Is game addiction a blessing or a curse? That is the question many people ask themselves today as the gaming industry has grown and developed into a large part of not only the economy, but society itself. Gaming has become, for some, a lifestyle. This article isn’t meant to assess the argument, but instead serve as an interesting read for the world of gamers. What level of addiction have you reached? The four C’s that were mentioned in the title will correspond with the four primary levels I have developed for the gaming society. Enjoy!

The Curious Gamer: Level 1

The curious gamer, every one of us has to be a curious gamer at some point or another. No one in this modern era of technological development can stay sheltered from all forms of technology and the gaming industry. The curious gamer is a pretty broad group of people in society. This level of gamer doesn’t have trouble playing a game once, finding some amusement from it, and passing back to reality. It is a momentary release, but not something that is the priority on this person’s list of things to do. The curious type is interested in gaming, but also has numerous other hobbies stationed in the background to keep the mind working. Being the least addicted and attached this group finds it easy to play a game once with a friend, more so for the social time, and never play it again! What a lucky group.

Common Favorites: Puzzle, Card, and Flash games

A Game that characterizes this level: Solitaire

The Casual Gamer: Level 2

These are the people who go to local game stores and rent a game to take home and try for a few days at a time. “Oh man…I’m bored with this game…”, if that is your mentality, you probably fall into this category. This is the type of individual who enjoys a broad scope of games and variety. The Casual gamer is characterized as the second step of gaming addiction. They like to play games every now and again. This level is characterized by a type who enjoys playing the game and experiencing the entirety of it and then moving on. This group is focused mostly on the testing of an experience such as finishing the single player and leaving it. While they are the type of gamer who needs to finish someone before quitting, they can be quite mild in this need. Until the later levels of gaming addiction this type of person has the ability to still quit a game even if they aren’t finished and go on with life! This level of gamer tends to be the type that uses gaming as a stress release.

Common Favorites: Single player, Adventure, Pop-Culture, and Strategy Games

A Game that characterizes this level: Guitar Hero

The Chronic Gamer: Level 3

Well, it looks like we’re moving up a little further into the tiers of gamers. The second level and the third levels are similar in nature except for a few key changes that mark the differences between a chronic and casual gamer. A key change in the chronic gamer, who is the type who plays frequently (perhaps daily), will begin to refine their gaming selection. This type of gamer tends to be a focused gamer with a decent amount of time and brain cells invested into developing their understanding of the game. As the group of games played tends to decrease the games begin to focus on the playability and quality. These gamers like to play top-of-the-line games in order to both develop and become a strong player and also to flaunt these skills. This level of gamer tends to develop into the multiplayer games where the game becomes more challenging with the interaction and competitive nature that is produced in playing against other people. This is the level of gamer that starts to slowly sink their financial power as well as mental strength into beating goals set by their mind and the game itself. Of course, like the casual gamer, they too have certain limits and know when it’s time for a break. This group can become enveloped in a game, but finds limitations that allow social interaction outside of the game. This is largely the hardcore “social” gamer, enjoying the “highs” of challenging and, sometimes, specifically online gaming.

Common Favorites: Multiplayer, Adventure, Campaign, Storyline, and Role-playing games

A Game that characterizes this level: Call of Duty: World at War

The Compulsive Gamer: Level 4

I’d honestly have to be amazed if you manage to call yourself a level four gamer. Why is that? Well if you were at this level of addiction I don’t think you’d have time to stop and read this! This is the elite gamer, if that’s what you’d like to be called. They develop the deepest understanding of a game and can be considered a wealth of useless facts, playing a game long after it’s lost its flavor. These players try to master all the mechanics and details of a game rather than play it for fun. This level of addiction tends to go beyond “fun”. This is a quest, a seeking of mastery. Sadly, many of these people play the games non-stop seeking these final goals to feel unfulfilled. This level of gamer has also been characterized with money making goals in mind, many people becoming this type of gamer as a way to financially support themselves as well as play something they “enjoy”. Be aware, this level of gaming comes at a physical cost to many people who truly live this lifestyle. Deaths have been reported in China, USA, and Korea relating to video game addiction and this is the level of gamer that is involved in the painstaking attempt to endure hunger and personal degradation at the cost of success in the gaming world.

Common Favorites: MMORPG Games, Anything they are addicted to…

A Game that characterizes this level: World of Warcraft

I hope you enjoyed the article and the assessment of your addiction to gaming! Hopefully you found your place among the addicted. Be sure to share with your friends…if you can get them to stop playing that game for a minute. As a note, I realize there are likely more levels and might come back to this and re-write it in more detail at another time.

If you are curious where I myself fall into, I’m the chronic gamer myself. As a gaming fanatic I thought it would be interesting to look more in depth into the world of gaming. Like some of my other articles, this is a self-test and is largely built for your own interpretation! This article is meant to be a joke and is built to amuse the audience. I hope that no one was offended by the content of this piece. Thanks for reading!