Casual Games On Openpandora [ Yes / No ]

[streak]

Simple poll:

Quick explanation , what casual game means [ FROM WIKI ]

QUOTE

A casual game is a video game or online game targeted at a mass audience of casual gamers. Casual games can have any type of gameplay, and fit in any genre. They are typically distinguished by their simple rules and lack of commitment required in contrast to more complex hardcore games.[1] They require no long-term time commitment or special skills to play, and there are comparatively low production and distribution costs for the producer.[2] Casual games typically are played on a personal computer online in web browsers, although they now are starting to become popular on game consoles, too. Casual gaming demographics also vary greatly from those of traditional computer games, as the typical casual gamer is older [3] and more predominantly female,[4] with over 74% of those purchasing casual games being women.



Some examples:
www.reflexive.com
www.gamehouse.com

 

[PoisonedV]

I don't really care either way, however I am sick of "HARDCORE!!!!" gamers spitting fire at casual games.

 

[Fishbong]

Um, developers develop the games they like. This poll is useless.
I personally like casual games, but the most fun i have with epic RPGs and RTSs like Gothic, Baldur´s Gate, Warcraft 3 etc.

 

[streak]

Um, developers develop the games they like. This poll is useless.

I hope you'll not get mad when i say this, but this is the biggest b*.*it i've ever heard.
If you're indie dev you can say "f*k everyone, im making game only for me", but if you're
a developer who wants to sell a game you need to probe the whole community to check everyone needs and expectations about games / gaming. And also...

This poll is useless.

Actually you dont know that, i am indie dev or regular dev or what for this poll has been made, so you cant say "its useless"

 

[lulzfish]

I think the Pandora is great for casual stuff because of the portability. I can just keep it in my pocket all day and randomly play something like X-moto or Tetris or Solitaire whenever I feel like it.

Is anyone porting like AisleRiot Solitaire or anything?

 

[(naw)mcx]

I love peggle.

Just throwing that out there.

 

[Monk]

While I love larger, complex games what matters to me most isn't size, it's quality (no "never mind the quality, feel the width" from me here!).

There are often little moment, small peices of time where I have little to do other than twiddle my thumbs. While that is enjoyable, and "solitaire" is the traditional solution, I'd rather have the option to whip out my Pandora and have a game of JawBreaker or something. Small, simple, but addicitve is more useful to me in such situations than a huge lumbering adventure (for example).

This is, surely, why games like Qwak and emulators for Spectrums, BBCs, Amigas and arcade machines etc do so well - because a quick satisfying blast-em-up can break up the monotony of our sometime mundane lives.

 

[PoisonedV]

I can already see the "OMG CASUAL GAMES@!?!?!? i don't want 'normies' taking away MY hobby' type people flooding in via the poll. lol.

 

[Mithrildor]

Voted for the last option. I hate most casual games although i love Tetris.

 

[Radon]

I think if you are an indie dev and intend to create something for the Pandora you should really chose a game you like personally.

Probing the market in order to get the biggest potential audience for a game only seems reasonable if you want to maximize your profit.
However I don't think Pandora is the right platform for anyone who is doing it for profit.

Chose a game you would like to play yourself... that way it's most likely that you enjoy working on the project and that it will be finished. Moreover this most likely increases the chances that the game will turn out good.

Having said that, I agree that this poll is pointless.

 

[GuyMontag]

It´s not important enough for the closed source ports thread but think that fits into this topic:

OmniGSoft is a company which is producing casual games for Mobile Phones and PDAs. They are interested in porting there games to the Pandora.
QUOTE
I are definitely interested in porting our 3D games to Pandora platform.
Due to the limited resources, we can not start this work now, we would like to
put Pandora on the list of our supported mobile platforms and keep our eyes
open on its. The hardware capability looks very impressive and able to support
a decent mobile 3D games.

http://www.omnigsoft.com/

 

[Alex.]

I think you would get a much better idea of the community`s opinion if you would ditch keywords like "casual" and say what your games are actually about in terms of genre, style, depth, etc.

I tend to associate "casual games" with "lack of personality". You know, like those websites with glossy buttons and 10px fonts. I`m sure that you have something special planned though, so why hide behind such a generic description?

 

[Svartalf]

I don't really care either way, however I am sick of "HARDCORE!!!!" gamers spitting fire at casual games.

I'm with PoisonedV on this one...it gets...OLD.

 

[streak]

I think if you are an indie dev and intend to create something for the Pandora you should really chose a game you like personally.

Oh, i've already choose the right game style, as you can see in the poll

Probing the market in order to get the biggest potential audience for a game only seems reasonable if you want to maximize your profit.
However I don't think Pandora is the right platform for anyone who is doing it for profit.

If you know the game industry from playerside, you cant know that 99% small devs [ indie devs or small 3 - people studios have no chance to make good stuff for other consoles / handhelds than OpenSource or PC Windows. Expensive dev packs + expensive licenses to grant [ example from nintendo ] , its far too much for 3 - people dev studio without big bank credit [ and in a world of rising credit crunch ]. If you try to go deeper you will know also that, its better to start something in newly created ground than in a ground dominated by EA / Sony / Nintendo. Some people said "its better to be master in hell, than slave in heaven".

