[casual_games] Casual_Games Digest, Vol 69, Issue 6

[Robert Madsen]

Semantics.  

Casual and hard core are labels that already have connotations assigned to
them.  So I don't think that we will ever successfully change the
implications those words have for the games who play them.  

Also, I wonder if those are labels that we are assigning to people, or are
they ways that gamers identify themselves? For example, does a play who
thinks of themselves as a "casual' gamer (yet spends 20 hours a week playing
casual games) identify with the concept of "casual" gamer? Would such a
person even want to think of themselves as 'hard-core'?

Finally, the distinction is certainly blurred by the fact that many
"hard-core" gamers are also "casual" gamers as well.

Just a few thoughts!

Robert

-----Original Message-----
From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of Jennie Stenhouse
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 9:09 AM
To: casual_games at igda.org
Subject: Re: [casual_games] Casual_Games Digest, Vol 69, Issue 6

Hi all!

Long time since I have posted here!
I have my nose to the grind stone devloping a little game for the iphone, (
youtube.com/watch?v=ulK5Wxnd-zo ) Its our very first game :)

any hoo aside from that I have a questioin,  a while ago there was a post on
boingboing ( ahh I hate that I can't find the link ) any way to cut a long
story short, the premises is that there is a company that makes small
sensors, ie an alelerometer tuned to a back and forth motion that would be
attached to a tooth brush, making ever possible action/object become part of
a game system, does this make every thing a casual game?

Also do you think that casual gaming is the new hardcore?
surely the number and time comitted to casual games is fast over coming
those of traditional hardcore gamers.

Cheers

Jennie.

Jennie.

On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 4:00 PM,  <casual_games-request at igda.org> wrote:

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> Today's Topics:

>

>   1. Re: Casual_Games Digest, Vol 69, Issue 5 (Scott Traylor)

>   2. Re: Girls/women and casual games - a psychological        study

>      TBD.... input? ideas? - specific reference? (Philip Michael 

> Zeman)

>   3. SIG Meetings at Casual Connect (Dave Rohrl)

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

>

> Message: 1

> Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:29:05 -0400

> From: Scott Traylor <scott at 360kid.com>

> Subject: Re: [casual_games] Casual_Games Digest, Vol 69, Issue 5

> To: casual_games at igda.org

> Message-ID: <F74101B4-5BE4-4C7E-BCE9-A4AB96456C4F at 360kid.com>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>

> Hello Phil,

>

> Can I ask what the relationship is between spatial navagation ability and

interaction with allocentric information? I follow spatial cognition
research closely and I'm not sure I see the connection between the two, but
would like to learn more.

>

> Thanks.

>

> Scott

>

> .............................................

> Scott Traylor

> President, CEO

> 360KID

> 617-964-1111 x11

> scott at 360KID.com

> Web: http://www.360KID.com

>

> Play Smart

>

> --

>

> On Jul 12, 2011, at 10:00 AM, casual_games-request at igda.org wrote:

>

>> Hello Andrea

>>

>> can you provide some specific reference to your study?  Our own research

investigates spatial navigation ability in a video game environment and we
find distinct differences between how males and females (on average)
interact with allocentric information.  The data show that in some cases,
females respond as typical males do while in other cases, females do
something different.

>>

>> Best

>>

>> Phil Zeman

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

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> Message: 2

> Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:56:35 -0700

> From: "Philip Michael Zeman" <pzeman at alumni.uvic.ca>

> Subject: Re: [casual_games] Girls/women and casual games - a

>        psychological   study TBD.... input? ideas? - specific reference?

> To: "IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List" <casual_games at igda.org>

> Message-ID: <BEB3141590014B8FA4175477A852A5F6 at mine>

> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="Windows-1252";

>        reply-type=original

>

> Hi Andrea,

>

> can you provide me with a citation for the paper so that I can 

> download and read it?

>

> Phil

>

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: "Andrea Lewis" <helloandrea at gmail.com>

> To: "IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List" <casual_games at igda.org>

> Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 3:07 AM

> Subject: Re: [casual_games] Girls/women and casual games - a 

> psychological study TBD.... input? ideas? - specific reference?

