-I never play something if I cannot get it in a legal way.
-If it is on console, I'll pass. Not because I hate consoles, but because I don't own the hardware and I'm not interested in getting it.
-If it requires Steam (for either use or purchase) I will not buy it, even if it is DRM-free. Never again I will consciously support any kind of monopoly or another kind of “cyberfascist” like Valve - getting a shiny new game is not worth my dignity. “It is just entertainment” my arse: if I don't submit to another one's will for something, I won't submit for everything else, no matter how important. Nobody tells me how to vote, think, practice an hobby, cook my food or anything else, and nobody will tell me how to use my games as well, period. For me, under that regard the choice is between black or white.
-For the same reason of the point above, I will not even consider any game with always on-line DRM or forced client management. Nobody will control what I purchase, regardless of what it is.
Considering my awful internet connection tough, I might use a client rather than download installers for new games; for example, downloading many times an updated build of a certain game is a waste of resources, so I could simply use Galaxy until the installer is complete and stable and download it only after that point, thus sparing a lot of bandwidth.
Anyway, I must be able to access the game without the client at any time, otherwise no deal.
-I don't buy games with a limited number of installations. The reason is obvious.
-I could make some exceptions for DRM'd physical games, provided they can be cracked in case of necessity. I'm strongly against piracy, but once a game has been legitimately bought I see no problems in stripping it of the bits I don't like. I have no issues with CD-checks, anti-copy filters or very light forms of controls like those, as they simply preclude you to do something illegal rather than forcing you to use the products in a certain way over another.

True gamerness aside, as I mentioned on the OP, there are way too many games released. Just look at the GOG and steam sales right now. Not only do I not have the time to play them all, I can't be arsed to check and research every single one of them to see if I'm interested. These filters are a quick way of focusing on the games I'll most probably actually play. If I read a summary and it says the game is online focused, I don't need to keep reading anymore.

Yeah, because pretending that you'll consider playing every single game ever created isn't pretentious at all.
They are filters when browsing games stores and checking internet articles, yes. If I hear about a game that looks cool but it breaks one of my "rules", I just give up on it and move on to other things. There's no shortage of games I want to play yet have no time for, after all.

What do you mean by "rules for gaming"? Things like, if I see too many QTEs (specially the kind that resets an enemy if you fail) or if I notice it's a diablo clone (tons of randomly generated weapons and exponentially more grinding required to advance as you progress the game) I'll typically insta-drop the game. I can't always know the game will do this before I actually play it.

I thought of a few more.

Mandatory stealth sections are often a dealbreaker. They are the reason I have yet to play Zelda: Wind Waker despite the fact that I own that game. In fact, that has pretty much ruined the series for me (except for older games I occasionally replay).
Cutscene-heavy games I avoid. (I consider RPGs to be my favorite genre, but it has been plagued by cutscenes.)
RPGs that play in real time I often avoid. (Note that I do not consider games like the Ys series to be RPGs, and therefore they get past this filter.)
Some genres like FPSs and fighting games I avoid entirely. (Tried playing Metroid Prime, didn't like it.)
I also avoid sports and racing games.
Voice acting, while not a dealbreaker, is a turn-off if it can't be disabled. Voice acting in place of text (with no subtitle option) is a dealbreaker.
Games that frequently get rebalanced I also prefer to avoid. I don't want the game to be a moving target.

I also don't play sports, racing F2P (except Hearthstone occasionally), MMOs or hidden object games.

Depth of Field can actually turn me off a game. Toki Tori 2 I never finished because the effect bothered me incessantly.

I mean, how do you choose games to play out of your backlog?

What, being open minded about anything is pretentious?

I do not think you even know what the word means. Why come to a forum to tell everyone that you only play certain types of games? Do you think that makes you any more of a 'real gamer' than anyone else or somehow makes you superior? :rollseyes:

I think I may go into KFC later and tell the people behind the counter I am a vegetarian and only eat gluten free food. Am I doing this right?


God I wish this forum had an ignore button.

As a true gamer, you should realize many games are good. The rules are post-hoc declarations of people making rational choices. A console game might be good, but for the price of the console and the TV and the game, I can try and buy more PC games and have more fun. If I have to use Steam, the necessaity to use it ruins my enjoyment of the game. Etc.

To start a conversation and see if other people do the same. Seems kind of obvious.
It helps make quick decisions. If you follow any and all games and sales and make granular decisions that's fine, but it takes more time. In fact, considering the number of games released it's probably a full time job to evaluate them fully. So everyone has rules to quickly dismiss games that don't appeal to them, be that graphical style, zombies or racing.

My main filter is if the game is DRM free.

Then after that it is mostly turn-based RPGs. Action RPGs might be exception if they are stat-driven.
But if it has level scaling, it is out.
If it has finite respawn, it is out (unless it is really something outstanding).

If it is good platformer or 3D Action with sexy hero, I might consider playing it.

If it is flip-screen Metroidvania, I might mess around with it...

Oh, that. It's pretty much a gut feeling thing. I wake up one morning and think, "Today I feel like playing a city builder", go my online library and check what I have available. Exceptions are RPGs (that I'll only start when I know I'll have time to commit to it) and horror games (that I'll only play on the rare occasions I have a single room)
It does. It's called "Don't read threads you do not want to read"

And maybe I do indeed not know the meaning of the word pretentious. What I do know is that telling me I should buy every single piece of hardware and be interested on every game genre or they're somehow in the wrong is a pretty stupid thing to do. I'm not superior to anyone for my tastes (except snowkatt, of course); but I do know that if a game requires hardware I do not have nor I have any intention to buy, there is no point on me knowing more about that game.

What's the problem with P1na's reasoning? I fail to see it.
By the way, I wish I had an ignore button for your posts because somehow every single post of yours that I've seen seemed to me like a troll's post. It seems you only post if you completely disagree with the OP and most other people in the thread and don't even acknowledge that other people can have a different opinion. -You give off the impression that you [edit]think you are [/edit :)] are the only sane person on this forum. Is it just me or does that seem a bit pretentious?
P1na never even claimed that a real gamer has to filter games out.
What's funny is that in every thread you are like that person in KFC who is vegetarian and only eats gluten free food -If you think you shouldn't go to KFC and say that then why do you even post in a thread you disagree with in the first place?
Obviously, you are not open-minded.

Edit: Oh, I see where you got that "true gamer" notion from. Maybe you should read a bit more carefully in order to see that P1na (in response to a user who brought up the term) specifically said that being a true gamer is not what he/she had in mind .

-The "console" filter is a bit meaningless, because it wouldn't be so much a filter as it would "This game never enters my consciousness" :D
-"Indie puzzle platformer" "Tower defense" "4x" "Multiplayer focused" greatly reduces my interest in a game
-Requires a controller (although I might still just be contrary and play it with a keyboard/mouse anyhow)
-Uplay/Origin/Rockstar Social club (although I have obtained some of the free Origin games, and redeemed my Humble Origin keys, but not tried them yet)

Origin isn't all that bad compared to Uplay and Social Club.

Anything is pretty good when compared to Uplay.