It's simple: when I have a girlfriend, I'm a casual player.

All other times, I'm hardcoe!

Hahahahaaaaa!

I guess I'm the odd one out, the definitions made it easier for me to pick an option.

Would need a definition of what you consider is "hard core" or "casual".
One things seems to be certain though, I'm getting older and I don't fall into the most numerous age bracket anymore, that play these games. Obviously, as any business decision, BGS is gonna go where the money is and cater to the most numerous age bracket.

what are you even getting at? not pretending i'm really an elven archer makes me casual?



Bethesda makes games that take HUNDREDS OF HOURS TO TOTALLY COMPLETE. even OBLIVION requires at least a hundred hours of playing to do every single thing in it, and that's assuming you had absolutely no social life whatsoever and spent 16 hours a day playing it. that is like the POLAR OPPOSITE of a casual game, regardless of how you look at it.

this whole hardcoe/casual argument is [censored] stupid.

I think this could be even worse. The words are so vague that the poll becomes essentially useless, because there's no good way of telling if all the respondents had the same distinction in mind.

For instance, you might get a 50/50 result, and you might think this shows that there is a significant divide in the community. However, it might be that the 50% who selected "hardcoe" thought that the distinction was a function of how much previous experience they've had with TES; while the 50% who selected "casual" thought that the distinction was a function of how much time you spend playing the games. But of course, there needn't be any disagreement or divide here.

Really, I think what the "hardcoe/casual" distinction has come to mean on these forums is that you're hardcoe if you prefer PC over console, NPC directions over quest markers on the compass, more stats vs less stats, and so on. But that's not what the OP was going for. The OP was going for something like "in what detail and depth do you role-play your character?"

Unless you beat the main quest and every side quest including the unmarked quests with the difficulty on max using nothing but hack and slash with a rusty dagger then your not hardcoe.

I consider myself casual :hubbahubba:

There are no hard-set definitions of a "hardcoe" gamer and a "casual" gamer. It's just about which one you consider yourself by your own definition. If there's any confusion as to whether the question pertains to TES or games in general, then that's a problem with the question, not with the answers.

I'd prefer the term, "Devoted."

Eh, I just hate the labels. Then again, it's always fun to break the stereotypes

Me? Let's see, I role play, but that's with pen, paper, and dice that often get chucked at friends in the wee hours of the morning. Is that hardcoe? Wait, I'll even speck in silly accents when I do so.

ON the computer, I rarely buy games, but the ones that I do, I put in easily over 300 hours per game. Do I rople play? No, I computer game.

So...g'won, label me (invokes the spirit of Robert Conrad), I dare ya

hardcoe?

Casual?

Umm, my name is Harvey, and I like the Elder Scrolls.

There ya go :clap:

Since Im a console player who has only played Oblivion. Casual.

I assume I'm more "hardcoe" than casual. Simply because I love to roleplay my characters..And because I'm in love with the Elder Scrolls lore. Especially that of the Dunmer.

Personally, in reference to RPGs, especially free form RPGs, I would classify a "hard core" gamer as one who keeps to the code of their character and does not deviate. They act in character at all instances. A casual player would just do what they thought was best, while a "hardcoe" player would do things that might seem obviously stupid or detrimental, simply because their CHARACTER would have done those sorts of things.

For instance, I played a berserker in Morrowind who would attack people at the slightest hint of insult, and rush into combat against several opponents that outnumbered them. I managed to win most of those confrontations because I am a good player, but I usually barely survived. They were obviously stupid choices, but I kept to them BECAUSE my character would have done those things.

So, yeah, I would consider myself "hardcoe", but I usually run a pretty rough outline of characters and sort of build them as I go, so I would also partly classify and "casual". In the end, I play for fun (I would hope so), and if its less fun I will usually opt out.

But, yeah, I roleplay and all that. I try not to go straight to artifacts that I know are there, rather opting to "discover" them myself at a later time. So, I guess I would be "hardcoe".

I guess that will do

Since no definitions are given and everyone's definitions will be different from my own I'd say I can't vote. I role play my character. I sometimes walk or ride my horse, but sometimes I fast travel. I change my character's clothing/armor to fit depending on where I am and what I'm doing, not necessarily what is best. Then again I TCL to "levitate" to unreachable areas just because I'm curious what is up there. I do things that could be considered hardcoe, while other things not so much. That sounds like a mix. How can being a mix fit when I really get into character, almost like I am the character? Its too much of a conundrum for me to answer.

What others are saying. You can't really make a poll like this without explaining what exactly your definition of hardcoe and casual are. In a sense, you could say that anyone on these forums right now waiting for any drop of information is going to be a hardcoe gamer for Skyrim, no matter what options they are looking to see in this game. In fact, someone who wants spears and horse, might not be hardcoe in the eyes of someone that wants frostbite effects and food and water requirements. Lore purists could easily be considered another form of "hardcoe" but may not care if there is fast travel or any of those other items in or out of the game.

The poll will only tell you what people label themselves, not what they actually are.

