What makes you a "HardCore" gamer

[Nazulu]

Edit: honestly this was supposed to be a thread about cool stuff people have done in games, could one person tell me something cool they've done in a game just one? pretty please?

Sorry about that. A lot of people here become sensitive and righteous whenever certain words pop up. Also watch out when mentioning Yahtzee as well.

I can pull of a 4 hit deadly combo in SBB Melee with Captain Falcon that my friends sometimes ask to I stop doing. It always ends with a knee

Also I'm mean with the GLA in C&C Generals since I can micromanage the workers so well that I can get 3 city's building up at once. The computer literally gets stumped sometimes and doesn't know where to attack first.

 

[KOMega]

I went to the settings and turned the difficulty to Hardcore. So HardCore.

Edit: honestly this was supposed to be a thread about cool stuff people have done in games, could one person tell me something cool they've done in a game just one? pretty please?

Well I once got to level 30 I think on this tetris game on my DS, where I'm sure at least 2 pieces fell every second.

I played DarkSouls and went after the stray demon as my first boss to fight after the asylum. Then qualaag (had masterkey, took shortcut), then the moonlight butterfly, then the gaping dragon and then the taurus demon (who at that point might as well have been paper.)

Also:

Spoiler: I like this version of the comic better :P

edit: I've been ninja'd!

 

[Zacharious-khan]

Hurray for not assuming people on the internet are dickwaffles!

I forgot this one but I have a 45% win rate on Arkham horror.

 

[Mark Rhodes]

The fact that I watch and play a little bit of competitive games.

 

[Milanezi]

I believe hardcore games are the guys who take serious, as in, the fun is welcome, but it's not the focus, the focus is the challenge. Sometimes taking the challenge is fun, sometimes it isn't, but they'll face it anyway. Which makes me wonder: what are you trying to prove? I mean, challenges in real life usually benefit you one way or the other, in professional life it makes you more experienced and gets you more money, a better position etc. In sports you get to become more healthy (unless you take it too far). In games... You get to display a virtual score? I don't get it.

The casual gamer will focus on the fun. I myself am playing Dark Souls, famously known as extremely hard (I insist though, Candy Crush is way harder), a "hardcore" game. I call bullshit, it's not a hardcore game for me, I just enjoy the game, and when it pisses me of I don't keep on stressing and jumping for success, I just switch games for something else, I play because the setting is awesome, the story is told in a mysterious and intriguing fashion, and the design of the characters, especially the enemies, is so damn cool! It also has one of the few "multiplayer" interactions that I find interesting.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

"Hardcore."

"Casual."

These terms get thrown around so much, I don't even know what they truly mean anymore.

I just play video games. Labels be damned.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

I guess the difference could be the amount of time we dedicate to gaming. So casual could be 5 or 6 hours a week and a hardcore could be 20+ hours a week? Maybe WoW players because for many it is there life. Where other gamers play for entertainment and fit it in with their every day stuff.

Ive been gaming for 30 years since i got an Atari. But i wouldnt say im hardcore gamer because im not that fussed about completing games on ultra hardcore or getting 100% achievements or going online. So i dont know really, i still think it could be the time you spend gaming.

Edit. Ok, what have i done thats hardcore. Hmmmmm, when i bought the PS1, i got it with Destruction Derby and Toeshinden (beat em up) and me and my cousin played an all nighter with just those two games. Oh and we watched that Manta Ray video for 15 minutes straight. That was awesome.

 

[Vegosiux]

Anyone who uses the term 'hardcore' unironically, deserves to be lynched by a mob of angry badgers, garrotted with their own intestines, and then strung up, semi-conscious over the edge of a cliff, so that when the young folk walk by they can see, and then they will proclaim, 'dude, that's hardcore'.

I've been playing video games for more than 20 years.

You kids probably think that's pretty hardcore huh?

Am I accepted now? Can I be cool?

Daystar strikes again!

Okay, I'd instead use a swarm of angry wasps and rip off Yahtzee's razorblade floss, but the rest of it is pretty on par with what I'd have said.

I've been on the gaming scene for over 20 years, and I've never thought myself "hardcore" for it. I'm just a guy who likes a good videogame and goes for 100% completion in the ones I really like.

 

[Insertclevername]

I'd say a hardcore gamer is someone who either puts a lot of time in a particular game or is someone who is very skilled in a very tough game (like F Zero GX or something).

