The definition of hardcore gamer?

[Andir]

Bodhesatva said:

 

Have you played many MMOs much? I'm sorry, it just seems like such an odd comment that I'm a little fixated on it. Again, saying that MMOs don't take up much time is much like saying Survival Horror doesn't have much violence or Puzzle games take hours to complete or First Person Shooters don't lend themselves to professional play. Violence is at the core of survival horror, First Person Shooters dominate Professional Gaming (along with RTS), and MMOs are the most time consuming games in existance.

Yes I do actually, and funny enough, I find myself looking for a "more casual MMO".  I started on Everquest in 1999 and have since played, Eq2, Lineage 1&2, WoW, Eve, LoTRO, DDO, Guild Wars, CoH, Auto Assault, FFXI and many other smaller titles like Minions of Mirth, Sword of the New World, etc.  The deal with MMOs that I don't like is guilding.

The following is were I think you will agree with me (I hope.)  Any player that joins a guild is most likely a hardcore player or well on their way.  Guilds promote heavy social play and competition amongst guild members to be on the "A-team" or someone who is called upon the most.  It's a social structure not unlike High School.  Many people find that fun or whatever, but I find it rather unfavorable.  I love MMOs for the massive scale.  They usually contain huge dungeons, huge worlds to explore, items galore, and awesome character development.  However, I absolutely hate the guild aspect so many are falling toward.  I can see why they do it (money, peer pressure to continue playing, etc.) but I disagree with the end result.  In WoW you can play most of the game without ever entering a guild structure as most of the content is solo-able.  In other MMOs the content is designed for group or more content.

While I'm looking for a more casual MMO, I still consider myself a hardcore gamer.  My time is often split between many different games.  As a game developer, games are research for me.  But, there are times when I actually sit down and enjoy a game for it's depth, and MMOs have a lot of depth!  I often despise games for lack of depth or content (like puzzle games.)  This is were I draw my conclusions from.  For me, being hardcore requires time.