This gets me to wondering: Are these people really "casual?" I know plenty of folks who take these "casual games" to "hardcore," working out strategies and even spending hours discussing them. One of them is my mother-in-law with a spelling/scrabble type tile game, and my father-in-law is the same way with a gemstone-type game.
Sure, anybody can "casually" pick up Frogger and start playing, but let's face it--they won't get far at all until they actually start putting some thought into the game and working out strategies. Like you mentioned earlier, competition will really egg on the desire to master the game. That seems pretty "hardcore" to me; much more "hardcore" than some 10 year old chump who only plays only the latest FPS because the graphics are "awesome."
This gets me to wondering: Are these people really "casual?" I know plenty of folks who take these "casual games" to "hardcore," working out strategies and even spending hours discussing them. One of them is my mother-in-law with a spelling/scrabble type tile game, and my father-in-law is the same way with a gemstone-type game.
Sure, anybody can "casually" pick up Frogger and start playing, but let's face it--they won't get far at all until they actually start putting some thought into the game and working out strategies. Like you mentioned earlier, competition will really egg on the desire to master the game. That seems pretty "hardcore" to me; much more "hardcore" than some 10 year old chump who only plays only the latest FPS because the graphics are "awesome."
Matt Barton, Managing Editor
Location: St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA
Email: matt@armchairarcade.com