Gaming Signal: Diary of a Casual Gamer

Diary of a Casual Gamer

Dear Diary,

I am writing this in hopes that I can come to terms with my chosen way of life.

I am a casual gamer.

This is a hardship for me because my friends are all hardcore gamers.

They spend hours upon hours in virtual worlds with virtual versions of their carbon-based friends. They make new friends with whom they trade virtual goods in worlds populated by millions of other avatars. They spend cold, hard cash to play these games, installing the latest graphics card and buying various platforms to get their jones on.

They attack board games with a passion the likes of which I have never imagined, at one point meeting monthly to escape to the imagination of RPGs. They arrange game nights in which they come together and share their passion for gaming. One of them even has his own game company and is doing quite well, proving passion is the fuel of success.

I do not begrudge them this way of life. They made their choice as I have made mine. My major preference for entertainment comes in book form, science fiction in case you wanted to know.

But I am still a casual gamer.

Man cannot live by book alone. And so I game. But my passion does not run as deeply as my friends. When I game, I am looking for a quick fix, a way to escape, if only for a moment. The idea of a long-term commitment to a MMORPG - I don't even know if I have that abbreviation right and I even lack that small commitment of time to look it up - sends waves of fear through me. My last bout with an "inviolved" game was some version of Ultima about 14 years ago. I had my cloth map and my notebook. I carefully wrote the town names at the top of a clean sheet of paper and carefully wrote down what the townspeople said, noting names and underlining important tasks assigned to me. I followed all the breadcrumb trails from one town to another. I never finished it, though. Eventually, it wore me down. I felt like I was just looking for all the nooks and crannies of the source code that some sweaty developer coded with pride. I felt like he was controlling me in some remote way and I came to dislike it. So I avoid the whole thing and instead retreat to my quick fix.

Sometimes I catch a board game with the guys. Always fast, always fun. Even when the game isn't so much fun, the time spent with friends always is.

But when they aren't around, I game alone. (Insert George Thorogood music here.) My fix these days is usually achieved by some Shockwave-based game or other that I stumble upon via normal surfing. I've recently enjoyed the game Blocky. Puzzle games interest me because they seem to tax my brain more than, say, Space Invaders did in my youth. And I can stop playing at any time. Unsually. I sometimes even go further and download actual PC-based level games, most recently the shoot-em-up game Mono. Another fun one.

I am slowly coming to terms with my casual gamer status. If I try real hard, I can sometimes sit with my friends and not feel like an outsider when they talk about life in the virtual world. I can take pride in who I am and the choices I've made.

I am a casual gamer.

That's all for now,
John

P.S. I ordered as Wii yesterday! I swear, it's a gift for my kid. But I'm sure I'll be spending hours upon hours playing "teacher" and spending my cold, hard cash on software and accessories.

Watch who you're calling hardcore around here! I'd say only Trent and Scott fit that bill.

And you need Boogie for the Wii. And you need video of you Boogie-ing. Oh yes, that will boost traffic.

Posted by jp on Friday August 10, 2007 at 9:11 AM

JP you are crazy if you don't think you are hardcore compared to John. Look at your gamercard! 'nuff said.

And John, you need to be introduced to the casual fun that are the games from a company called PopCap. Go to www.popcap.com and check out Peggle, Bookworm and the new Bookworm Adventures. They are exactly the kind of game I think you will like. Quick, easy to play, but with a cerebral twist that keeps you wanting to play just a little more. Peggle has you guessing how the physics of the ball will work to bounce it in exactly the right way, and the Bookworm games will allow you to use all that knowledge gained from reading.

As for the Wii - I don't feel I've found that killer game yet. Raving Rabbids is fun, but almost too gimmicky. Zelda is the kind of long drawn-out affair that won't appeal to you. The included sports games are about the best casual gaming it offers - fun, but with little depth.

