What is your definition of casual gaming?

I see the term tossed around a lot but without a solid definition. Rather than calling a person as a casual gamer per say I see it as applied to the activity the person is doing at the moment.

For myself I think of activities like wondering the open world doing events and farming as more casual gaming. On the other hand doing the game story, raids, fractals, PvP and WvW more depth and not casual at all. Basically I think any kind of activity in the game that you can drop at a moment's notice as a casual activity. A player may do casual activities one day and more dedicated another. I doubt a truly casual gamer would touch MMOs much as by nature MMOs require a certain amount of dedication.

What do you think casual gaming and gamer is? Do you define yourself as a causal gamer? If so why?

I think my personal "casual gaming" is defined by jumping into the game whenever I feel like enjoying MMORPG experience at that particular moment. No need to set an alarm for boss/event, because I don't care if i miss it - there will be next one next day or the day after. Just enjoying the game - i'm still crunching through personal story, but aside of that also doing dialy PVPing/WvW as well. Yet I still consider myself casual.Of course i'm always tryharding to win ranked game etc., but that doesn't mean I stopped being casual either.Of course (x2) Raid is an example of less casual-friendly part of the game, as it requires more time and effort coordinating and training a group of people to do this right. Just like doing a job in real life, You might think.

Edit: I think the fact that my nVidia card just broke yesterday makes me even more casual than ever - casual to the point that I ended up watching GW2 videos instead of playing.

There's 3 different way I think it can be defined, although they have a lot of cross-over: time spent on the game, difficulty of content and 'commitment' required to complete content.

A casual gamer can be someone who does not devote a lot of time to the game. Exact numbers are hugely variable and IMO depends on the game - for example a hardcore Pokémon Go player will play on their lunch break and for a few hours on weekends, but for an MMO the same amount of time could be considered casual play. (First time I realised I'd be considered a casual gamer was back in Ultima Online when it finally clicked that when people said you could grind a skill in a day they meant 8 or more hours - not the one hour I was allowed on our dial up internet.) But basically if it's determined by time a casual gamer is someone who does not spend a lot of time on the game and is unlikely to prioritise it over other things.

Difficulty depends on the type of content (so the specifics also vary by game). In GW2 I'd say anything which most people could complete solo or which can be done with (almost) any build/s is casual gameplay - for example the personal story and living story, map completion and of course things where ability doesn't really come into it like crafting. Hardcore content is things where you need practice and experience to get it right, like raids, high level Fractals or completing dungeons solo.

Commitment is kind of a combination of the two - things which require a lot of time and doing a lot of stuff in game but which may seem easy to people who like the difficult content - making a legendary for example. You have to do at least a bit of everything (except sPvP), it takes a lot of time and at least at first it's extremely daunting, but it's not difficult exactly. Commitment can also means focused gameplay - like farming an area for hours (in one go or a bit at a time over several days) to get gold or collecting all the skins in a set.

Of course there's a lot of grey areas too since it's rare that a game jumps straight from easy, casual stuff to extremely challenging hardcore stuff, in most games the majority of activities probably fall somewhere in the middle and different people will have different standards. For example I was tempted to include jumping puzzles as casual gameplay until I remembered the hours I spent trying to get through them at first, but then other people always found them easy and were able to do them on the first try. Same with beating the Queens Gauntlet - I watched a friend make it seem effortless but I had to practice against Liadri over and over and over to get the timing right and found it hugely difficult.

Player-made 'challenges' can add to the confusion. For example at one point I set out to play through every single personal story instance. That's definitely casual content, but it required playing 30 different characters to level 20, 15 to level 30, 9 to level 50 and 6 to level 80 which as you can probably imagine took a lot of time (even with tomes and scrolls).

Basically I think of it as a spectrum with different games and different content within them falling closer to one end or the other.

