Casual Enjoyment vs The Ash Ketchum Approach?

[2HF]

"I'm not terribly good at this game and never will be but I enjoy it!" vs "I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was!"

Which do you gravitate towards? Does it depend on the game or genre? Maybe you wanna be the best at whatever FPS you play but you know that'll never be the case with the fighting games you play on the side?

Further question, can these 2 styles coexist in the same game? Would a game suffer from having it's player base intentionally divided by the developers along these lines? Would that even be possible? Discuss!

 

[tippy2k2]

I always strive to be the very best like no one ever was but I also am well aware that I will never ever ever be that. I don't have the time, the patience, intelligence (I'm not a dumb person but there are people in games doing things that I would have never dreamed of until I saw them do it), or even the twitch skills needed in many cases to be a top anything in video gaming.

That doesn't mean I won't try though...

 

[2HF]

I'm currently playing Overwatch and I'm enjoying it. I'm not terribly good, had a few 5-6 player kill streaks with Genji but that's about it. I'm getting a bit better every time but I've never been good enough at any game to brag about it. I will continue to enjoy my time with the game but I won't "train" or whatever it is that elite players do to get better. A headset might help though...

 

[sanquin]

Casual enjoyment definitely. I used to be a huge CS 1.6 player, and got to a decent level. But in every game after that it was basically all just about enjoying myself.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I play games for fun and I generally avoid multiplayer for I guess that would make me the Anti-Ash. There are some games where I did spend a lot of time trying to be the best and I guess when it comes to single player RPGs I do want to get as close to Godhood as humanly possible. Take Final Fantasy VIII: I have no issue spending 2 or 3 hours grinding draw before even entering the Fire Cave just so I can break the magic junction system in that game. Right now in Tensei Megami Shin pound-sign FE I did a bit more grinding than I needed to because dammit, I want to learn all of these skills right-stat-now.

So yeah, I'm almost never Ash...except for that one time when I vowed to play through Final Fantasy VII and kill the WEAPONS...and I did...because I'm God.

 

[Saelune]

Ash IS a casual. Gary was the hardcore. Had more badges than in the game.

That aside, I overall am a "hardcore" completionist gamer (not that I usually do, but I aspire to). But there are plenty of games I am more of a "casual" player of. Super Smash Bros is one, since "pro" gaming that is boring and against the spirit of the game. Lets take the magical rainbow of Smash and remove all the pretty items and fun mechanics and just be two characters...woo...

Pok?mon is also a great example of appealing to all types. Technically the hardcore people in that are the competitive battlers, which is certainly more magical than SSB's, but I avoid that cause I like just collecting pokemon... (even if I do have a living pokedex in my bank now...)

Nintendo is good at appealing to both sides I think. Other games and devs, mayhaps not so much.

 

[bluegate]

Lets take the magical rainbow of Smash and remove all the pretty items and fun mechanics and just be two characters...woo...

Anything other than 2 Player No-Item Final Destination is a cancer in the body of Super Smash Bros and ought to be eradicated.

OT: Depends wholly on the game and how feasible it is to be counted as one of the best. Personally I don't compete against online leader boards in games, because there will always be that one person that manages to secure first place in some ungodly way. I do, however, like to compete in online matches in fighting games or games such as Rocket League and try to win as much as possible, but not with the illusion of becoming the best in the world or anything like that. I also enjoy games where the developers have set out certain challenges and try to beat them, for example I was pretty adamant on clearing every level in Velocity 2X on the highest rank.

As for whether both styles can coexist in the same game? Sure, look at Rocket League for example, people who play to win will play ranked and people who play for their enjoyment or mild competition play Unranked. Pitting both in the same matches would be a bit iffy, I feel.

 

[Saelune]

Lets take the magical rainbow of Smash and remove all the pretty items and fun mechanics and just be two characters...woo...

Anything other than 2 Player No-Item Final Destination is a cancer in the body of Super Smash Bros and ought to be eradicated.

OT: Depends wholly on the game and how feasible it is to be counted as one of the best. Personally I don't compete against online leader boards in games, because there will always be that one person that manages to secure first place in some ungodly way. I do, however, like to compete in online matches in fighting games or games such as Rocket League and try to win as much as possible, but not with the illusion of becoming the best in the world or anything like that. I also enjoy games where the developers have set out certain challenges and try to beat them, for example I was pretty adamant on clearing every level in Velocity 2X on the highest rank.

As for whether both styles can coexist in the same game? Sure, look at Rocket League for example, people who play to win will play ranked and people who play for their enjoyment or mild competition play Unranked. Pitting both in the same matches would be a bit iffy, I feel.

I don't know why people don't just play Street Fighter if they want Street Fighter. No items in your way, and a flat boring map. I however will play Smash the way it was intended to be played. There's a reason the mode with items in it is called "For FUN".

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Video games are supposed to be for entertainment, and there is absolutely 0 fun to be found in competitive multiplayer, and if you think otherwise you're the reason there's no fun.
I tried my hand at that dead by daylight or whatever 80s slasher game, and oh man is that one of the worst versus experiences I've ever had. Everyone is super high level, already have the maps memorized, there's a bunch of glitches and loops people abuse, and the 'Killers' love to just hook camp. Returned that stinker within an hour.

Casual or bust I say! Let the others who think 'catching them all' means something try to catch them all!

 

[Saelune]

Video games are supposed to be for entertainment, and there is absolutely 0 fun to be found in competitive multiplayer, and if you think otherwise you're the reason there's no fun.
I tried my hand at that dead by daylight or whatever 80s slasher game, and oh man is that one of the worst versus experiences I've ever had. Everyone is super high level, already have the maps memorized, there's a bunch of glitches and loops people abuse, and the 'Killers' love to just hook camp. Returned that stinker within an hour.

