[casual_games] Definition of Casual Games

Wed Jul 13 17:36:16 EDT 2005

I agree with most of what's being said here but there are several factors to
consider, as has been mentioned.  CS is casual in that it has no time
commitments but, for someone who has never played a FPS on a PC before to
sit down at it would be, well....pretty much like my first time I'm sure, I
spent the first hour (day?) running around looking at the floor and bouncing
off of poles lol.  It does take more hand/eye coordination than a game I
would describe as 'casual'.

Here's another definition of a casual game - a game my wife would play  =)

The Sims yes, SimCity no, while the gameplay is relaxing and pretty much
non-stressful, it seems to cross that line of complexity that a lot of
people aren't willing to step over.  Platform games like Mario 64, for
example, she loves.  Games like Tetris/Bejeweled are what I would consider
casual.

Personally I think the complexity of the current console controllers scares
some people off.  My wife will pick up the Xbox controller and give it a
spin if it's a driving or puzzle game or if it's 3rd person but, FPS games
on a console (or keyboard and mouse for that matter) do take a bit more
coordination, some people get frustrated with that and simply stop trying.

A casual game must have:

*	Simple and intuitive controls.

*	Time is of course a factor, you should be able to jump in for 10
minutes, be entertained and stop playing with no problems

*	I also agree that any storyline involved should not be overly
complex

*	I like to think of a casual game as something that's relaxing to
play, not extremely violent and stressful

I'd like to see (make) a game that follows the Disney/Pixar model in that
the story is straightforward so that kids pick it up and enjoy it right
away, characters that always manage to make you care, with worlds that are
complex and beautifully detailed.  Think of the best cartoons out there, the
story entertains kids and their parents while many of the jokes are for
adults....

I'm brewing up an idea for a game along these lines that I myself would find
fun to play.  I've been thinking about it for a few years actually, refining
it, writing about it, refining it more etc.  It's a collection of gameplay
elements that I've found highly entertaining since the Atari 2600 all rolled
into one big game.  I have much of it fleshed out on paper and in my mind, I
have sketches of many of the 'bad guys' that would inhabit my world.  The
problem is I have no team, no office, no web page and no funding....I don't
even have a name for it yet but I do have some limited game dev experience,
I was the lead mapper on a game called Glympse that, like so many other
projects, fell through.

Regardless, I do know what I want the gameplay of this game to be like.  And
that is very much casual, easy to pick up with simple controls, fast and fun
travel minus vehicles and limited in such a way that travel itself would
become part of the gameplay.  I want people to be able to pick it up, like
we said, for 5-10 minutes and have fun with it or keep playing it for hours
on end in a social MMO environment.  I want people to laugh out loud at this
game.  I'd like to incorporate physics and over-the-top animations in such a
way that it actually makes people burst out in laughter, or at least chuckle
to themselves  =)

That's enough for now, I love the idea of this mailing list and hope to add
what I can to it as well as learn what I can from it.

Jay Ellsworth

  _____  

From: machaira at comcast.net [mailto:machaira at comcast.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 2:46 PM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: RE: [casual_games] Definition of Casual Games

Yes, a game is a game, but different games have different complexity levels.
I think that's what everyone is getting at. It sounds like a casual game
isn't very complex in its ruleset and isn't as deep as a game like GTA.

She knew everything that could be done in the game right away or she was
just able to wander around?

-------------- Original message -------------- 

A game is a game.

My wife played GTA for the first time a while ago and picked it up right
away.  Her previous experience with non-PC games was relegated to the arcade
- Frogger and Space Invaders.

I'm not trying to convince anyone, yet I would compare Bejeweled to GTA.  I
see it a different way - No invisible separation.  :)

  _____  

From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of machaira at comcast.net
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 1:10 PM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: RE: [casual_games] Definition of Casual Games

Are we talking about for an experienced gamer or a newbie? Take someone who
has never played anything like GTA and sit them down in front of the game.
Will they know all the ins and outs of the game in 5 minutes?

Am I off-base here or do I just have a different idea of what constitutes a
casual game? I wouldn't compare Bejeweled to GTA.

-------------- Original message -------------- 

Good point.  :)

Though the learning curve on a game like GTA is pretty simple.

  _____  

From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of machaira at comcast.net
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 12:58 PM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: RE: [casual_games] Definition of Casual Games

But does the learning curve for casual games fit for these games? I can't
see it taking a mere 5 minutes to learn any of these other than the barest
minimum.

-------------- Original message -------------- 

If a casual game doesn't require time commitments, then I see games like
Counter-Strike, Grand Theft Auto and SimCity/The Sims as casual games.

And I think it makes sense to lump Bejeweled and Zuma with the above games,
because users can play these games for five minutes or for five hours.

Personally, I love using the CS, GTA and Sims model for developing "casual
games" that are published online.

Thanks,

Malcolm

  _____  

From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of joey kolber
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 12:05 PM
To: casual_games at igda.org
Subject: RE: [casual_games] Definition of Casual Games

I would call a casual game something that doesn't require commitment. Many
games these days are so intense that they require hours and hours, or are so
entrancing that people will spend hours and hours on them. Casual games
don't require this. While some may entrance people for long periods of time,
they don't require people to devote part of their life to it. They can play
some, leave, and then come back and play again. Games light in plot, like
puzzle games and many online quick games could be put in this category,
while many MMO's, like MMORPG's and many roleplaying games in general would
probably require more of a commitment.

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