How hardcore are you?

[fallen_hero]

To be honest - yes, in fact several times. Mostly I'm a patient gamer and give a game some time. I've found out that some games just need some time to persuade you they're good. I've been rewarded for this with many games that have added something to my look on how a game should be. Sometimes you
find diamonds that otherwise might have been lost...

But if even after a long run things won't work out I delete them. After all my hard disk space is limited. But I only delete them from my HDD if I've got original DVD - you can never know if you might want to take another look after some time.

[DrHoo]

Ha, I've done that. My first game of NWN lasted about 20 minutes: pause for 3 mos. to learn D&D rules. After that I was totally hardcore. Seriously though, I have had to start a number of games over because of not understanding rules. One was the Bard's Tale (the most recent version). My first character followed the recommended build and it was a huge mistake! He was terribly weak and after days of dying I was ready to give up. I read some game forums and realized that the build advice was poor. Second try was much much better because a different character could cope. So those games were "hardcore" because of unknowns. A really hardcore game would be tough if you knew every trick and made every move perfectly and still were struggling along. That is more often due to insufficient resources like food or ammo, a design fault in my opinion.

[fallen_hero]

(...) A really hardcore game would be tough if you knew every trick and made every move perfectly and still were struggling along. That is more often due to insufficient resources like food or ammo, a design fault in my opinion.

But cannot have insufficent resources available even something that motivates you to play a game? I can recall some games that were very hard to get by at the very start but once you've reached a certain point it feels like "Oh, okay I've made it through." and afterwards it often was a real pleasure to play the game. I know the limitation at the beginning made me even more saying "This cannot be everything, there must be a way to get along.".

[subbassman]

Do you think you have become less hardcore in the last few years? Due to... whatever.

[fallen_hero]

Yes, in fact I think I've become less hardcore through the past years. Mostly I feel that I'm not that patient with things anymore. I can recall being very patient with games and having given them several attempts back in the day. These days a game need's to catch me faster if it want's me to play it for a longer time.

But most of all I think it's all about getting older. realising other things are important, too. You need to spend more time on work, school or start having to take care of a own living place. Other times you have a girlfriend that doesn't always share the passion of gaming so more time goes into other spare time activities.

But I won't give up gaming, as far as it goes. It's still always a pleasure and a good way of having a good time and getting the head free from all the things one has often to worry about.

[subbassman]

Does that mean you've become a casual gamer?

[fallen_hero]

Not directly. I've become a bit more open minded I would say. As time passes I've become more open to other genres and tried out several games. Plus the mentioned input that came from real life changed my way of playing games. It's fun playing around with casual games, taking a close look at what they offer and what they do differently.

But satisfaction in gaming still only comes to me when doing core games. It's mostly the deeper gameplay and the stories they tell plus the intensive atmosphere they offer that still makes a lasting impression. Casual games are nice when you just want to take a "quick meal" not if you want the full thing.

[DrHoo]

Isn't "hardcore" somewhat about being obsessive and determined to win? Right now I'm playing an old RPG and thinking I'm not going to put up with it too much longer, because of a couple of design features that are making it hard and slow. #1 Can't save except at spots predestinated by the designer. If the next stretch after a save ends up in being killed at the very last point before the next save, have to do a lot of replaying. Sure, it's making me more deft at fighting and more clever at outwitting the program by dodging because of practicing the same fights, but still, I resent being chained to the current scenario. #2 No resting, can only heal with supplies, due to long stretches of fighting as in #1 the supplies can run out and then you're dead because there's no resupply possibility, at the moment. Repetition makes me better at conserving supplies too, but I just don't know that I am so obsessed with getting through that I want to put up with it. Makes me feel a little not-so-hardcore.

[subbassman]

Using "save spots" are absolutely unacceptable for me.

[fallen_hero]

I somewhat even like save-spots when they are set up properly. It gives me this "you've solved a certain part of the game now have a rest and let's keep a
savegame before heading on to new glory" feeling.

But when set up in the style that DrHoo desribed in the last post ( I can relate a lot to this - being stuck myselfs in a game I normally love but feeling too
frustrated to fight the whole wide way to go once again after I died at the last boss monster without having had the chance to save before so I could do a
fast new try after failure ) it keeps me from going on. It's just that there are too many other games around that give me more fun a much faster and easier
way.