"Hardcore"

[chinangel]

what makes a gamer 'hardcore'? That's something I've never understood. It feels like elitists tossing out this term, or fanboys using it without really knowing what it means.

This thing pops up with discouraging frequency, especially when developers change things in their games. Using the dreaded 's' word. Streamlined.

The word pops up when gamers talk about how the companies are 'betraying' them or 'ruining' the game, going away from the 'hardcore' crowd.

So can someone pleae explain what is 'hardcore' and why anyone should care about it at all?

 

[Stall]

Hardcore and casual refer more to a demographic than anything. "Hardcore" gamers enjoy a traditional gaming experience, while "casuals" typically enjoy newer gaming experiences that can really only be described as "non-traditional". I think the word "standard" or "core" is much better than hardcore personally.

 

[Catalyst6]

It varies drastically depending on who you are talking to. Sometimes it means that you simply play the game a lot. Sometimes it means tournament play. Sometimes it means knowing everything there is to know about a game, from units to strategies, chess-style. Sometimes it means trying to take to the forums to try to change the game. Sometimes it means playing games that are incredibly complicated. And the list goes on.

Frankly, don't worry about it. As for why anyone should care, they shouldn't. Games are fun. We play them for fun. Making something as "casual" or "hardcore" is just silly labeling.

 

[cainx10a]

Everyone will have their own opinions on what constitute a hardcore gamer. For me, the hardcore gamer:

1. Plays a game not just for fun, but for a sense of accomplishment. Hence, a game has to have a degree of difficulty that will challenge the gamer at every step. (Eg. Monster Hunter)

2. Plays a game for extended period of time, and doesn't care whether this action will be seen by others as unproductive or considered an individual without a "life".

3. Plays a game to experience its entirety, that is, aim for the 100% completion. Explore every corner of the map, open every chest, defeat every enemy, and take some screenshots to keep as trophies.

4. Probably hates the OP for considering his/her desire to be who he/she wants to be a form of 'elitism', the hardcore gamer, the consumer who wants to get every penny worth out of the game he/she purchased.

5. Hangs out on gaming forum with like minded gamers, and talk about ponies.

6. Hates casual gamers, and maintain a checklist of all casual game developers that should be eliminated from our lovely planet. > . >

 

[DEAD34345]

Basically, it differs for everyone who uses it, and it's really just a blanket term for "I'm more of a real gamer than you are.". The only reason "casual" game players don't use it is because they don't tend to argue over video games, and probably don't even realise they are hated by many of the so called "hard-core".

 

[Warped_Ghost]

Plays more complex games than just angry birds.

 

[TheIronRuler]

what makes a gamer 'hardcore'? That's something I've never understood. It feels like elitists tossing out this term, or fanboys using it without really knowing what it means.

This thing pops up with discouraging frequency, especially when developers change things in their games. Using the dreaded 's' word. Streamlined.

The word pops up when gamers talk about how the companies are 'betraying' them or 'ruining' the game, going away from the 'hardcore' crowd.

So can someone pleae explain what is 'hardcore' and why anyone should care about it at all?

This is hardcore.
There is a mode in New Vegas that expands the hardcore mod of play (That allows you to have hunger, thirst and sleep meter) into different essential nutrients, like proteins and Carbohydrates . Each food gives you different states and has difrent types of quality, and it can't be kept for long or it'll spoil.
THAT is hardcore RPG elements implemented in a rather streamlined RPG-fps hybrid.I love the modding community.

 

[RThaiRThai]

The here's the first definition I can think of for someone who is hardcore: someone who considers gaming a significant aspect of who they are. If gaming is something that person would put on their list of hobbies without being specifically prompted, that person is hardcore. I don't play games a lot anymore, but I still care about gaming news, enjoy playing games, and consider it one of my defining hobbies.

 

[mireko]

"Hardcore" usually refers to games that have a higher barrier for entry and that require more effort to succeed, whereas "casual" games are simpler and require less effort. Following that: core gamers are people who prefer the former and casual gamers are people who prefer the latter (although I'm guessing everyone will say they like both).