Hmm, maybe a mix. But I'll vote casual.
I mean I have a vague background of my main character, I have a solid understanding of lore, and I have a good idea of the kind of person my main is and the style of play he adopts, but it's not like I stop myself from using fast travel or anything.
I just love to explore and loot, and I love the freedom the game gives me.

Mix. Sometimes I can be hardcoe, other times not. Depends on my mood. But I do have this uncanny ability to not use features that are there if I don't feel like using them.

I am a bit of both, I do RP as much as I can, i.e I try to play a particular role with my charachter be it good or evil then I tend to follow that path! I also am a big explorer, I hate to fast travel unless I am on some mundane task which I have done 100 times before. Also if I play a Ranger for example I will try to play that charachter to the fullest, i.e I will get Animal Friendly perks or spells and spend most of my time in the woods or forests and I will use a bow and arrow most of the time! If I have to travel to a new place that I have been to but from a different direction or location I always make sure I travel on foot, there are just so many different things you miss out when you fast travel everywhere!

I am also the sort of guy who will stop to watch the sun rise or set over the landscape or stare in amazement at a beautiful vista!

hardcoe or casual role player as opposed to me, a hardcoe or casual gamer. I voted mixed then sat for 1/2 an hour anolysing how I approach RPGs, not something I've really sat down and thought about before. So...

I don't build comprehensive back stories, though I admire those who do. Choosing a race is totally subjective, it comes down to looking at what is available and picking the option that feels right at the time. This usually gives my character some base stats which I may tweak depending on my perception of the character I now see before me. At this point I usually make a coffee.

Looking again at the character and taking into consideration any background information the game provides I give my character a very basic history. Were they born in the country or a town? Rich or poor? Parents? Manual labourer or something more academic? Law abiding or more freelance? There is a bit more to it but nothing too elaborate, I enjoy the process as this is the point I start to relate to the character which is something I find very important in the long run.

Basic history in place it's now back to the stats. Country born may mean stronger than average, more athletic, agile, perhaps good with a bow. Rich may mean better educated so higher intelligence (which is a misnomer here but it will do), versed in sword fencing perhaps, a bit of a cad or capricious, naive perhaps. All stereotypical BS really and my interpretation of any of it may change from one day to the next. The important thing is, it allows me to modify the base stats to something I find credible for the character I'm creating.

In TES there have of course been birth signs, a nice touch. I may chose one that reflects the dreams or aspirations of my character, or maybe find one that somehow links to some imaginary incident or influential person in my characters past.

Quite a solid character now, one I can relate to and probably time for another coffee.

Into the game at last. The character in front of me is obviously not me; stronger (or not), faster (or not), smarter (or not), more devious (or not) all of these and more. My part in the game is to act as the inner voice, reacting to whatever eventualities the game may present with a mixture of me and how I imagine my character would react. I have never swung a sword or cast a spell or talked a bandit out of a fight, but if my character is skilled then I would expect them to do better a job than I would. If my character lacks skill then I'm not surprised if they miss or fail at some tasks, and I may ponder on improving certain skills next time I get the chance, which brings us to levelling.

I find levelling very annoying if the game insists on forcing certain stats or skills to be increased all, or almost all, of the time. This is simply poor design or an indication that the main focus of the game runs counter to that suggested by the skills and abilities the game presents. If my character had a recent lucky escape I may increase luck, lugging loot around for days on end I may increase strength or endurance, a lot of mountain climbing I may increase agility, reading books, bartering etc. etc. I guess this was the original idea behind the +2,3,4,5 multipliers, they help show the player where the character focus has been since the previous level and can be used as a guide to further role play, or they can be ignored if the player considers certain recent events to be more important to the way their character would respond.

There you have it. Perhaps a little hardcoe and totally different to the way I'd approach a FPS or RTS etc. I enjoy the distinction between the different genres, the variation in styles is the one thing above all others that keeps gaming fresh.

Depends on your definition. Most people think that if you play a lot, no matter what game you are playing, that your hardcoe. I think it has more to do with what games your playing, or prefer to play. personally, I only play RPGs and Strategy games, with a sports game in there every once and a while. I think of anything less as casual. Im probably in the minority with this opinion though.

What is hardcoe if Halo and Call of Duty is casual?

99% of my gaming is "games for gamers". Stuff that you get exponentially better at by UNDERSTANDING the game's systems in detail, by learning the caveats of each weapon, tuning your reflexes, etc. I can easily plonk down 12 hours on a single game in a day.
99% of my approach is casual. I'm playing to enjoy myself, and if that means playing an all ages game whose main challenge is figuring out a puzzle I've seen 37 variations of since the NES days, so be it. If I don't play any games for a month, I don't care.

Games that make you think and not twitch shooters? That's how I feel. Shooters I would consider hardcoe would be; older R6 games, Operation Flash Point, etc. That's just me though, I get no enjoyment out of games that doesn't require me to think and use strategy. They did a decade and a half ago, but not now.