Casual game

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Casual games ( English Casual ) is a buzzword for easy electronic games, which are characterized by a particularly easy accessibility, intuitive input methods, cooperative gameplay and quick sense of achievement. The games are particularly aimed at people who are looking for an entertaining entertainment without a lengthy learning phase. Thematically it concerns z. B. to implement known puzzle and card games, but also logic games ('match 3'). There are also simple action games as well as licensed games for well-known TV shows such as Wer wird Millionär , Das Quiz with Jörg Pilawa or Deal or No Deal .

"Casual games" often place low demands on the hardware. You are not limited to powerful “game computers”, but can be easily ported to mobile devices such as cell phones or PDAs . They are currently becoming more and more popular on stationary and mobile game consoles. This also corresponds to the game needs of the target group (from 40 years old, mostly female) after entertaining entertainment without a lengthy learning phase. Both the needs and the demographics of this audience thus differ significantly from the "traditional" gamers (mostly male, under 30 years old) that a deep immersion ( Immersion search) in realistic game worlds.

The opposite of the casual game is the core game or hardcore game, which requires significantly more time, frustration tolerance and gaming experience. For core gamers, casual games are therefore less relevant and are often ridiculed by them. The middle between casual and core games is also called mid-core . In these, learning and mastering the game is more difficult than in the casual game due to a more complex game principle, but usually less training time is required than with a core game. In addition, in contrast to the casual game, more attention is required from the player and the production is often more complex.

Marketing and Sales

These games are mostly sold on the web or through providers of mobile phone applications, but since 2006 they have also been sold in traditional retail (e.g. the BILD series). In addition to free advertising games ( freemium or free-to-play ) such as Moorhuhn , commercial games are becoming increasingly important. The latter are usually brought onto the market with a free demo version with limited functionality. The prices of the games range between 5 and 20 euros. The relatively low price should be offset by the longevity of the games. Because while the “big” computer games, which are produced in a more elaborate manner and sold with considerable marketing effort, achieve the main sales only within a few months, casual games can also be sold over the course of years via corresponding portals without incurring significant additional sales costs.

The inclusion of casual games in the offerings of major Internet service providers is particularly popular. They can offer their users a wide range of games without having to develop them themselves. This cooperation is mostly based on so-called affiliate systems.

A study by INTENIUM and Realnetworks in August 2006 examined the gaming habits of women over 40 who play casual games:

  • 67 percent of women play casual games at least four times a week
  • Around half (47 percent) play every day
  • Around 60 percent would rather play casual games than make calls, knit or do other things at home such as handicrafts or painting
  • Around 50 percent would rather play casual games than go to the cinema or cook

Men and women over the age of 18 play casual games for the following reasons:

  • 64 percent play to relax
  • 53 percent for coping with stress
  • 42 percent to train their memory
  • Of the users with children, 75 percent see added educational value in the education of their children through casual games

Another study by the Psychological Faculty of the University of Hamburg: Based on an experiment, the scientists want to have established that the use of entertainment media and especially playing on the computer promotes productivity and increases intellectual performance. Using computer games as an example, the scientists were able to show that games serve to regulate self-regulation in everyday life and restore the balance between tension and relaxation or alternation and routine.

Portals

There are numerous game portals that specialize in the distribution of casual games, including Yahoo Games , MSN Games , AOL Games , GameDuell or Skill7.com . In the meantime, such games can be found on Internet service providers , newspapers, magazines and TV stations such as: B. at Bild , RTLSpiele , ProSieben Games and Sat1Spiele . Also download portals offer casual games to such. B. at Gamesload .

Game magazines

Only a few German-language game magazines currently exist that have focused on news and game tests for casual games. One of them is the game magazine CasualMania.de , which also offers advice and names children up to 12 years of age and casual gamers as target groups. It looks similar in the English-speaking world, where Casualgames.biz is worth mentioning. Videospielplatz.de relies entirely on family entertainment .

