[casual_games] Gameplay duration

[Ben Lewis]

Agreed - 10-20 hours is what you'd expect from a first-person shooter on consoles, not a casual racing game for portals. 4-6 hours of content with high replay value is a good range to shoot for. Try not to offer more than about 20% of the full game in the 1-hour trial so players can see what they'll get if they buy. Antonio also makes a good point about achieving something in each session.

Ben Lewis
Yatec Games
Marketing and Sales
(225)274-1550  Ext. 149
www.yatecgames.com 


________________________________________
From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Antonio Santamaria
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 8:47 AM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: Re: [casual_games] Gameplay duration

10-20 hours sounds to me like a full console game.
The expectations I think depend on the game type.  We've been given much lower numbers, perhaps 3-4 hours of gameplay, including retries for an average player....perhaps an hour to 2 of new content.  These are for games that are replayable (ie. for score), as opposed to mission or career-based games where there is less incentive to play again once they are complete.

That said, I tend to measure game length as "length of a game session".  If I can have a rewarding game session for 10 minutes at a time, and actually accomplish something in that time (score, get to next level, whatever), then that's seems pretty good.  If I have to play for 30 minutes just to progress, then that's not so good.  That's just my opinion anyways.


Eric Trudel wrote: 
Hello guys, 
We are doing a racing game with a career and quick race modes. I was told by others in the industry that in the casual game market, portals and customer where looking for a certain quantity of gameplay hours out of their games; 10 to 20 hours where what I was told to aim for. 
 
I was wondering on how to calculate that gameplay duration. For example, is it only the career mode that counts? Does the quick race mode count even though only the maps and vehicles unlocked during the career are present? Do we allow time for level retry because of unmet goals? 
 
Any knowledge links and ideas are welcome on the subject. 
 
Thanks. 
 
Eric Trudel
 
 

________________________________________

_______________________________________________
Casual_Games mailing list
Casual_Games at igda.org
http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe
Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe
Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8
List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