Yo,
Sorry for being so absent as of late; with removing wallpaper and painting + refinishing floors my time has been limited. Please do not be angry with me *whimper*
I just wanted to ask all of you a question, please answer in any way you see fit (rant, outlined format, etc). Brad and I are attending GDC this year and there is a panel that’s addressing “Are Girls the New Hardcore Gamers?” Brad has issues, as do I, with the term “hardcore.” I, personally, do not consider myself a hardcore gamer. I lean more towards the retro historical aspect of games and most of my experiences are directly effected by my previous experiences. I do not sit down and for five hours straight perfect my Halo technique, although I believe L4D2 and Uncharted 2 could potentially suck me in rather easily (one of the reasons I’m afraid to start playing them, hah)
So what do you consider “hardcore”?
AND do you believe that people tend to be more loose on the application of the term “hardcore” when it comes to girls?
Don’t be worried about making comments “too long” I really want to know what y’all think.
(and please don’t be worried about offending me)
Thx guys =)
Edit: Love the comments, I have another question to add on inspired by the comments. Are you more likely to avoid going after someone who identifies herself as female (to go easy on her in a fight), have you seen this happen?
It would make a bit of sense, I know that I had to knock a few males down before they took me seriously in different male dominated pastimes. However, I had a tendency to go easier when I was playing against girls because I was afraid I’d hurt them.
Thoughts?
Firstly: YOU’RE ATTENDING GDC? I’M SO JEALOUS.
*ahem*
Down to the meat of the comment: Personally, I think “hardcore” is thrown around too much in the video game industry. There is no definitive definition of it, but the general consensus is that CoD, GoW etc. games are “hardcore”. There seems to be a correlation of being called “hardcore” and gritty/bloodiness nowadays which saddens me. Since indie games (like… I dunno, Plain Sight or Braid) could just as easily satisfy the same criteria.
Hardcore for me is just a game that only really gamers will play (so that means Peggle etc. are out). That being said, flash games are a completely different story altogether but I won’t delve into that here since it’s almost 2AM and I have a 9AM lecture 🙁 .
Actual players-wise, “hardcore gamer” is somewhat more vague for me. But it generally means someone who plays games often. Really often. At the very least, daily if they can help it. That being said, you could argue people playing Solitare/Flash games just for fun during breaks at work would also be counted as a “hardcore gamer” in this context. And most wouldn’t count them as “hardcore.” So, the definition is very loose but I suppose you could throw in something about owning a console or a gaming-enabled PC.
As for girls, I do think it’s applied more easily to girls. Just because for more than I would like to believe of the gaming public, a “hardcore gamer girl” is almost like an urban myth. When you have a female that plays MW2 or L4D, it’s almost unprecedented for most. That being said, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any. I’ve come across quite a few in my L4D days and other male players go out of their way to please her, which disgusts me. *ahem* But that’s for something else entirely, I think I should stop now before I’m unable to sleep at all.
Btw, play L4D and/or (preferably and) Uncharted. You’ll love them. If you play through L4D with friends (or Brad, even) you’ll have a blast.
I’ve asked some girls if they play video games. There answer usually hints me they they’ve never tried. However one of my friend’s brother had bought a PS3 and now she seems almost as addicted as me to it (mostly the game Uncharted 2). While playing online, I have noticed more and more female competition. Probably 60% of the girls I ask say that it’s their friend’s &/or sibling’s account/game console (Yet their level is 50 & up).
I consider “hardcore” ME! I mean, if one is willing to pay large amounts of money for game packs, sit days on end in your room, buy a 48” just for the PS3… well yeah. Hardcore to me means that whoever is being given the term must have mad skills or really high stats.
Still today I encounter a female player once probably every three other games or so. “OMG Nina what did you do yesterday?” “Played MW2, you?” you get the picture. Video games appeal more to male players then female players (I think) and so few have expanded their comfort zones into video games.
(WJUK pretty much said it and I guess I’m just putting it into my words.)
Before I posted this, I finished playing a 4 hour round of games on Uncharted 2. In those 4 hours <—(give or take) I only encountered 2 female players, and these female players I find hive very high levels. So it seems when I do find a female player, they seem to have above average scores. So when girls play, they play HARDCORE!
I would say that girls don’t usually play games hardcore. As in they play a video game for 2 hours max. My friends who are girls only play facebook games, The Sims and L4D. A hell lot of girls play L4D. Especially with their boyfriends. But they aren’t hooked. Fairly, you are the one girl i know (well i don’t actually know you but…) who actually appreciates video games. I so envy Brad… Being able to play games with the girl you like pretty much mixes the two things i like best in the world. my opinion is girls won’t become hardcore gamers. At least they would not overtake boys.
it’s a difficult question because it’s a matter of degree and it depends of the context.
It’s like the difference between “rich” and “poor”: what exactly is being rich? However some international organization tried to define a “poor” threshold, but none exist for defining what “rich” is and there may not be clear definition or frontier between rich and poor.
“Jumper” series is hardcore, although it can be played in a short amount of time. To appreciate this game (and finish), you need some physical or nervous training that can be achieved trough the practice of previous videogames.
In my opinion the “hardcore degree” of a person is a measure of the cultural capital she/he have invested in videogames or some subgenre (strategy, action, etc..).
