What is your idea of a hardcore gamer?

[ZippyDSMlee]

Am I wrong to think of the current term "hardcore" being a witless teen to manchild that ingests gallons of COD and Halo fodder, basically the stuff you are told to like, that can not think outside a very limited box and mindset?


This is what I think when I think hardcore, hell casual core is more mindless clicky web games than a take it or leave it attitude that invests little time in any one game these days...

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Examples:
If you keep spreadsheets of your game character builds in RPGs and/or MMOs in order to do the most damage output, you're definitely hardcore or you just love spreadsheets.
If you've played a game so much you know every glitch and/or exploit that hasn't been patched out, you're hardcore.
If you've called in sick to work because you have a raid schedule conflict, you're a dumbass but probably hardcore. XD
If you can speed run (unglitched/non-exploited) any game and beat world records, you're hardcore. Also you might want to step outside and get some healthy sun... You might also have rickets, go see a doctor.
If you've 100% completed games like Dark Souls, FF7, Red Dead Redemption, Assassin's Creed 1 without a guide, you're hardcore.
If you can parry any move in a Street Fighter game that has that mechanic successfully every damn time, you're not just hardcore you're a damn alien... err... legend. Yeah legend, totally not an alien.

 

[Orphan81]

I prefer the more scientific term of "core" gamer, as opposed to "hardcore" and in constrast to "casual" gamer. I see casual gamers as those who primarily enjoy browser based games, or phone based app games. I.E. Angry Birds, words with friends, and the like. These individuals while still being considered "Gamers" per say, are not really "Core" Gamers...

Core gamers by contrast are those who play primarily upon consoles, and PC's, who dedicate at least 10+ hours a week (Most of the time more) to their hobby of gaming. Whether it be raiding with a Guild in an MMO, shooting noobs in Call of Duty, owning faces in Street Fighter, or triumphing over Bosses in Dark Souls.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

To me, it's all about the attitude and personal investment one has for video games, as I equate being a hardcore gamer to being a video games enthusiast. If you're the type that doesn't take video games all that seriously and doesn't like games that require a significant amount of investment or commitment in order to be good at it, then you're a casual gamer. What's interesting to note - and is something that people all too often overlook - is that one can be a casual gamer of certain games and a hardcore player of others. It's more common than you might think to have, for example, someone be deep into RPGs or RTS and only play genres like FPS or Fighting games casually.

Lastly, the obvious: being a casual gamer isn't inherently a bad thing. Yes, devs and publishers shouldn't shaft the core audience of a beloved franchise by overly simplifying titles to try to bring in the casuals at the cost of the hardcore auience, but that's the fault of the devs / publishers, not the fault of the casual audiences themselves. On top of that, games specifically designed around a more casual audience are a-okay, just as games designed around a hardcore audience are perfectly fine as well.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

If you self identify as "hardcore", then "hardcore" can be most ably described as "whatever you are". Those lesser than you in said capacity are disgusting casuals, and those greater than you in said capacity are try-hards.

It's a meaningless designation because it has no formal definition. Colloquially, it can be said to mean someone for whom gaming is a primary hobby, and not a secondary or tertiary one.

 

[Irick]

20+ hours a week spent on games or games media.
The Identity is what you make of it.

 

[Danny Dowling]

Am I wrong to think of the current term "hardcore" being a witless teen to manchild that ingests gallons of COD and Halo fodder, basically the stuff you are told to like, that can not think outside a very limited box and mindset?


This is what I think when I think hardcore, hell casual core is more mindless clicky web games than a take it or leave it attitude that invests little time in any one game these days...

yup, you are entirely wrong

 

[CannibalCorpses]

To be very invested in games.
If you play for hours a day and spend lots of time looking up guides or what have you to improve your skills in that game then yeah I'd call you hardcore.

Guides are about as far from hardcore as you can get..."i can't do it...better get a guide and cheat my way to the end".

At the very least you must be wrestling a bear while playing, and you must win at both.

But really I'll give the mark to anyone who genuinely pushes their limits in games, if you just keep chewing that minimum effort bench then you are a mere scrub. And I very well know people boasting high Gamerscore do just that, buy snooze grade games that give them quick numbers without effort.

I've met a few of them in my time. Those people who rented Avatar and bashed x 500 times in practice mode for the 1000G's and then sent it back. I've had people recommend me games because the gamerscore is easy to get. I have friends who search for multiplayer partners in games that will let them get all the online gamerscore without trying. What those people fail to recognize is that by doing that they have ended up totally crap at most of the games they have played and can't compete with most average players. It's sad really because before the whole achievements thing became big they actually were hardcore gamers...now they are number-chasing cheaters who think the high gamerscore is worth more than the experience of having beaten hundreds of games for themselves.

OT: For me, being a hardcore gamer is about trying for the top ten leaderboards. It's about finishing a game on the hardest setting first time without the crutch of a guide or previous experience at hand. It's about trying to be the best but also about trying to make the competition better through advice and assistance. It's about being able to second guess whats coming and to prepare for the worst case scenario at every step of the way. It's about taking the route that requires the most skill. It's also about not giving up when things seem bleak and persevering to the bitter end where normal gamers will give up or cheat. It's about being so generally good that when other people get stuck somewhere in a game they offer you the challenge of getting them past it because they can't. But most of all...the most important thing is looking in the mirror and striving to be better at games. Good enough just isn't good enough...there is always a better way, even after 1000 hours of practice.

