Poll: Casual Gamer - Derogatory Term?

[Hagi]

I think anyone who uses hardcore as a badge of honor or casual as an insult is probably leading an extremely sad life.

That said I do believe they're useful terms although they're not absolute terms, which seems how many people enjoy using them. They're simply relative terms.

I recently stopped playing Path of Exile and started playing Diablo 3. In that context I switched to a casual game. Diablo 3 simply doesn't require the investment Path of Exile does, neither in time, the community nor knowledge of mechanics. That doesn't in any way make it a bad game, right now I'd say D3 is the superior game over PoE due to technical and balance issues plaguing the latter. But it is the casual game out of the two.

In a completely different context I'd likely describe Diablo 3 as a hardcore game though. It does require some investment of time, some knowledge of it's mechanics and so on, definitely more than quite a few other games.

A hardcore game, to me, is simply a game that requires significant investment of time, knowledge of the game mechanics, involvement in the community etc. While a casual game is one that doesn't require much investment, a game that's easy to pick up and easy to put down.

And all of that varies wildly depending on context. World of Warcraft is about as casual as you can get compared to EvE Online. World of Warcraft is also about as hardcore as can get compared to a random Facebook game.

Every game is casual. Every game is hardcore. All depends on the context you're in.

 

[DrOswald]

I mean if someone plays FarmVille for several hours each day, that's pretty much the definition of a hardcore gamer, isn't it?

No.

Because that makes you a hardcore Farmville player. Not a player of games in general.

But they're devoting a massive amount of their time into playing a game. Does that mean that you have to be playing multiple games in order to say that you enjoy playing games? Or what if they spend a vast majority of their time playing multiple casual games? That seems unnecessarily divisive to me. If one person only ever plays Dark Souls, which is considered a hardcore game, then they're not a gamer as well?

I think anyone who enjoys games is a gamer. If we're placing bizarre definitions and categories to the term, then I can see why people are unwilling to join the gaming community. It's like the 'true gamer test' thing all over again.

I know a kid who will watch Frozen over and over again all day long. This does not make him a film buff. Similarly, playing FarmVille hours a day does not make you a hardcore gamer.

 

[DrOswald]

Hey fellow escapists!

I was speaking to a fellow gamer of mine, and she mentioned to me one of the reasons she rarely talks about video games is that she is frequently mocked for what she plays, often being called a casual gamer.

She plays Animal Crossing, mostly, on her DS. She also has a Wii and plays a couple Mario Bros. games. However, when it came up during discussion, she would say "I love video games! I play Animal Crossing!"
Often, the people with whom she spoke would ridicule her, saying "that's such a stupid, easy, pointless game. That's for casual gamers."

To her, that is the equivalent of saying "What you whole-heartedly enjoy is stupid and you are stupid for liking it."
The word casual, to her, is like saying that you are not a real gamer, you aren't playing a real game, and how silly you are for thinking otherwise!

At first, I was thinking, yes, Animal Crossing is hardly a challenging or meaningful game, and I would, to a certain extent agree with those nasty critics. But she is completely right, and I feel bad for thinking it was that way.
She plays a video game that she thoroughly enjoys, and wants to share that experience with others. Isn't that the whole point of video games? How can we say that her experience is different or less important than someone who has played any Bethesda Game, Mass Effect, or competitively plays COD?

What do you think, Escapists? Should we reduce/remove our use of the word "casual?" It is evidently an ignorant label that can prevent potential members of the community to join/enjoy the very same things we enjoy.
Do you think she is right? What are your opinions? I am curious.

This is a very complex issue, actually. There are really good and practical reasons to differentiate between types of gamer, but as far as the type of use above? That shit needs to stop. People who talk down to other gamers just because they play a certain type of game are jerks and need to shut up.

Also, someone who only plays Animal Crossing can be considered no more casual a gamer than someone who only plays COD. Both have an equally shallow relationship to video games. (Not that this is a bad thing, do what you want.)

 

[Ambitiousmould]

Is it odd that I never saw Animal Crossing as a casual game? For me basically anything on a console (or of a certain quality that most of us would agree on or higher) isn't a casual game, but most mobile games are. Not that I despise mobile games, they certainly have their place, usually it's the bathroom or on waiting for someone outside.

