Plan for Andy Schatz
by Andy Schatz · 10/13/2005 (8:07 pm) · 14 comments
One thing that there was a lot of talk about during IGC was the tension between the names "indie games" and "casual games". The two are lumped together in the same pot right now, sometimes unhappily so.
And neither "indie" nor "casual" are good descriptors of our art form. "Indie" is a business-oriented word, and while it denotes a certain badassness on the developer side, it does not encompass other small games made by big businesses. Why should Fate or Wik and the Fable of Souls be in a different category than Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa?
But as descriptors go, "casual" is even worse. It is a restrictive term that implies a genre of game, which necessarily kills the marketing power of a game like Air Ace. Imagine if the indie movie industry were instead called the intellectual movie industry. We wouldn't have titles like Pulp Fiction or Sin City. That would be a real shame. Yeah, f*** you, PopCap.
Which game is mine? It's the one that says "Casual motherf***er"
And so I spent some time trying to figure out how to best describe what we do. The name has to be specific, but not restrictive (although there is no way to make sure the name fits every game that might belong). The games we are making are not necessarily casual, and they are not necessarily made independently -- the one thing they all have in common is that they are smaller and generally more tightly focused than their big studio brethren.
This makes the games we create most comparable to short stories where our big studio brethren are writing novels.
Look up "short story" on dictionary.com and you get the following:
Perfect! But "short game" or "game short" don't sound very good.
A quick look at the Nobel Prize for literature categories reveals these descriptions:
Ah ha! Flash Game! That sounds really cool! Oh wait... I guess that's not gonna work.
The latin suffix for diminutive is "ulus", but no one will understand what the hell I'm talking about if I refer to a game as a "gamulus".
And so from now on, I'll be calling these games "Microgames". I think the implication of the games being small and tightly focused would be a good thing for our industry, without constraining ourselves to the clunky terms "indie" or "casual".
Certainly those terms still apply very well to a certain group of games. But microgames fits all of us a lot better, I think.
And before anyone complains about it sounding similar to Microsoft, a name like microgames softens their trademark, it doesn't help it.
Like I said, I'll be calling these games "microgames" unashamedly, and if anyone would like to join me in an attempt to refocus our industry away from "casual" and "indie", please join me in changing your choice of words. We need to do this before the name "casual" atrophies.
Andy Schatz
Pocketwatch Games, makers of fine Microgames
Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa
PS. If anyone thinks of a better name that fits our industry, please post it! But I think microgames is pretty good.
And neither "indie" nor "casual" are good descriptors of our art form. "Indie" is a business-oriented word, and while it denotes a certain badassness on the developer side, it does not encompass other small games made by big businesses. Why should Fate or Wik and the Fable of Souls be in a different category than Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa?
But as descriptors go, "casual" is even worse. It is a restrictive term that implies a genre of game, which necessarily kills the marketing power of a game like Air Ace. Imagine if the indie movie industry were instead called the intellectual movie industry. We wouldn't have titles like Pulp Fiction or Sin City. That would be a real shame. Yeah, f*** you, PopCap.
Which game is mine? It's the one that says "Casual motherf***er"And so I spent some time trying to figure out how to best describe what we do. The name has to be specific, but not restrictive (although there is no way to make sure the name fits every game that might belong). The games we are making are not necessarily casual, and they are not necessarily made independently -- the one thing they all have in common is that they are smaller and generally more tightly focused than their big studio brethren.
This makes the games we create most comparable to short stories where our big studio brethren are writing novels.
Look up "short story" on dictionary.com and you get the following:
Quote:Short story n.
A short piece of prose fiction, having few characters and aiming at unity of effect.
Perfect! But "short game" or "game short" don't sound very good.
A quick look at the Nobel Prize for literature categories reveals these descriptions:
Quote:Epic: A work of 200,000 words or more.
Novel: A work of 40,000 words or more.
Novella: A work of at least 17,500 words but under 40,000 words.
