Hardcore vs. Casual Thesis
While attending the University at Buffalo and completing my Games Studies certificate, I took a course titled “Games, Gender and Society.”
The course is described as:
“A Comprehensive investigation of the emerging field of Games Studies, the critical analysis of games and interactive environments made possible by the computer. Addresses different theoretical perspectives that view games and gaming as historical, social, cultural, aesthetic, technical, performative, and cognitive phenomenon. Examines how video games encompass an increasingly diverse set of practices, populations, and locations from fantasy football to multi-player medieval fantasy, from simulations of real life to alternate realities, from fanatics to activists, from nightclubs to competitive arenas to public streets to the classroom; from consoles to mobile phones, to large screen projections.”
In the course we were required to write a final research paper. My paper covers the concept of creating a formula to categorize a game as ‘casual’ or ‘hardcore’. GameCareerGuide.com, Gamasutra’s sister site, then contacted me to publish and feature the paper on their website.
