FITC 2: Casual gaming powers up

May 2nd, 2007 by Scott Wolf

A common theme among a few presentations at last week’s FITC conference in Toronto was the increasing popularity of casual gaming among web users. Casual games are typically short, simple computer games that can be played in small bursts during a lunch break or a few minutes of down time, and are offered as try-then-buy with more levels and features after purchase. Examples include Bejeweled, Slingo, Snood and Zuma as well as traditional puzzle and board games like sudoku, mahjong, chess, poker and solitare; which are very popular in their electronic versions. Millions of people currently play casual games online, and the success of these games boils down to simplicity and the user experience.

The vast majority of casual games found online today are Flash-based. Trails are usually watered-down versions embedded on a webpage, while full, downloadable versions are more complete visual and aural experiences because they eventually are running locally on the player’s computer. The quality of the game and it’s visual appeal are what keep players coming back to play again. Add that to the ease in which someone can begin playing and advancing to higher levels and you have a successful and popular game.

Even corporate and non-gaming websites have custom-built, branded games which provide visitors with something interesting and exciting to do while they’re browsing. In-game ad breaks and product placements are also commonplace in most trial versions of a game and have the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of players. Banners ads are even becoming mini-casual games in themselves as online advertisers try to keep a user’s attention for longer and longer periods of time. Player’s don’t get to keep the games featured in a banner ad, but still walk away with a pleasing experience. The potential for casual gaming to become a major part of how companies advertise online is massive. And it’s already gaining momentum.

This entry was posted by Scott Wolf on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 and is filed under Creative, FITC, Flash, Gaming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.