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LEVEL UP – What Kind Of Gamer Are You: Part 2

[ 0 ] January 13, 2012

Michele Morrow at E3 with Pac-Man

Read this week’s “Level Up” featured on HelloGiggles.com!

The votes are in and almost all the responses we received on the article comments, my twitter feed and the HelloGiggles Facebook Page proved that most of you out there are Gamers!

In last week’s article, I laid out some very general Gamer “types” for you to consider. Most of you identified with Casual Gamer, followed by Mid-Core Gamer and Retro Gamer with a few Hardcores, Newbies and Moms sprinkled into the mix.

Welcome one and all!!

It’s my goal to get our collective Gaming Community to accept all Gamer Types without pretense and recognize that that although the gaming landscape has digitally advanced, the same core values about gaming have existed before video game technology. I recently read that gaming is “…a world building activity. [It] provided a temporary leave of absence from reality that reduced individual conflict and brought about a change from the passive to the active.”

Now that we’ve established that everyone is some sort of Gamer, let’s talk about genres. Some games fall in more than one genre but for the sake of simplicity, I’m breaking it down like this:

Action / Adventure
Arcade / Platform
Family / Educational
First Person Shooter (FPS)
Music / Dance / Exercise
Puzzle / Brain
Real Time Strategy (RTS)
Role Playing (RPGs or MMOs)
Simulation
Social Network Games

*A brief note here on Social Network and Mobile gaming… there are options you can set in the game menus that determine if your activities within the game are posted to your Facebook wall. Sometimes these options are defaulted to posting everything you do. Depending on your social circle, this may be acceptable or very uncool. Make sure to check your settings!

** Disclaimer: Many of you may have already experienced some of these games, but I don’t want to leave anyone out. For the sake of article length, I can’t recommend every game I want to. I am also not providing the RATINGS for these games, so everyone reading is responsible for the content they choose download or purchase. If I did not link to your particular device, you can do a simple Google search or ask me in the comments! **

1) Newbie Gamer

If you are more interested in games, I would suggest starting out with devices you may already have, such as a smartphone or a home computer. If you have a smartphone, the Android’s “Android Market” and the iPhone’s “App Store” are bar none the best for mobile gaming (trust me, I had a Blackberry until recently and their app store blowsssssss). If you have some cash on hand, the Nintendo Wii has been a revolutionary console for bringing in non-traditional gamers. It’s great for parties, older generations, families, classic arcade titles, dance and exercise.

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Newbie Gamer Suggested Genres:

Arcade / Platform: Fruit Ninja, Classic Nintendo and arcade games are available for download through Nintendo Wii

Family / Educational: Ultimate History Quiz

Music / Dance/ Exercise: Just Dance

Puzzle / Brain: Words With Friends, Bejeweled, Angry Birds

Role Playing Game: Puzzle Quest

Simulation: The Sims

Strategy / Real Time Strategy: Governor of Poker

Social Network: YoVille (in my opinion, funniest of all the “ville” titles, but check out Zynga for more genre options, like Castleville, if you think you’d like to try some chilled out Facebook games.)

**Once completed, you may Level Up to a Casual Gamer**

2. Casual Gamer

Hey Casuals! You guys are the majority. There are more Casual Gamers than any other type of gamer out there,claiming 1/3 of the video game market. Interestingly enough, Casual Gamers don’t have a specific genre. It’s all abouttime for you guys and 73% of you play with an Online Gaming System. You guys are an intriguing bunch, because although some of you play to “kill time”, many of you actually display qualities of a mid-core gamer: you’ve masteredBejeweled and you’ve unlocked all the levels of Angry Birds, among other things. If you’re a Casual Gamer displaying addictive tendencies to mobile gaming, you might be more interested in gaming than you originally thought. My suggested list for you will include a few sprinkled in steps up from the Newbie Gamers – I think you guys can handle at least looking into some different options. There are some really beautiful games out there that are super accessible.

Casual Gamer Suggested Games:

Action / Adventure: Minecraft, Temple Run, LA Noire

Arcade / Platform: Rayman Origins, Classic Nintendo and arcade games are available for download through Nintendo Wii

Family / Educational: Lume, Trivial Pursuit for Wii

First Person Shooter: Bioshock

Music / Dance / Exercise: Michael Jackson The Experience

Puzzle / Platform: Braid, World of Goo, Portal 2, Little Big Planet, Cut The Rope

Role Playing Game: Puzzle Quest, World of Warcraft

Strategy / Real Time Strategy: Plants vs. Zombies, Governor of Poker, Jelly Defense

Strategy / Social Networking Game: Empires vs. Allies, YoVille (in my opinion, funniest of all the “ville” titles, but check out Zynga for more genre options, like Castleville, if you think you’d like to try some chilled out Facebook games.)

3. Mom Gamer

I know there are plenty of apps for iPhone and Android, but I’m obsessed with the LeapPad! Not to mention… who needs sticky fingers all over $700 “adult” products? And it’s got rave reviews:

TIME.com Toy Fair 2011: The 15 Smartest Toys for Young Geniuses:

“Does your preschooler have iPad envy? Try LeapFrog’s LeapPad Explorer, a tablet for the younger set. The tablet allows tech savvy kids to read books, play games and listen to music and just might be interesting enough to lure kids away from mom and dad’s device.”

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As a parent, you can even set LeapPad to email you about your child’s play style with tips on how to expand their “learning fun”. It runs about $150 bones… if you can spring it, go for it. Otherwise, I have some other suggestions:

Family / Education: Sesame Street Ready Set Grover (Wii’s have smaller remotes for kids)

Puzzle / Brain / Dance / Hybrid: Yo Gabba Gabba Online Games

4. Mid-Core Gamer

I am a mid-core gamer that has displayed hardcore tendencies in the past (and most likely the future). I don’t really need to tell you guys what to play, as most of you are aware of what the current titles are, but I can tell you what upcoming titles I’m excited for. I’m also going to list what we’re all loving/playing currently just for fun. Feel free to leave comments on what other titles you’re into that I don’t cover here – it’s really awesome hearing what other people are enjoying!

Action / Adventure / RP Hybrids: Choplifter HD, Batman: Arkham City, Skyrim, Assassins Creed Revelations,Mass Effect 3, Minecraft, Temple Run

Arcade / Platform: Rayman Origins

Family / Educational: The Oregon Trail (for reals)

First Person Shooter / Shooter: Bioshock Infinite, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Halo 4

Puzzle / Brain: Portal 2

Role Playing (RPGs or MMOs): World of Warcraft, Diablo III (and if you don’t know about the WoW annual pass to get Diablo III for free, click here for more info), Star Wars The Old Republic, South Park The Game

Strategy / Real Time Strategy: Tropico 4, Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, Governor of Poker, Jelly Defense

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5. Retro Gamer

I love the nostalgia of classic games. Get me in a dive bar with a sit-down Ms. Pac-Man / Galaga machine and I’m set for the night. The best advice I can give to Retro Gamers is the Nintendo Wii classic game download service. I gotMegaman recently and was shocked at how unforgiving that game was. You miss a jump, you’re dead. No rez. No extra lives. I can’t believe I beat that game when I was 12. How fast we forget and how spoiled we are with the games of today.

2010 E3 Pacman 30th Bday Michele 350x463 What Kind Of Gamer Are You: Part 2

6. Hardcore Gamer / Pro Gamer

I’m not advising you. You know what you’re doing icon wink What Kind Of Gamer Are You: Part 2 Being excited about winning and doing well is a massive part of competition, and we’d love to hear how well you’re all doing in the competitive world. Just be nice to those who are still learning and try to encourage them to play more games.