Latest News
spacer View All spacer
 
February 10, 2010
 
Analysts: EA On The Right Track At Last
 
GamesBeat@GDC Confirms OnLive, GameStop, PlayStation Home Speakers
 
Ubisoft Q3 Sales Edge Down, As It Ramps Up Big Franchises
spacer
Latest Features
spacer View All spacer
 
February 10, 2010
 
arrow Television, Meet Games
 
arrow Two Halves, Together: Patrick Gilmore On Double Helix [1]
 
arrow The Road To Hell: The Creative Direction of Dante's Inferno [20]
spacer
Latest Blogs
spacer View All     Post     RSS spacer
 
February 10, 2010
 
Lineage 2 Interview - 'Freya Update Is Just a Beginning' - Pt.2
 
Fixing the GDC 2010 Schedule Builder [3]
 
Swashbuckling for Landlubbers: Why you may already be encouraging piracy! [20]
spacer
Latest Jobs
spacer View All     Post a Job     RSS spacer
 
February 10, 2010
 
Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.
Programmer
 
THQ
Animator - Motion Builder (contract)
 
LucasArts
Senior Systems Designer
 
Trion Redwood City
<b>Sr. Brand Manager</b>
 
Telltale Games
Game Designer
 
Telltale Games
Senior Software Engineer - Core Technology
 
Airtight Games
IT System Administrator
 
Roblox
Apple Game Engineer - Kids' Virtual World
spacer
About
spacer News Director:
Leigh Alexander
Features Director:
Christian Nutt
Editor At Large:
Chris Remo
Advertising:
John 'Malik' Watson
Recruitment/Education:
Gina Gross
 
Feature Submissions
About
spacer If you enjoy reading this site, you might also want to check out these Think Services sites:

Game Career Guide (for student game developers.)

Indie Games (for independent game players/developers.)

Finger Gaming (news, reviews, and analysis on iPhone and iPod Touch games.)

GamerBytes (for the latest console digital download news.)

Worlds In Motion (discussing the business of online worlds.)

Game Set Watch (the Group's alt.game weblog.)
News

  Feature: 'Casual As In Sex, Not Casual As In Friday'
by Staff
0 comments
Share RSS
 
 
October 9, 2007
 
Feature: 'Casual As In Sex, Not Casual As In Friday'
Advertisement
Ian Bogost's latest 'Persuasive Games' feature provides a new definition for casual games and their prospects, citing the Zidane Head-Butt game and suggesting: "If Casual Friday is the metaphor that drives casual games as we know them now, then Casual Sex might offer a metaphor to summarize the field’s unexplored territory."

As Bogost, who is an academic video game researcher, game designer, and educational publisher, and creator of 'newsgames' for the New York Times and CNN, explains in his introduction:

"In recent years, casual games have become an increasingly popular and important part of the videogame landscape. Proponents argue that casual games both open up new audiences for games and make new styles of games possible, but the genre has largely floundered in copycat titles.

One reason for this is a lack of imagination about what casual might mean. I propose an alternative: casual games that players use and toss aside -- one play stands, serendipitous encounters never to be seen again."


Later in the article, Bogost explains the comparison outlined above, noting:

"If Casual Friday is the metaphor that drives casual games as we know them now, then Casual Sex might offer a metaphor to summarize the field’s unexplored territory. If casual games (as in Friday) focus on simplicity and short individual play sessions that contribute to long-term mastery and repetition, then casual games (as in sex) focus on simplicity and short play that might not ever be repeated—or even remembered."

You can now read the full Gamasutra article on the subject, including plenty more detail on this intriguing subject from academic, writer, and game designer Bogost.
 
   
 
Comments

none
 
Comment:
 


Submit Comment