Casual Games

Casual gaming refers to a category of video games that are designed to be accessible and easy to play. They often have simple rules, short sessions, and straightforward game mechanics, which makes them ideal for players looking for a quick and relaxing entertainment. Casual games can be enjoyed across various platforms, such as smartphones, tablets, computers, or consoles. They cover a wide range of genres including puzzle games, card and board games, word games, and more. Unlike hardcore or mid-core games, which may require significant time investment and complex skill sets, casual games are typically designed to be played in short bursts and appeal to a broader audience, including people who might not consider themselves gamers.

The Casual Games Summit will take place March 5-6, 2007 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco as part of the 2007 Game Developers Conference. The first day will educate those new to casual games about getting into the industry with sessions on design principles, art direction, technology, business models, and the key publishers. The second day will provide an arena for sharing and debate among casual game industry veterans on a variety of topics, including downloadable games on the consoles, relationships between developers, publishers, and portals, licenses, international opportunities, and design innovation. Anyone with a PC, mobile phone, or iPod is a potential casual gamer. The summit will bring together all of the key players of the casual games space, from the leading developers and publishers to the biggest licensors and portals. Speakers include representatives from Adobe, Shockwave, Big Fish, Funkitron, Gamelab, GoPets, Her Interactive, iWin, JoJu Kongregate, Oberon, Microsoft, MuddyC, Nickelodeon, PlayFirst, PopCap, Real, Reflexive, Sandlot, Sony, Sun, Three Rings, Twofish, Wild Tangent, Yahoo, and Zylom.