Casual: Attacks mobs wearing a smoking jacket with a brandy in one hand and a pipe in the other.
Hard Core: Attacks mobs in the nude, bare fisted 'cause thats how nature intended you to be, or in as much fancy-pants, loud, in your face, luminous gear as you can get 'cause evey one should look while I chomp on this dragon's toe-nail.
General Player: Attacks mobs in the most appropriate gear available.
(Yes I am being flippant).
Casual: Dips in and out, as and when RL doesnt encroach. Isnt really into the lore or progression. In it for a bit of fun from time to time.
General Player: All types above casual who do not or cannot spare every second of every day playing the game.
Hard Core: Players who have the time and inclination and money to view the game as a job or way of life.
I dont subscribe to the common view that hard core are superior players. There is a spectrum of good and bad players, as with the General and casual player. If you play 24/7 then you may be hard core, but whether you are a good player is another matter entirely. You are more likely to be more accomplished than the average player, but that is not a given.
Vandraad said:Caine said:I casually play hardcore.
Ooh..then you have the hardcore casual players that put in a lot of time and effort to not put in a lot of time and effort.
Basically the entire idea of defining hardcore and casual is a moot point as it is all relative compared to where you might place yourself on said spectrum.
Actually I think useing the term "Hardcore" is way for some players to justify why they spend too much time gaming. If your Hardcore, well then it's all justified. Me, I would like to game well past retirement age. but it requires I have a balance in life. I must take care of myself. eat right, exercise, cultivate relationships outside of the MMO. but then still play the MMO. So I love practicing Kungfu and Shih Shui, for me it's a way to play the Monk class in realife. So striking a balance is hardcore to me.
I want to feel well. if I spend too much time gaming, I don't feel well. But having been a gamer 40 years, as it is my main hobby I enjoy.
I concider myself hardcore, becuase I strive to be the best, at all I do. I guess it all relative to who is defining the terms.
Jothany said:"Causal" and "Hardcore" are two directions on a spectrum. Most players already have an idea of what qualities are associated with each end of the spectrum (though many might be surprised at how widely those opinions vary). Everyone falls somewhere on the spectrum. The range of the spectrum is relatively infinite, as one can always find additional qualities that can further quantify the spectrum as needed when trying to differentiate between individuals who happen to fall closely together on it.
Because it is a tool for comparison, rather than an objective scale, EVERY player is both more casual than some, and more hardcore than others. Your position is determined by which arbitrary qualities are chosen to rate you (and by where on the spectrum the one rating you falls).
I will play Panthon every day at release. Player X plays only on Saturdays. Commonly, that would make me the hardcore player. BUT, I am single and retired, while player X has a family and full time job. So he may devote a significantly higher % of his 'free time' to playing than I do. Oops, now he is the more hardcore player. But if we decide that the cost of your gaming computer is to be the criterion of the moment, then my $5000 Alienware setup takes back the hardcore title from his economical, homebuilt rig. I win! Until I admit that I have little interest in raiding. I loose. (Curses, foiled again!)
As Philo has suggested, I see no meaningful way to define any objective definition of 'casual' or 'hardcore'.
One might gain more insight by looking at which players think one end of the spectrum is 'better' than the other. And which end it is. And WHY. But that would certainly be off-topic, and almost certainly more contentious than this topic.
the problem I see with this that there are people in the middle of the two extremes and they are getting lumped into either camp what about a 3rd group that does all the stuff the HC players do but don't have an ego about it like a good majority of HC players have and also interact and be social with there rest of the community and not think of them like trash because they are not HC???
Oldwargoat39 said:the problem I see with this that there are people in the middle of the two extremes and they are getting lumped into either camp what about a 3rd group that does all the stuff the HC players do but don't have an ego about it like a good majority of HC players have and also interact and be social with there rest of the community and not think of them like trash because they are not HC???
I'm really not sure what you are asking. But if you are saying that there are people "in the middle" who aren't casual OR hardcore then I agree with you. I said "EVERY player is both more casual than some, and more hardcore than others". By that I mean that the words don't have an arbitrary standard of meaning. They are relative and will be defined differently by everyone who uses them.
For example: I grew up on the East coast. To us, residents of Kansas lived "somewhere out West". Now I live on the West coast, and locals refer to residents of Kansas as living "back East". Kansas didn't move. The point of view of the speaker moved.
Sorry if I totally misunderstood your question.
Fulton said:If you've ever pooped in a sock.
YOU, might be hardcore.
Conjecture: If you've never pooped in a sock, you're a Casual
To me a casual player, plays the game when they want to and to have enjoyment out of it.
I don't do RAIDs or log on at x time to play for y hours to do things. I play at the time that suits me. So I don't consider myself hardcore even if I play 4-6 hours a day.
Wandering around grouping here and there, crafting when it suits or joining firends to do a camp when things suits.
Running around after a guild leader and doing all their bidding at the time the guild demands is more hardcore, you have a mster to follow.
Daalziel said:What if I pooped in a sock, but it was completely unrelated to gaming?
Then you're hardcore, but into something else...
Oldwargoat39 said:disposalist said:Daalziel said:What if I pooped in a sock, but it was completely unrelated to gaming?
Then you're hardcore, but into something else...
I could say it but, I would get the ban hammer, no not saying it no no no!
Maybe it could be as a consequence of my employment...
Overall it seems that casual/hardcore are difficult terms to define, and that it to a great extent relies on context and subjectivity. Think I've said enough now on the subject :-)
Daalziel said:What if I pooped in a sock, but it was completely unrelated to gaming?
You're still hardcode, the important part is pooping in the sock, not gaming. xD
Everyone is going to have a different view of what a causal player is, thats why the term holds so much volatility. When I play a game I typically min/max my character to be the best they possibly can. If something doesnt help me in that aspect, i dont care about it. I never spent time with achievements in WoW or with Transmog. It didnt matter. It didnt make me a better healer. I consider anyone who doesnt strive to be the best player on their server to be a casual player.
I also dont think casual players are a bad thing. Do I want to group with someone who has a rusty dagger in the MH at level 30 because they dont care... no not at all. But I dont think those players are doing anything wrong, they are playing how they want to play and im glad they are happy.
The definition of casual really depends on the game and the type of game you are playing.
Personally, I define casual in an MMO as:
In general, I don't have an issue with people who play casually. They are paying for the game and should be able to experience however they want. I would also say for general content, grouping with casual players is an O.K and fun experience. The only time I find an issue with casual mentality is when it starts infecting raids (or other harder forms of content) and people's gaming experience starts suffering from it.
Oldwargoat39 said:Since "Casual player" is thrown around so much it has lost its meaning. I think it is about time it gets a defined meaning as per what a "Casual player" is? So please keep it constructive and open so everyone has an Idea so we can finally nail it down
A player who is lazy or detests challenging gameplay. The type of person who would only play NES games using Game Genie.
I would love to hear the Tales of lives destoyed by hardcore gaming. You know, like you are so hardcore, your wife is with the neighbor creating her own Epic story. But yet, you did get your epic sword; but then the neighbor got the epic scabbard for his sword too...lol