My game playing habits are based on one key principle; a very good understanding of my gaming tastes and what they involve. Put simply I know the style or type of games that I’m likely to enjoy in the future based on the knowledge of the games I’ve loved before.

Varied game tastes help to sustain the thriving gaming community that we’re all a part of. Ultimately our differences and shared passions are what bring us together or fire up discussion, to me - and many others - those agreements and disagreements help to offer new and changing perspectives on games I wouldn’t have looked twice at before.

In-game, we’re making hundreds, maybe even thousands of tiny, instant decisions, but before we can start enjoying a game providing entertainment or mental challenge, we have a much broader decision to make about whether a game is right for us.

Developing a gaming sense of self

We frequently talk about casual and hardcore gamers in this community. I’m not fond of either term, but I think anyone that plays games more often than not is more discerning - far more aware of what they enjoy, making frequent yet informed decisions about their gaming wants and needs. Gaming preferences establish our gaming identity; how we’re perceived by others, our eclectic choice of favorite games are the making of us, establishing who we communicate with, and what games we play and talk about with others.

As with food, a particular palette for certain games is something that develops and changes with age. We find ourselves developing the patience for games we’d never have considered as children. Similarly, we find ourselves returning to genres or series that we played when we were younger, and a lifelong love of gaming can start by finding the first genre or platform you click with. Those tastes may not always move with us into adulthood, but the fond memories of playing something enjoyable are lifelong memories akin to a favorite album or movie summing up a period of our lives.

This idea of “game fondness” is buoyed up by a long list of recent re-imagining of childhood classics. Developers and designers now attempt (for better or worse) to tap into that sense of nostalgia and familiarity and release something new which balances the desires of the child gamer within us with our more mature gaming tastes.

One thing that never changes regardless of age is the feeling of anticipation for a game we’re waiting to be released. Often the game we’re waiting for contains the right mix of features of games we’ve played before, but it something that essentially plays like no other. The mixture of all the components enjoyed in previously familiar games, but tweaked enough to improve the format. Ultimately, this is how support for a new IP can gather momentum through a combination of word of mouth and game familiarity. A successful game pitches itself to those with a clear sense of gaming self and encourages them to spread the word to others they know that might be inclined to play with them.

Social circles in the gaming community

We’re all wired differently and this is what makes the difference between someone who enjoys First Person Shooters, Shmups, Rhythm Action Games or someone who enjoys all three that much more interesting. I don’t just see gaming as a lifestyle choice or even a pastime, I find myself thriving among a community of others, and this variety doesn’t lead to a quiet existence or even a solitary one as often thought; it’s a deeply social atmosphere held together by our fundamental differences and agreements about what we enjoy.

Having a clear idea of the games you like means that you are seldom disappointed. The merest glimpse at a games story, developer, genre or gameplay is enough to tick the boxes of your mental list of requirements. We all have different means of establishing a game’s merit, and as we get more and more comfortable with our own gaming preferences we get a clearer idea about who to share each gaming experience with.

The downside to a well defined gaming taste is that it’s often difficult to explore new games if you don’t have previous experience with a particular aspect of them. This is where collaborative games recommendation becomes more important. A customized recommendation from a friend or someone you trust based on your gaming taste is worth more than even the most elaborate review.

As gamers, we often want to tap back into the great feelings that our most appreciated games provide us with. As such, it’s in the best interest of the gaming community for developers to keep striving for the widest of goals; to create a varied catalog of memorable, or even disposable games that suit each mood, each snatched moment of time, every happy niche.

Gaming wouldn’t be the same without those feelings of nostalgia or future need, and it wouldn’t be expanding at the rate it is without the growing appetite for games that create that desperately happy (yet universal) feeling of anticipation. There is after all, no greater wait than the one for the game that was made for you.

Tags: Casual Games, Editorials, experiences, gaming tastes, hardcore, Nostalgia, online communities, retro gaming, word of mouth

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 at 11:23 am and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.