Novelette: A work of at least 7,500 words but under 17,500 words.
Short story: A work of at least 1,000 words but under 7,500 words.
Flash fiction: A work of less than 1,000 words.
Ah ha! Flash Game! That sounds really cool! Oh wait... I guess that's not gonna work.
The latin suffix for diminutive is "ulus", but no one will understand what the hell I'm talking about if I refer to a game as a "gamulus".
And so from now on, I'll be calling these games "Microgames". I think the implication of the games being small and tightly focused would be a good thing for our industry, without constraining ourselves to the clunky terms "indie" or "casual".
Certainly those terms still apply very well to a certain group of games. But microgames fits all of us a lot better, I think.
And before anyone complains about it sounding similar to Microsoft, a name like microgames softens their trademark, it doesn't help it.
Like I said, I'll be calling these games "microgames" unashamedly, and if anyone would like to join me in an attempt to refocus our industry away from "casual" and "indie", please join me in changing your choice of words. We need to do this before the name "casual" atrophies.
Andy Schatz
Pocketwatch Games, makers of fine Microgames
Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa
PS. If anyone thinks of a better name that fits our industry, please post it! But I think microgames is pretty good.
About the author
#2
Microgames it is!
10/13/2005 (8:52 pm)
Muahahah...I'll say or do anything that has an off-chance of hurting Microsoft's feelings.Microgames it is!
#3
Beside that ... microgames are what Nintendo calls all the games inside of Wario Ware for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. They are literally 5 second or less games.
10/13/2005 (9:24 pm)
I don't think there's any reason to separate the games at all. I think they should just be called video games and that's it. I don't see what's different between what we make and what anyone else makes. Maybe our games are independently funded but even indie game I think is uneccesary ... games are GAMES!Beside that ... microgames are what Nintendo calls all the games inside of Wario Ware for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. They are literally 5 second or less games.
#4
As for the term Microgames being used in Warioware, who cares? They haven't laid any major claim to the term.
10/13/2005 (9:30 pm)
The reason we are named differently is because we ARE different. And I, for one, relish that difference. I don't want to be on the shelf next to big console games, and I don't want to be a part of that (as was repeated many times at IGC) broken industry. I was for 5 years and it sucked.As for the term Microgames being used in Warioware, who cares? They haven't laid any major claim to the term.
#5
10/13/2005 (10:07 pm)
good idea!!! 
#6
-Jeff Tunnell GG
10/13/2005 (11:31 pm)
I don't like the name Casual games, but I don't think the customers call it that. Casual Games seems to be more industry jargon in a poor attempt to categorize everything. That said, I don't think we can change the momentum this name has behind it.-Jeff Tunnell GG
#7
The battle over nomenclature is not going to go away. There was already a ton a vehement discussion over how to classify our games at IGC. This is an alternative that works.
10/13/2005 (11:56 pm)
@Jeff- You and the other GG guys changed the momentum behind the game industry in general by starting GG, so I know its possible to move a big rock. And a change in momentum is likely to start small. So I'll start with me. And anyone else who agrees with the idea.The battle over nomenclature is not going to go away. There was already a ton a vehement discussion over how to classify our games at IGC. This is an alternative that works.
#8
Yea I don't think it's Casual Game.. more like Casual Gamer..
1. A gamer that has 4 kids and a full time job that plays 8 hours a day 7 days a week EQ2 or WOW.
That's basically the love slave to the Smedley's of the world haha. And it's just not healthy to
play games that much.
2. A casual gamer likes to spend 30-1 hour maybe 2 on a game. A few times a week.
Less grindage.. more fun.
10/14/2005 (12:04 am)
Don't forget T2d....Yea I don't think it's Casual Game.. more like Casual Gamer..
1. A gamer that has 4 kids and a full time job that plays 8 hours a day 7 days a week EQ2 or WOW.
That's basically the love slave to the Smedley's of the world haha. And it's just not healthy to
play games that much.
