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Casual game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The term casual game is used to refer to a category of electronic or computer games targeted at a mass audience — typically with very simple rules or play techniques, a very low degree of strategy, making them easy to learn and play as a pastime. They require no long-term time commitment or special skills to play, and there are comparatively low production and distribution costs for the producer. Casual games typically are played on a personal computer online in web browsers, although they now are starting to become popular on game consoles, too. Casual gaming demographics also vary greatly from those of traditional computer games, as the typical casual gamer is older and more predominantly female.[1]
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Most casual games have similar basic features:
- Extremely simple gameplay, like a puzzle game that can be played entirely using a one-button mouse or cellphone keypad
- Allowing gameplay in short bursts, during work breaks or, in the case of portable and cell phone games, on public transportation
- The ability to quickly reach a final stage, or continuous play with no need to save the game
- 2D, abstract graphics
- Some variant on a "try before you buy" business model or an advertising-based model
The word "casual" indicates that the games are produced for the casual consumer, who comes across the game and can get into gameplay almost immediately. Casual game players do not normally regard themselves as gamers, or fans of video games.
Casual games are usually free on-line or free to download and try (but may provide a revenue by in-game advertising). It is important to understand that these are two distinct markets within casual games. In one market, larger studios create downloadable games, primarily available on the PC. These games are typically addictive and are limited trials to encourage casual gamers to buy a permanent "deluxe" version for a small price (typically $20 or less). They usually have more intensive graphics and sound since they are run on the players computer directly. Recently, 100% free "full licensed versions" of casual games have become available through advertising.
The second market consists of primarily indie game developers who create free games for online play. These games have a wide range of gameplay styles, can be played on almost any computer, and are often based on Flash or Shockwave technologies. They are more limited in the scope of action, graphics and sound than downloadable games since they are played through the browser. However, many of these developers have pushed the technological envelope in what is possible through the browser - often creating full 3D games, 2 player capabilities, save games and other advanced features.
Microsoft's Solitaire, which came free with Microsoft Windows, is widely considered the first successful "casual game" and was particularly played by office workers who were using Windows for their work. Subsequent versions of Windows included Minesweeper, and once Microsoft discovered the popularity of their pack-in solitaire, they expanded on it with FreeCell and Spider Solitaire.
In 1989, Nintendo's Game Boy was released with the free pack-in casual game Tetris. Tetris on the Game Boy was immensely popular partially because, as a casual game, it was quick and simple, which was ideal to the portable gaming model.
The advent of Flash created a boom in web-based games, while also limiting them to using a single-button mouse, and having no built-in functionality for save states, encouraging designers to create simple games that could be played to completion in one short sitting. The most prominent game from this period was Diamond Mine, released in 2000 by PopCap Games and licensed by Microsoft, as Bejeweled for their Microsoft Zone.
Casual games received another boost when cell phones with large color displays became the norm because, like Adobe Flash before them, the cell phones had limited capabilities ideally suited to short, simple games.
Casual games are often computer simulations of common games (such as chess, checkers, pinball, sudoku, solitaire, and mahjong) but also versions of retro games — including the well-known Tetris.
There is no precise classification of casual genres in the modern gaming industry. That can be explained by the easy ideas that form the basis for each game as well as a great amount of genre mixes existing in this field. The most popular casual genres for 2006 were: puzzle, word, casual action, card and board games.[2] Below is the listing of the most popular genres along with the game play description.
- Puzzle games
- The type of casual games, where a player’s main task is to solve a puzzle, e.g. match the identical pieces on the playing field or place the falling blocks in a line (Tetris). Puzzle games are aimed at training player’s logical thinking and reaction if the game is played at a time limit. The most popular examples of the puzzle games are matching games (Match-3), Tetris, Sudoku games.
- Matching games present the biggest percentage of casual games produced nowadays. The player’s task is to match two, three, or even four identical pieces on the playing field. In order to indicate the identical pieces, the player usually has to swap them with the neighboring ones, shoot, or place them together by mere clicking. Once a player clicks the identical pieces, they are removed from the playing field. The final mission of the matching game is to clear the playing field.
- According to the IGDA Casual Games Developer Whitepaper for 2005[3], the most popular puzzle game is Big Kahuna Reef, which is an example of a match 3 game. The playing field is formed out of many charts and boxes with different pictures of undersea animals and plants inside. The background for the game is a 2D picture of the undersea.
