From Windows Solitaire to Bejeweled to Wii Tennis, casual games have radically changed the landscape of games. By simplifying gameplay and providing quick but intense blasts of engaging play, casual games have drawn in huge new audiences of players. To entertain and engage the casual player, game designers must learn to think about what makes casual games work, from game mechanics to narrative content. Through the close examination of a number of casual games, you will learn how to inject the necessary game design elements into your casual games and give your designs the complexity and strategy they need to hook gamers. You will learn:
Table of ContentsPart 11. Introduction - 10 pages2. Everyone's a gamer, even your mom - 20 pages3. Patterns of play - 30 pages4. Making play simple - 20 pages5. Know your audience - 20 pages6. Development 101 - 30 pagesPart 27. Downloadables - 30 pages8. Web - 25 pages9. Mobiles - 15 pages10. Casual MMO - 15 pages11. Social - 30 pages12. Physical - 25 pages13. New frontiers - 15 pages Detailed OutlineThis section provides a more detailed outline of the chapters and what each section will cover.Part 1The first part of the book will provide a general overview of what I mean by casual games and gameplay. Over the course of Part 1, I will survey this sector of the game industry and offer some general frameworks for designing casual games.1. IntroductionThis section will introduce readers to the concept of casual play and begin to explore what makes a game casual. It will also outline the changes in the game industry that are leading major game companies to embrace casual game players.2. Everyone's a gamer, even your momThis chapter will look at the demographic shift among gamers, as well as the new audiences that are starting to play gamesa. MomsThis section will look at the demographics of casual game downloaders. This audience is dominated by middle-aged women. These women fall far outside of your stereotype of gamer, yet they devote themselves to a wide variety of games, some easy and some fiendishly hard. The section will examine who these players are.b. CoreSomewher
