OK class, today's discussion will be about that age ol' question that has plagued gaming-kind for a full almost decades...

"What makes one a Hard Core Gamer vs a Casual Gamer"

I hear tons of comments about how hard core gamers -

• Level quickly and force content into the end game allowing the rest of us to enjoy the ride for longer periods of time before we top out
• Play every single mission, get every single badge, item, accolade, bonus power, crafted uber loot etc which causes them to level slower but experience more of the content
• Play hours and hours per day with catheter lines flowing out bright yellow Mt Dew waste while their IV drips fresh, life saving caffeine and high fructose corn syrup into their veins.
• Get hooked on their characters in a psychological bonding that for them becomes difficult to break away, forcing them to play that same game fo
• Jump ship to new games after "beating" a game and are fickle without staying power...

OK, there are a bazillion different ideas of what exactly are the traits of Casual vs Hardcore gamers... and most are contradictory.

What exactly, once and for all, defined for all time are the definations of a Hardcore and Casual MMORPG player?

The hardcore gamer plays a lot more than a casual gamer.

To me that is about it. Most casual gamers do the same things hardcore players do, they just don't do it as often and therefore take longer to get the same things, if at all.

hardcore = plays Lineage 2

casual = plays WOW

There, im done.

I consider that play less than 5 hours a week casual.

If you play 3+ hours a day I consider them hardcore.

Inbetween I consider average.

Originally posted by Bruxail

The hardcore gamer plays a lot more than a casual gamer.

To me that is about it. Most casual gamers do the same things hardcore players do, they just don't do it as often and therefore take longer to get the same things, if at all.

qft

The definitions of a hardcore gamer vs. a casual gamer are pretty subjective. But usually when people use the term "hardcore", they are referring to someone who plays a game a lot, putting in many hours, usually over a long period of time.  With the excessive playtime comes other aspects that are often associated with "hardcore", such as high-end gear, many high level characters, etc.

Where as I see it as how much time you spend in a mmo.

A person who is casual will play shorter times generally.

A person who is hardcore...well you know that guy you log in and see every SINGLE day/hour who has 599 hours of play in the first few months of play? That guys hardcore.

I don't see it so much as a  style as how much time you put into a game you play.

I also don't like to label games "casual or hardcore" because thats giving them a genre to pigeon hole them selves even more so!

Thats this ones thought on that.

I myself I am in the middle depending on what game and if I am sober or not.

 Hardcore players are dedicated players who earns their weapon, armor, gold etc. through hours of game play.

A casual player usually falls into one of  two categories;

1) A person who cannot devote hours to a game because of real life circumstances

2) A person who thinks they should be given weapons and armor  simply because they are playing.  These are the people who are Ebayer's and make it look like they actually earned all their gold to buy  top-notch gear and weapons. 

I think the main difference is how fun each category gets from  things when it comes to the game. A casual player usually takes things as they go more or less.

Hardcores usually try to achieve things as fast and as efficiently possible to have fun.

Originally posted by WiccanCircle

• Jump ship to new games after "beating" a game and are fickle without staying power...

DAmmit, how did you know????

A hardcore player is like a hardcore user of drugs.  He or she must play, and will build their day around the gametime.  A casual player is like a casual user of drugs.  He or she can take it or leave it, and the game isn't all that appealing.

I'm of the opinion that you can't cater to a hardcore or casual audience.  If the game is something that fulfills some deep longing, it won't matter if it was designed for casual users, the users will play it in a hardcore way.  Conversely, if a game isn't that appealing, it will only be played casually, even if it is supposed to appeal to the hardcore.

play time matters very little, it's just a great boon.

the powergamer just won't approach a game as a game, they'll approach it as something that needs to be conqured and beaten. 

