It's that "users are idiots and will never learn anything new" mentality which has been spreading through IT like a disease.
Even if that new thing is easier and for stupider people, the horrendous defaults will never change.
I would bet that a good number of casual gamers do stuff in life that is boring, repetitive and not fun. Why is playing a boring, repetitive game suddenly fun? Because it's shiny? Because it's not real?
I think a lot of casual gamers enjoy being productive, and thus prefer games which merely pass time rather than consume it. (Since a popular philosophy in casual games is the "pick up and play" idea, allowing for many small moments of "fun").
With this in mind, what makes people think that those types won't enjoy a game they can still play in short bursts, but that leaves some lasting feeling that something remotely interesting or productive has occurred? This feeling can come from a well designed puzzle that is actually puzzling, an easy robot game -- which can indeed be fun --, something with a learning curve higher than 5 seconds... Heck, even Atomix can achieve this.
The game doesn't have to be difficult to give that feeling (in fact, it could be "easier" than a time limited Match 3 game), it just has to be well designed.
An example: Look at Brain Age. It is a fun game partly because you can leave it feeling like you have done something productive, which is improving your cognitive abilities. It sold well. Why? Because people actually like being productive! It's an idea supported throughout history. Read The Epic of Gilgamesh, for example; leaving something behind, creating an immortal legacy preserved through civilization, is a mortal's greatest ambition.
What the portals are doing is telling casual gamers that they are stupid, that they are unable to learn, that they are attracted to shiny objects and that they have repetitive behaviours comparable to insects.
All we need now is some loudmouthed consumer to see this, take it personally and get really pissed off. Any ideas?
Even if that new thing is easier and for stupider people, the horrendous defaults will never change.
I would bet that a good number of casual gamers do stuff in life that is boring, repetitive and not fun. Why is playing a boring, repetitive game suddenly fun? Because it's shiny? Because it's not real?
I think a lot of casual gamers enjoy being productive, and thus prefer games which merely pass time rather than consume it. (Since a popular philosophy in casual games is the "pick up and play" idea, allowing for many small moments of "fun").
With this in mind, what makes people think that those types won't enjoy a game they can still play in short bursts, but that leaves some lasting feeling that something remotely interesting or productive has occurred? This feeling can come from a well designed puzzle that is actually puzzling, an easy robot game -- which can indeed be fun --, something with a learning curve higher than 5 seconds... Heck, even Atomix can achieve this.
The game doesn't have to be difficult to give that feeling (in fact, it could be "easier" than a time limited Match 3 game), it just has to be well designed.
An example: Look at Brain Age. It is a fun game partly because you can leave it feeling like you have done something productive, which is improving your cognitive abilities. It sold well. Why? Because people actually like being productive! It's an idea supported throughout history. Read The Epic of Gilgamesh, for example; leaving something behind, creating an immortal legacy preserved through civilization, is a mortal's greatest ambition.
What the portals are doing is telling casual gamers that they are stupid, that they are unable to learn, that they are attracted to shiny objects and that they have repetitive behaviours comparable to insects.
All we need now is some loudmouthed consumer to see this, take it personally and get really pissed off. Any ideas?