This means that as far as I am concerned, people who exclusively play these games are casuals, because they aren't particularly interested in core gaming or hardcore gaming, and so calling them casuals wouldn't be offensive. However, if someone was a core/hardcore gamer, and got called a casual, that would be offensive because they're basically questioning their interest in the hobby, and saying 'I don't think you really care about gaming, and I think you are being half arsed about it'. For someone who does gaming as a regular hobby, gets involved in communities and does the whole shebang, this could be quite upsetting, like if someone walked up to an avid golfer and went 'you don't really know anything about golf, do you?'.

If I called someone a casual (I can't imagine this situation would ever arise, but hypotheticals are as hypotheticals do) and they went 'hey, no I'm not' I'd reply with, 'what other games do you play' and they they didn't reply with anything that I considered to be core or hardcore, I would say 'why don't you try . Because if you think that's as far as gaming goes then your mind, my friend, is about to be blown like Krakatoa in 1883'.

Does that make me a dick? I'd like to think not, but someone might disagree.

 

[Fonejackerjon]

I despise all things casual in general. Why partake in something casually when you could instead partake in something else fully and to the max. I find casual people only EVER do things casually. They have nothing they are actually seriously passionate about or devoted to and that's pathetic. I wish casual gamers just used their gaming time for some other meaningful to them activity that they can be hardcore about.



Now, all that being said, Animal Crossing is NOT a casual game. People who said that have clearly not tried it. Casual games are crap like farmville or candy crush. Your friend has nothing to worry about as she sounds quite invested in gaming. She's one of us 100%.

See I dont get this, Candy Crush is a hardcore game it actually requires alot of skill and is far harder than the casual crap like 'call of duty' of the latest hand holding AAA cut and paste crap shat out of EA's money filled anus, my friend.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

To me - there is a difference between "casual" gamers and "hardcore" gamers, but it isn't the difference most people seem to emphasize between the two groups in my mind.

It's not about what games you play or how often you play them - to me - it's about how much you are invested in the industry and culture.

For example - my sister's husband plays games. Sports games, shooters, and the occasional dungeon smash fest for loot. He's a guy too (obviously) which gives him an automatic aura of credibility as a gamer I don't enjoy being a chick among any group of people who don't know either of us - believe it or don't, not making this a gender thing, it's tangentially relevant and we've both observed it ourselves. However, I consider him a "casual" gamer and he agrees. He doesn't care about sites like this one. He doesn't follow games coming out. He doesn't play outside of his chosen genres unless someone (like me) encourages him to do so.

Now, I don't consider him "not-equal" in terms of being a gamer because of those things, but the reality of the situation is that he is less invested in the hobby, by far, than most of us here can be said to be.

I would say the same thing about anyone who only plays a small selection of games and doesn't really care about anything beyond them. They are gamers, sure, but they are not "hardcore" about their interest level, they are more "casual" about it. And that's fine.

I do see a lot of people using "casual" as a derogatory claim against people - here and elsewhere. I don't think of it as an insult, and I'd be careful not to call someone "casual" who might take it as an insult, even if it's clear to me that's what they are.

For me, it's not about insulting people or dividing the groups, it's just a recognition that some people who play games are REALLY into the hobby and it's a very big part of their life and their way of thinking and their personality and other people who play games are just playing the games and not really taking it much farther than that and it's a smaller part of their life overall. Which, again, is totally fine.

I like instrumental music, but I wouldn't say it's a huge part of my life or my day and I'm not hardcore into it - I'm more casually into it. I'm not hardcore into any sports, but some people are; if I grab a pick up game of soccer with friends one day I'm just playing casually and there's nothing wrong with that at all, but if some serious sports fan comes up and tells me I've got no right to enjoy "their" sport because I'm not as into it as they are - they can piss right off. Same thing for how people treat casual gamers. Everyone's got a right to enjoy the hobby and everyone has the right to determine how into it they are going to get and shouldn't be judged if that level isn't "all the way every day man!" enthusiasm.

 

[nevarran]

Causal gamers are lesser gamers, that's obvious.
They don't look on games, the way we do, they don't feel our passion. They just have fun, the same fun they get from watching a reality show, or a football game.

But that's not a bad thing.

Just like there are passionate bikers, who breathe that lifestyle, and causal riders, who own a scooter to go to work.
Just like there are sports fans, who support their teams wholeheartedly, and people, who just want to eat some chips on the stadium and have fun.
That's why we have more than one lane on the highway, so everyone can drive with it's comfortable speed.