Casual or bust I say! Let the others who think 'catching them all' means something try to catch them all!

Competitive multiplayer can be fun if you're good at it. And I enjoy playing games I am good at competitively. Games I am not good at, I don't enjoy the competitive side. I wouldn't fault someone for not having fun in a game where they get stomped in. Didn't play Dead by Daylight though. Seems more like a "best with friends" kind of game.

 

[Gearran]

I'm definitely on the former side. I play games to enjoy the story and/or have fun. I may be terrible at it, but if I'm enjoying myself, then it's money well spent. Occasionally I get the "gotta get EVERYTHING" bug (like how I got every item, skulltulla, etc. in Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds) but typically, I don't stress too hard about being Completion McCollectorpants about playing a game. This might be why I prefer Co-op instead of competitive multiplayer; I love working together toward a goal (kill the zombies, build the town, harvest the turnip, whatever). I can play competitive multiplayer, but I have less fun. And frankly, any leaderboard that wants to tell me just how many people are better at X than me can expect to find itself completely ignored.

 

[CaitSeith]

I'm more in the middle. I get proud of my skills in games and look forward to improve them; but I acknowledge that there will always be people who are way better than me, and I have no time to get myself on their level. That's why I prefer games like Dark Souls (single-player games or games where multiplayer isn't the main focus).

 

[bluegate]

I don't know why people don't just play Street Fighter if they want Street Fighter. No items in your way, and a flat boring map. I however will play Smash the way it was intended to be played. There's a reason the mode with items in it is called "For FUN".

Because characters in Super Smash Bros. move and behave substantially different than characters in Street Fighter? The game was intended to be played in many different ways, the fact that plain maps and the ability to turn off items are available in the game is a testament to that.

I personally like bare bones fighting in Super Smash Bros. because it is one of the purest contests of skill, with little ( Hiya, Brawl Prat Falling ) to no RNG involved. And personally I don't like winning a match just because the game's RNG decided to bless me by dropping a metal coating next to my ass, I like the playing field to be fair when I'm fighting someone.

 

[Saelune]

I don't know why people don't just play Street Fighter if they want Street Fighter. No items in your way, and a flat boring map. I however will play Smash the way it was intended to be played. There's a reason the mode with items in it is called "For FUN".

Because characters in Super Smash Bros. move and behave substantially different than characters in Street Fighter? The game was intended to be played in many different ways, the fact that plain maps and the ability to turn off items are available in the game is a testament to that.

I personally like bare bones fighting in Super Smash Bros. because it is one of the purest contests of skill, with little ( Hiya, Brawl Prat Falling ) to no RNG involved. And personally I don't like winning a match just because the game's RNG decided to bless me by dropping a metal coating next to my ass, I like the playing field to be fair when I'm fighting someone.

Then maybe don't open with comparing anything but your way to a cancer that needs to be removed. I play Smash for fun, and I like the wackiness it allows that most fighting games don't.

 

[Maximum Bert]

I am usually always I play this for fun and will try to be as good as I can be with the natural skill and time I am able to allocate into it. So in a sense I try to get better at a game each time I play but I will not allocate time away from other activities I deem more important and ultimately satisfying in the long term i.e Studying what I want to study.

For competitive games I always believe they are better when playing people around your own skill level a good ranking system should go a long way to making sure a game can sustain both a hardcore competitive base as well as a more casual crowd providing of course the numbers are there.

Few people I find really have the drive to be the best in anything let alone a game and to be fair I dont blame them as you have to forgo everything else in order to do that. Even if you could beat everybody else with little practice due to you being some prodigical god then there is still the battle with yourself to see how much further you can go. You really need to be almost obsessive about it and thats bordering on dangerous territory as far as I am concerned. Most players I see at the top of their game always seem to lose some of that hunger the longer they are on top.

As for myself personally I suppose fighters tend to be ones that make me want to improve more and in some cases team games with friends but usually what happens is I find if I go in wanting to be good I put the game down faster simply because I know these days I dont have the time to put in to get to a level I am happy with especially if I perceived I once played at that level in my younger days. But I suppose usually the more fun I find a game the better I want to get at it regardless of whether it is competitive or not.

The times I have wanted to improve the most is when I have a strong offline rival in a fighter but unfortunately that has not been the case since SC2 as most of my friends are either not interested in fighters or no longer play games hardly at all.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

Casual. I don't mind trying to do something well, but I just don't have the time, or energy to really go at it.

Just a mild rant:

Honestly, after I got battleborn, and overwatch I remembered I didn't like PVP because you generally have to get good at it to do much of anything.
Then there's the nerfings, and buffings that change the game in potentially massive ways which I just don't like in most pvp games that often bleed into non-pvp stuff in the same game. Then the people that fuel that sort of thing. Having the rules changed, being shunted from a character I'm comfortable with, it's a lot of little things I just don't care for.
Plus I generally hate people.

I don't ev train in pokemon.

I don't try to max levels in Fire emblem. If there's a way to min/max training, I don't do that.

I just wanna get in, enjoy the world as long as I can, soak it in, and try something else later.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

If the game is one where you can be good at it and has vs othr player competition, I try to be the best as I can be. Most games not fighting games I don't go to a competitive level of good but if its a fighter I love the tourney scene. I've already done over 1000 Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator matches online and its only been out for a few weeks lol.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Definitely casual. I know I will never be the best player in the world no matter how many hours I invest.