I guess people also use it to mean how awesome they are. In any case, it definitely isn't something worth caring about. At the very most, if you see the words pop up in a review you can sort of gauge how much effort you can expect to be expending in a game compared to another.

 

[PixelKing]

I call myself hardcore cause I have been gaming since I was 3 years old.

 

[General_Potatoes]

Eating a cow while playing Gears of war.

 

[Crazy Zaul]

Depends whether you measure hardcoreness by time spent playing, or level of skill at playing.

 

[Savagezion]

As far as I am aware, the industry itself was the first "person" to toss out the "hardcore" and "casual" terms. Since then everyone has interpretted it differently based on their perception of the medium. Because the terms are so vague, many people interpret it differently. I personally view on different levels. A hardcore fan focuses a lot of time and energy towards a particular title like CoD, Halo, Sims, etc. As well, you might be hardcore in concerns to genres. (e.g. Hardcore RPG player, Hardcore FPS player, etc.) But even further, you can just be a "hardcore gamer" meaning you spend a lot of time and energy learning about and experiencing all genres and usually spilling over into industry knowledge and interest in general.

However, that is my perspective on the subject, someone else could entirely disagree with me. You could also replace "hardcore" with "casual" in that example meaning you sometimes particpate. SOmeone might be a "Hardcore CoD fan" and a "hardcore Mario fan" but mostly a "casual gamer". Like my brother. These terms are vague and from what I can tell, when the industry talks about "hardcore gamers" they usually mean "hardcore fan" of the particular game they are talking about unless they are talking about consoles. Then it could mean anything and context as to how it is being used should be noted.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Hardcore is just a measurment really. Casuals do the same things as hardcore, only in fewer numbers.



What this means is that when people toss out these terms they're not really saying anything more than "look how much I love my hobby " or chastising someone as casual, meaning it the same way you would chastise someone who is unable to appreciate the flavor of a prime rib or the sound on Mozart.



Another dimension to this is instant gratification. A lot of current fps games may not be Bejeweled but they are still seen as too easy to be good at compared to some really hardcore games. Thus the fans of these hardcore games see the fps folk who can't have fun without killing something every 30 seconds or if they have to read as casuals too, adding another layer to the onion of this topic if you will.

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Hardcore is an ambiguous term, so it's far better to define casual and then take hardcore as the rest of them, assuming hardcore is the only other option. Casual gamers are gamers who play for fun, purely fun. They'll often play with friends and will usually only play or short times as a small extra to their leisure. And that's exactly what it is to them, leisure time, nothing more. It isn't an interest to them, it's a game to them. A game no more than Monopoly is a game. That's casual.

Hardcore is the rest of them.

 

[PlasmaFrog]

An attempt to justify they're gruesome obsession and dedication to an abnormal routine that consist of most of their moderate life. In other words, overly-competitive nerds.

... No offense.

 

[TehCookie]

Hardcore refers to gaming elitist who do nothing better with their time than playing games and extending their e-penis gamerscore.

No one really agrees on a definition of hardcore, though it is funny to watch people define their style of play as hardcore. Such as "If you don't play competitively and take games uber seriously you're not hardcore. I like pwning noobs in CoD so I'm more hardcore than you."

 

[Ruiner87]

Hardcore is necessarily a term that has one definition, mainly because it's a term thrown around by people who are looking for another way to circlejerk with other "hardcore" gamers. That being said, if I were to define the term, "hardcore", it would look something like this.

1. Plays games not just for fun, but also for the enjoyment that comes from having beaten everything there is to beat. This gamer wants to collect all the collectibles, and beat the game on its hardest difficulty setting.

2. Plays games for a long time. 12 hour gaming binge? That's smalltime. This gamer is ready to stay up for several days on end, ready to take several days off school/work just to beat Ninja Gaiden II on Master Ninja difficulty (not me, but a friend).

3. Talks about video games with other like-minded individuals on the internet.

4. There's a good chance that they're actually good at video games, as opposed to the other 95% of people that can't figure out why a certain button makes their character perform a certain action. That being said, the amount of dedication isn't necessarily related to the amount of skill. The amount of people I've seen in games such as Call of Duty, with over twenty days of playtime that can't manage to maintain a positive K/D ratio is mind boggling.