Here are a few things that I would characterize casual players with:

• Plays for an hour or two at a time
• Plays according to life schedule, not game schedule
• Has more money than time
• Less concerned about achievements, more concerned about experiencing
• Plays for themselves, not for other players
• Not concerned about 'the best' way to do something, more concerned about 'style'

Casual: anyone who wants fun and easy over challenge and is put off by any content they must do repeatedly in order to succeed at.

Hardcore: anyone that is willing to practice any given content in order to succeed at said content.

casuals want instant gratification, hardcore want delayed.

The term is broad. But my take is that it's just the definition of someone playing games and doing stuffs when he feels like it.

@"Danikat.8537" said:There's 3 different way I think it can be defined, although they have a lot of cross-over: time spent on the game, difficulty of content and 'commitment' required to complete content.

These are pretty much the three areas that distinguish "casual" gamers from other types. One could even argue that commitment is not in itself a distinguishing factor, as commitment often manifests as playing long hours and/or exhibiting the dedication to pursue more difficult content.

The thing is, if there are different types of "casual" players, and I think there are, then casual does not always mean "prefers only easy content." It could mean, "tackles harder content on a casual (time) basis. You could also have players who play huge hours, but avoid the hardest content. They'd be casual (challenge level) players.

I use both, and usually distinguish between the types so people know what I'm talking about.

To me, casual is someone who plays occasionally for a short period of time.However, some people call me causal because I play open world PvE 95% of the time. But I do that for 6-8 hours every day so I'm confused! :D

To me, "casual gaming" is not gaming at all. It's a game-like activity, a surrogate, if you want, a proverbial "press X to win". What other people describe above (go to OpenWorld, do whatever event you want without thinking about meta/efficiency, play whatever build you want, even if it's inefficient as hell) is just a regular gaming. I'm not sure why somebody started to call it "casual", perhaps it's just because a lot of content in OpenWorld can be beaten by rolling your face on your keyboard, at least while playing with some professions / builds.

Also has little to do with how much time you spend playing. You can play once a week for a few hours, but still play a game, i.e. face some challenges, solve some problems, make decisions (correct and not so), get lucky and unlucky - that what game is. "Casual game" is when you just repeat a specific pattern again and again, and is sure in the outcome of it (you can't lose, or failure is highly unlikely, at least, until you just repeat some pattern). So running in some meta-abusing zerg on Silverwaste, when your only "challenge" is to manage to tag some mob before it's shredded into pieces, is not a game at all, for me, and meets the definition of "casual gaming" quite well :) Still won't be a hardcore gaming if you'll be doing it 24/7 (I bet somebody do)

Casual gaming to me doesnt mean you want it easy, nor does it mean you want instant gratification....

It doesnt mean that you wont try and play the character to its best ability either

Generally casual gaming means being able to play in short bursts, without having to worry about sticking to schedules (such as raid nights etc)For me it also means if i am wanted in the house--- i log out within a minute or so.

I think 'hardcore' gaming is probably a much smaller market than 10 years ago, going back further to when i first started gaming (MUDS) you were expected to apply to a guild, pass a bunch of tests (pkilling etc), serve as an apprentice in the guild....and be able to memorise 100 or so directions to spam to get to the site of combat... oh and if you died your gear would get looted :)

Ive been hardcore (muds), semi serious (early wow) and now i am happily aging and ultra casual....

Casual gamers have a life.

Not requiring lots of preparation or coordination with other players to engage in a short session of gameplay.

Casual gamer--Has fun in the game, doing whatever they want, however they want to do it, without worrying about the details. Thinks serious gamers must be kind of nuts.

Serious gamer--Spends hours studying online. Fine-tunes their build and knows every detail of how their character works and how every weapon and upgrade changes their performance statistics, and knows every little detail about the very BEST way to succeed at their preferred game mode/meta and thinks casual gamers must be kind of nuts.

