14 DAY TRIAL // The gaming industry is a large domain that spans many genres and areas. But one criteria that is now present in almost every domain is the classification of games in either casual or hardcore. This is largely due to the flood of Wii-oriented titles that bring experiences that are much simpler, for people who aren't used to gaming as a regular hobby.
But this label should be deleted from the gaming industry, at least according to Dave Thomson, who works with game development studio Denki, responsible for titles like Quarrel or Denki Blocks. He revealed that, in his view, the terms casual and hardcore weren't well defined and only caused division in the industry.
This isn't just because his company is developing titles aimed at a broader demographic, as he isn't militating the old premise that casual, easy-to-play games are pushing the industry forward. He is confident that we should not classify titles outright if they aren't interesting to us.
“We may not find a particular type of game amusing or appealing,” he said. “But that doesn’t stop them from being a game of equal worth to those titles that we do. In truth, our design approach hasn’t shifted between traditional consoles and the work we do on set-top boxes and the digital download services. We make the games we want to play, and that we find fun and enjoyable.”
Thomson then exemplified his statements with a conclusion that many other developers have come to agree on: casual titles are games that can be played for five or more minutes, which are easy to play and are enjoyed by a broader audience, including women over the age of thirty. In his view, this definition works great for Project Gotham Racing 4, one of the most popular racing titles made for the Xbox 360, which Thomson's own girlfriend thoroughly enjoys.
Overall, Thomson does have a point, since the “war” between casual and hardcore gamers needs to stop, as gaming is becoming more and more mainstream. Everyone will start gaming at one point in their lives, and they won't necessarily start with Halo, Gears of War or other such games, but with something simpler and then work their way to titles that require more dedication.