In addition to the above-mentioned game magazines, there are also a few casual games networks that provide the searcher with games from a wide range of freely accessible offers. As already described above, these networks are often designed on an affiliate basis and therefore usually forego any other advertising.

Successful representatives

The number of casual games available on the market is practically unmanageable. Well-known games include Moorhuhn from phenomedia publishing GmbH, which became famous with this game . Other examples are Angry Birds , Bejeweled , Zuma Deluxe or Diner Dash. TV broadcasters in particular also use the services of casual game developers to have licensed games developed for television shows, such as Freemantle / RTL with “American Idol” or “ Deutschland sucht den Superstar ”.

Differentiation from previous games

With regard to the simple game principle, most classic arcade and computer games such as Pac-Man , Centipede or Tetris could be described as casual games from today's perspective . At the time of their publication, however, they were aimed at a very technology and game-savvy target group, which today corresponds to that of hardcore gamers. The patience game "Solitaire" contained in Microsoft Windows 3.x is often considered the first casual game .

Hyper casual games

As Hyper casual games are casual games called that for the mobile market or as a web app as a free-to-play or freemium be designed -Titel compound, which have an easy-to-understand gameplay with an original idea with little production effort and try To achieve the highest possible turnover through mostly overcrowded in -game advertising .

To achieve this goal, aggressive marketing and clickbaiting are often used on video platforms, social networks and other apps in order to achieve a high number of downloads and thus gain a larger user base and make it into the trends and charts of the app stores . The trend of hyper casual games has been developing increasingly since the mid-2010s on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Often these games do not last more than a few minutes per round and aim to achieve a high high score and often have the character of an arcade game , a puzzle game or a game of skill . Also, the original concepts of indie developers or older titles are often stolen without being asked or involved. The installation effort is usually low or nonexistent and the number of uninstallations is high. Market leaders in this market are Voodoo , Lion Studios and Cheetah Games .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Special: What is a core game? August 21, 2019, accessed December 2, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Kris Graft: What the hell does 'mid-core' mean anyway? Retrieved June 22, 2020 (English).
  3. ^ Ernest Adams: Fundamentals of Puzzle and Casual Game Design . New Riders, 2014, ISBN 978-0-13-381233-6 , pp. 26–27 ( google.de [accessed June 22, 2020]).
  4. ↑ Frank Patalong: Grouse hunt: The surfer wants to gamble! In: Spiegel Online . January 19, 2000, accessed October 19, 2013 .
  5. ↑ Research Reveals Casual Games Provide Mental Balance, Stress Relief and Relaxation. RealNetworks , August 14, 2006, accessed October 19, 2013 (press release).
  6. ↑ First the work, then the pleasure? On the effect of computer games on cognitive performance. Hamburg Media School , September 21, 2006, archived from the original on December 10, 2006 ; Retrieved October 19, 2013 .
  7. ↑ Top casual games: Top casual games for PC, MAC and other languages ( German ) In: Vyndariel . September 15, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  8. ↑ Alexander Stirn: Moorhuhn's mother plans offspring. In: Spiegel Online . January 19, 2000, accessed October 19, 2013 .
  9. ↑ Christian Klaß: Interview: Tetris - the mother of all casual games . November 13, 2007. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  10. ↑ Hyper Casual Games: The worst gaming trend since loot boxing. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Hyper Casual Games: 30 seconds of play, 30 seconds of advertising - Golem.de. Accessed December 2, 2019 (German).
  12. ^ Admiring the Game Design in Hyper-Casual Games. Accessed December 2, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Games market: Mobile gaming: growth in hyper-casual games and high uninstallation rate of game apps - 4Players.de. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Michael Futter, Michael Futter: Goldman Sachs-Backed Cloner Uses War Chest, Ad Buys to Overshadow Original Games. In: Variety. July 6, 2018, accessed December 2, 2019 .