 

[Bostur]

Hard-core gaming seems to me to be a counter culture. A culture that defines itself as an opposite, probably in reaction to very easy, or very shallow games. That kind of culture often turns out a little ridiculous, as it constantly tries to redefine itself as something it isn't.

I find it funny that some games that are considered casual are a lot more brutal and unforgiving than some of the games that are considered 'core'.

Checkers is pretty hardcore compared to CoD, and Chess has much more 'metagame' than DOTA. ;-)

 

[grey_space]

So I saw this comic and it got me thinking http://chickgeek.org/hardcore-gaming/

Edit: honestly this was supposed to be a thread about cool stuff people have done in games, could one person tell me something cool they've done in a game just one? pretty please?

Ok, I've completed Xcom on impossible difficulty without losing a single guy.

I had to attempt that however 11 times. Each time I lost a game I restarted the whole thing.

 

[hooblabla6262]

I play video games using sheer mind power instead of noobish controllers.

HARDCORE!!!

 

[Vegosiux]

Hard-core gaming seems to me to be a counter culture. A culture that defines itself as an opposite, probably in reaction to very easy, or very shallow games.

So, "hardcores" are actually, like, the hipsters of gaming? Hah, I am so going to use this one often.

Checkers is pretty hardcore compared to CoD, and Chess has much more 'metagame' than DOTA. ;-)

Quite true.

 

[Angelous Wang]

Blowing off reality to keep on gaming be because you are that into you just don't want to stop.

Forgetting to go sleep and gaming all night.
Spending two or more days in a row without sleeping because you want to finish a game in one secession.
Forgetting to eat all day.
Forgetting to drink.
Holding going to the toilet for as long as possible and until the next best possible time in the game.
Forgetting to go somewhere you were supposed to be.
Telling yourself you'll stop after *time limit/level amount* and then finding yourself still gaming hours after.

Doesn't matter what type of games you play or what you game on.

IMO Hardcore is all about obsession and engrossment.

I would apply the same to being Hardcore at anything.

 

[Phasmal]

I dunno. Liking games a whole lot, spending a lot of time and money on them, talking about them a lot, kind of needing to be with someone who also plays them because a normal person would get sick of you in two minutes?

I guess I would technically fit to the `core/hardcore` category, but I don't lose sleep over my categorisation.

Captcha: smart casual.

What exactly are you suggesting, Captcha? You callin me a casual? You want to fight me, bro?

 

[Inglorious891]

The way I see it, "Casual" refers to mobile, facebook, etc. type of games will little learning and difficulty curve. As the comic suggests above, simple fun and nothing more. "Hardcore" refers to games with more of a learning curve and more depth.

And I know the terms are being discussed as labels for people and not games, but I really don't care since that's how I've always used them. Especially since they're being used more due to the discussion of more "Casual" gameplay mechanics being inserted into more "Hardcore" games (see: Dark Souls II discussions; those sure were fun, right?). That's why I think those terms are being tossed around a lot recently, anyway.

 

[KOMega]

So, "hardcores" are actually, like, the hipsters of gaming? Hah, I am so going to use this one often.

actually that kinda makes sense now.

captcha: laugh at me
... for I am not hardcore enough.

 

[Manji187]

For me, it's simple. Investment (mostly time, but also money) x Complexity = Dedication (following news/ trends, knowing stuff like consoles and their exclusives etc.)

If you consistently invest consecutive hours into a game that is reasonably complex (more complex than stuff like Angry Birds or Wii Sports), you are likely to be dedicated to the medium.

 

[TeaCeremony]

I avoid humanity to game... i think that makes me hardcore.

 

[RandV80]

Yeah honestly I hate the term 'hardcore gamer'. It's become more of a marketing term dedicated to a specific brand of games that seems to have a goal of self-distinguishing the gamer that plays them in a more positive light. But if you consider the term 'hardcore' in other past times it doesn't hold up.

For example, I'm a hardcore hockey enthusiast. I cheer for my NHL team but really follow and know the entire league, as well as lesser international competitions like the World Juniors or World Championships. I generally do about 4 hockey pools a year, primarily on Yahoo, and since 2001 have managed 34 teams with 22 trophies (top 3 finish) and an 80% winning average. I also am consistently involved in 3-4 more hardcore 'sim leagues' where you play GM online with other people while only simulating games. I've also been playing ice hockey for 5 years now, had enough money to join a second beer league team for the first time last year and haven't missed a game in 2 years.

In my opinion if you want to call something or someone hardcore you need to do something extra that distinguishes you from your fellow enthusiasts. It shouldn't be a club you can join by simply buying the right games.