- Word games
- These present the second largest category of casual games. In general, the point of every word game is forming a word (or a phrase) out of the letters (or words) on the playing field. The word games are aimed at training writing skills as well as improving the knowledge of spelling or studying a foreign language or learning alphabet for kids. The classic example for a word game is Bookworm Deluxe or Text Twist. The playing field consists of the set of letters of the English alphabet. A player is required to form a word out of the neighboring letters on the playing field by clicking on them.
- Party video games
- Party video games are social based games which are filled with easy-to-play minigames.
- Hidden Object games
- Hidden object games are games in which typically the player is shown a complex scene or a piece of artwork that has been modified to include numerous items. The player attempts to find some of these items based on a text list on the screen or based on silhouettes of the objects. Mystery Case Files games are an example of hidden object games. Some casual games publishers classify hidden object games under puzzle games.
- Card games
- Computer clones of the real-world card games. The plot of many casual card games is inherited from the usual games like solitaire, Russian card game Durak etc. The player’s task is to find two matching cards with identical value and place them together.
- Board games
- Another category of real-world games (checkers, chess, billiards, Mahjong). The game takes place on a board similarly to checkers, billiards, mahjong games. General Rules and game play features are preserved.
- Strategy games
- One of the emerging genres in the casual game industry, strategy games are a a broad grouping which include simulation, role playing and tycoon games. Common themes involve character building, adventure simulations and business scenarios. Casual strategy games are generally less complex than many of their hardcore PC counterparts, but they succeed by utilizing engaging scenarios and characters to satisfy the casual audience.
- Action games
- These games require a player to participate in an action in order to win. Its main attribute is a character or a set of characters that need to be controlled by a player via keyboard or a mouse. In many cases these games are based on the traditional arcade-style game play with the player having to make rapid, reactive decisions to survive. Such games are usually short-play games, only lasting a few minutes as the difficulty level increases exponentially. Some classic examples of action games are Space Invaders and Mario Bros. Some more recent examples are Doom, Quake, Dance Dance Revolution and Need for Speed.
- Sports games
- These games simulate the playing of traditional sports, such as golf, skiing, or football. They may focus on either actually playing the sport via simulation, or on the strategy behind the sport.
The Internet is the primary distribution channel for casual games. Most casual games are either downloaded as limited-time trials or delivered as Flash or ActiveX objects embedded in a web page. The evaluation copy of a casual game may limit the amount of play time, number of levels, or game sessions. Often more advanced features are not available. Some websites, such as Pogo.com, create casual games as a web-only experience first, then follow up with more advanced versions as "downloadable" games.
The ease of signing up to affiliate gaming portals, such as Sandlot Games, Big Fish Games, Boonty, PlayFirst, Reflexive, RealArcade, or Trymedia Systems, has flooded the internet with such sites. These portals typically rank the games by popularity and sales. Games with strong sales typically lead to sequels and knock-offs. Games that do not convert are quickly buried.
In addition to online portals, casual games are increasingly available at major retailers, particularly Wal-mart, Target and Best Buy. The success of Bejeweled at retail, where it sold over 100,000 copies in the US, has made retailers much more open to carrying casual games rather than value priced core games (such as first person shooters, strategy games, etc.). The largest retail publishers of casual games in North America are MumboJumbo (Bejeweled, Luxor, etc.) and Merscom (Buku Blast, DNA, etc.)
Casual games are also ported to mobile phones. Some mobile casual games allow players to meet and compete against each other (e.g. World Sudoku League).
- See also: List of casual games
- Early casual games
- Tetris (The Tetris Company, LLC.)
- FreeCell (Microsoft Windows)
- Spider (solitaire) (Microsoft Windows)
- Tanarus (computer game) (Sony Online Games)
- Start of modern casual market
- Bejeweled (PopCap Games)
- Super Collapse! (GameHouse)
- Slingo (Funkitron/Slingo)
- Games that exploded genres
- Diner Dash (PlayFirst)
- Zuma (PopCap Games)
- Virtual Villagers (Last Day of Work)
- Mystery Case Files: Huntsville (Big Fish Games)
- Azada (Big Fish Games)
- Games that followed up initial hits
- Big Fish Games
- Boonty
- Funkitron
- Gamelab
- GameHouse
- iWin
- Logler
- MumboJumbo
- Nintendo
- Oberon Media
- Pogo.com
- PopCap Games
- RealArcade
- Reflexive
- Sandlot Games
- Shockwave.com
- Zylom
- ^ Wolverton, Troy. "Women driving 'casual game' boom", San Jose Mercury News, 2007-08-23. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
- ^ IGDA: "2006 Casual Games White Paper", page 17, July 2006
- ^ IGDA: "2005 Casual Games White Paper", July 2006