[casual_games] Re: What is a Casual Game?

Fri Jan 6 14:56:18 EST 2006

If you're going after that "hard-core" casual game market (i.e. 
Bejeweled, Zuma, Diner Dash players), then I think this is exactly 
right.  War is a bad theme.  Conflict in general is a bad theme.  Casual 
players don't like conflict and they don't like to loose.  They just 
want to have some fun that is challenging, yet easily overcomable.

Ron

Juan Gril wrote:
> Would the theme be a problem then? I was just doing this exercise in mind:
> 
> In Oasis, you command an army of soldiers who have to protect a kingdom. In
> Betrapped, you are trying to solve a murder.
> 
> Bejeweled is about Diamonds, Zuma is about adventure, and Collapse is
> abstract.
> 
> None of the games in this week's RealArcade top ten have a violent theme. If
> you pick each one, and try to create a theme analogy with a TV show or
> Movie, it's very likely that show or movie is something that females (and
> the whole family) would watch.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Juan
> 
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
> On Behalf Of Phil Steinmeyer
> Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 11:16 AM
> To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
> Subject: SPAM-LOW: Re: Re[2]: [casual_games] Re: What is a Casual Game?
> 
> I think what Joe was trying to stop was an argument over semantics.  Those
> are boring.  What are casual games?  Can games be art?  What is a clone? 
> Blah, blah...
> 
> But I think you're touching on something interesting.  Why do certain games
> that *look* like they should be casual games (i.e. Oasis) not have
> substantial commercial appeal to the audience that we generally deem to be
> the casual audience (i.e. people who try and buy games off the portals - who
> skew substantially female, older, etc than the average 'core-gamer'.
> 
> Regardless of the label - why do some games succeed in this market and other
> games, actively targeted at this market, fail?
> 
> I liked Oasis, too, as did a lot of other 'core-gamers', including many of
> us developers.  It won GameTunnel's 2005 game of the year, and was the IGN
> winner in 2004.  But it didn't resonate (apparently), with the 'casual
> gamer' crowd.
> 
> Another game I liked that also featured a deductive minesweeper mechanic was
> 'Betrapped!'.  That game also appears to have been a commercial
> dissappointment.
> 
> Clearly, there is some level of strategy and forward thinking in some casual
> hits (Bejewelled and it's ilk, etc), but I think the key is that it doesn't
> go TOO far, and that the game still appears to contain a substantial element
> of luck (i.e. to grossly stereotype - Aunt Sally can play the game while
> half-watching a soap opera and still succeed).
> 
> It's frustrating to me, and perhaps to others on this list, because many of
> the mechanics that appeal to me personally, don't seem to appeal as much in
> the marketplace.  Some of the biggest hits (Collapse, Bejewelled, even
> Zuma), feel overly simplistic when I play them and I quickly get bored.  But
> I'm not a good representative of my target demographic.
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Szeder" <john at mofactor.com>
> To: "'IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List'" <casual_games at igda.org>
> Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 1:04 PM
> Subject: RE: Re[2]: [casual_games] Re: What is a Casual Game?
> 
> 
>> I think that minesweeper is more of a "core gamer" game.
>>
>> Using deduction to determine where to click is not intuitively obvious to
>> many people.
>>
>> I don't consider Oasis, which is among my favorite games, to be very 
>> casual
>> either and it is inspired by minesweeper.
>>
>> Judging by the volume and frequency of posts to the leaderboard, I think 
>> the
>> reaction of the consumer marketplace speaks to my statement. The reaction 
>> of
>> the penny arcade people, who are very "core gamer" oriented also seem to
>> support that while the game is "downloadable", it is not really "casual".
>>
>> It looks like people are trying to derail this topic just as we are about 
>> to
>> explore a boundary condition so I will defer to the wishes of the list and
>> shaddup accordingly.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
>> On Behalf Of Aleksey Linetskiy
>> Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 8:29 AM
>> To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
>> Subject: Re[2]: [casual_games] Re: What is a Casual Game?
>>
>> I would disagree. In my opinion, both are casual games - they're just
>> for somewhat different players.
>>
>> -- Aleksey Linetskiy
>> -- http://grumpytech.blogspot.com
>>
>> Friday, January 6, 2006, 2:43:49 AM, you wrote:
>>
>>> That doesn't say anything about accessibility or game style.
>>> I think most people would say that solitaire is a casual game, and
>>> minesweeper isn't.
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org
>>> [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
>>> On Behalf Of Adeo Ressi
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 7:38 PM
>>> To: casual_games at igda.org
>>> Subject: [casual_games] Re: What is a Casual Game?
>>> I have a simple definition for a "Casual Game" that I always use:
>>> "Casual games have a short duration of play and are easy to learn."
>>> As a result of these two dynamics, casual games are a mass market
>>> phenomenon. To some extent, it does not matter what we, as an industry,
>>> think. It matters how we define ourselves to the end user: short and 
>>> easy.
>>>         Adeo
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> Casual_Games at igda.org
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>>
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>>
>>
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