Issue 1 | The Wide World of Gaming - Gamer Class

The Professional Gamer: By a rough definition, is the rare few gamers that play video games for a living, weather it is playing in competitions to win a sum of money, or software testers, playing new release games to ensure that we get a bug free game on release. The Pro gamers that play in tournaments usually restrict themselves to a specified genre, this gives them the best possible odds in wining in games from that specific genre. Perhaps the Professional gamer with the biggest media coverage is the gamer who goes by the alias "Fatal1ty" you've no doubt heard of this kid, playing an approximate 8 hours a day to be the best at what he does, entering computer game tournaments throughout America to win cash for his "1337 skilzor" as all the cool kids say. That's not his only source of income, however, he also receives money from companies so that they can plaster his alias on computer parts, such as motherboards. These elite gamers can be likened to professional athletes, being paid for their skills. In some countries, Korea being the best example, there are television channels dedicated to video game competitions, but that's for the next article.

The Hardcore Gamer: Next on the list is the Hardcore Gamer. The Hardcore gamer is one who plays video games on nearly the same scale as the professional gamer, however, he doesn't get paid for his participation. The Hardcore plays for the prestige, you will see them on World of Warcraft, playing all weekend to find a single piece of their character's elite set, you'll see them on Live! owning up all the "n00bs" in Halo 2, you'll see their their Smash Bros. movies on the Internet as they wave dive across the stage. They play for the love of the game, not for some the pot of gold. Two examples of Hardcore gamers can be seen in the show "Pure Pwnage". Both Jeremy and Doug, the Ownerer and FPS-Doug respectively, the show depicts their adventures as Hardcore gamers. They were omitted from the Professional Gamer section by a very small margin, as they don't get paid for their gaming skills. The show, while factious, is highly entertaining and gives an insight to the life of the stereotypical hardcore.

The Casual Gamer: The casual gamer is pretty much everyone else. A casual gamer is perhaps the hardest of the stereotypes to define. As many display the "symptoms" of a Hardcore gamer. Many are extremely competitive, most play to be entertained, just as one would go to the cinema to watch a movie. Perhaps the biggest difference between Casual gamers and everyone else is the amount of time and effort spent in a particular game. For example, casual gamers are likely to find little to no satisfaction in spending hours upon hours collecting every heart piece and bottle in Zelda, or playing through Metroid Prime for the umpteenth time to beat the latest speed run record. They would rather move on and work on another hobby that they deem more constructive. Many casual gamers would rather just play through the latest game of footy, weather that's NFL, Rugby or English football. Perhaps jumping into GTA to go on a rampage to attract the attention of the army. Or perhaps a few rounds of Mario Kart with a drink before going out for the night; an activity also greatly enjoyed by Hardcore gamers, however, a casual gamer is unlikely to pick up the game the next day and practice for hours because their friend beat them in a heat of Rainbow Road.

I hope you enjoyed the first edition of "The Wide World of Gamers" thanks for taking the time to read it. As I stated in the first paragraph, you may or may not fit neatly into any of the typecasts I have described. I would be extremely concerned if I was able to describe an entire social group in just three short definitions. As a final note to consider, just as every human being is different so too is every gamer an individual.

Nick Casey (Arkyris) is a freelance writer for Cubed3 and his column 'The Wide World of Gaming' is published every month.