14:30
A teacher
An interesting post worth of consideration (and the putting down of my work this Sunday day) referred to the notion of what a 'hardcore' gamer is.
The word 'hardcore' has obvious connotations, not all of which are positive. It also evokes the idea that gaming as a hobby is a fad that only attracts certain people, and those people often being teenagers. This isn't too dissimilar to the notion that pop literature attracts people with too much time on their hands.
One point made was that a hardcore gamer absorbs the genre and history of the game, rather than just its visceral experience. This is not entirely dissimilar to a point made by a moderator who stated that someone might watch Terminator 2 for its incredible explosions and generally awesome killer-robots. Another person might watch it for how its narrative arc and cinematography might compare to other films by James Cameron (such as Titanic.)
For me, like with writing, I believe that to appreciate games one has to create games yourself. To realise the difficulties and choices necessary in such an endeavour (beyond the programming requirements) makes a person appreciate the skills of a game-maker more.
I have moved away from games recently because I have been busy as hell with other things. I think, too, losing many saved games hit my hobby hard. However, like with all things worthwhile, beginning something when I do not feel like doing so often gives way to the appreciation of that thing: that is a garbled way of saying that I enjoy playing a game often after 5 minutes of getting into it. I can cross the distance between the rawness of now into the refined possibility of different experiences.
It is a strange and worthy feeling.
The word 'hardcore' has obvious connotations, not all of which are positive. It also evokes the idea that gaming as a hobby is a fad that only attracts certain people, and those people often being teenagers. This isn't too dissimilar to the notion that pop literature attracts people with too much time on their hands.
One point made was that a hardcore gamer absorbs the genre and history of the game, rather than just its visceral experience. This is not entirely dissimilar to a point made by a moderator who stated that someone might watch Terminator 2 for its incredible explosions and generally awesome killer-robots. Another person might watch it for how its narrative arc and cinematography might compare to other films by James Cameron (such as Titanic.)
For me, like with writing, I believe that to appreciate games one has to create games yourself. To realise the difficulties and choices necessary in such an endeavour (beyond the programming requirements) makes a person appreciate the skills of a game-maker more.
I have moved away from games recently because I have been busy as hell with other things. I think, too, losing many saved games hit my hobby hard. However, like with all things worthwhile, beginning something when I do not feel like doing so often gives way to the appreciation of that thing: that is a garbled way of saying that I enjoy playing a game often after 5 minutes of getting into it. I can cross the distance between the rawness of now into the refined possibility of different experiences.
It is a strange and worthy feeling.
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