The hardcore degree of a game is relational and depends of the degree of players: if the degree of a person is below the degree of the game, this perso will need a longer time to finish the game or achived the same performance (= score). Thus in some sense the “hardcore degree” of a game is the cultural skill (or time, wich may be considered as about the same) needed to finish the game. In practice we count only the time spent to play the game, but we should also add a hidden( and cumulated) time the player has spent to previously acquire the relevant skills by playing other games.
Besides this, Bejewveld is not hardcore, but you can play it in a hardcore way (by spending extra time on it to improve your skills). Good games satisfy all players whatever their hardcore degree is. See “Layering” here: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26386/Analysis_Game_Design_Accessibility_Matters.php
The “casual” players achieve a low score, whereas hardore ones naturally attempts more difficult achievements.
“Hardcore” often implies higher score (but not always). So it became an alternate definition: if a person focuses on getting a high score we qualify him as a hardcore player, or with a hardcore practice.
It may be considred as a totally different thing, more related to psychology, perfectionnism, or geeky approach.
Now I realize (while I’m writing) that finally it may be the most accurate definition of “hardcore”, whereas what I was talking about previously was simply “skill”. “Hardcore” is the way you practice videogames (by focusing on performance). “Skill” is the amount of time you spent in training, plus your natural hability of course.
It seems that indeed we use often the term “hardcore players” or “hardcore games” to describe skilled players or games requiring skill. Perhaps we need another word.
Perhaps we can simply be precise about what is hardcore: the player? the game? the practice?
In my opinion, since you have played many games, including difficult or long ones like zelda, mario, etc.. you are certainly skilled (= hardcore player?), but if you play for pleasure, without automatically try always to be in the top 10 or achieve 100%, your practice is not hardcore.
yeah i usually let them win, mainly so they can get back to the kitchen. haha j/k
taking it easy is the gentlemanly thing to do at first, just as in athletics, but you should be able to tell pretty quickly if the girl can play to your level or better. in which case it makes it more fun for everyone involved.
There are a hell lot of pro girls so i wouldn’t even think of letting them win!
@John Junner:
Read what Fairly has posted before just commenting for the hell of it.
I am a girl, so I don’t usually let up on other girls. Why would I let up on someone that is at least equal to me? I would only let up on someone who says, “Oh be easy on me, I’m not a very good player,” regardless of gender.
Ah Slugminni, a girl after my own heart. Super Mario Bros 3 = Pure Win, if you love whimsical and fun I hope you’ve gotten a chance to play Mario Galaxy. That game is all about some whimsicalness and fun 😉
btw to those who have referred to me as “hardcore” I appreciate the compliment. I have a hard time thinking of myself as something like that considering my brother and a few of his good friends competed (Halo) 😉
What(T_T)
I don’t like halo.
If you don’t like Halo you’ll HATE World 3!!!! 😉
How can one NOT like halo? O.o
Well, anyways I dont have really much to say, I read the posts above and if i would write what I think it would be allmost the same as the first few post put together. xD
Fore exeample: ‘Most girls i know never play video games and rarely play flash games, but the ones that DO play video games play HARDCORE.’ See, someone said that allready. Anyways, I consider myself as a hardcore gamer. I do not play theese games where you just shoot enemys for no reason, but that insn’t the case in most games. For exeample, Halo 3 or Metroid. The later one doesnt even have a little blood in the whole game(except the gameover screen wich is some blood spreading over a blue background). I allways try to complete the game for 100% but i NEVER play for score(except when it is needed to unlock achievments or other things) I play games several hours every day, but that doesnt mean i fit in that typical “hardcore games picture”. I should stop writing and start training for my test now. I said at the beginning of this post: “Well, anyways I dont have really much to say…” but it became a pretty long post in the end. Well, cya, and good luck on making world 3, im really looking forward to it!! 😀 PS. is my english really that bad? i think i did it pretty good this time, but everyone allways says its bad 😮
I don’t hate halo I just dont like it as much as world 3 or any other game ther is.
World 3 is much beter than halo because thars no alions and no shooting and also world 3 or any other world has fancy pants man in it so Frubban and FairlyObvious junny does have a point Halo is not a good game,Of cors this this is coming from two halo fans that like halo beter than fancy pants man so fine like halo more you two be happy with halo:P
John junner stop fighting with them and Halo is a good game because it got a (9.5) Edeters choice by the cridics and if you don’t beleve that go to game stop and see.
P.S:I still don,t like halo.
Frubban, your English is actually very good, easy to understand. I do think we can all agree that Halo is not like, oh say, God of War , it’s a game that’s easy on the eyes when it comes to violence.
In my opinion Halo IS a good game, the storyline is interesting and it did keep me entertained. The goal was very focused and I enjoyed playing two player with Brad. I enjoy going back to play it again and again. That’s pretty good considering I’m more a fan of third person shooters then third person shooters. =P
Eh… I don’t much like Halo. Sure, it’s addicting, but is it really worth it to spend so much time playing a war game? In fact, it wouldn’t BE so addicting if it didn’t distance itself from war with aliens and spaceships. MMM, aliens.
Well, for most people I think it’s more of a social thing. My brother, for instance, played it a lot with his friends. I play it with Brad and I enjoy seeing myself improve. Kind of like chess! (Yes I was a member of the chess club in highschool, shush)
I just found out i can draw like you Brad(No lie).
Also try getting Fancypantsman a Skateboard(If you want to).
u like third person shooters better than third person shooters?
I was in chess club in 4th grade,AND yes halo is a good game(if you dont get too addicted and play for like,10 hours).plus to chad,I agree with you about the skateboard thing,and maybe a hoverboard for the upgrade