Some gamers here in the forum aren' t familiar with some great games. If someone is just a casual gamer, or hasn' t tried such greats as Metroid or Mario Bros (that' s right, when they were actually plumbers) or even fun time killers as Ice Climbers. What games should be essential to call one' s self a gamer?

If you haven' t played the classic Donkey Kong games then you MUST go out and shoot yourselves ;)

if you havent also played the original ninja gaiden all of you should go suck a pigs tail, over and over and ohhhhhhhhhhh*drools*

Well, this sounds like fun. I' ll start.

THE ESSENTIALS:

The Golden Oldies-

Pac-Man
Pong
Asteroids
Frogger
Galaga
Tetris

I don' t care when you were born or what you now have access to. Just find a way to experience the dawn of gaming; at the very least, it will allow you to appreciate the likes of Halo 2 all the more. And you never know...you just might have FUN.

Must-Have, Must-Play Classics (not including this gen.)-

Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt (NES)
Metroid series (NES, SNES, GB, GC)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
Dragon Warrior (NES)
Final Fantasy (NES)
Final Fantasy VI (SNES)
Final Fantasy VII (PSOne)
Super Mario 3 (SNES)
Mario 64 (N64)
The Legend of Zelda series (GB, NES, SNES, N64, GC)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Altered Beast (Arcade, Genesis)
NBA Jam (Arcade, platform)
Golden Axe (Arcade, platform)
Battletoads (SNES, Genesis)
1942, 1943 (NES)
Donkey Kong (NES)
John Madden' s Football (SNES)
RBI Baseball series (SNES)
Super Mario Kart (SNES)
Ninja Gaiden (Genesis)
Shining Force I, II (Genesis)
Ghouls ' n Ghosts (Genesis)
Contra (NES)
Strider (SNES)
Street Fighter 2 (SNES, Genesis)
Hero' s Quest (PC)
Half-Life (PC)
X-COM: UFO Defense (PC)
Mortal Kombat (Arcade, platform)
Gran Turismo 1, 2 (PSOne)
Goldeneye (N64)
Resident Evil 1, 2 (PSOne)
Castlevania series (NES, SNES, PSOne, GBA)
DOOM (PC)
Duke Nukem (PC)
Adventure (Atari 2600)
Defender (Arcade)
Populous (SNES)
Sim City (PC)
Warcraft (PC)
Civilization (PC)
Metal Gear Solid (PSOne)
Alien vs. Predator (Jaguar)

So sue me on that last one...it was the only game worth playing on that system, but it definitely left an impression. This is by no means a complete list; this is just to get everyone started. There are probably hundreds more to add.

Those are all awesome games, fathoms. I think I only missed playing like two or three of those you listed.

Moving on...

Anyone can be a gamer...even if they only play once a year...they just don' t game on a ' regular' basis.

The standard classes of gamers, as I have either heard them referred and/or as I have classified them, are:

Veteran - Been in gaming for more than half of their life, over a decade, or since gaming started - whichever relates to the most time involved with gaming. May have ' hardcore gamer' tendencies, but usually has matured enough as to control their behavior.

Hardcore - Has to get every game or every game in a specific series (Mario, Halo, etc.), beat each game in every mode, discover all secrets and/or cheats, and reads most every story about videogaming. These gamers usually haven' t learned to control themselves yet, so they come across as gaming fanatics.

Sharks - Gamers skilled at a specific game or set of games that act like they are novices for the first few games, then they kick the living he** out of your a** thereafter!!! To subdue this category of gamer, challenge them to a game which they are unfamiliar with, but one that you excel in. A dose of their own medicine usually brings them back to reality. Receiving paybacks are he** - even more so for them!

Updated Entry:
Coders - These are gamers that must play using cheat codes. These gamers usually will turn down playing against non-coder human opponents, or they will use the cheats to defeat their unsuspecting opponent.

WARNING: If you are a non-coder, and you accept a challenge from an opponent that announces their intent to use cheat codes, the coder may become frustrated, violent, or roll into the fetal position and cry like a baby if you defeat them!

Casual - Plays enough to know a little something about the more popular games and/or consoles, but doesn' t usually bother with the non-showstopper titles.

Sub-Casual - People who just happen upon videogames, like during the holidays, and have little-to-nothing to do with gaming otherwise.

