I realize I have not posted in some time, but what time wasn’t all used by the unfortunate existence of real life got used so I could actually play City for a while. And it was one hundred percent worth it since I finally managed to push my Scrapper up to 40. At a guess, it will take another five or six months for me to get to 50, if I do nothing but play my Scrapper – and how likely is that?
Not only am I a casual player, but I suffer from an extreme case of what is commonly referred to as Altitis; Altitis is, really, a lot like what it sounds, you make alternate characters in the game, probably to extreme. I’m not as bad as some people, but I only have so much time after all!
In the long run, this means that it takes time for me to level up, because I refuse to ‘power level’, such as it is in the game, and I get hooked on different characters for short periods of time. Maybe thats the ultimate indication of an Altaholic (one who suffers from Altitis)? Lacking the attention span and focus to drive a character through the levels. I’m not talking about the people with insane amounts of time on their hands that have three level 50’s. Thats an entirely different critter.
Or not. Those people are suffer to, but we’re talking about the casual gamer altaholic, because thats me. I’m sure there are people who would say I’m not a casual gamer, since I usually manage about ten to fifteen hours a week, usually a couple hours at a time. I honestly think the misconception is that casual gamers do not or can not commit time to the game. This is not always true.
From much of what I have seen, casual gamers range from a couple hours a week to, perhaps, 30+ hours a week, although never to extreme a range of time. Most casual gamers have a decent grasp of the game, both mechanics or otherwise, but are usually not the people who want to know all the fiddly little details and numbers. They might go out of the their way to optimize their build, but not to extremes.
Just about everything about the casual gamer is middle ground. They know enough of the game to do well, but not as much as the power gamer, or even someone who just spends hours and hours playing. This may even cause friction if the casual gamer teams up with a non-casual gamer.
Casual gamers seem more relaxed. I know I am. Personally, I’m much more interested in fun. Don’t babble at me about ‘uber xp’, because I don’t care. Sure, I wanna level, but I want to have fun even more. I don’t actually care if I die ten times, as long as it’s fun. I’d don’t mind traveling around ten zones, as long as it’s fun.
Fun seems to be the key to the casual gamer, at least in my opinion. There’s a difference between the power gamer who can only achieve casual gamer hours and a true casual gamer. The type of gamer is all in the attitude, and it seems to be the definition of casual gamer would be the relaxed person. The guy in your group that seems to know what he’s doing, is relaxed and easy going, tells you not to worry that the mission is full of greens at the beginning, and so on.
Color me a casual gamer. It’s all about the fun, and occasionally, I think that some people forget that fun is what the game is supposed to be about. -@Mialiah ([email protected])
Published: Nov 20, 2006 08:36 pm