Topic
Goodbye to Innovation in PC Casual Downloads(?)
From Gamezebo:
It can't be denied that there are major changes going on in the casual gaming market. I’m not talking about the rapid growth and increasing relevance of social games, nor the rise of hidden object adventures as the dominant genre. I’m talking about the slow but very obvious disappearance of unique and daring casual games in general - at least when it comes to PC and Mac downloads. The recent acquisition of casual games developer Sandlot Games by social game company Digital Chocolate is just the latest indicator of what has been a slow but steady transition.
While the casual gaming market has never been home to overly complex or Triple-A quality games, it has nonetheless produced its fair share of charming titles. With Sandlot Games leaving the market, fans should give up hope of seeing sequels to Sandlot's popular and polished brands such as Cake Mania, Westward and Tradewinds. And that's not all. At one time we had games like Chocolatier, Fab Fashion, Lucy's Expedition, Miss Management, and Coconut Queen (all created by developers who are no longer making games in the traditional casual PC/Mac downloads space). It seems like the peak of creativity and variety in the casual gaming market was reached long ago, and these days there are long gaps between games that are truly remarkable, or unique enough to establish a new genre.
I certainly don't dispute the enormous popularity of the hidden object genre - some of which even have decent production values and stories - but those kinds of releases (along with the steady stream of resource management, match-3, and time management titles) sorely lack the feeling of, “This is fresh. This is a game I can't really compare to anything I’ve ever played before” - and this is exactly what keeps a market alive and evolving...
Read the rest of the article here
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
I certainly feel the same way as the author. The casual gaming market is dying. Almost every game released is a Hidden Object game and every other game is either a Time Management, Match 3, or Building Sim.
I hope that this will not mark the end for casual games in general. *heavy sigh*
Replies
-
Casual games to me are like punk rock, you can only go so far with it as a genre. There is a band called The Mars Volta and two of the main members were in a punk like band called At the Drive In. Even though the latter mentioned band was amazing, they understood that you can only go so far with that sound.
They stopped doing At the Drive in and created a progressive rock/metal band which utilizes Jazz and other sounds. Jazz is famously free form and allows for a skies the limit kind of vibe. So to come back to square one, maybe the casual games need to get some jazz hands. - See, I like Hidden Object games but I'm over the creepy building-heroine trying to save her male realtive-historical-fantastical ones. The games listed above, when they were getting popular, that was when I felt that casual gaming was dying. Those games bore me to tears. Time management games...I can barely do it, IRL. Yet...I got hooked on the Timebuilders game...those were fun. I gave up Match 3s, almost 10 years ago. I blame Zuma for that one.