Spectators - People, usually parents of younger gamers, that find a specific game interesting enough to watch. With enough interest, this category may develope into a sub-casual gamer (or become even more involved). This category is considered entry-level for all videogamers.

been playing since I could pick up a controller. Woohoo I guess im in between vetren and hardcore. The only one game on Fathoms list I havnt play was AvP on Jaguar. The sequals the prequals the expansions the remix the spin-offs. So many games out there and now that I think about it I cant beleive how many Ive played.

DaRoosh: Wow, congrats on that. It look like it took a great deal of thought; I think that' s the most specific categorizing I' ve ever seen for gamers.

I think I' m a pretty standard Veteran, according to your list there. I' ve been playing games since ' 82, so that' s 22 years. I' m only Hardcore when it comes to RPG' s, and maybe an FPS or action game here and there.

And I' d like to add just the generic " Gamer" label to your list- there is but one qualification: you must love games. Simple as that.

wow, this thread has certainly gotten a lot of response. DaRoosh, nice addition. Fathoms, that seems pretty comprehensive. At first I was thinking that this would be short. Little list, like " Go play Mario Bros, Galaga, Pong, and a few others"
Not so comprehensive. But man am I glad it is. I was actually thinking fathoms would be the one to do it too.
Alright, everyone feel free to continue posting all Required Gaming, but I' d like to pose a new question. If any of you could separate gaming into three parts, what would they be? I realize that this is so vague that you have no idea what the heck I talking about. Here' s an example.
1) Raw Reaction time. Obviously with this one, either you' ve got it, or you don' t. This usually accounts for things like those popup enemies who jump out solely to attack at close range when you' re not suspecting it. Spooky I know. This causes a reflexive shot (in first person shooters) or a punch, or what have you.
2) Split second decision making. Now that the enemy has popped up and you' ve fired off your first shot, you notice he' s not dead. Now your split second decision making takes over. You start moving back away from the enemy, aiming at specific targets. For some, this takes effect a split second after the initial stimulus.
3) Comfort of Control. This one is sometimes simply out of your control. Most of the time though, this is the ability to learn the controls, and map them to a finger and location in your mind to the point where you think " Jump" not " A button, right Thumb."
So, if you guys have a better list or split up of gaming skill, go ahead. Also, if it' s 4 or more, go ahead with that.

Actually, I think the three sections of gaming are relatively broad and straight-forward. For me, they would consist of physical dexterity, mental dexterity, and reaction. These three factors encompass everything you do when participating in this industry. Some games put more emphasis on one specific facet than others; for example, a turn-based RPG or strategy/RPG will generally test someone' s mental dexterity more than their physical dexterity, and reaction is not used often, either. Real-time and turn-based matter when it comes to gameplay experience, and they should all fall under physical dex., mental dex., and reaction.

Yeah, fathoms, yours seem to be very similar to mine, just defined properly. All students out there, if you' re taking notes, Professor Fathoms has just given you some important information. It will be on the exam. For those of you who weren' t taking notes, get them from your neighbor.

Does anybody else find it infuriating that this invisible $10 billion industry gets absolutely no proper recognition in the world of entertainment?

Sorry, this is off-topic, but the thought just came to me. It' s been bugging me throughout my adult life.

I am truly infuriated. People STILL think that video games are just for dorks and geeks. This kind of thinking needs to stop.

I am truly infuriated. People STILL think that video games are just for dorks and geeks. This kind of thinking needs to stop.

It certainly does. The average age of a gamer in this country is now 29 years old and still climbing. The video game industry has pulled in more gross profit every year since the turn of the century than any other entertainment venue on the planet (besides porn), and that includes film, music, books, and television.

I have actually queried several local newspapers with ideas on how to bring their ever-aging demographic to readers who just might be looking for product reviews that don' t exist in their newspaper. Of course, I' ve been ignored time and time again.

Strider was never on the SNES. It was Genesis. Actually the Japanese Mega Drive version is better. It has voices that were removed from the US version because Sega of America has a habit of screwing things up. True story!

