Game Culture Analysis

By Maurits Pieper & Laurens vd HarstPerspectives on Games 2012

GoalsHardcore vs Casual

- How do gamers (both hardcore & casual) perceive themselves?o What affects this perception?

- What are the main differences between casual and hardcore gamers?o The similarities

- In what ways do games affect their lives?o Good or Bad?

The Interviews & Questionnaire

• 10 Interviewees / Participants– Narrowed down from 25– Tried to create as much

variance as possible

• 10 Questions– 5 Basic Gaming Questions– 5 Personal Gaming

Questions

The QuestionsBasic Gaming Questions • Do you consider yourself a hardcore or casual gamer? Why?• First game you played? Favourite Game? • Favourite Character?• What consoles do you play?• Worst or most annoying game played? Why? Personal Game Questions • Do you think you could be spending your time better? How• Have you given up social life for gaming?• How much money do you roughly spend on games?• Do you have hardcore gamer friends in school? Competition?• What did or do your parents think of your gaming behavior?

Subject #1 - Hardcore• Plays alone multiple hours every week• Fav. Games: Elder Scrolls III (Morrowind),

WOW• Fav. Characters: Nathan Drake

(Uncharted), Lucien Lachance (Oblivion)• Consoles: PS3, DS, Gamecube, SNES, PS2,

PSX, Sega Megadrive, Gameboys etc.• Worst game: Megaman Battle Network

• Gaming one of his favorite hobbies and as long as it doesn’t interfere too much with the rest of his life he games as much as he likes.

• Gaming is a part of social life, sometimes when a new game released, postpone all other activities, however this is rare.

• 30$ a month on average• “My parents think it is fine, my parents don’t know that I play as much

as I actually do.”

Subject #2 - Casual• Plays games occasionally, when she feels like it

(not daily)• Yoshi’s Island 1st game• Fav. Game: Nightfire 007• Fav. Character: Ezio Auditore (“I love Assassin’s

Creed”)• Worst game: Most disappointing was Gears of

War series (all the same)• Console: Xbox (her friends)

• “I game for fun and having fun is not a waste of time” (hobby/social habit)

• Around 60$ a year• Competition is always fun! But not a lot friends play video games

very intensely• Parents don’t mind as long as academic performance does not

suffer

Subject #3 & 4 - Hardcore• Whole weekends spent behind xbox or

computer in high school, now more social

• Fav. Game: Fifa 98 & PES, Skyrim• Fav. Character: Duke Nukem, Commander

Shepherd (ME)• PC & Xbox360, PC & PS2/3, Both hate Wii• Worst game: Flight Simulator (too

young), most flash games (immersion)

• Playing games is a hobby, time well spent• Social life suffered in high school, opposite now• 300-350$ each year• Prefer co-op games to competitive games• “My parents don’t really know much about gaming or my gaming

behaviour, so I don’t know how they would react.”

Subject #5 - Casual• When there is really nothing else to do,

she will play• 1st Game: Tetris• Fav. Games: Tekken, FF7• Fav. Character: Crash Bandicoot• Worst Game: FIFA, because she hates

football• Consoles: PS2, N64, Gameboy

• Gaming is fun and social and she gets everything that needs to be done finished before she starts

• Hasn’t spent any money on games in a long time• Fighting games competition with friends• “I never got complaints from my parents, they bought me my first

Gameboy and I even played with my father sometimes.”

Subject #6 - Hardcore• Doesn’t play all day, every day, but enjoys games

a lot• Fav. Game: Elder Scrolls III Morrowind• Fav. Character: Narrator from NBA street vol.3

(funny one-liners)• Xbox 360• Worst game: Hunted, his brother convinced him

to buy it, terrible graphics and story, no change in enemies, little weapon selection and cost him 70$

• Plays games because there is nothing else to do (he doesn’t read books)• Social life would be identical without games• 150$ a year• He is “too good” for any competition from friends in games, but he has

friends that play more and sacrifice their social life• Parents don’t really know about his gaming behavior, but got annoyed when

he spent entire days behind tv when he lived at home

Subject #7 - Casual• Only plays at friends places. Doesn’t have any

consoles.• First game played was Int. superstar soccer. • Favourite games were Spiderman and pro evo• Crash bandicoot is his favourite, good memories and

few games that he finished completely. (hes a quitter)• He hates zombie games and anything to do with

zombies. Unrealistic, slow and too repetitive.

• “It contributes to my social life. So I don’t think im really sacrificing much when I game, mainly because I don’t spend too much time gaming”

• Spends almost no money on games.• Do you have hardcore gamer friends in school?

Competition?• “Normally I like playing mariokart, but when I play

with my competitive gamer friends I go nuts and want to throw the controller away. I always get the stupid blue shell right before the end”

Subject #8 & 9 - Casual• Only play when in groups of friends• First games played were some

rollercoaster tycoon games and pokemon

• No favourite characters• No specific consoles• Most annoying game is Super Smash

Bros, “because I never know whats going on and pikachu only uses this one annoying move that kills everyone.”

• Its always fun playing games with friends, dont think its negative in any way.

• They spend almost no money on games, they just play their friends games

• “We definitely have hardcore gamer friends, and I probably use them as examples to distinguish me from them.”

Subject #10 - Hardcore• Plays alone and with friends• Fav. Game: Final Fantasy 7• Fav Characters: Tifa & Cloud

(FF7), Jade (Mortal Kombat)• Consoles: PS3, PS2, PC• Worst game:

“Hard to say. The Typing of The Dead by SEGA can be viewed as utter crap, but on the other hand one of the funnest educational games, EVER. The worst games are the annoying, flashy internet games that rot your brain.”

• Avoids Homework through gaming• Says gaming has improved social life• $200 yearly max

What are the main differences between casual and hardcore gamers?

• Hardcore– Multiple Consoles– More $ spent– RPG’s– Part of Social Life– Multiple favourite

characters– Not a waste of time– Parents don’t really

know

• Casual– 1 or 2 consoles– Little or no $ spent– More oldschool games– Not a waste of time –

dont play that much– Parents don’t really care

about it– Females

How do gamers (both hardcore & casual) perceive themselves? What affects this perception?

- It was difficult for some of the subjects to choose either hardcore or casual. Many wanted to choose inbetween the two.

- Those who were doubting, usually ended up admitting they were hardcore gamers.

- Their perception was affected by the amount of money they spent, amount of hours, and gamers they knew around them.

In what ways do games affect their lives? Good or Bad?

• Many of the subjects believed that their social life would stay the same without gaming or has even improved because of gaming.

• They are not convinced that gaming has a strong negative effect in general (money, time, school)

• In general, all of the subjects feel they are responsible enough to balance their gaming behaviour with other activities.

Thank You