Smidlee said:
Red Dead Redemption is IMO also in this area, most of the gameplay was simple and easy that I felt a 8 year old could easily finish it yet it's not really an arcade nor as casual as Wii Sport. PC leans more toward hardcore while consoles leans more to arcade/casual even with the same game. This was true even back in the days of NES. Silent Service was extremely easy (dumb down) on NES compared to the PC version. Airplanes can carry 30 plus bombs and 50 plus missiles on consoles flight games. |
Think about the business model coin-op arcade games followed. A coin-op machine lived or died based upon getting people to put money into them and keep playing them. They had to resonate quickly and get you playing, and then ramp up the challenge to keep you coming back. They had to be accessible and also deep. Nolan Bushnell happened to discuss this also in an interview, explaining about the art of this. So, there is an art to this. Also, look at the modern coin-op machines and see what they carry. I see Megatouch machines, and I see what is seen as "casual" stuff. Golden Tee and hunting fit into this also. I would also suggest to look into iPhone stuff, or Flash games people play. They are simple designs you play quick. Usually the games are time killers you play for high score.
Now, what has happened is that the artform of videogames has been expanded to cover a wider range of play experiences. The gameplay got deeper. Has it gotten more challenging? I would question if that is so. Storytelling is the hook now, not challenge.
By the way, the connection between arcade and casual is important to me. Because of Game Room on XBox Live coming about, I got into casual and retro gaming with the CADERS group. It is up on facebook. I do see connections here. But, like this thread shows, what is exactly "casual" is tricky to nail down.
