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» MEDIA (5) One of the UT2004 TAM matches Officers Chat (that AT-ST is about to go down) Now thats lanning! Thats me - visiting friends in the US Figure 1 - The Test System

Hi! I'm Norman, a 19 year old Journalism student from The Netherlands (yes that's in Europe) - and I'll be your guide into the wonderful world of gamer classifications today! Oh joy!


Just like there are stereotypes and types of people in real-life, there are also all sorts of 'gamer types'. You've probably heard of newbies and pros, oldschool gamers and youngsters, casual and hardcore gamers, console and PC fanboys, brainless FPS addicts and RTS players with ubermicro, etc...

So... where do I fit in all of this?
That's what I'll explore in this entry, enjoy!


Oldschool Rating
Am I an oldschool gamer? To some people maybe, to others not so much. I wasn't around when arcades were popular or for the Commodore. On the other hand, I've been playing PC games since the early 1990s. I played my first games, such as Commander Keen and Prince of Persia, on a 286. I was excited when my parents bought a P90 - and I got Dark Forces when it was released. That's right, I'm one of those gamer kiddies Jack Thompson warns you about: I grew up playing 18+ games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D and Quake - watch out, I might be coming up behind you with a chainsaw in true disturbed (that band rocks btw) gamer style as you're reading this. Anyhow - seeing as I have been playing PC games for so many years, I'd probably consider my oldschool rating a 7 : pretty oldschool, but not quite entirely all the way there.


Genre Preference
My earliest games were mostly platform games like Commander Keen and Prince of Persia... later on expanding into Adventure and FPS territory with Doom, Monkey Island and Wolfenstein 3D... and when I first went online, it was with an RTS game called Settlers 3. Obviously I've had experience with plenty of other genres over the years, but which one(s) do I prefer?

Honestly - I like to play games in almost every genre. Ok, you won't see me playing flightsims, racing or sports games anytime soon... but if it's just about anything else then I'm game. My collection of games consists mainly of FPS, RTS & RPG games - although MMOs rank up there too, because many of those games are downloadable rather than sold in stores. I really like some other genres as well, such as space sims (a dead genre nowadays) and turn-based strategy games (particularly Alpha Centauri and Heroes of Might & Magic).

So what's the conclusion? There's not really a single genre I like best. More accurate would be to say that there are games I like in any genre other than flightsim, racing and sports.


PC Fanboy
Oh yes, I'm a definite PC fanboy. I've grown up with PC games - apart from the occasional console games at friends - and I've never even owned a console, unless you're counting handheld devices (I have a Gameboy Pocket with three games, yay!). Of course I like to occasionally beat up my friends in a game of Soul Caliber 2 or whatever other Beat 'Em Up style games they have for their consoles... but that's about as far as my console enjoyment goes.

I like playing my FPS, RTS & TBS games on the PC - if only because the mouse & keyboard is a superior method of control for those kinds of games. Additionally, I don't like action RPGs nearly as much as cRPGs or top-down hack&slash games. And while I may like beating up my friends in a game of Soul Caliber 2, the fact is that I'll play that at most once a week - which would be a total waste of money. Besides, to me PC gaming is less expensive. The difference between a full-price PC and a full-price console game is easily 30 euro. And many of the greatest PC games aren't even full-price, indeed some don't carry a pricetag at all (Allegiance, Savage, Tribes, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory) and many PC games possess a vast library of amazing mods that would've been well-worth paying full retail price for - yet are available for free.

Many people have told me that I'm missing out on some great games - and then proceed to name such console classics as Final Fantasy, Halo, Metal Gear Solid & Zelda. That's like recommending Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (my limited edition should arrive tomorrow!) to someone who couldn't care less for traditional RTS games. I couldn't care less for any of those games, just like many a console gamer couldn't be less interested in such games as Company of Heroes & Neverwinter Nights 2 - which I love.


The Casual Hardcore Gamer
With my extensive gaming history, you might expect that I'd be a hardcore gamer - yet I'm not. Perhaps in terms of knowledge and experience, I could be called a hardcore gamer. I know the tricks of the trade - and I make sure I keep up-to-date on the latest gaming and technology developments. Indeed, a fair few hours of my day are spend surfing the interweb for the latest developments, writing articles in my gaming blog (or for FiringSquad competitions) & talking about games with other people.

On the other hand, I'm not playing nearly as much as a hardcore gamer would. I don't play games for 10 hours every day, or even 2 hours every day. I'm a very random gamer - and in that sense, probably more casual than hardcore. Sometimes I'll play through the night when I'm hooked on some new game (Neverwinter Nights 2, I look at you) and at other times I won't touch a game at all for weeks.

So how would one rate this? I'd say the best name for a gamer such as myself would be that of a 'Casual Hardcore Gamer'. I might not play every day, or even every week, but when I do play - it's usually for hours on end - and with experience and knowledge, that few people can match.


Competitive or Public gamer?
When I first started playing online in Settlers 3, it didn't take long for me to create my first clan. It was called the 'com01 fun clan' after it's creator: com01 (that'd be me). And ever since then I've been a clan, guild or squadleader in just about any game I've played - until 2 years ago when I got sick of it. Regardless, it should be fairly obvious that I've been gaming competitively for a long time now - and it's something I like to do.

As such it should be obvious that I'm no mere public server (which would be non-competitive) player. I love the thrill of competition, especially with prizes at stake (I've won roughly 500 euro worth in prizes so far). As I write this I'm a member of two clans for Unreal Tournament 2004 TAM, both ranking highly in the European ladders and in recent years I've even managed to gain contacts in the pro-gaming scene. I've played UT2004 1on1 with pro-gamer d'Astz and I was in the same Quake 4 clan as shoutcaster quadv'Redeye & editor fnatic-TheRogue.

Am I a competitive gamer? Definitely.



So now you know a little bit more about me - and where I stand in this massive gamer society of sorts. This turned out quite a bit more insightful than my last entry - and I hoped you enjoyed reading it. Regardless, it'd be nice to have some responses - so here's a question for you: Where do you stand in all of this? Are you an Oldschool Casual Hardcore PC Fanboy Competitive (OCHPCFC) gamer like myself, or are you a tad more of a Newcomer Casual Console Fanboy Public (NCCFP) gamer? Do tell!