There's an argument in video gaming in general between casual gamers and hardcore gamers. Generally speaking, a casual gamer has a life, and plays ocasionally. A hardcore gamer will play avidly, and forego other activities (such as social interactions) to play games. Added to this argument is the argument of which KIND of game casual and hardcore gamers play. Some argue that someone that plays concievably 'casual' games (Such as Tetris, Mario, or puzzle games: games normally thought of as 'for kids')in an almost obsessive compulsive fashion is a hardcore gamer. Others feel that hardcore gamers only play 'hardcore games', such as Gears of War, or Grand Theft Auto, or Call of Duty (violent games, normally)
In the MMO world, the definition takes a different spin. Why? Because you're all playing the same MMO, so there is no argument about what game makes you hardcore or casual (although there is something to be said about the feud between, say, Lord of the Rings Online and World of Warcraft)The argument is normally focused on A. how much you play B. Gearscore (Gearscore is basically a score on your equipment. The higher the score, the better your armor is. )C. What you have accomplished in the game D. What you do when you play. It could be said that some of these arguments are better measures of hardcore/casual gaming than others, and some not so much.
1. Play time- Well, it could be said that people that play the game casually play for small increments of time, and hardcore players play for long periods of time. This could be construed as a phallacy, and I'll explain why in the last point. (Sorry, I organized my list a bit sloppilly and now I'm too lazy to organize it so it's coherent. Bear with me)
2. Gearscore- Some people argue gearscore, or GS has ruined this game. Basically, people will gear up insanely fast with the new additions to the game and have ridiculous gearscores with little to no effort, then they expect it to be representative of their skill as a gamer. It's as if wearing Nike's made me great at basketball (in the 90s, it did) Some people go so far as to use items that will improve their score, but that aren't really useful to them (like a chromed grill on a rusty Beetle...it LOOKS pretty garish, and it doesn't do that much good)
3.Accomplishments- I would say this is actually a fairer measure of how hardcore or casual you are. If you can prove that you've killed some fire breathing dragon (normally an achievement or a title. Titles are cool, and hard/difficult to get; titles such as "Champion of the Frozen Wastes") then it means you probably did kill it, right? It's not as if the dragon laid down and said, "Um, so you'll be choppin' my head off now? " Except not necessarily. In today's real world, we know that some people go through life with special titles such as Doctor, or Honorable, or Lt. or something. And these titles are hard to get! ....99%. We all know that sometimes, some people luck out and get a free ride. And sometimes, in the game, all you have to do is be CLOSE to someone successful (or in their party) to get a title or an accomplishment. So there will always be, even in MMOs, moochers. Still, it's a better way of figuring who plays hardcore and who plays casually.
4. Activities- Going back to my point 1. An MMO can be a wondrous thing. You can spend your time questing. And you can spend your time raiding, or doing instances. And SOME people spend their time playing the auction house like it was the Stock Market. And some people dedicate their hours upon hours on the various trade and general chats WHILE they play the game. Or they collect pets or special mounts. Or, nowdays, they spend their time on old raids. Some other people dedicate days upon days on the current, harder content. And yet, some people have been able to see the same content while not playing that often.
I consider myself a casual gamer. I am not barreling towards the harder content, I do not have many accomplishments to show for and my GS is crap. And yet, as of late, I have been playing quite a bit (I've been increasing my 'reputation' with the dwarves) Am I hardcore because I've been obsessing about a minute detail of a game, sacrificing other activities over this?
I dunno. I always thougth I was just a completist, a consequence of a compulsive personality.
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