Casual is a little hard to classify in the context of gw2- it isn't really a hardcore game, there's no real penalty to losing/dying except in pride, whereas other online games have a variety of punishments, and especially more so in single player games, where you have to lose items, money (including via equipment repairs), progress, stats, or even the entire ability to play at all. Someone who likes hardcore probably doesn't play gw2 for that type of game. Then, lots of mmos/games in general nowadays realise it's such a small niche market it's better to appeal to casual gamers- most popular games don't tend to go with huge punishments cus that discourages people from playing.

And then..... there's the difference between casual, hardcore, and some middle zone- which, in the context of gw2, may even change per game mode for an individual.

To me, i see casual as someone who plays a game because it looks shiny. Crucially, i think someone who is casual does not feel any prestige from game achievements, so they are not driven to attain them, as such things which require a lot of effort are usually avoided in favour of simple things which will be more fun to them. Mostly they're here for the story and will not do anything that requires a great amount of committment or learning to do.

On the other end "hardcore" players could be considered the opposite- they derive joy from achieving something in a game, and to do that will go out of their way to have something to show off, no matter how much time and effort it takes. Whether it's maxing out dps with a learnt rotation, trying for ogre wars everyday for treasure hunter, or even something like wanting to get as much of the wardrobe as possible. Challenge is welcomed because it's all the more satisfying to finally achieve something.

Then there's the gaint middle zone- I like to think i fit somewhere between hardcore and centre if this were to be a scale. Middle zone likes prestige and is satisfied by challenge, but is unlikely to go to great lengths to get it- either through not having enough spare time, not having enough patience, not wanting to specialise in a certain content, doesn't enjoy high levels of challenge. They're still gonna do quite a lot, but maybe not spending every hour agonising over the perfect rotation or mopping up every single AP in game. I'd say anyone who gets at least some of their dailies/weeklies (wvw, raids) done is in this semi casual middle zone at least for example.

I don't think time is a factor really- you can be a super committed player who does damage calculations in your work breaks but still only play on weekends, even if that time is all spent on confirming build theories.

Seen a lot of good points in posts here.

I'm going to say that I feel that people generally tend to color casual/hardcore way too black and white. The "hardcore" has usually been a reference to the very few that really goes in for something. In the same way the "casual" should mean those that really doesn't commit to things, as an example.

Basically, people aren't either hardcore OR casual, I'd say 90+% of the players are in-between. But humans likes to simplify things to black/white, yes/no, on/off, and thus makes a larger problem out of things than they really are.

I would probably touch on peoples definition of hardcore on some points, but probably be so far out on casual on other things, that I'd likely freak a lot of people out. :)

Casual to me...

Someone who plays at their own pace. They're not bound to anything or anyone and do whatever they feel like.

I'm not sure what's wrong with just sticking to what casual actually means, rather than coming up with a million different meanings for a word that already has one:Not serious.

Casual gamers are simply people who play games to relax. They aren't competitive, they don't worry about being the best at anything, they just want to spend their free time doing what they enjoy.

Limited playtime isn't a casual thing, limited playtime is usually due to life situations (long work hours, being parents, etc). One of the most casual players I met played games for 10+ hours a day. He never cared for min-maxing, never cared for end-game content as much, nor did he ever care to follow the meta on any game; he simply played games in his spare time for enjoyment. This means even someone with limited time could be non-casual if they played competitively. I have friends that are in the military, and one hit Challenger on League, but mostly sat around Master due to not being able to play all day from work/family, he played the game very seriously, as well as other games. If some looked purely at his playtime, they would assume he's just casual, but if they looked purely at his attitude/mindset they would think the complete opposite.

@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:Casual gamer--Has fun in the game, doing whatever they want, however they want to do it, without worrying about the details. Thinks serious gamers must be kind of nuts.

Serious gamer--Spends hours studying online. Fine-tunes their build and knows every detail of how their character works and how every weapon and upgrade changes their performance statistics, and knows every little detail about the very BEST way to succeed at their preferred game mode/meta and thinks casual gamers must be kind of nuts.

