I dont think its time spent playing, but sheer volume of time spent finding out about and following games, from announcement, to first trailer, to beta, to release(and anything else that pertains to each title). there are alot of people out there that simply dont do that, and have no idea what is coming out for whatever system they own. Working in a game store, i have to say that i spend a very large part of my time listing new games, and when one catches someones ear, letting them know what each one is, or how its different then the one that came before it.
[The following makes the assumption that "hardcore" doesn't mean 'raging douche']
The amount of time I spend gaming, coupled with the amount of time I spend researching and speaking about games.
Simply spending 5 hours a day playing Online Multiplayer FPS of the Year doesn't make you hardcore. If you had researched the game and knew about it before the ads started coming on TV/every kid on the block said it's "the shit", and you're now spending 5 hours a day playing OMFPSotY (among some other games), then you're probably 'hardcore'.
The amount of time I spend gaming, coupled with the amount of time I spend researching and speaking about games.
Simply spending 5 hours a day playing Online Multiplayer FPS of the Year doesn't make you hardcore. If you had researched the game and knew about it before the ads started coming on TV/every kid on the block said it's "the shit", and you're now spending 5 hours a day playing OMFPSotY (among some other games), then you're probably 'hardcore'.
'Types of games you play' is what 'hardcore gamers' who play only Gears of War, Halo and Counterstrike use as a reason to say they are hardcore. If my Mum, a woman in her late forties who has never so much as held a controller, played Halo for even 5 seconds, by that definition, she would be a hardcore gamer.
It's about how much time you spend playing the games-while a non-gamer/casual gamer will spend little time playing games and view them as a passing hobby, a devoted gamer (The term 'Hardcore gamer' has lost all meaning) will spend a large portion of his leisure time playing video games.
It's about how much time you spend playing the games-while a non-gamer/casual gamer will spend little time playing games and view them as a passing hobby, a devoted gamer (The term 'Hardcore gamer' has lost all meaning) will spend a large portion of his leisure time playing video games.