Labels

Hardcore gamer versus causal gamer. In all honesty, what is the difference? There isn't. And besides that, why do we feel we must label everything?

The answer is simple, as a whole, we use labels to define who we are; from what we wear to what we play. Being called a hardcore gamer makes one feel like they are in-touch with videogames. They are the ones who know everything there is to know about this topic. They spend countless hours playing first person shooter games becoming Jedi masters of their domain. In no way am I coming down on hardcore gamers, please do not take this the wrong way. The causal gamer is one who plays a game within ten minutes, just long enough to pass the time. They categorize games like Galaga and Tetris as games for the causal gamer. How are these games causal? How are these any different from a first person shooter game?

They classify Galaga and Tetris as games for the causal gamer but for me, they are just as hardcore as any other game. When I play Tetris, I spend hours trying to get farther and farther into the game, not just ten minutes. If I lose, I slowly become frustrated and before long find myself yelling at the screen as much as I would if I were playing Left 4 Dead. I do not just play these games once, even if I beat them. I feel that classifying these as causal games are stereotypical and stereotypes are bad. Why not label people who play World of Warcraft as stoners because they spend hours staring at a computer screen. They aren't though, be we love those labels. Everything must have a label, clothes, cars, and games are labeled.


Okay, so I may be off on this, but that's fine, it is my opinion.