Measuring Video Game Dedication: The Development and Validation of Casual Hardcore Assortment Scale

Abstract

Gaming literature has noticed for a long-time the existence of two distinct types of video game players. In the current paper, we are proposing a scale that aims to differentiate gamers between two types: hardcore and casual. Casual players invest limited time and resources in video games and are not taking the games too seriously. Their counterparts, hardcore gamers, do the opposite, such as investing substantial monetary and emotional resources in video games, personalizing their private objects in line with their hobbies, spending more in-game time, and taking games more seriously. Based on the characteristics mentioned above, we propose in this paper a 5-item scale called Casual Hardcore Assortment Scale (CHG). The items of the scale look at the following characteristics that distinguish the hardcore player: monetary investments, cultural investments, emotional investments, and time spent in the game. The answers are on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5, a higher score indicating a more pronounced presence of the previously mentioned characteristics. That would suggest a high match of the respondent in the typology of the hardcore player. The scale has been tested on a sample of 492 respondents and it showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .75).