Ever since I was a little child. I was interested in playing video games. I first started on the Atari 2600 with my elder siblings. Then on a clone Famicom. But my magnum opus was a Sega Mega Drive 2 (Sega Genesis in the US). In which I enjoyed countless hours of gaming and fun. However, to some, my tastes are dubbed as a “Casual gamer”. Someone who doesn’t take the art of gaming seriously.

Who gave me this nickname?

A friend / co-worker, who I will refer to only as “Bro”, as he greets any male he comes across with that endearment term. To give you an idea on how “Bro” viewed the world, he had a PlayStation 4 back in 2018, a console he used daily from 4 – 5 hours. So it’s safe to call him a “hardcore gamer”, while working a full-time job, and some work on the side in the evenings. All and all, a really cool guy. But upon sharing my game library and preferences with this guy, he was soon to call me a casual gamer. Someone who did not take the fine art of gaming seriously (and to be honest, I still struggle to keep a consistent gaming habit to this day).

My gaming taste

To me, nostalgia is a deciding factor when it comes to playing games. I enjoy games that I’ve played before. Regardless of platform. It could be an NES game, a game I spent all summer playing on the Sega MD2, or an obscure DOS game that I once got from a friend on a floppy drive. I must not forget that I am a sucker for good remakes of old games and I do play those the most on PC. So, it’s a mish-mash of titles and games.

My technical choices

It’s a well known fact that I am a Linux user. And up until very recently, Linux was not the go-to system for gaming. In fact, far from it!

Wine was very limited in “emulating” Windows games, as well as many games not even running. So, it was a case of hit and miss.

Hardware limitations

On top of that, I did not – and still – don’t have the best hardware around. As modern games require modern graphics and CPUs. Something I don’t plan on investing in (not getting a new console either). I’ve already touched on that in this post.

Also, my slow internet. That factors in to what I can download and play and prevents me from online play all together.

One obvious exception

In early 2020. I lost my job and everybody was trapped in doors due to lock-down. I benefited from a free internet offer and downloaded (The Witcher 3). Later, I spent hundreds of hours playing that game. Beating the main story and DLCs. I still think it’s the best game I ever played. Back then I had access to a better computer and a lot of free time. So this was the exception to the “Casual gamer” narrative.

Linux for gaming, It’s not so bad now days

On Linux, I can play older games. Games Windows no longer can play.

Moreover, my chaotic library finally knows some order, thanks to Lutris. Games from all platforms are under one umbrella for organizing and easier access. Which is a great help.

Last words

I could be a casual gamer. Like what the “bro” says I am. But I am getting older and I’m not playing much any more. That’s natural. In the right circumstances. I can play and get into a game. Just not all the time. Casual gamer is not a slur or a derogatory term. It’s an expression used to politely say: Back in the day. I used to kill it with a joystick!