Casual games allow us a taste of any game we want without the commitment. After looking at my iTunes account, I discovered that in the past few years I have downloaded fifty different games on my phone. I could probably name five of them, and I only play two or three on a regular basis. I have deleted most of them to make room for the latest app that piques my interest, or because after a few days they weren’ t as fun as I had expected. This is the freedom that casual gaming provides. For a limited cost, anyone with a phone, iPod, or tablet can play any game imaginable for as long or as little as they want. Whereas console games regularly cost $ 60, I allow myself to be more adventurous with casual games. I don’ t mind spending $ 0.99 on a game and then realizing it wasn’ t worth it. And because most casual games are also much cheaper to create and distribute than console games, the creators can take greater risks to focus on more niche and diverse audiences, rather than catering to whatever demographic will give them the greatest profit.
With the release of easy to use, sometimes even free, game development tools, creating games has become much more accessible of alate. The increased accessibility of creation provides a greater voice to those outside the mainstream gaming perspective. According to a study by Enola
Labs in 2015, while casual games like Clash of Clans still have a predominantly male audiences, Candy Crush players are about 60 % female, and Bejeweled Blitz players are 78 % female. The app store provides a platform in which anyone can put out a game and reach an audience, even if that audience is sometimes very small. By expanding the audience video games are able to reach and giving them a platform through which to share their voices, more gamers and casual game designers are able to contribute to the development of the games, causing the industry and the audience to expand even further.
And yet, instead of providing a cheap and accessible way for players to distribute and try new games, the casual gaming industry has been commercialized to squeeze as much money as possible out of the players. While the industry will inevitably remain competitive and profit is imperative for game studios to stay afloat, it would be nice to see a return to gaming for gaming’ s sake, available for everyone at any time. It is my hope that the increasing ability of individuals to create and distribute unique games for a low cost will encourage more of a return to a collaborative gaming experience, focused on games and players rather than profit.