Kim, Kelly and Kendall are Players.
Kim likes to take it slow. Kim picks games based on an abstract set of criteria that change and grow over time. They're going to see each other for weeks, maybe months, or even years, and get to know each other before Kim ever logs in to the game. There will be some bumps, like seeing how awful the new game's UI is, or how infrequently the maintenance gets done around the place, but at the same time, there will be lots of cool surprises like little gifts that show how appreciative the game is and a deep feeling of satisfaction that Kim discovers in just sitting around for a chat in the evening while a b-movie plays in the background.
When Kim finally gets to log in to the game, it might be fantastic; exactly what Kim was hoping for, a long, slow, series of logins, each seemingly more intense than the last, with a new surprise at every login, that leave both of them breathless and more deeply committed to each other every time. And they'll be happy together for as long as the game exists.
Or maybe, it won't be that great. Maybe logging in will just be okay, perfunctory, functional, but without the spark that would leave Kim yearning for the next time. But Kim appreciates the other qualities, and they still spend a very long time together, maybe even the game's entire existence, with interest ebbing and flowing over time. Maybe with gaps, when Kim steps out to try another game on the side, but always comes back to the game, generally content with mediocrity while logged in, in exchange for the other stuff. Maybe, in the end, they drift apart slowly, and one day Kim just stops logging in and sheds a few tears that the game wasn't quite as expected.
Or maybe logging in will be terrible, and Kim will be sorry about ever putting time, energy, and money into the game. The first login will be so awful that Kim will leave in disgust and bad-mouth the game forever.
Kim isn't bothered by having throws money at games that didn't work out, because everything in life is a gamble, and the occasional waste is made up for by the chance at logging in to the great one.
Kelly, on the other hand, doesn't want an emotional commitment to an unknown game. In Kelly's eyes, logging in to a game should be clean and professional. Kelly wants to either turn up at the Game store, pick up a game and go home for the night, or maybe call up and negotiate all the costs up front, log in, experience the game today, toss the money on the table and leave. If the game was good, Kelly might log into it again next weekend, or might try a different game, to see which one is better. Kelly might even log in daily for a long time and actually come to care about the game in time, finding a comfortable companionship in the familiarity of a professional game that is good at its job. No mess, no fuss, and any disappointments are immediate and it's time to move on.
Kelly also isn't afraid to throw money at games. For Kelly, you get what you pay for, and money is just a way to get what you're looking for.
Kendall is exactly like one of the others. Except that, Kendall experiences a lot of angst every time logging in isn't exactly as expected, and is convinced that the other style of gaming is going to destroy gaming for everyone. That if people are allowed to keep gaming that way, all the good games will collapse and there will be no games left for anyone, so anyone who games that way is stupid, and not responsible enough to be allowed to continue spending their money on games. Kendall has a deep seated feeling of responsibility to crush the other style of gaming before it can destroy everything.
Kim and Kelly are different people, and they know it. And they argue pretty regularly about which style of gaming is better. But because they're both generally looking for the same thing, neither one accuses the other of being bad for gaming. Neither one says that the other's preferred style of gaming is going to ruin gaming for everyone else and shouldn't be allowed and that the other is stupid for gaming that way. Meanwhile, Kendall takes every opportunity to spew vitriol at the other games , and spends more time denigrating them than actually logging in to the good games.
In the end, one of these three actually does damage gaming for others. If only it were easier to tell which it is.
