Why Casual?

My decision to label my reviews as “casual” was mainly influenced by three things:

  1. I play for fun, not for status.
  2. I am cheap and do not buy most games when they are released.
  3. I tend to only play games that are already established as good.

Because of these reasons my reviews for games come out well after many other sites’ reviews such as IGN, Metacritic, GameSpot, and last, but certainly not least, Kinda Funny. Though I would like to consider myself a gamer, my knowledge of the gaming industry and culture in general is far behind personalities such as Colin or Greg from Kinda Funny.

Being a casual gamer can be challenging.  While game review sites do help in my decisions, I have been mislead many times into buying a game that simply did not satisfy my casual gaming approach. There is an intangible blend of story, sound, visuals, gameplay, replayability, and in some cases, community that begs me to delve deeper into the world the game has created. Because of this I am attempting to hash through exactly why I am addicted to certain games while being unable to become invested in some of the most critically acclaimed games of my generation.

Perhaps this blog will find an audience of other like minded individuals in the gaming community. If that is the case, and that is why you are here, I hope these reviews will be of benefit to you.

50 thoughts on “Why Casual?”

  4. Casual players unite! You know, I used to have more time for games when I was in high school. Now I have a job and adult responsibilities. The only thing I can commit to is easy mode on the latest and greatest games and maybe a green smoke on the weekends. I am looking forward to reading more from you!

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  5. I relate to this so much! I think casual gamers are the most qualified to give our opinions because we are looking at games apart from the original hype and we are just ordinary folks looking for entertainment. 🙂

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  6. ha! “I am cheap and do not buy most games when they are released.” That’s just like my household! 🙂 Behind the times, but still loving the games and systems.

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  8. I think anyone passionate about a certain subject enough to take the time to write about them is certainly a step above casual. Besides, in my eyes, there are only gamers. It’s great to see you, and others celebrate the medium like this! Keep ’em coming!

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  10. Thanks for liking my last post at fractalmuse.com. I’ve read your Wind Waker review and love it. I’ve actually become a casual gamer over the last generation, similar to you, as I only play when I can and only play what I deem worth my time. Work and life got in the way of me completing Wind Waker and Twilight Princess but you’ve inspired me to bring out the Game Cube and tackle them after all these years.

    I’ll be following your journey.

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    • I need to finish twilight princes. I started it but then didn’t have access to the GameCube and lost interest. So many people have recommended that to me since my review of wind waker that I need to start over. It’ll be tough to beat wind waker through.

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  11. This tab is an eye-opener. With the sites you mentioned in this post leading the forefront in gaming news and reviews, no one person is going to suddenly burst onto the scene with the necessary quality or quantity that can match or even come close to them. But people enjoy variety and they enjoy the hints of personality that resonate with the words you write. I tip my hat to you, sir. Excellent work.

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    • Very true. It would take something very special to break through on that level. But it is so refreshing to take a break from the titans of the internet and get honest opinions from people simply putting their voice out there.

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  12. I can def relate to you. My problem is time. Being a full time employee and family man tends to leave little time for gaming amd I only get around to new titles when they are a couple of months old. Thanks for the entertaining stories. Keep up the good work.

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    • It is very possible. I played games all the time as a kid and now I play simi-regularly, usually with my wife. But it’s also very possible he finds a career in gaming. The industry is booming with the need for news writers, reporters, and even announcers for the sports leagues. Even some of the best “Let’s Play” youtube sites have an estimated value over 1 million.

      Don’t believe me?
      http://buzzlie.com/lets-play-the-highest-paid-youtube-stars-and-their-salaries/

      If gaming is his passion, there are jobs in that field. Instead of trying to take it away from him, it can be incentive to get that writing degree, or programming degree. Then his passion can be his career. Not everyone gets that lucky.

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      • I do understand that the gaming industry is a very lucrative one and valid way to make a living. My son does hope to one day be a game designer, but my concern is that he spends too much time playing and not exploring what he needs to do to achieve that dream.In addition, it can be a distraction from the school work he needs to complete in order to even get into college. I’m just trying to help him find a happy medium. I’m extremely open to advice from those that have been there.

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      • Hahaha, well if you want to know how I was raised…

        I do know that for me, gaming was closely tied to school…or learning in general. My dad did not allow me to play video games until I had actually built my gaming computer as a kid. I could only play games a couple hours on weekends unless I had straight A’s. If I did have straight A’s, I was given control of playing whenever I wanted. If a grade dropped, it was back to only a couple of hours on weekends. If I was caught playing during the week when I didn’t have straight A’s, I couldn’t play at all till I was back to straight A’s.