Let' s not forget:

Space Harrier
Out Run
Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon' s Trap
Wonder Boy in Monster World
Monster World IV
Missile Defense 3D (one of the best light gun games ever)
Phantasy Star
Phantasy Star 2
Phantasy Star 4
Ghouls n' Ghosts (stay away from the " Super" SNES version. Very slow and worse than G&G)
F-Zero
Castlevania
Castlevania III: Dragon' s Curse (or something like that)
Super Castlevania IV (don' t get the non-super " Adequate Castlevania IV" !!!)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Look past the voice acting... look past the voice acting...)
Dracula X (PC Engine Super CD... this is the best arcade style Castlevania game)
Thunder Force II
Thunder Force III
Thunder Force IV (Lightening Force in the US, again because SoA likes to screw up and misspell)
Thunder Force V (Saturn version preferred, it' s better than the PS version)
Ass Lay. Errrrr I mean Axelay
Super Hang-On (arcade)
Blast Wind (just for the name)
Q*Bert (arcade... awesome voices!)
Daytona USA (arcade or Dreamcast version)
X-Men vs Street Fighter (Saturn version)
Street Fighter Alpha/Zero III (Saturn version)

etc.

I was born in 1988 and haven' t played the oldie Pac-Man and Frogger and Pong games, but I have had a chance to play many others. I played a lot of NES and SNES games like the Super Mario series, Zelda series, Donkey Kong series, Tetris series, Sonic the Hedgehog series, a little bit of the Ninja Gaiden games (the cartridge broke), Street Fighter series, WarCraft series, and much much more...

I guess I' m a " Shark" , hehe

I don' t see why StarCraf wasn' t on the list . StarCraft' s been out years before the millenium came to an end. " Utter the name StarCraft and gamers immediately think of the PC..." , how can you top that? It' s such an exciting game...I haven' t gotten bored with it so far, and there' s tons of people out there still engaging in the intergalactic domination war between the Zerg, Terran, and Protoss races.

To call oneself a " gamer" , you must have StarCraft experience !

Ah yes the pre-reqs for the ever misdefined gamer. Fathoms is 100% right although but product can nullify all of your own capabilites. Most recent light gun games are like stylus' they just don' t work. As for the many entry titles mentioned I don' t see any thing missing aside from the rhythmic games of recent popularity as for the classes of gamer you left out Cheater: your lowest form of gaming life. (hardcore veteran that still loses competitvly)

For me, they would consist of physical dexterity, mental dexterity, and reaction.

That was the most concise and precise explanation I have ever heard in reference to videogaming, Fathoms.

That is the work of a true videogaming veteran!

Now to elaborate on one point:

Fathoms is 100% right although but product can nullify all of your own capabilites.

It is the responsibility of every gamer to ensure their equipment is both compatible and reasonably (if not fully) functional - there are no excuses for a gamer' s repeated attempts to use non-compatible and/or non-functional equipment. That is why there is such a process offered by most retailers, and that most consumers are aware of, which is known as either a ' refund' and/or ' exchange' . Just make sure you get that bad item back within the allowable return period.

The very nature of a true gamer is to adapt to the input requirments for each specific game. If an input device (light gun, joypad, etc.) is making gameplay more difficult, refer to the first sentence of the above paragraph. Or, if no other input-device options are available for your situation, then you will either have to deal with the problems or focus your attentions elsewhere (give up).

Alley: Yes, you' re probably right that Starcraft deserves to be on such a list. Some might argue that Warcraft came first and thus is more deserving of the spot, but Starcraft, IMO, did it even better. It' s a judgment call, surely.

Does anybody else find it infuriating that this invisible $10 billion industry gets absolutely no proper recognition in the world of entertainment?

Sorry, this is off-topic, but the thought just came to me. It' s been bugging me throughout my adult life.

Actually I' ve always taken that fact and PROUDLY thrown it in the faces of naysayers. We as gamers help fuel one of if not the most profitable hobby on the planet and there' s not a damm thing they can do about it ;)

Joe, I had fully forgotten about Phantasy Star and Castlevania.
Fathoms, I think I speak for everyone when I say you are an asset to the forums.
The reason I brought up the concept of a 3 point system of video game skills was to get you all to analyze the way we play, and what areas you or your friends might be lacking in. It' s one thing to say to someone " You suck. You need a LOT of practice in video games" and a whole other thing to say " You need to work on your control" or " you need to learn to react faster" or " try to be more creative with problems and challenges" or even " Don' t run headlong into battle like that, stupid! (don' t get me wrong, it has it' s place, but most games don' t allow for Kamikaze attacks as a successful battle plan)"
What I' m saying is, it' s a way to help address faults in gaming and in others.
Next time your friend is blowing at games, find out what he needs to work on