Posted by scottsh on Friday August 10, 2007 at 10:27 AM

JP, I'm going to have to echo Scott's comment there JP. You're beating my 360 gamerscore by 300+ points I think? I'll get you a mirror for x-mas, mmmmkay?

John, I'd offer you a tissue, but if I did, I'd have to take my hand off the XBOX 360 controller I have in one hand, the Wii controller in my other hand, and I'd use my feet, but they are typing this missive to you with the keyboard I have on the floor. But still, your story is so heartbreaking I think I might need to go to the restroom to purge.

Posted by tditto on Friday August 10, 2007 at 10:36 AM

JP: I think the others have said it better than I could, supergamer.

Scott, yep, I know about PopCap (Insert RT-other-FB comment here ) and I do like their stuff. I have Bookworm and Bejeweled loaded on my PDA. You're probably right about Zelda, if only because I remember the eventual drudgery of the original Nintendo version, although I did manage to finish that game.

Trent, too funny! You should consider relaunching your career as a Blog Comment Comedian.

Posted by John on Friday August 10, 2007 at 10:50 AM

Compared to John, my dead grandmother is a hardcore gamer. But in reality, I'm not hardcore anymore. I don't have the time or the desire.

And Gamerscore is nothing more than an exercise in efficient game play and gaming the system.

I have yet to finish Oblivion or Overlord and I've pretty much sworn off any near-term MMO. And I haven't upgraded my PC since I got it. Three years ago. And I won't be upgrading it at all for the foreseeable future.

I'm not saying I don't game more than others, I do. I'm just not hardcore. Like some people on this blog. See previous comment.

As for cool Wii games, I seriously think Boogie could be a lot of fun. It certainly looks like fun. On second thought, if playing Boogie makes me a hardcore gamer, then I'm a hardcore game. When I play it.

Posted by jp on Friday August 10, 2007 at 12:22 PM

JP, I find your reply totally devoid of "smarm." Bring the smarm!

Posted by tditto on Friday August 10, 2007 at 12:49 PM

Ah yes, the hardcore versus casual gamer argument. I believe I have engaged in this debate on multiple occasions when discussing MMOs (and that is another discussion in itself). I don't consider JP a hardcore gamer. I consider him a gamer who plays a fair amount, but does not use gaming as his main source of recreation. His gamerscore is where it is at due to a number of factors including the fact that there are ways to manipulate the system through the use of some games (Madden and other EA sports titles seem to be the way to go here). I do consider Scott, Trent and myself hardcore gamers with Scott probably a bit more hardcore than myself. The problem though is that hardcore gamer can cover such a large audience when used in that context, and I still think there are levels of gaming audience.

For John, he is looking for games that entertain but not necessarily his only source of entertainment nor does he want to invest large amounts of time playing them - or maybe he does but is looking for lighter fare. For me, I would rather play a game than watch TV or on some occasions read (sacrilege). That statement alone makes me more of a "hardcore" gamer. The issue is that I will not forsake family and other things to play games which makes me more "casual" than some folks.

Posted by Tim on Friday August 10, 2007 at 2:00 PM

Gaming to the exclusion of all else is not hardcore gaming, it's an addition. Personally, I was only talking in context of "entertainment time", that is time devoted to being entertained.

Posted by John on Friday August 10, 2007 at 2:04 PM

"Gaming to the exclusion of all else is not hardcore gaming, it's an addition"

Welcome to hardcore gaming. And, apparently, mathematics.

Posted by jp on Friday August 10, 2007 at 2:07 PM

I meant addiction, obviously. Pardon the typo. I was preoccupied snorting some blow from your mom's cleavage.

Posted by John on Friday August 10, 2007 at 2:46 PM

There's your smarm, Trent.

Posted by jp on Friday August 10, 2007 at 2:49 PM

Not only was that SMARM. It was juicy good smarm! Well Done!

Posted by tditto on Friday August 10, 2007 at 4:20 PM