I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy with school and life. I also just haven't seen anything that has compelled me to right a response to. I finally read a feature on Gamasutra to that was an interview with one of the developers of Twisted Metal and God of War, David Jaffe. Twisted Metal was one of my favorite games on the Playstation and I was really excited to read the interview. The interview went through the normal steps and asked what he was working on and what he had done in the past but at some point Jaffe started talking about where he thought the industry was going. He kind of started talking about it when he was asked what he was working on now.
He mentioned that he was one of the youngest people working at the new development studio he just started at age 36. To me at age 20 that seems really old and although I know it is not that old I still have the perception from society that at some point I should stop playing video games. When I think about myself I hope to be playing games all my life but society says otherwise. He then mentions that at age 36 he no longer has as much time to play games anymore and that the mainstream titles are just not in his realm anymore. That is not to say that at his age he doesn't enjoy them anymore he just no longer has the time and can't devote the time needed to really enjoy the game. (Examples: Bioshock, Mass Effect, Call of Duty 4) Because he can no longer play these kind of AAA titles anymore he doesn't really want to make that type of game anymore. What does this say of the direction of the video game industry?
This is why there is this sudden boom in casual games. The developers that used to be making the hardcore games are now older and making casual games. The casual market is not a new thing, just no one wanted to create games for it. This is also probably why a lot of the great recent titles have come from smaller studios that are still taking in new and young talent. Studios that are older and have an older age employees are starting to move into the casual market. This is not to say that all studios are falling into this just that it is a trend that I have noticed. I think the industry will survive but for a while the focus will be on casual games until the gap that is being created in the hardcore market is filled again.
Cyaz
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
What Is a Casual Gamer?
I read an article posted today on gamasutra, it was an opinion piece about what are casual gamers. It was written by Russell Carroll who started righting a weekly column on casual games. I basically agreed with everything she said in the article except when he listed the reasons casual gamers play games versus the reasons core gamers play games.
I consider myself part of the core gamer category. I easily play 20 hours a week when I have a game to play. In the article he states that the core gamer plays games for entertainment purposes but that is not enough for casual gamers. I think that some casual gamers do play games just for entertainment. Entertainment is defined as "amusement or diversion provided especially by performers or something diverting or engaging" on Webster. All video games give you some sort of diversion from life meaning that all games are forms of entertainment. Core and casual gamers may be looking for different amounts of entertainments but I believe one of the main reasons anyone plays video games is for entertainment.
The other part of the article I disagreed with was what the different types of gamers expect out of a game in terms of reasons to play the game. The article says, "they may be looking for stress relief, learning, distraction, self-improvement, or simply a pleasant way to spend time with friends. Instead of looking for excitement, adventure or competition like the core gamer, casual gamers often want to feel that their time is being used beneficially." I don't agree that you can really separate the differences between casual and core gamers besides for time constraints. The biggest difference between casual and core gamers is that core gamers will spend more time playing games than casual gamers. Both types of gamers like playing the same types of games they just play at different skill levels and get different things out of playing. There are some games that are just too difficult for a casual gamer to play because they don't have enough time to practice but most games both types of gamers can play.
There seems to be a large stereotype that games for casual gamers need to be a certain way in order to appeal to them. But if you take a step back you can see that casual gamers are casual gamers because of time commitment not because of a particular preference for a certain type of game. The day someone figures out the way to make it so both casual and core gamers are able to get the same experience out of a game the game industry will go through a revolution...
Cyaz
I consider myself part of the core gamer category. I easily play 20 hours a week when I have a game to play. In the article he states that the core gamer plays games for entertainment purposes but that is not enough for casual gamers. I think that some casual gamers do play games just for entertainment. Entertainment is defined as "amusement or diversion provided especially by performers or something diverting or engaging" on Webster. All video games give you some sort of diversion from life meaning that all games are forms of entertainment. Core and casual gamers may be looking for different amounts of entertainments but I believe one of the main reasons anyone plays video games is for entertainment.
The other part of the article I disagreed with was what the different types of gamers expect out of a game in terms of reasons to play the game. The article says, "they may be looking for stress relief, learning, distraction, self-improvement, or simply a pleasant way to spend time with friends. Instead of looking for excitement, adventure or competition like the core gamer, casual gamers often want to feel that their time is being used beneficially." I don't agree that you can really separate the differences between casual and core gamers besides for time constraints. The biggest difference between casual and core gamers is that core gamers will spend more time playing games than casual gamers. Both types of gamers like playing the same types of games they just play at different skill levels and get different things out of playing. There are some games that are just too difficult for a casual gamer to play because they don't have enough time to practice but most games both types of gamers can play.
There seems to be a large stereotype that games for casual gamers need to be a certain way in order to appeal to them. But if you take a step back you can see that casual gamers are casual gamers because of time commitment not because of a particular preference for a certain type of game. The day someone figures out the way to make it so both casual and core gamers are able to get the same experience out of a game the game industry will go through a revolution...
Cyaz
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