[casual_games] The Making of Casual Games

[Jeff Murray]

I think I'd agree with this. Getting the flow right (especially of the demo version) is 10,0000 times more important for the casual game. I feel that, if you're not EA and you haven't put a large scale TV advertising campaign featuring the biggest and best 3d things blowing up ... you're not going to be trusted by the average joe. The 'culture' of casual gaming (and the freedom it presents for the consumer in terms of smaller downloads to try things out without shelling out the cash) means that the casual games producer will have to try harder to impress or physically 'sell' the product itself to the buyer. Big studios don't particularly sell the actual game, since the marketing/advertising/movie/book will return the large chunk of sales when it's done right.
 
Internet 'people' want things for free. They want to be able to play the game and get into it, then when they're hooked it has become the norm to ask for the cash (dammit I was just about to capture Quarg/score 10,000 points/blow up captain bubble head so I better cough up). From a consumer point of view, this model makes total sense, too. I don't want to pay for anything I haven't played, since I might not like it. Since those nice people who made GTA didn't make it, I don't trust them either... I will even buy games from studios called 'ValuSoft' (sounds like cheap-ass inc. to me) because when I try the game, it's actually pretty cool.
 
I just wonder how many people are actually taking the sales opportunity by making the demos easier than the 'real thing' and making the game more appealing to 'simple folk' ?? I'm sure I've experienced it before, although it's hard to tell!
 
Parrot.
 
 
 
 

	-----Original Message----- 
	From: Charles Parcell [mailto:cparcell at toxictoy.com] 
	Sent: Fri 22/07/2005 21:13 
	To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List 
	Cc: 
	Subject: Re: [casual_games] The Making of Casual Games
	
	

	In _most_ cases casual game demo are one and the same as the full
	version. Where as full scale production demos are a separate build than
	the complete game.
	
	Note, this is not true in all cases but in most.
	
	Also, _most_ causal games have the purchasing logic in the demo. I
	really don't know of any full scale games that do this, but that is just
	my experience.
	
	Charles P.
	
	
	machaira at comcast.net wrote:
	
	> If the kid is telling the parents what to buy I would imagine the kid
	> would have some idea of whether or not the game is any good, or at
	> least like by his peer group. "Good" is obviously a subjective term. :) ;)
	> I would imagine the numbers would vary based on genre. The more
	> hard-core genres would probably be bought by more informed gamers.
	> Less hard-core (not casual :D) games (maybe games like The Sims) may
	> be being purchased based on less info. Just a hunch on my part. I
	> obviously don't have any data to back it up.
	>
	>     -------------- Original message --------------
	>
	>     Interesting point. Do you think the majority of game buyers make
	>     such educated purchases though? I don’t know of any data
	>     supporting or rejecting that idea, but I would guess that all of
	>     those games bought by parents for their kids don’t go through the
	>     same rigors, for example.
	>
	>     - Coray
	>
	>     -----Original Message-----
	>     *From:* casual_games-bounces at igda.org
	>     [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]*On Behalf Of
	>     *machaira at comcast.net
	>     *Sent:* Friday, July 22, 2005 2:53 PM
	>     *To:* IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
	>     *Subject:* RE: [casual_games] The Making of Casual Games
	>
	>     How many retail games these days don't have demos? Every PC game I
	>     buy I usually play a demo for unless it's a trusted developer.
	>     Even then I read reviews before I buy. For Xbox, I've usually
	>     played a demo from Xbox Magazine before I buy it.
	>
	>     -------------- Original message --------------
	>
	>>
	>> Hi Dora-
	>>
	>> There are a lot of questions wrapped up in this one, but I'll
	>     bite off a
	>> little piece of it to start the discussion going.
	>>
	>> One fundamental difference in making a casual, downloadable game
	>     (such
	>> as those my company produces) is that players can try the game
	>     before
	>> they decide whether or not to purchase it. So, unlike the typical
	>     retail
	>> experience, players are no t financially invested in the game
	>     when they
	>> are playing it. They haven't shelled out their hard-earned cash. I
	>> believe that that financial investment (in a retail game) makes
	>     players
	>> give that game more of a chance; they *want* to like the thing
	>     they just
	>> paid money for. They don't want to be disappointed or to have to go
	>> through the rigamar ole of returning the game. They'll slog their
	>     way up
	>> a steep learning curve, or attempt a badly tuned early level
	>     dozens of
	>> times, or put up with a frustrating control scheme for MUCH
	>     longer than
	>> someone with no financial investment.
	>
	
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