Quote:Original post by Oluseyi
Wow, what a collection of "asshole hardcore gamer" answers! [smile] I find it illuminating that there is a lot of faulting of the "non-hardcore" gamer, and not much examination of the hardcore games. It speaks volumes.

I definitely think there is an elitism factor that ostracizes people who just want to have a good time. This is mostly in the community, if you can even call it that, of hardcore gamers, but it gets reflected in the taunt-based, schoolyard machismo mentality that often pervades hardcore game presentation - the "are you tough enough" aliases for difficulty levels and such.

I also think that hardcore games appeal to a narrow audience of individuals who have played previous, highly similar hardcore games. Consequently, they don't need to educate the gamer on how to play from scratch, merely highlight the new "innovations" or core differences from the reigning king of the hill.

Lastly, I think that hardcore games - and hardcore gamers - are ultimately entirely about aggressive competition, or who can "pwn" who more. While this is certainly an aspect that non-hardcore gamers may enjoy from time to time, it doesn't constitute the core of their play experiences.

The game I've been developing probably qualifies as a "hardcore" game, but with the number of players who have checked it out, and then left forever, I'd really like it to *not* be. We keep working on ways to make it accessible to the beginning player, while still having the depth of play that we like a lot. So, I agree that the "elitism" factor is bad, since we'd really like to attract some people to play, and stay, and learn the game.

Now, if there were just some answers here...