        Also, I had a gaming computer and then we had like…a crappy chrome book that just got online and could hardly run any game worth playing. If I didn’t have A’s and was on the gaming computer…it was assumed I was gaming.

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      • It’s a similar situation with my son. The minute there’s an issue with a grade all gaming is yanked. He is also not allowed to play during the week. He does however find grey areas as I noted in my post. He also is part of an on-line gaming group that records their playing once a month and then posts to his youtube site. He spends time rendering the videos during the week as long as his school work is done. I am very hard on him about the gaming because I don’t want to see him waste his potential. He has talked about building a gaming computer, but hasn’t done much about it. If he had that it would definitely make it easier for me to monitor.

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  14. Relating heavily to the cheap thing, what’s worrying is the possibility of all releases becoming digital…
    Reading these casual reviews gets me to look back on my original thoughts on the game when it was nearer to its release date, which is really quite sobering, so thanks.
    Keep it up, looking forward to more :).

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    • I agree. I have always believed that digital should be cheaper as we are not paying for a disc and packaging. But everyone just pays for it digitally anyway. Wish gamers would not allow themselves to be exploited so easily in some instances. But back to a game’s worth being an opinion…maybe these games are worth that much to people who buy it. I think it could and should be cheaper to buy digital but I’m obviously a minority.

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      • I think a big part of the price tag fixed to digital copies is the convenience. You don’t have to buy a disc and packaging, but you also don’t have to wait in cues, travel to and from stores etc, and you get to be amongst the first to play the game, and that feeling is evidently something that many deem worth it. What this brings possibly closer is copies moving predominantly onto digital or streaming platforms, which could lead to many great games of history being lost or unplayable..

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    • I blog whenever I feel like it…sort of…but my wife holds me accountable to playing and reviewing as well. Weird as it sounds I hit ruts where I don’t want to review or even play games. Like right now…she keeps me motivated and pushes me to finish games and write about them so I’d advise having someone involved like that. A close friend or significant other if they are willing to help you.

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      • Yes! My boyfriend is that person. I’m trying to make a schedule for myself, but personal life has its turns. Hopefully I’ll get on track to get the habit.

        I love the content you have so far. And I’m influenced by Colin and Greg from KindaFunny too! PS I Love You is a great PS podcast. Keep it up and I will definitely start following 🙂

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      • PS I love you is a really good resource. Those guys know the industry in a way I don’t know I ever will. Good too that your boyfriend is there for you to push you. It’s amazing what a good person being there with you will help you accomplish!

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  16. You perfectly defined the term Casual Gamer! I can relate it to myself. I read some of your reviews and in most of the part I just couldn’t agree more. All I kept thinking “that’s so true” . Also your rating criteria is interesting. 😀

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  17. Thanks for liking my blog post – I’m really happy because having looked at your site, your reviews as a casual gamer are right on my level! I love video games, but definitely on a casual gaming level. So I look forward to reading your reviews!

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      • I do recommend a 3DS! There have been some great releases over the past few years – not to mention the Legend of Zelda re-issues (I’m sure your wife can attest to that, I read that she’s a big fan?).

        I’ve got back into Ninty’s older handhelds thanks to Japan selling them pretty cheaply, but definitely recommend the 3DS, it is great.

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      • Yeah, her favorite is windwaker! I had never played one till she got me to review windwaker. Is it still supported with new big games still coming out? My Vita is really not getting tons of love anymore.

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      • Oh! Windwaker is my favourite too.. it is such a great game.

        The 3DS is still going strong from what I can tell. Nintendo tends to keep things alive a lot longer than the other consoles, and their handhelds tend to have some real quality stuff. I still play my English 3DS every now and then, but the Japanese DSi is great while I am learning!

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      • Oh in that case, I completely recommend the 3DS!! They’re releasing some classic N64 games (LoZ etc) and some really great originals.

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  18. Damn… by this definition I’d class myself as casual, and my free time is basically spent gaming.

    I dont understand people who game for status. Its a game. Its meant to be a giggle. If you can’t enjoy it because you need to be the best then it becomes way too much like work.

    Anyway, my psn name is Archer-Adam feel free to add me, when your drought is over. I’d love to hit up some games with you in the future.

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