Any guesses where i stand on this?

 

[MirenBainesUSMC]

I'd say a hardcore gamer is someone whom has to completely finish the entire game at the hardest difficulty as well as accomplishing all of the trophies associated with that said game. A Hard Core gamer will also play garbage games only because he or she finds a certain quality within it where others would cast it aside because of either bad graphics or bugs/glitches.

Then here are a few other attributes:


1 - Has to get all of the consoles at some point so that he or she doesn't miss a new game comming out.

2 - Has a gamer laptop and a desktop with the most latest affordable tech at their level of budget to bring out the maximized speed and power in order to play competitively online/off line. Solid State Drives, latest Raedon, I-core 5 chip +, Alien Ware ect.

3 - Large amounts of time invested - 20+ Hours or more. Taking breaks to maybe eat and shower. Will take off work for opening day games he or she really wants.

4 - Will grind for over 24+ when their favorite MMO has experience discounts, usually during holiday weekends. In some extra-hard core cases, I've seen two hard core gamers play in shifts --- one sleeps while the other grinds and then when he or she is tired, their partner gets up as if they were long haul truck drivers.

5 - Where they can be deeply imbedded into a game that Beyonce Knowles could be walking around butt naked and said male gamer could waive her off because her butt is blocking the TV/Monitor. ( That is for the male perspective). Perhaps if it were female then I guess .... what... She could be engrossed in getting her character to level 78 with a powerful magic staff of instant death while Adam Levine or Tyrese waited impatiently in speedoes.

Yeah I'd say at that point ---- You are a Jedi Master of Games.

 

[Jiggle Counter]

What do you think a gamer has to do to be "hardcore"?

Basically anyone who play games until they die of malnutrition, or anyone who sacrifices a way of 'living' in order to play games.

 

[Phasmal]

If you self identify as "hardcore", then "hardcore" can be most ably described as "whatever you are". Those lesser than you in said capacity are disgusting casuals, and those greater than you in said capacity are try-hards.

It's a meaningless designation because it has no formal definition. Colloquially, it can be said to mean someone for whom gaming is a primary hobby, and not a secondary or tertiary one.

Yeah, this.

Trying to define this just leads us round in circles.
People can be hardcore for playing one game obsessively, for playing ALL the games, for being an Achievement hunter, for 100%ing games... it goes on.

It's just kind of shitty to try and tell other people that they're identifying wrong.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Mm, just be really into the game, strive and consciously push yourself to be the very best, that sort.
I know that's not a very meaty response but it's all I got, I'm sort of casually hardcore if that makes any sense. I play a lot of games and I completely immerse myself in a story and atmosphere but I'm generally not out to break any high scores or anything so it's relatively easy for me to walk away.
Unless it's Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ of a BIT.TRIP game, those games are like drugs that have lost they're touch I'm trying so hard to break their scores.

 

[Harmsway68]

There are different Categories of hardcore.

Hardcore-Competitive- Plays games such as COD on a competitive level, is in a clan such as MLG or something along those lines. Or maintain over a 1.5-2.0 K/D ratio. These people take games such as shooters seriously, they are the general person you think of as a hardcore gamer.

Hardcore-MMO- These are people who spend lots of TIME on MMO's. They play game like WoW. Fortunately, they are up close to the Hardcore-competitive gamers in the aspect that they will grind their skills senselessly to get something they want. They spend more time on games than the hardcore-competitive, but get a lot more "satisfaction" out of what they achieve.

Hardcore-LoL players- LEague of Legends players. This one needs no explanation if you have seen anyone play LoL competitively.

Hardcore RPG- Single player lovers. They will send 400+ hours on a game like Skyrim and run through it multiple times. They aren't as competitive as the others on this list.

Hardcore-casual- Play games like Rogue Legacy, Civilization 5, or even Kerbal Space Program. Games that have multiplayer but don't enjoy the competitive scene, they play socially with their friends, usually have some money behind them as they buy many games to fit their needs.

Hardcore-TIMEWASTER- A time waster. They buy games to bury their abundant spare time. They spend 20-30+ hours a week on games but don't play competitively.

 

[Something Amyss]

A hardcore gamer is someone who takes gaming more seriously than I do.

A casual gamer is someone who takes gaming less seriously than I do.

Only one bear?!

Scrub, should be a full family of bears and a Walrus in heat.

If you're not fighting off a pack of raptors while beating two discrete instances of Dark Souls 2 (on PC, you scrub!), then you are a casual.

 

[Atmos Duality]

If you actually care about the words "Hardcore Gamer" without a hint of irony, you probably are one.

 

[norashepard]

Someone who literally makes a blood sacrifice every time they turn on their PC, sealing the contract with Char-Gar-Gothokon, the beast which hath no name.

Nah but for real anyone who plays games and likes games enough to beat them and talk about them in public. This is surprisingly few people, surprisingly enough.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

Someone that makes gamers into a tribal thing which leads to segregation, competition, and the general denial of people who don't give a damn about these labels are "gamers" or relegated to "casual gamer."
They generally have an over-inflated idea of how the gaming industry should be (largely cater solely to them as anything else needs to be shouted down, and silenced) caring only about themselves, and maybe who ever else they can get on "their" games they can "pwn," and trash talk to.

Roughly that.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Someone who plays games and listens to hardcore punk. Perhaps simultaneously.

 

[Kuv]

Someone who plays games and listens to hardcore punk. Perhaps simultaneously.

Best one yet.