World Of Warcraft: The Hardcore vs The Casual vs Me

People ask me, "Sean, what kind of gamer are you?" My reply? "I'm a hardcasual gamer!!"

Confused? God knows I am... I have no clue what kind of gamer I am. I've been playing MMOG's since almost day one (I missed out on Meridian 59, but I hear it was pretty cool). Since the glory days of Ultima Online beta, I've been a diehard fan of the MMOG genre. I get so wrapped up in them my friends forget who I am, and yes... I even lost a girlfriend this way (that's an idea for a whole new column!!). I learn the ins and outs, I learn the formulas for how damage (read: dmg) is calculated, and I absorb it all... I love it!

And then I get tired of the game a few months later.

If that were all I wrote, it would be easy for me to decide that I'm a hardcore MMOG gamer. But lets step back a moment... back to when I'm addicted to an MMOG, before I get tired of it. Most of my friends start a character, play the character, play it some more, and then play it some more. Eventually they are hitting the caps set in place. Meanwhile, I start a character... I play it, then I start a new character. I play that one, then start a new character. So on, and so forth. By the time my friends have hit the caps (level 50 for example), I've got 3 or 4 mediocre characters and I don't like any of them.

I'm guessing there are others out there that are like me, but I've yet to find them. What is it that causes this short term addiction that leads to boredom? There are probably a good deal of answers, but I think it comes down to content. While I could get into a lengthy discussion about MMOG content, I'll save that for another article. What I want to try and focus on are the different types of gamers. We've established that I have no clue what kind of gamer I am, which leads me to believe that we need a new definition added to the list of types.

But first, let me explain what I consider to be a hardcore player as well as a casual gamer. Hopefully that will show where I believe the new type fits in. I believe a hardcore player isn't one that spends X number of hours per day or week in a certain game, but one that learns EVERY aspect of that game. He can rattle off starting stats, required levels for certain spells of any class, and so on. This person knows everything there is to know about a game, and his knowledge is rivaled only by that of the developers.

Next we have the casual gamer. This person is one that doesn't keep track of stats, doesn't know how to allocate stats to a starting character, and doesn't really care if the character is gimped in the end-game (because he knows that the endgame is beyond his reach). Again, I don't think that this type of gamer is represented by how many hours per day/week that he plays, but just by his knowledge of the game.

Enter the Hardcasual gamer... This is where I think a gap needs to be filled. I consider myself a hardcasual gamer because I am a mix of both the hardcore and the casual. I know a great deal of numbers about a game... I know how to not gimp a character for the ever elusive endgame, and I know when to save and when to spend skill points. But.. all of that is moot because I never get to the endgame. I spend too much time worrying about the numbers and not enough time having fun with the game. I'm initially addicted and level like mad for a few weeks, then I make a new character and start all over. Eventually I'm bored.

Well, there you have it. I'm still on the hunt for other players like myself... maybe if we all band together we can form some sort of support circle and help each other get to that endgame one day.

"Hi, my name is Sean... and... yes.. *sniff, sniff* I'm a hardcasual gamer."