[casual_games] Casual Games SIG Update

[Wade Tinney]

With Casual Connect Europe kicking off in Amsterdam this week and the Game Developers Conference coming up later this month, we
thought this would be an opportune time to let you know what the IGDA Casual Games SIG is up to. Here is the low-down. 



*The SIG at the Conferences
At Casual Connect Europe, the SIG will be hosting the "IGDA White Paper Working Session" on Thursday, February 7th, at 10:00am on
the Patio.

At GDC, the SIG will be hosting the annual "Casual Game Developers Group Gathering" on Friday (February 22, 2008) from 10:30am -
11:30am at the IGDA Booth in the West Hall. Hope to see you there!



*SIG Member Survey
In order to serve you better, the Casual Games SIG is conducting a short survey of our members. Please take a minute to give us some
valuable feedback. 
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=i_2bQ6m21ouSKDPodi7EcTbA_3d_3d



*The Casual Games Quarterly 
The forthcoming issue, available at the Game Developers Conference later this month, is packed with valuable insights. Here are some
snippets from those articles:

"What if I told you that there was a way to make artists and writers totally obsolete, and thereby reduce their parts of the
production cost of a game?"

>From Algorithmic Content in Casual Games

Arthur Humphrey, Last Day of Work

"After analyzing the entire tutorial with a fresh eye, we realized that we didn't need to teach the user how to play the entire
game.we just needed to teach them how to use the interface." 

>From Build-a-lot Post Mortem 

Brian Goble and Garrett Price, Hipsoft

"Each portal continues to favor their own unique blend of game mechanics."

>From Top 10 Data Review: Q4, 2007  

James C. Smith, Game-sales-charts.com



*2008 IGDA Casual Games White Paper
Every year since the creation of the original Online Games SIG in 2001, the SIG has created a white paper to document the state of
the casual games industry. It has grown from a 50-page document covering both hardcore MMO's (like Everquest) and web games to a
160+ page reference work that serves as the definitive reference work on the entire casual game space for both developers and
investors.

The casual game industry has experienced tremendous change over the last couple of years, and this year the White Paper is being
overhauled to reflect all of the change, activity, and interest in casual games. The White Paper has been reorganized to give a more
balanced focused on all of the offerings that make up the modern casual game space - including not just downloadable games, but also
branded advergames, ad-supported game, console downloads, casual MMO's, and many others. The White Paper will explore design,
development, business, and funding issues in each of these areas and give readers a listing of the key players.  

A staff of almost 60 volunteers has come forward to make this vision a reality. We have dozens of writers, editors, and project
managers working already to get the White Paper ready for its public release this summer.  

We have great coverage in many sections of the White Paper, but still need help in a few key areas. If you know a lot about casual
games on consoles (especially console download services), casual games on portable platforms like DS or PSP, or casual game markets
outside North America, or if you have experience as an editor for magazines or books, please contact White Paper editor Dave Rohrl
(universedave at gmail.com) as soon as possible.

Even if you aren't writing or editing the white paper, you will still have a chance to contribute. Drafts of the white paper will be
posted online in the spring for a month-long comment period. During that time, the entire community will have a chance to tell the
editorial staff what we have right, what we have wrong, and what we missed. Watch for announcements on the Casual Games SIG web site
and on the mailing list. We hope everyone in the community will take advantage of this opportunity; the more people we have offering
feedback, the more accurate we can be.



*The Casual Games SIG WIKI
A wealth of information about the casual games space, as well as complete details about all Casual Games SIG initiatives, can be
found online at www.igda.org/casual



That's all for now. See everyone at GDC!

Yours Truly, 

The IGDA Casual Games SIG Steering Committee



*The IGDA Casual Games SIG is sponsored by the following companies:
RealArcade - www.realarcade.com
Riddler.com - www.riddler.com
Popcap Games - www.popcap.com
Somatone Interactive Audio - www.somatone.com