I listen music now and then, but I'm by no means passionate about it. I don't know the names of the singers, the groups, the songs even. And if someone tell me that I'm a casual music listener, that's fine by me.

I have a friend, who play only CoD and facebook games and he's having his fun, but he is by no means passionate about it.
On the other hand, he loves photography. And when I show him a photo, made by me with my simple photo camera, he's smiling. Because he's studying photography every day, exercising every day, living with it every day. And I just have fun with my simple camera or my phone.
And if he calls me a casual photographer, should I feel bad? Should I feel bad, that he loves photography more than I do?

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

I wouldn't use it seriously unless to refer to people who only buy CoD/Fifa every year, and see games as cheap thrills.

But even then, I'd use for the sake of reference, not as a derogatory term.

 

[Nexxis]

In my opinion, I always believed that a "casual gamer" was someone who played video games (any video game) as a hobby but usually didn't devote a lot of time to them. To me, someone who plays Call of Duty 2 hours a day is as much of a casual gamer as someone who plays Animal Crossing 2 hours a day.
It is unfortunate that people use the term as a way to insult a person for what they play, how they play, or for the amount of time that they play. Now, the term is used to belittle people and I find it disgusting.

Folks are still pulling that one?

Man, I thought the whole Casual Vs Hardcore thing went out of fashion in 2011, if not before.

Look, it's a stupid argument born of petty elitism. People who pull that shit can be cheerfully dismissed as not worth your time.

I pretty much agree with this except I've seen this petty argument continue for years, especially the MMO scene (more specifically WoW). I wish it died off a long time ago, but it's not going anywhere. People like to have labels that allow them to mentally identify others that they deem lesser than them in some way. It's childish, but I don't see the community maturing at a significant rate to make it go away any time soon.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

I'm going to have agree with everyone who is going on the assumption that casual/hardcore when the words are used properly only signify someones interest in something. I would say someone who plays games by choice and not due to time constraints less than a couple in total a week is probably someone who can be considered a casual gamer.

Anyone who isn't bothered going onto sites and reading patch notes(as examples) just isn't that passionate about gaming. Same as I wouldn't call someone who only goes to the cinema once every few months and just watches comedy flicks a cinephile or someone who reads two books a year a bookworm. That also goes for gaming. Doesn't make them any less valid just not as passionate but people who discriminate on this basis are tools.

 

[Alrira]

Not at all.

Frankly, there should be no discriminating. I would say i am a passionate gamer but there are times where i cant or do not play for weeks on end.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

It can be a derogatory term. Or it can be a descriptive term. You can be a casual player (doesn't play often or as a hobby) of any game, or a player of casual (simple and not challenging) games. But I'm going to assume we mean casual gamer as in someone who plays casual games.

I do think there's a distinction, because everyone's Candy Crush or Wii-playing mother is clearly not the same market or culture (two places where a distinction is useful) as someone who plays challenging games as a hobby (which can be on the Wii or 3DS).

My approach would be if they were open to criticism and I knew anything about Animal Crossing, I could possibly say that the game they like is stupid, and I would have reasons for it. People tell me Dark Souls is unfair all the time, and that's basically the same gist to me - insulting the entire premise and execution of the game, so to say a game is stupid is just as acceptable. I would not say they were stupid for liking it. That's their preference and I don't care what they like. I only start to care when decisions made about games that cater to one population are flavoured by the preferences of the other, and part of that problem is the lack of an objective way to classify casual and hardcore gamers. For the record, I don't actually like the terms and I probably seem like a dick for using them, but I don't mean to convey any connotations.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I despise all things casual in general. Why partake in something casually when you could instead partake in something else fully and to the max. I find casual people only EVER do things casually. They have nothing they are actually seriously passionate about or devoted to and that's pathetic. I wish casual gamers just used their gaming time for some other meaningful to them activity that they can be hardcore about.



Now, all that being said, Animal Crossing is NOT a casual game. People who said that have clearly not tried it. Casual games are crap like farmville or candy crush. Your friend has nothing to worry about as she sounds quite invested in gaming. She's one of us 100%.

