[casual_games] RE: Business models

[vslo at verizon.net]

Well said Jamie... 

Seems fine for someone to go on to different avenues of game development but casual games can still remain... there are a lot of times when I don't want to spend hours of time and ounces of adrenaline playing doom or halo - I just want to chill out with a "casual" game... may they live and grow forever.

VS 



> Brent, 

One fear that I have personally is that the much lauded potential for significant financial gain that exists in the Casual gaming market will someday (soon) be exploited by the retailers and by the larger game publishers. I really enjoy the current climate of Casual gaming, and hope that it continues to grow while still fostering it's unique approach to sales and distribution. I think that's why it appeals to me so much, that any talented programmer and artist can create a compelling experience and succeed in this space with no assistance other than perhaps a small business loan and a well-advertised website.

With respect to Greg Costikyan's article (and his preceding GDC "rant") the thing that I absolutely love about the casual gaming space (as it exists today) is that innovation has still not been deterred and the fun/addictive games can perform quite well in the marketplace. That is Greg's primary gripe with the retail gaming industry, which is to say that unique and innovative games are at a disadvantage in the marketplace (Psychonauts is the current and often cited example of this theory).

For casual games, sure there are the "me too" games (I think I've exhausted my "Match 3" gameplay quota to fill multiple lifetimes) but gameplay "familiarity" is not the only requirement for success. As long as the audience can quickly grasp the core gameplay mechanics, innovation in casual gaming is certainly possible and often rewarded with the casual consumers' dollars. Currently, the development budgets are still moderately low and the potential audience is gigantic (by any standard) - so innovation is not only possible, it's advantageous so that you may separate your game from the others... which is not the case with the current retail gaming market. 

My point is that I am envious in many ways of the Casual game developers, because coming from the retail space it's been an uphill battle for us to gain the resources from any publisher to produce many of the novel and compelling games that we would like to pursue.

If you are all considered "Indie" developers then I'd be willing to trade in my "Professional" status in a heartbeat to create the games you guys make... They're absolutely great! 
(which I understand was not your opinion, Brent ... just me trying to be mildly humorous - a weak attempt I know, I apologize :-) )

- Jamie

P.S. We are working on a few casual concepts and prototypes that we hope will see the light of day (hence the reason why I subscribed to this excellent mailing list). Who would have thought that a military simulation developer would be trying to break into the Casual gaming space, huh? Ah, the irony...

P.P.S. Allen, excellent work on "The Escapist"... it has become one of my favorite gaming reads on the 'net. Lots of thought-provoking stuff there on a weekly basis. 

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Jamie Carlson (Sonalysts Inc.)
Producer / Designer

Sonalysts Combat Simulations
http://www.sonalystscombatsims.com
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From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [ mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Allen Varney
Sent: September 1, 2005 10:14 AM
To: casual_games at igda.org
Subject: [casual_games] RE: Business models

Brent Lowrie wrote:

 (((This is the unknown that most new developers fear and having access to this sort of information would help more new developers break out of indie development and into commercial deals.)))

 "Break out of indie development"? This makes indie gaming sound like a second-string, minor-league affair. I argue indie game developers are in a far better situation, both economically and culturally, than the increasingly beleaguered developer of retail computer games.
 For a discussion of the benighted state of retail game development, see Greg Costikyan's article in the current issue of The Escapist magazine:

 http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/8/3

 And to see why I think casual-game designers are far better off in the long run, see my article "Casual Fortunes" in the same issue:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/8/14

-- Allen Varney
www.allenvarney.com 
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