With so many people talking about really in depth role playing and the lack of spears I'm wondering how many of us consider ourselves casual players which seems to be Bethesda's target audience. Thanks for your help. Feel free to discuss also.

Like Indiana Jones would say, "i′m making it up as I go"

It's interesting how you say that hardcoe players "plan" their playthrough. Aside perhaps from character generation and backstory, I think that nothing's more true to the spirit of roleplaying and losing yourself in an open world than NOT planning at all. Never load a save after failing a quest nor losing an NPC's trust. It's from these mistakes that our adventures gain character and your world becomes flavored.

But anyway, I'd consider myself a mix, doing some basic roleplaying. For example, I never equip my armor if I'm suddenly attacked. Should an assassin appears in my bedroom I'll either run out onto the streets or beat him to a pulp with my fists if I have to! I eventually made it a point for my Morrowind characters to always conceal a dagger beneath their bed in preparation for such encounters. :hehe:

As far as RPG semantics go, I was raised on the DnD bread-and-butter systems of character skill, which I still somewhat prefer, but I don't mind the shift to player skill either so long as the world is deep and rich enough that I have a reason for sustaining in-character behavior.

Im a mix when it comes to TES, I wanted to say hardcoe tho I would not take off work/school to play a game *specially since I don't have either on the day this will be released:D*

I roleplay all the time when i play TES games,specially when I can be a werewolf character YET I do not plan out every single step of the way, just as i go along I make up a story XD

If this is the common consensus I'll edit the poll.

OK i'll edit

I am guessing that a poll including the entire population of gamers would put under 5% as hardcoe role-players. I do not mean hardcoe as in "a hardcoe gamer who lives and breathes the games they play", but rather a person who "lives and breathes each individual character's identity".

Other:

I hate the labels "hardcoe" and "casual" and don't have a clue as to what they actually mean.

What if Im Casually hardcoe, or hardcoe in being Casual?

I chose mix, because I plan some things like how I'm building my character, but I play along with my character like I'm in the game world. Not everything gets planned out, cause it's no fun that way.

How about, I plan everything as I go along.

I'm just interested to know the general demographics of this official forum because bethesda seems to be targeting the game more and more at a casual audience which is understandable.

Both.. first I learn the rules of the game.. break them.
Then I go native.. and pretend I'm a real person rather than a boy made out of wood.

So yes, I go hardcoe.. as long as the gameplay does not force you to play in just one style.

I find your definitions of hardcoe and casual somewhat flawed--if not entirely wrong--but to each his own, I suppose.

In general though, I consider myself 'hardcoe'.

Based on the definitions in the poll, I count as casual. I don't role-play, or at least I don't to anywhere near the extent others posters do.

I suppose I would classify myself as a hardcoe gamer, though not quite by the description you gave. I play video games frequently and have since as far back as I can remember, since I was very young. I spend time just about every day playing video games, and I play pretty seriously. I learn the game mechanics and systems and I improve and I'd say I have a certain degree of "skill" if such a thing can be attributed to video games.

I don't have any backstory planned out for my Skyrim character though. I know she'll be a female Nord and I have a name picked out and vague idea of what I want her to look like, but that's it. Her personality and everything about her will be made up as I play depending on the circumstances she's put in. She'll make choices and as she does, I'll justify those choices in my head.

At least, it's pretty clear that they're not really the right words to use in this context. For instance, I'd consider myself a pretty casual gamer in at least one pretty good sense - I play very few games, I don't play games all that often, but when I do it's just for fun.

Nevertheless, when I play TES games, I do like to take my characters pretty seriously, and try to make sure that I play them in a way which is credible and plausible, given the setting. But that's just because that's what gives me the most enjoyment from playing TES games. I wouldn't presume to tell people who like to "powergame" a little more, or are a little less interested in reading about the lore and such, that they're not playing the game in the right way, or anything like that. Just go for whatever gets you the most fun out the game.

I would say playing any game, no matter how difficult and obtuse, is a pretty casual way to spend your time, while fighting the Taliban, briast feeding at two in the morning or working as a paramedic are all hardcoe. We need new terms.

It is hard to come up with definitions that please everyone if you come up with better ones I'll gladly put them in

Don't include definitions, be as vague as possible while still including everyone. That's what makes a good poll. Include all relevant viewpoints but make no assumptions.

This

How about this: I just love the TES series and I can't wait to play skyrim. I don't care about my label.

I'm a gamer. So I guess a mix of the two.

I like to chill and play pixel junk shooter, and I also like to play for 900 hours on a single character while roleplaying the entire time like I did in Morrowind.

Do you roleplay ( play as a different person ) .. or roll play ( hack and slash, xp, level, reward, achievement playstyle. )

Sorry guys, I know they weren't good definitions got rid of them now, change your vote if you need to

No need to apologize. If thats how you view hardcoe and casual then who's to say its wrong. :foodndrink: ...ooops, well i guess I did :whistling: but that's beside the point.

At least now I can vote. I didn't really feel like I fit into either category before.

Lol, I had to change my vote. I thought the OP meant "How immersed do you get in it", or "How much time do you spend playing", etc. I play as myself. I make ME (though with a "Oblivion-esk" type of name), in this land called Cyrodil and run around killing stuff and doing Quests.

I voted "A mix."
I'm a dedicated player and I love role-playing and everything about The Elder Scrolls series, I get into depth with the game. But it doesn't eat my social life alive.