gamer
noun
a person who plays a game or games, typically a participant in a computer or role-playing game.
Year 10 are looking at gamer types and the platforms they use to play games , and you would think researching this topic would be straightforward as they ARE key members of that media audience.
At it’s most simple level the theory is that gamers are made up of several types of different people – such as casual gamers and hardcore gamers.
These gamer types can be roughly described in general terms – such as the majority of casual gamers being made up of women like this article in The Guardian newspaper describes;
“A study published on Wednesday by the Internet Advertising Bureau reveals that 52% of the gaming audience is made up of women. That’s right – the majority of people playing games are women.” read the article here: The Guardian
However when we look a little closer its not as clear cut as saying women are casual gamers and so on.
This image from Student guru – gamer types gives an interesting breakdown of gamers into 4 different groups:
This is based on theories by an expert in ‘ Gamification’ – Andrzej Marczewski, who describes himself as a ‘true geek’…
He says: “Gamification has become as much of a passion of mine as games have been all my life. The potential to improve almost any warp of life using the lessons we can learn from games and psychology is truly exciting”
A wikipedia article describes different gamers by their levels of dedication:
- Newbie “Newbie,” (commonly shortened to “noob”, “n00b”, or “newb”) is a slang term for a novice or newcomer to a certain game, or to gaming in general.[15][16]
- Casual gamer The term “casual gamer” is often used for gamers who primarily play casual games, but can also refer to gamers who play less frequently than other gamers.[17] Casual gamers may play games designed for ease of gameplay, or play more involved games in short sessions, or at a slower pace than hardcore gamers.[18] The types of game that casual gamers play vary, and they are less likely to own a dedicated video game console.[19][20] Notable examples of casual games include The Sims and Nintendogs.[21] Casual gamer demographics vary greatly from those of other video gamers, as the typical casual gamer is older and more predominantly female.[22] “Fitness gamer”s, who play motion-based exercise games, are also seen as casual gamers.[23]
- Core gamer A core or mid-core gamer is a player with a wider range of interests than a casual gamer and is more likely to enthusiastically play different types of games,[24] but without the amount of time spent and sense of competition of a hardcore gamer. The mid-core gamer enjoys games but may not finish every game they buy, doesn’t have time for long MMO quests,[25] and is a target consumer.[26] Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated that they designed the Wii U to cater to core gamers who are in between the casual and hardcore categories.[27] A number of theories have been presented regarding the rise in popularity of mid-core games. James Hursthouse, the founder of Roadhouse Interactive credits the evolution of devices towards tablets and touch-screen interfaces, whereas Jon Radoff of Disruptor Beamcompares the emergence of mid-core games to similar increases in media sophistication that have occurred in media such as television.[28]
- Hardcore gamer Ernest Adams and Scott Kim have proposed classification metrics to distinguish “hardcore gamers” from casual gamers,[29] emphasizing action, competition, complexity, gaming communities, and staying abreast of developments in hardware and software. Others have attempted to draw the distinction based primarily on which platforms a gamer prefers,[30] or to decry the entire concept of delineating casual from hardcore as divisive and vague.[31]
The article is here: Gamer types
Categories: Uncategorized, Video Games
Visual Arts 