See I dont get this, Candy Crush is a hardcore game it actually requires alot of skill and is far harder than the casual crap like 'call of duty' of the latest hand holding AAA cut and paste crap shat out of EA's money filled anus, my friend.

Candy crush is a minigame or a relic of the tetris age. A little distraction between sessions of Pokemon battles in stadium like that Lickitongue sushi eating minigame.


Oh and I agree, CoD is also highly casualised and aimed at a wide market as well. If it has anything over candy crush is that it's more involved, You can take something like Persona 4 or Blazblue if you wanna look at stuff I'd consider not casual.

 

[Not Lord Atkin]

I've had a conversation with my housemate about this a while ago.

Essentially, the conclusion we came to is, that calling someone a 'filthy casual' is the best insult there is. Chiefly because it's not actually an insult. The fuckwits that consider casual gamers to be somehow inferior because of what they enjoy are pretty much the only people who find being called a casual insulting. Actual casuals will not care because to them, the term does not hold a negative conotation. Just like it doesn't to any sane human being. The term 'casual' is by its very nature only offensive when used against a non-casual that actually believes the term is offensive.

What comes down to is the fact, that the only people who would actually be offended by being called a casual are the people who fully deserve every insult they get. I.e. the (hopefully) small portion of core gamers who believe that the 'filthy casuals' are somehow destroying the industry because of reasons.

 

[Something Amyss]

It is evidently an ignorant label that can prevent potential members of the community to join/enjoy the very same things we enjoy.

Just about any label has that potential.

"Casual" has a viable use in gaming as both a descriptor and a marketing concept. Of course, it's become more a genre, like "indie" music stopped being defined in terms of whether or not the artist was actually independent and became more about a certain style of music. Hell, I expect "indie gaming" to go down that road. IF it hasn't already, I really don't pay attention.

So yeah. People should back off casual as a slur, but they won't, because casuals threaten "our" hobby just like women, blacks, gays, and anyone else who would take the focus off the idea of the "core" gamer. It's as though it's a war that "core" or "hardcore" gamers are losing.

 

[Aeonknight]

Considering that only the hardest of the hardcore gamers will partake in any/every game genre that they consider fun, including the casual titles, I'd your female friend has filthy scrub children for friends.

On a slightly more serious note, the problem is casual as a term is misused. It doesn't describe a particular brand of game design, it's describing someone's interest level in game. Playing Animal Crossing doesn't label you as "casual", it's a game you can relax too. Everyone has those (RPG's, puzzle/strategy, any point & click adventure game, etc.) A "Casual gamer" is that guy who pops in Wii bowling once every 6 months. It's not even derogatory, it's just a distinction between gamers like him and gamers who are more enthusiastic, even obsessive about it.

It's tossed around as a derogatory term because the term itself has become the new "noob". True casuals, by definition, don't give a fuck.

 

[Sarge034]

I abstained from the poll because no option suited me. No I did not feel differently after reading the post. I feel that the term is an apt descriptor that can be utilized in a negative fashion if you so choose.

Being a casual gamer is to game... casually. You don't try to grind out achievements or go for the high score. You just chillax and play a game or two when you have the time. It personally helps me to know what type of gaming conversations to have with people.

 

[Random Argument Man]

I never understood the need to categorize gaming. Even if they play on Facebook or their IPads, they still get frustrated when they lose, they still scream when the battery runs out and they're enjoying a game.

Although, my mom is way more intense about Candy Crush that I've been on most of my entire gaming collection.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I despise all things casual in general. Why partake in something casually when you could instead partake in something else fully and to the max. I find casual people only EVER do things casually. They have nothing they are actually seriously passionate about or devoted to and that's pathetic. I wish casual gamers just used their gaming time for some other meaningful to them activity that they can be hardcore about.



Now, all that being said, Animal Crossing is NOT a casual game. People who said that have clearly not tried it. Casual games are crap like farmville or candy crush. Your friend has nothing to worry about as she sounds quite invested in gaming. She's one of us 100%.

See I dont get this, Candy Crush is a hardcore game it actually requires alot of skill and is far harder than the casual crap like 'call of duty' of the latest hand holding AAA cut and paste crap shat out of EA's money filled anus, my friend.

Candy Crush is an uninspired Bejeweled clone that caught some attention for trying to copyright the word 'Saga', and matching three of a kind doesn't take a whole lot of skill while we're at it.