This is the one I'd give 'best answer' of those submitted so far. I consider myself a casual player, which to me means I'd rather play the game than learn the game. It has nothing to do with how much I play, bc I play a lot. It has nothing to do with what content I play, bc I have played all of it and I regularly play a lot of it. It has to do with how I play, bc I would rather start than wait. I won't spend time trying to design my own build, unless what I'm using just won't work for what I'm trying to do. I will read enough about a build to understand it before I rip it off a site, but I won't remember all the nuances once I've spent time learning the basics of how to play it. I will play 'high end' content, but I won't join any group that asks for 'experience' or 'speedrunning' or anything like that, even if it is content I know I can do well . . .

Basically, I think I'm casual bc I'm here to play . . .

The only slight change I would make to the quoted definition is that even though I would define myself as casual I don't think there is anything wrong with the ppl who want to take the game more seriously. I know I'm playing with other ppl so I expect them to have different perspectives about what they want from the game . . .

When you don't play optimally for your chosen part of the game.

If you take a full zerk build and just havoc in WvW, you are probably playing it casually even if you win all your 1v1s.

If you raid or fractal with builds that don't intend to clear them as fast as possible; you are probably casual.

If you sPvP and refuse to learn matchups, or your role and expectations in conquest and never pay attention to chat; you are probably causal.

If you just log in do daily, and play around in open world stuff without trying to speed clear event maps or lead, and don't kill players ever, or raid, or frac; you are probably casual.

If you don't spend all day PvPing the trading post to be a billionaire; you are probably casual.

Also keep in mind that this may not be the end of list, I'm sure there may be a growing scene for mount races and stuff, and whether you PvP to kill players, or snipe the trade post I wont judge your level of play, but if you are not doing your best to do things at the optimal meta level, or at least a reasonable deviation that nets good results; you are probably casual in that area of the game.

There is nothing wrong with being casual, to each their own. But you have no right to complain about balance, that is on YOU to get better."Dark were the skies and chilled was the wind, but the casuals cried so they nerfed the weather." - Totalbiscuit.

If you complain that a living story mission is to hard... wat r u? casul?

Casual player-- one that plays the game for entertainment value (or sometimes social reasons)Hardcore Players-- Players that seek to get better by practicing and learning game mechanics.

However, there is overlap at times. Just because you don't take a game that seriously doesn't mean you want to improve and just because you do take the game seriously doesn't mean you can't play the game for social interaction. There is a 3rd type though

Toxic Casual-- Either this is a casual player that's deluded into thinking they're hardcore, or someone that takes the game too seriously and is in denial. The problem is they take the game too seriously and want all the shinies so they can't actually be casual yet lack the drive and skill to be actually competent. In any case, entitlement is generally extreme and if you hear anyone babble on about "being a veteran since X" or even worse, "being a gamer", rest assured, they're most likely terrible. In general, they're also the ones that start this toxicity when it comes to hardcore vs casual to begin with.

Casuals are the ones who plays for enjoyment and doesn't have a set time to play. They are okay with people not using meta builds because they just want to have fun.

Hardcores are the ones who is eager to learn their class and builds. Whether it be in PvE, PvP, or WvW, they want to do their best. They are more serious on game play and try to find ways to improve. They also use meta builds and rely on their teammates to know what their roles are. Not all but most practice their fighting skills to gain muscle memory so whatever they're doing, they'll know what to do without having to think twice about it. Their type of enjoyment is achieving goals, teamwork, and winning.

There are those inbetweeners who does certian things like raid once or twice a week. They play meta builds and know them but they rarely play the game.

There's more too it but too much to type after midnight xD

i'd say the difference lies more in how they make decisions about the game.a casual does what seem the most fun at the time while a hardcore gamer will choose the most efficient way to do something. i think it mainly comes from a point of dedication to the game tho.and it's less a "one or the other" and more of a spectrum

@"Azure The Heartless.3261" said:Casual: anyone who wants fun and easy over challenge and is put off by any content they must do repeatedly in order to succeed at.

