I think it is way too simplistic to divide people into two either/or camps of those who are hardcore gamers who like lots of options and complexity versus those who are casual gamers who don't like too many options or much complexity. I am very much a casual gamer, someone who does not have much time at all (sadly) to play video games and who wants to blow through combat quickly without having to put in too much effort. But at the same time I am also very much someone who loves having TONS of options (options are ALWAYS good), options in gameplay, options in character creation and development, options in party composition, options in dialogue and quest resolution, options in settings and difficulty, options everywhere. I also love my RPGs to have complex systems. So exactly where would I fall in this very binary discussion?
It is very much possible to be both a nerd gamer (I am okay with that word as I very proudly consider myself to be the king of nerds, that being a nerd is a very good thing, and society would be way better off if more people were nerds) and a casual gamer at the same time.
+100 to this.
I barely get time to play, and when I do I tend to have to split my time between focusing on stuff in my MMO of choice, or playing single player games from my backlog. I'm quite the definition of a casual gamer in that respect, but I still much prefer and tend to stick longer with games such as WotR/BG1+2+IWD/NWN/PoE/etc. simply due to the sheer amount of choices I can make. Not just in terms of character building on a stat sheet and with skills, but with gear, with dialogue, with alignments, what have you. That sheer feeling of freedom and uniqueness every playthrough is what keeps me coming back, as I never quite feel so static.
In games with less choices (I'll just pick out Mass Effect as an example; one of my favorite games, I routinely replay the trilogy through entirely at least once a year), I tend to go through for the first time and then end up 'stuck' in my initial playstyle and choices. I don't feel a need to try out what other class options there might be, because the selection is more limited, and if what I liked on my first go worked, why would I opt to try the other things that are going to be mostly the same but with a different flavor - and also tend to not have any effect on dialogue or how others respond to me in the course of the game?
I never feel that way with many of my favorite cRPGs.
I do feel like I'll feel that way in BG3, which has been part of the reason I've yet to really finish the whole of what we have in EA. If I know I'll likely be playing this one way (unless they drastically change stuff up and add much more to the table), I'd rather get started on playing that one way fully from beginning to end. So, more than likely I won't really be playing it much anymore until full release.
In that sense, it's sort of 'failed' me as a more 'casual-oriented' game compared to WotR. Neither are bad, but I'm certainly getting more enjoyment - and know I will continue to get much enjoyment in the years to follow - from one over what I feel I'll end up getting from the other.
I am very similar. Because my gametime is limited and therefore precious, I have a relatively small library of games that I play. I'd much rather REplay a game I know for sure I will enjoy playing than play for the first time (just because it's a new game) a game that I am likely to not enjoy much. For a long time I kept replaying the IE games and NwN2. Now I replay P:Km and the PoE games. So it's very nice to be able to add P:WotR (and Black geyser) to that shortlist.