Having said that, I agree that this poll is pointless.

Maybe only from Your side...

 

[Yigguth]

I hope you'll not get mad when i say this, but this is the biggest b*.*it i've ever heard.
If you're indie dev you can say "f*k everyone, im making game only for me", but if you're
a developer who wants to sell a game you need to probe the whole community to check everyone needs and expectations about games / gaming.

Uh, you do realize that the Pandora is a pretty Niche product, so we'll be getting mostly indie games for it, right?

 

[gaterooze]

Handhelds are perfectly suited to casual games.

 

[streak]

Uh, you do realize that the Pandora is a pretty Niche product, so we'll be getting mostly indie games for it, right?

Of course, now its still niche product, but only time will tell what happen next. Already only Craigix / ED can really tell how many dev people / studios or bigger companies are interested in getting into OpenPandora. AFAIK its still very good proving ground for small devs to try sell own products, because in openpandora ground you dont need to invest anything. Grab some SDK + few people and make a game. Upload game to server and try to sell it. Easy, easy. If the game will be bad, make another one. If gets audience, sell the idea to bigger company - grant some money, repeat . Like i said this is whole new ground in any aspect, and if people dont want to understand, its too bad for them.

Lets make an example. Lets take RUCKAGE games. They're perfect in any aspect. Playable and with good graphics, and that its enough to invest a little bit and try to make NDS port. Do you think NDS players will not like it? Of course they 'll like it. But to make this big step ruckage should pass the first step of creating the game on GP2X and see the how the community will handle it ,

And what about Alex game, SqDef? Give me money to invest in it, and i'll assure You, this one will be big hit in NDS ground. Only to polish a code slightly. And take a look how uncomplicated the whole program is, almost casual..

 

[Radon]

Sure, developing for NDS or PSP might be difficult for small indie devs.
You might try the iPhone however. The appstore makes it very easy to distribute something and as far as I know it's really cheap (something around 100 dollars per application if I remember correctly).

I don't know how many iPhones there are but it's certainly a bigger potential market than the Pandora ... and a lot easier to enter due to the appstore.

From my perspective Pandora is only for enthusiasts... not for profit.

 

[cosurgi]

This is a great poll. Really. I like causal games just a bit. But my wife loves them. There are better examples than checkers, or go on small board, can't think of any though. I like to visit this website, it's totally javascript (no java): www.googlegamecenter.com

My wife spends time on flash-based games website, like armorgames.com it is literally full of causal games.

I would LOVE to see a Pandora Games Shop on openpandora.org website. Hopefully around time when 2nd or 3rd batch arrives. You buy Pandora, you can browse a (short or long) list of commercial games to buy. This kind of getting-organized would maximize profits for the Pandora dev team (love you guys), and for people who wanted to write cool stuff for Pandora and wanted to earn a bit. We know there are already few commercial games being ported to Pandora, and they will be cool to play. With a Pandora SHOP like that - it will be very easy and efficient.

 

[streak]

Sure, developing for NDS or PSP might be difficult for small indie devs.
You might try the iPhone however. The appstore makes it very easy to distribute something and as far as I know it''s really cheap (something around 100 dollars per application if I remember correctly).

I don''t know how many iPhones there are but it''s certainly a bigger potential market than the Pandora ... and a lot easier to enter due to the appstore.

From my perspective Pandora is only for enthusiasts... not for profit.

I would like to say, iphone is good for gaming, but unfurtunatelly its not truth [ even with zodttd joypad addon ]. If you're trying to compare similiar products you'll compare Pandora to PSP, not iPhone to PSP. iPhone unfortunatelly has got waay different target, and it aims to bigger gadgeteers with a lot of money in wallet and a kids who would like to show cool gadget to other people. Pandora for now is more geeky than PSP, but its still gaming handheld, not telephone. Of course appstore is awesome idea, but if you're thinking that the games for iphone could be sold in bigger amount than apps, youre wrong. Its all about target. 25-35yo people will buy weather-apps and gps tracking apps than games, and thats all about iphone market.

[..]
OmniGSoft is a company which is producing casual games for Mobile Phones and PDAs. They are interested in porting there games to the Pandora.
QUOTE
I are definitely interested in porting our 3D games to Pandora platform.
Due to the limited resources, we can not start this work now, we would like to
put Pandora on the list of our supported mobile platforms and keep our eyes
open on its. The hardware capability looks very impressive and able to support
a decent mobile 3D games.

http://www.omnigsoft.com/

Recently ive posted a question about pandora on EDGELib Forum [ some of you know that its very good libs for creating games ] here:

-> www.pocketmatrix.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28937&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=pandora

and what answer i've get:
QUOTE

Hi Streak,

We're currently in the process of obtaining a Pandora unit. We will probably support this new device in one of the upcoming EDGELIB releases.



So as you can see, we have already some interesting news from real dev's

BTW. I've also heard that elements interactive is getting into Pandora.