>

>

>> Hi Phil

>>

>> My study's aim was to uncover the motivations of women who actively 

>> play games to better understand this demographic.

>> I found the research lacking in a focus on female players (often 

>> citing a lack of participants) and so I really wanted to explore 

>> female gamer experiences.  I saw it as a starting point for further 

>> exploration, hence the qualitative study to develop themes and the 

>> small n.  The focus on casual-gamers was an attempt to secure avid 

>> female gamers, but about half of my participants also played console 

>> games, so it was not entirely exclusive to casual gamers.

>>

>> Not sure if that helps, but happy to answer any questions you might have.

>>

>> best,

>> Andrea

>>

>>

>> On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 6:13 PM, Philip Michael Zeman 

>> <pzeman at alumni.uvic.ca> wrote:

>>> Hello Andrea

>>>

>>> can you provide some specific reference to your study? Our own 

>>> research investigates spatial navigation ability in a video game 

>>> environment and we find distinct differences between how males and 

>>> females (on average) interact with allocentric information. The data 

>>> show that in some cases, females respond as typical males do while 

>>> in other cases, females do something different.

>>>

>>> Best

>>>

>>> Phil Zeman

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>> ----- Original Message -----

>>> From: Andrea Lewis

>>> To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List

>>> Sent: Friday, July 08, 2011 8:00 AM

>>> Subject: Re: [casual_games] Girls/women and casual games - a 

>>> psychological study TBD.... input? ideas?

>>> Hello all,

>>>

>>> Nearly 2 years ago I "crowdsourced" my research question for my MSc 

>>> research topic on female gamers and casual games. I received many 

>>> replies and helpful suggestions on the topic as well as assistance 

>>> in finding studies on female gamers.

>>>

>>> In a bit of self-promotion (please excuse and forgive me), I happy 

>>> to say that the study has been published. I have included the 

>>> abstract below and should you find the topic of interest, I am quite 

>>> happy to share a copy (no restrictions on distribution) with you 

>>> directly (off list).

>>>

>>> I write especially to the IGDA because I believe there is some 

>>> insightful information in the data for game developers.

>>>

>>> I thank you all once again for the help.

>>>

>>> very best,

>>> Andrea Lewis

>>>

>>> ----

>>>

>>>

>>> Confronting gender representation: A qualitative study of the 

>>> experiences and motivations of female casual-gamers

>>>

>>> Andrea Lewis & Mark D. Griffiths

>>>

>>> Abstract: Women are playing video games in ever increasing numbers.

>>> However,

>>> the empirical literature has consistently shown that males play 

>>> video games more frequently than females, that males play for longer 

>>> periods, and that both genders are equally likely to view game 

>>> playing as a masculine pursuit.

>>> As a consequence, a study was carried out to examine salient themes 

>>> in the experiences and motivations of females who frequently play 

>>> ?casual? video games. The participants comprised 16 adult female 

>>> casual-gamers who completed two self-report online interviews (at 

>>> the beginning and at the end of the study) and participated in an 

>>> online blog/diary and discussion forum over a four-week period. The 

>>> data were analysed for salient themes using Thematic Analysis. 

>>> Results showed areas that were important to female casual-gamers 

>>> included knowledge peripheral to games, domestic commitments and 

>>> personal priorities influenced by gaming, and the social, financial, 

>>> and emotional investment of games. By exploring the prominent themes 

>>> underlying women?s motivations to play casual games, the results 

>>> provided potential new research directions for future research on 

>>> women gamers from positively gendered perspectives.

>>>

>>> Key words: video game playing, gender, thematic analysis

>>>

>>>

>>> On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 4:41 PM, Andrea Lewis 

>>> <helloandrea at gmail.com>

>>> wrote:

>>>>

>>>> Hi all -

>>>>

>>>> First, I did check the archives before making this post and decided 

>>>> that it would be worthwhile to poll opinion.

>>>>

>>>> I am currently pursuing an MSc in CyberPsychology in the UK and 

>>>> would like to do my thesis research on women and gaming, 

>>>> specifically casual gaming.

