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February 2006 Report
THE REVOLUTION WILL BE DOWNLOADED:
Confessions of Five Casual Game Makers
by: Justin Frechette
Kenny Dikin, VP and Executive Producer at PlayFirst, kicked off the first IGDA SF meeting of 2006 by discussing common (mis)conceptions about downloadable casual games. Market growth which, in 2004, totaled 53 million, is expected to grow to 763 million by 2007. The challenge, though, is that casual game companies have to give a lot of content away for free, what Kenny referred to as the "60 minute challenge" (getting the consumer to buy the game after the free trial has ended). Kenny examined points as to why people play casual games ("the consumer leap frog"), stating that for many people life is so hectic so they don't have a lot of time to play console/PC games. With the popularity of broadband Internet and online services such as iTunes and Amazon.com, people have become accustomed to paying for online content.
The presentation segued into an open discussion of various questions regarding the industry, starting off with "Why should I Care?" The panel addressed developers as to why they should care about the growing casual game market. Among the various reasons:
- Women don't buy consoles, but make up a huge market in the casual game space.
- Great opportunity to be creative.
- Quality of life for developers is great (shorter development time, no crunch periods).
- Focus on gameplay mechanics.
- Great market growth.
- Room to take risks and explore new ideas.
In exploring what is and what defines a casual game, the panel cited ease of use, accessibility, ease of understanding/learning, mass market appeal, and an anytime/anywhere playability as defining elements of a casual game. Mitzi brought up a good example that she should be able to talk on the phone and play the game at the same time. Juan brought up the controversial topic of violence in casual games, stating that in order to have a successful casual game, it needs to have a non-violent theme. Most of the panel agreed that most violent casual games are relatively unsuccessful in the market right now.
Everyone on the panel agreed that casual games are being played by everyone from age 7 to 70. Depending on the theme, audience makeup ranges all over the place. Greg pointed out that statistically it's around 2/3 women 1/3 men.
Tackling the "How do I Design for This Market?" question, the panel explored ways of getting past the 60 minute challenge. Apart from utilizing feedback and expanding on game mechanics, the panel stressed the importance of having a lot of innovation in the first 60 minutes of play so that the player will buy the game as soon as the free trial is over (along the lines of what coin-op games did-getting the player interested enough so that they keep dropping quarters).
One of the big questions casual game developers face is, given the mass market appeal of casual games, should a casual game be challenging or easy to finish? Greg mentioned that it can be both as long as you know the audience that you are designing for, to which Mitzi added the point that your game can be more complex as long as the player is being rewarded. Peter finished up by mentioning that it was important not to underestimate the market as they are evolving with the games.
Kenny concluded the discussion by raising the issue of balancing innovation with success. The panel agreed that the key is to have a balanced portfolio: bread and butter titles that earn revenue to pay the bills, but also titles that allow some room for experimental risk-taking.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
 Kenny Dinkin (moderator)
As Vice President and Executive Producer, Kenny Dinkin oversees the PlayFirst games portfolio, including content acquisition, creative direction, and game production. Kenny brings nearly a decade of success in consumer technology where he has designed, produced and directed design on a wide array of award-winning consumer products and interactive platforms. Prior to joining PlayFirst, Kenny was the worldwide head of product design for The Learning Company/Broderbund, where he was creative lead for a portfolio of premiere children's software brands, including Reader Rabbit, Carmen Sandiego and KidPix as well as licensed properties such as Scooby-Doo, Strawberry Shortcake, Batman, Powerpuff Girls and Arthur. A visual artist, writer, musician, game designer and avid comic book reader, Kenny was also the co-creator of the critically acclaimed, top-selling brand The ClueFinders. Kenny earned a Bachelor's degree in History from Brown University and an M.F.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Design.
 Peter Glover
In 2000 Peter joined Atom Entertainment, Inc., first managing the
development studio for Shockwave.com. Currently, Peter runs product
acquisition and development for all of the company's games properties
(Shockwave.com, GameBlast.com and Addictinggames.com).
His previous work experience includes Accenture (Andersen Consulting),
LeapFrog Toys, Zenda Studio (formerly Apple Computer's Discovery Studio)
and freelance development and design work.
He is currently playing "Guitar Hero" on the PS2, "Adventure Quest" at
www.battleon.com and Robotron anywhere he can.
 Mitzi McGilvray
Mitzi has been active in the game industry for nearly two decades. Her career started at the once well-known game company, Epyx. There, she embarked on the path into production by spending two years on the phone providing game hints and helping to teach customers how to configure their IBM PC JR or Apple IIGS to run games. Since then, she has held increasingly more senior production roles at most major publishers in the SF Bay Area, including Activision, Atari, Electronic Arts, Maxis and Tapwave. Over the life of her career, Mitzi has produced over one hundred games in varying genres including sports, RPG's, action/strategy and casual. Mitzi is currently the General Manager for Casual Games at TikGames and serves as the Secretary for the IGDA Board of Directors.
 Greg Harper
Greg Harper is the President of iWin, a leading developer and publisher of
games for the mass market. Greg has over 15 years of management and
marketing experience in the Internet,
Entertainment and Games industries, including the launch of 3 new, start-up
ventures. Prior to iWin, Greg was a freelance consultant in the video game
industry for clients who included GameSpy (vertically integrated online game
service) and Transplay (in-game advertising start-up). In 1995, Greg
co-founded and served as Vice President of Business Development for the
Total Entertainment Network (T.E.N.), an online service for multiplayer PC
video games. T.E.N. later morphed into Pogo.com, providing an online
service for "Family Games." Pogo was sold to Electronic Arts in 2001.
Before launching T.E.N., Greg founded two start-up companies, EOS
Corporation (interactive television) and Digital Blackboard (edutainment
software development), and worked at the Walt Disney Company.
 Juan Gril
Juan has been involved in the casual games industry even before the casual games term was coined. He is currently focusing on the production of innovative casual games for PC, Mobile and consoles. Previously, and as one of the first members of the Yahoo! Games team, Juan was the lead producer for the downloadable games area and community manager of multi player games. In the last year of his tenure at Yahoo!, Juan was the head of Yahoo! Games Studios, producing the first 8 mobile titles the company has released.
Juan holds a BFA in Electronic Media from the University of Illinois.
MEETING SPACE GENEROUSLY PROVIDED BY:
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Upcoming Local Events
Guildhall Series: Mastering the Craft
of Online Gaming Infrastructure
19 April, San Francisco, CA, USA
http//www.guildhallseries.com/
The Guildhall Series focuses on the business side of operating online games. Mastering the Craft of Online Gaming Infrastructure is the first event of a four-part conference series. Focus will be on operating issues including payments, security, and bandwidth & hosting. Come share your ideas and learn what strategies, frameworks, and methodologies work for your online gaming business. Sign up before 02/15/07 for early registration discount. In addition, IGDA members should enter discount code “IGDA” to receive an additional 10% off.
Chapter Coordinator: Rudy Geronimo
IGDA SF Advisory Board:
Angus Chassels
Mark DeLoura, Ubisoft
Peter deVroede, Perpetual Entertainment
Jeremy Gordon, Secret Level
Bret Mogilefsky, SCEA
Webmaster: Brian Church
Chapter Reporter/Photographer: Karl Hodtwalker
To volunteer or be added to the IGDA SF anouncement list, email Rudy.
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