How to Do Things with Videogames

14. Throwaways

14 Throwaways Casual games have become an increasingly more popularand important part of the videogame landscape. Proponents argue that casual games both open up new audiences for games and make new stylesof games possible, but thegenre has largely floundered in a swamp of copycat titles. One reason for this is a lack of imagination about what casual might mean. Here’s an alternative: casual games are games that players use and toss aside, one-play stands, serendipitous encounters never to be seen again. According to the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), casual games “generally involve less complicated game controls and overall complexity in terms of gameplay or investmentrequired togetthroughgame[s].”1 Thegroupcontrastscasual games with “hardcore” or “core” or “traditional” games—games “developed for and delivered on a dedicated game console” that “involve more complicated game controls and overall complexity in terms of gameplay or investment required to get through game[s].” The IGDA white paper’s authors admit “the typical casual gamer is hard to define,” but suggest that the name characterizes “gamers who play games for enjoyment and relaxation.” Casual games are less complex than core games and require lower commitment to both title and medium. We might summarize the industry’s conception of casual games along two axes: design considerations and player resources . Because casual gamers don’t play many games or don’t play them veryoften, they’re unfamiliarwith thecomplex conventions that might be second nature to hardcore gamers. These games attempt to minimize complexity and investment in player time, throwAwAys money, and control mastery. Casual gamessportdesignsand controls of reduced complexity that take little time to learn and to play, that come at modest cost and are easy to purchase. Such titles offer short gameplay sessions, measured in minutes rather than hours. Theyare marketed modestly, to besold from websites or app stores for play on personal computers and mobile phones. The typical design values of casual games strongly resemble the early coin-op industry. Consider controls. In 1971 Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabny created Computer Space, a port of the popular minicomputer game Space War!, which the public would never have encountered outside research labs. It didn’t sell well, a failing Bushnell has always pinned on complexity. As Bushnell explains, “You had to read the instructions before you could play, people didn’t want to read instructions.”2 Pong fixed the problem. “To be successful,” says Bushnell, “I had to come up with a game people already knew how to play; something so simple that any drunk in any bar could play.” The Pong cabinet features one instruction : “Avoid missing ball for high score.” One can easily draw a connection between the tavern-going Pong player and the after-bedtime Bejeweled player. Indeed, the IGDA’s casual games special interest group explicitly recommends mouse-only control for casual games (“The interaction between the userand thegameshould be limited to thecomputer mouse”). A mouse is something every computer user owns and knows how to use. Simple controls on existing equipment seem to be well-addressed design strategies in casual games. As for money, the business model for coin-op games is somewhat different from that of desktop or web-based casual games. When designing games for the bar or arcade, developers aimed for short sessions, usually around two to three minutes. Such tactics maximized “coin drop,” the cash the game could acquire in a fixed amount of time. Coin-op publishers looked to sell a large number of lower-priced plays of the same game, and to rely on repeat purchases of that game. This dynamic naturally encouraged a particular kind of competitiveness: players who get better throwAwAys at the game can play longer for less money, effectively reducing the publisher’s incremental profit while maximizing the value of player’s own leisure dollar. In their heyday, coin-op games were easy to access—they were found in bars and convenience stores and Laundromats, places one would go regularly for reasons other than videogame play. Coin-opgameswerealsolowcost, usually justasinglecoin. Bycontrast , most casual games are accessed on or purchased from online portals. Players download, try, and then purchase, usually for $20 or so. There’s no doubt that online purchasing offers easy access, one of the industry’s design values. But is $20 really low cost? It’s one-half toone-third thepriceof contemporaryconsolegames but still a considerable figure for a discretionary purchase. It’s more than...