Last night I enjoyed some quality gaming time with a few casual games. Many of you have likely heard or played some or all of them: Eets, Gumboy Adventures, Larva Mortus, Geometry Wars, and Ragdoll Kung-Fu. Most of the games have been out for awhile and that’s part of the reason I went back and played them. What is it with these cheap, casual games?
By cheap, I of course meant: cost to consumer (though it could be argued, and likely true, that the games themselves were cheap to produce). These games, currently, cost anywhere from a few dollars to no more than ten — a meal’s worth in price, roughly. Their file size is small and only require short downloads to obtain — which can be done anywhere. They require little investment in any form. All these points are positive.
There are few negative points with these casual games, perhaps a lack of ‘depth’ or ‘immersion’ that you would find with a bigger budget title. The length is also, usually, shorter than most big budget games.
But, this is all quite proportional to the cost. Heck, when looking at the play time versus cost of these games and big budget titles, these casual games likely come out on top — especially games like Eets that allow player created levels or extra replayablitiy with different ways to accomplish the existing puzzles. That’s something I find very interesting — game design that allows longer play time, in a low-cost game.
Another factor I was looking at is how the games stand up over time. I’m pleased to say, quite well. All of the games mentioned use 2D graphics, a smart move. With 3D we are still constantly improving — getting closer to that fabled “photo realistic” 3D experience. 2D still has some room to grow, more pixels and whatnot, but the growth is a bit less noticeable — meaning the graphics will hold up over a longer period of time. Having 2D graphics also allows for older, less powerful machines to run the games — meaning a far larger audience.
A large audience is a great thing. More money flowing into the developer’s pockets allows for the creations of more games, more content for existing games, and the potential for bigger projects (not to mention more jobs!). With Steam and the App Store supporting independent developers, more studios are able to crop up across the world. Tools are getting cheaper to buy and easier to use — Torque’s 2D and 3D game engines for example, Larva Mortus was made using the 2D one. Casual games and independent developers have been, and are, on the rise it seems.
And, what does all this mean or have to do with anything? It’s just speculation, but I see casual gaming as a major — if not the major — form of entertainment in the near future. Entertainment that can be gained anywhere, at any time, at low costs, and provide immediate gratification for short or long periods of time — open to anyone and everyone.