>>>> My main issue/problem is that I have yet to carve out a clear 

>>>> research question... however, I know the issues that have led me to 

>>>> this topic and so I thought I would share and see if others might 

>>>> have opinion or insight that would help me to get closer to my 

>>>> topic...

>>>>

>>>> 1) I am tired of hearing that women/girls dont play video games

>>>> 2) I am bothered that when I do hear discussions that acknowledge 

>>>> that women play casual games, the next sentence often dismisses 

>>>> casual games as "not real games"

>>>> 3) I dont think that women only play "fluffy cute" games and are 

>>>> opposed to killing, shooting, competitive games

>>>> 4) I am curious about the biological differences in men and women 

>>>> that may make one gender more inclined to a certain type of 

>>>> socialization, but I think everyone is unique

>>>> 5) I would like to uncover something profound about women and 

>>>> gaming culture

>>>> 6) I would like to approach casual games and casual game play with 

>>>> a seriousness that may have been overlooked in the past

>>>> 7) I am interested in in-depth interviews with female gamers as 

>>>> well as with uncovering broader statistics

>>>> 8) I am very interested in women and game addiction and how it 

>>>> might differ from male game addiction (the predominant population 

>>>> currently studied).

>>>> 9) While my access may be limited, I am definitely interested in 

>>>> cross-cultural and cross-generational aspects of female gamers

>>>> 10) I think casual games kick ass.

>>>>

>>>> So far, that is my personal hot list of why I want to explore this

area.

>>>> If it sparks something in you and you are moved to reply, comment, 

>>>> argue, dismiss... by all means please do so -- whether here 

>>>> publicly or privately to me... Also, if you have come across 

>>>> research, articles, books, please share as I am amassing an 

>>>> enormous list of resources.

>>>>

>>>> Thank you,

>>>> Andrea

>>>>

>>>> ps - I am a digital media project manager and recruiter, lived in 

>>>> NYC and worked in the media industry for 10+ years before returning 

>>>> for my masters... Now living in the UK, just ran into some old 

>>>> friends at www.gamecity.org... and, among other things, games are a 

>>>> passion but I am by no means a "gamer" - I am a bit more interested 

>>>> in the business and culture of games. I also focus on women as a 

>>>> population because, well, I am one.

>>>>

>>>>

>>>

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>

>

> ------------------------------

>

> Message: 3

> Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:45:39 -0700

> From: Dave Rohrl <universedave at gmail.com>

> Subject: [casual_games] SIG Meetings at Casual Connect

> To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List <casual_games at igda.org>

> Cc: igdacasualsc <IGDACasualSC at yahoogroups.com>

> Message-ID:

>        

> <CALVTCsSGe=zNM6adFQhwBzq0kzeL2r-_EiPbOV0E2iQRPWo5Ag at mail.gmail.com>

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>

> Hey all,

>

> I wanted to make you aware of two SIG events coming up at Casual 

> Connect.  I hope that everyone attending the conference will show up 

> to one or both of these.

>

> On Wednesday July 20 at 9:30 AM in the Founders Room, we will have a 

> planning meeting for the SIG.  All SIG Steering Committee members 

> attending the conference should be at this meeting.  It's a great 

> chance for you to share feedback on how current initiatives are 

> working (or can be improved) and to help come up with ideas for the 

> next round of initiatvies for the SIG to take on.  It's also a great 

> chance to meet Steering Committee members and start thinking about how 

> you can contribute over the coming year.  We had some great ideas come 

> out of our last face to face meeting at GDC and I would love to keep the

ball rolling.

>

> On Thursday July 21 at 9:30 AM in the Founders Room, Vishal Gondal and 

> a group of volunteers will be unveiling the SIG's new White Paper on 

> the state of the casual gaming market in India.  This is an 

> outstanding piece of research that involved not only IGDA volunteers 

> but also significant work from Nasscom (India's largest software 

> development association) and Evalueserve, an independent research 

> firm).  I'm really proud of the level of work done here, and I hope 

> that you will come out to support and encourage this kind of excellent

research and great collaboration.

>

> I look forward to seeing/meeting many of you there!

>

> Dave Rohrl

> Chair, IGDA Casual Games SIG

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