The Well Known Fight
Welp, as the growth of video gaming become more and more prevalent there is an issue that comes out and slaps everyone in the face. This is a topic that has been around since a phone could play Snake. As our lovely medium has grown, must we slow down; should an F-1 driver take a day to skateboard on the track; should a hard-core completionist take time to look for multiple of a rare item and finally, should casual games try to compete with hardcore games? It is a question that has to be answered and must be resolved. However, I am afraid that that cannot happen for multiple reasons.
The first one is simple and very, very obvious. They are already competing! Most may say that this is not true. However, this statement is very true and very well in our face. In a few short years alone, since it’s been out, and still probably to this day, there has been one mobile game that everyone knows and still downloads by the hundreds of thousands. Its Mad Pigeons Angry Birds, a game that 1 out of every 4 people had on their phone at one point. Now imagine if you will, that number times 60 and you have what most people would consider a fortune. This is a game that has expanded its horizons and partnered with Star Wars and Rio to bring you the titular games. This game is still being played to this day whether it be with a phone in Dubai [I don’t know, maybe], or with the Achievement Hunter guys.
Another reason for the unanswered question is casual games usually are considered mini-games. While the jury may be out for this, I’m pretty sure you’ll agree that while Candy Crush Treat Obliterator may be a game, its essentially 1 puzzle in grinding repetition. While the same could be said for things like Mario Party, Rock Band or Saint’s Row; there is an overarching experience and an end goal. This is what makes a bunch of disjointed mini-games feel and have more weight than feather in a paper bag. This could be anything from hitting a dice block to move forward in Mario Party, to shooting your trillionth person in a game to get to the next level of your character.
One of the final reasons I’ll discuss about this debacle is the fact that most people thing of casual games as Apps not as games. This a weird, but when you think of a video games you mostly think of a sit down games console, rather than a screen hooked up to a screen to play a mini-game that 1 out of every 4 people already know about. To say what is fit that actually sounds boring, and also not the point of these types of games. These apps have come to be known as a single player experience. Such games like Flappy Bird, Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Tiny Wings, and Candy Crush aren’t games you would think of by regular convention. These are in their own ballpark and rightfully so. While these games can arrive onto consoles their main pride lies in app store eyes. So really the casual games you are looking for aren’t your Mario’s or Rayman’s. The casual games you are looking for are actually deep in your pocket.