To me its not a case of time played, I know some people with 300hrs played in games that spend all that time accomplishing very little. These people are in love with the purely social aspects of the game. I really think hardcore vs. casual is simply a way to define what you want as an individual within a game. A casual player wants to relax and have fun even if they chose to relax and have fun for 25 gameplay hours a week. A hardcore player spends every moment in game trying to make themselves the king (or queen) of uber-pownage. I have known jerks of both types so I am not saying one is better than the other, but hardcore players do have a tendancy to leave struggling groups/ guilds cause they see themselves as better. Personally, I try to strike a balance between being social and achieving what ever in game goals I may have set. It also usually seems as if hardcore players gravitate towards pvp more than their casual conterparts.

i think a hardcore person, like the poster 2 up said, its like a drug they enjoy playing the game so much that they stop doin important things to play more a casual person plays a game to entertain and take up unused time 

Originally posted by aionowns

i think a hardcore person, like the poster 2 up said, its like a drug they enjoy playing the game so much that they stop doin important things to play more a casual person plays a game to entertain and take up unused time 

Yep, as a former hardcore player I get a rush out of being #1.. It's why I love new MMO's.

ya i used to be hardcore to my day revolved around playing i wouldnt do my homework for school and shit so my grades started dropping i still play a lot but in moderation

hard core gamers don't have lives outside of gaming.  yes we usually do end up with hardware to make the playing easier. (cant live without my n52...well if i still played consoles i guess i could) but a dope fiend with no needle is a miserable bastard. we just play games, for money or not (for money is always better).

we have about the same desire to go out dancing/socializing  as a dope fiend, about as many social contacts, and we also twitch from withdrawal. generally we are hooked young and carry the HABIT into adulthood. our achievements are measured by our own level of satisfaction (after all wtf do we care what a 12 year old/casual gamer thinks they know). we go through games like junkies go through crack due in large part to the fact that we have so much prior knowledge of how the mechanics work and we do little besides eat sleep and game big.

if your first foray into gaming has SONY anywhere on it you cant be a hard core gamer, you lack the analogues. just like you cant be a popper junkie, it takes a certain kind of mind to get addicted to simple games like missile command or dig dug, THPS and FF7 (tho great games don't get me wrong) give you alot of depth to explore, old games didn't have that.

basically being a hard core gamer is to be completely devoted to gaming. got a life? you cant be it then. a job? ditto. having a girlfriend with another sort of addiction helps (someone has to do the laundry, perfect time to read a book, smoke a spliff, and get hammered...or you still live with mommy) a girlfriend (or wife if you get roped into that) that also plays games is usually a hindrance. think junkie. a lot of kids who think they are hard core just cant be, they are in school..a hard core gamer doesn't care about school. cant have anything but games day in and day out, no hard core on the weekends b/s.

oh, and while sometimes drugs are/can be used to assist in this (caffeine counts..so does meth and beer) endeavor, a hard core gamer will usually know their limits and NOT over indulge knowing that play level drops and theres the results of such actions to deal with.

another factor would be versatility , you aren't hard core if all you play are mmorpg's, gotta have that love of unreal, multi million point combos in THPS, ALL the coins for mario, max kudos, perfect seasons, etc.  etc. you can never be hard if your playing a sissy game like wow even if it is 20/7.

i have spent more time in-game than most gamers have spent breathing, not really a matter of pride as much as it is fact. i have played through 5 day sessions using tiger balm to numb the pain in my hands (kinda like a junkie booting into an open sore). told chicks to masturbate while i finished levels/games to get me in the mood (and strangely they did). theres NOTHING but games for me. as for any opinions about my chosen path in life i don't think i could care less. would i be better off in politics?

not trying to do anything but illustrate what real hard core gaming is. i doubt 90% of people can even conceive of it much less be it.

As others have said, the designation of hardcore and casual is far too simple to define the population of MMO gamers.  I tend not to use these terms except in the most generic of situations.

---

Originally posted by Bruxail
The hardcore gamer plays a lot more than a casual gamer.
To me that is about it. Most casual gamers do the same things hardcore players do, they just don't do it as often and therefore take longer to get the same things, if at all.

---