Hardcore: anyone that is willing to practice any given content in order to succeed at said content.

casuals want instant gratification, hardcore want delayed.

I'm going to disagree, on principle. While it's certainly a credible, if over simplified view, there's nuances at work here that you're missing.

I consider myself to be something of a casual player, across the board in all the MMOs I play, despite the fact that I can do hardcore content. My builds, where applicable, gear and understanding to the game's mechanics are on par with most of the upper echelon of players, except for here, where I only have about 5 months experience, and really haven't looked at the hardcore content yet. Even here, though, I strive for the best gear I can get so that I'm not a detriment to the things I do participate in. I will never, however, exclusively run with the elite crowd. Once it starts being about "grinding the dailies" instead of "let's have some fun" it loses it's appeal. This too, is across the board. I grouped with some players for some Epic Elite content, while being 5 levels under what's recommended, and when it was done, they were asking why I didn't do more of it, and I told them that, if my guildmates hadn't been in that group, I wouldn't have hit the LFG post. In that game they call it "flower sniffing", and that's the way I prefer to play.

In swtor, I'll spacebar the cutscenes, I've seen them, but I won't be pressuring anyone else to. I'll drink some coffee, or whatever, while they get the story behind what we're doing. In that respect, I'm still "casual" because I'm not trying to rush the completion. I group up accordingly. I won't be expecting others to follow my example, and so, those that are in a big hurry will be better off in another group. I'm not in a big hurry.

As to your last line, I think you have that backwards: Hardcore will put in the time to learn and gear for the content, but once that's done, they're not willing to wait for anyone, whereas a casual wants to watch the cutscenes, if any apply, and experience the whole thing. Casuals aren't really the people that won't learn a boss fight, that's just bad players in general. They believe they know what they're doing, and don't want anyone telling them what they need to do. While bad players can be casual, it's not a direct correlation. You don't have to be bad to be casual. This is why there was a "gear check" thread, because the hardcore want to make sure you're qualified to run with them.

The overarching and applicable definition is, as mentioned earlier:Someone who enjoys a game on a simple level without over-engaging or over-involving themselves with the game.

First off, is this bad? Absolutely not, it is perfectly fine to play games as pure leisure and fun without over-committing.

Given that definition, we can now sort in some of the factors which often come up with casual gaming:

• A.) Limited Time.Limited time can often lead to people playing games more casually due to both not enough available time to over-indulge or no desire to do so. If you work an 8 hour job and have family, some things simply do not fly any more. The defining word here is can since there is players with limited time who efficiently use their time to improve and maximize their game performance even when limited in hours per day/week.
• B.) It's a game, I just play it to relax.This is probably also a big aspect casual players use as approach. If all you want it to spend some time gaming, why over-analyze or spend time doing chores? Perfectly fine approach.
• C.) I just don't get it.Some players simply lack the understanding or desire to understand game mechanics or proper tools and ability to find help to optimize. As a result they just lack the ability to improve or seek help. Also before anyone gets triggered, this is not unique to casual players, there is a ton of "hardcore"players who also fall in this category, unfortunately often more resilient to advice.
• D.) Content challenge.Lack of challenge can cause people to approach content at a more leisure pace. This is a two-sided coin since, while some causal players might improve their game play or involvement with rising challenge, many might avoid content which is over-demanding. It can both be the cause for casual play as well as a factor for no casual play.
• E.) Hardcore players demand challenge and recognition, casual players less so.If you start spending a lot of time on any activity, it is natural to either master it and crave more challenge or some form of recognition. This can vary in age or type of character of each individual.

As such, the often cared about time devoted to playing the game as definition is lacking but rather a persons approach to said game is relevant.

The words 'casual' and 'professional' don't mean anything anymore.