Casual Gameplay

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Games where gameplay is easy to begin, pauses, and end, without negatively affect any players' experience.

During the first decade of the 2000s, computer games started to become popular among new and large user groups that traditionally had not played these types of games. Differing in themes, gameplay, and how and when they required players to play when compared to earlier games, these games became known as casual games. Although it is possible to find earlier examples after the genre had been named, the appearance of many games of this type highlighted that a more varied flora of game types are possible and appreciated. The book A Casual Revolution[1], discussed this genre, and differentiates between casual games and casual gamers. In this four main areas of difference between causal games and hardcore games are discussed: fictional presentation, game knowledge required, time investment required, and difficulty levels.

Examples

Puzzle-based games such as Bejeweled, Combine, Staries, and Zookeeper are examples of games with Casual Gameplay simply because they either are played for a limited amount of time or because one can take pauses from them whenever one wishes. Icy Tower


FarmVille


Mafia Wars


Using the pattern

The instantiation of Casual Gameplay depends on the combination of many independent design choices.

Game knowledge Time investment Attitude t. difficulty


Challenging Gameplay

Units

Non-Player Characters

Enemies

Handicap Achievements

Game Mastery

Smooth Learning Curves

Freedom of Choice

Limited Gameplay Time

Player Time Investments

Negotiable Play Sessions

Social Interaction


Grinding

Even if some games depict Conflicts (e.g. Mafia Wars) they do this in an abstract way and Casual Gameplay more typically revolved around Construction or Puzzle Solving.

Pottering


Diegetic Aspects

One of the characteristics used to describe the difference between casual games and others is that they tend use positive colors and sounds in the presentation of their Game Worlds. Although this is primarily a question of graphic and sound design, it can also reflect the tendency to focus upon Construction.

Interface Aspects

Narrative Aspects

Consequences

The flexibility of when to start or stop playing makes games with Casual Gameplay provide a Freedom of Choice to players. The combination of this Freedom of Choice and often having Construction or Puzzle Solving gameplay make players have the possibility to regard the gameplay of these games as Pottering.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Freedom of Choice Pottering

Can Modulate

Can Be Instantiated By

Construction Puzzle Solving

Can Be Modulated By

Possible Closure Effects

Potentially Conflicting With

History

New pattern created in this wiki.

References

  1. Juul, J. (2010). A Casual Revolution - Reinventing Video Games and Their Players. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-01337-6.