Word: midcore - midcore game, midcore gamer (contrast with: hardcore gamer, casual gamer)

Thu Jun 6 00:37:11 UTC 2013

On Jun 5, 2013, at 2:45 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole wrote:

> Great! Thanks for sharing these intriguing cites from the flight
> simulator domain, Hugo.
>
> Urban dictionary has an entry for midcore dated June 18, 2010, but it
> is in different domain. The illustrative term is "midcore porn":
>
> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=midcore
>
> The use of the word hardcore in a domain

And more specifically, in some domains at least, "hardcore" yields an antonym like "softcore" (or in this case "casual"), sometimes functioning as a retronym, which leads to an excluded middle between the two, which can then be unexcluded by "midcore".  Pretty much the way "happy" generates "sad" (or "unhappy"), the two polar extremes then generating "blaaaah".  Or salsa intensities, where I'd wager "hot" came first, then "mild", then "medium".

LH

> apparently facilitates the
> coinage of midcore. Now that midcore has achieved a wider-distribution
> it may persist.
>
> Here is an article at a computer gaming website that represents a
> backlash against the term "mid-core" (or midcore). The critique claims
> that the categories [casual, midcore, hardcore] overlap and
> interpenetrate.
>
> Mid-Core Is Bullshit
> by Kevin Gliner on 03/07/13
> http://gamasutra.com/blogs/KevinGliner/20130306/187983/MidCore_Is_Bullshit.php
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> The game industry continues to believe that casual and hardcore
> players are separate monolithic audiences interested solely in games
> reflecting their respective play styles.  The latest entry along these
> lines is the mid-core game, which seeks to claim a middle ground
> between the two.
> {End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Wed, Jun 5, 2013 at 7:21 AM, Hugo <hugovk at gmail.com> wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Hugo <hugovk at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: Word: midcore - midcore game, midcore gamer (contrast with:
>>              hardcore gamer, casual gamer)
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Mid-core and middle core were used in 1999 to describe flight simulator games which weren't as realistic as hardcore flightsims:
>>
>> Title: Jane's WWII Fighters
>> Author: Iair Arcavi
>> Website: FlightSim.Com
>> Date: 18 January 1999
>>
>> http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content.php?1632-Jane-s-WWII-Fighters
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> For you hard-core sim fans, all of this might be a bit disappointing, since this sim has been rated a mid-core sim. To me, and I guess to most newcomers to flight sim as well, this is actually a good thing. The emphasis here is the fun of flying in these planes and shotting down targets, not perhaps the 100 percent realism.
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>>
>> In Usenet:
>>
>> Title: Re: USAF: Differing Opinions
>> Author: Stocky2
>> Group: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flight-sim
>> Date: 25 October 1999
>>
>> https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flight-sim/JPL_oZNks3A
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> Since I have no knowledge or any memory of flying any plane, they fit my
>> acceptance perfectly on flight models as they will 99% of flight simmers.
>> This sim was not intended to have perfect flight models- it is a middle core
>> sim and one phrase sums it up well-
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>>
>>
>> Title: Re: USAF - my early impressions
>> Author: Stocky2
>> Group: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flight-sim
>> Date: 28 October 1999
>>
>> https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flight-sim/JPL_oZNks3A
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> SURVEY SIM- learn it, live it, enjoy it as is and stop trying to make it a
>> realistic F4 sim.  The flight models are not accurate- it is well known now,
>> and is made for fun rather than strict accuracy.  The avionics are simplified
>> but have some submodes , the flight characteristics are mid core- the planes in
>> my game of USAF fly straight without any corrections of trim, etc. (hands off
>> stick)  I have no trouble with dead zone or excessive roll- only long pauses
>> sometimes and jerky play ( my equip. related)  I also lose engine sounds
>> sometimes with SB Live-value using lw3.software.
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>>
>>
>> Title: Re: Eurofighter Typhoon
>> Author: EF2000 crazy
>> Group: rec.aviation.simulators
>> Date: 29 December 2000
>>
>> https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/rec.aviation.simulators/QP5dhYO2rFQ
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> The game is not going to be classed as hardcore, and is aimed at the
>> middle core gaming group,(as far as I know, there is not going to be a
>> clickable cockpit, and many of the instruments are going to be just eye
>> candy.) However, the game is shaping up to be a good one, and it's
>> featuring all the latest NATO weaponery, including the Brimstone, Penguin,
>> Meteor (future BVR missile) and LGBs.
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>>
>>
>> And to describe a middle-level 4x4 vehicle:
>>
>> Title: Re: I'm in the market for a fj60, but need some advice
>> Author: Patman
>> Website: Pirate4x4.Com
>> Date: 15 December 2001
>>
>> http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/toyota-land-cruiser/19261-im-market-fj60-but-need-some-advice.html
>>
>> [An earlier poster: "Parts are more expensive and harder to find, there is much less aftermarket support, the truck is much heavier and the dimensions ill-suited for extreme hard-core"]
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> I think it can be a decent "midcore" wheeler, but in the hard stuff, there is just too much body. I've lost both my quarters to tree's on the Rubicon, from being careless, 3 right side doors and counting from flopping, 2 left doors from rocks, etc etc etc. Most of the damage could have been avoided with some decent armor and MUCH lower gears. But I still would recommend against it. There isn't that much more room than a 4runner. Just my input. Either way, you'll be happy driving it. They are nice.
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>>
>> Midcore applied to people and computer game players can be found in Usenet in 2002 and 2003.
>>
>> Hugo
>>
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>
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