2. A casual gamer likes to spend 30-1 hour maybe 2 on a game. A few times a week.
Less grindage.. more fun.
#9
a consumer doesnt give a crud what the developer likes to bucket their game as. all that matters is their perception of the game.
Take venture africa... I hope it's not going to be marketed as a "microgame" ... that has conotations of very small or short in play time.
this i think is the biggest problem that's getting everyone going crazy. The desire to have your label as a developer be marketed to the end users. (sorry folks, not the best idea!)
edit: removed some of the over-the-top comments.. bad day at work :P
10/14/2005 (12:07 am)
i think you guys all care about industry branding waaaaay too much. a consumer doesnt give a crud what the developer likes to bucket their game as. all that matters is their perception of the game.
Take venture africa... I hope it's not going to be marketed as a "microgame" ... that has conotations of very small or short in play time.
this i think is the biggest problem that's getting everyone going crazy. The desire to have your label as a developer be marketed to the end users. (sorry folks, not the best idea!)
edit: removed some of the over-the-top comments.. bad day at work :P
#10
10/14/2005 (12:14 am)
Great to meet you at IGC, Andy! Your game is kicking ass and we all can't wait to see it selling and succeeding! Congratulations on your win this weekend!
#11
10/14/2005 (2:02 am)
I personally have always thought of the term of Pick-Up Games. You have some spare time, at an office with a shitty computer or in school trying to waste time. Just like a pickup game of hockey or baseball. You don't need to be on the baseball team to get out and play a full length fun game of baseball and be in on a pickup game. Same thing goes with the so called 'casual' games market. A baseball player will just as well participate in a pickup game, as well as a non-player, as long as the game is seemingly fun. It universally reflects anyone who doesn't hate games basically. I can guarentee even as a quote unquote "hardcore gamer" I've spent just as much time on either smaller games or independant games (independant games don't have to be small you know...oh wait, I mean KEEP IT SMALL!;) ) if not more so I don't see what's the big fuss on even naming them. In the long run that's my view on the name if it should be classified at all. 
#12
Maybe people need an additional term to indicate small, low budget indie developers from indie developers in general. Then again, we should probably not worry about the term indie at all and make games :)
As for Casual games, I think you're spot on. The term really doesn't do much for the games its applied to. But then again Casual games should not be marketed to the public as a "Casual Game" but as a "Computer Game" or any other term you wish to use. "Casual Games" is really just an easy term for use between developers to instantly indicate the market you're aiming for. After all theres nothing casual about those people playing the match 3 games for 20/30 hours a week :)
"Microgame" makes me think small game, which in a way if you're refering to download size would be pretty accurate, but it also has a negative impact in that I think "small game" in terms of game length, is this game only going to last me an hour and then I'm done and move onto the next?
Both "Casual games" and "Microgames" would be fine for talking between developers, but I think when it comes to marketing to the public all such terminology should be dropped and the game marketed as a "Video Game", "Computer Game" or simply a "Game".
10/14/2005 (3:56 am)
Why try to change the name "indie"? Whatever the new name for it, it would still have to have the same meaning. The only confusion that arises from the term indie developer is when people assume that because you've said "indie" you mean a small, low budget team. When really indie is just a term for any team regardless of size or budget that opperates independantly.Maybe people need an additional term to indicate small, low budget indie developers from indie developers in general. Then again, we should probably not worry about the term indie at all and make games :)
As for Casual games, I think you're spot on. The term really doesn't do much for the games its applied to. But then again Casual games should not be marketed to the public as a "Casual Game" but as a "Computer Game" or any other term you wish to use. "Casual Games" is really just an easy term for use between developers to instantly indicate the market you're aiming for. After all theres nothing casual about those people playing the match 3 games for 20/30 hours a week :)
"Microgame" makes me think small game, which in a way if you're refering to download size would be pretty accurate, but it also has a negative impact in that I think "small game" in terms of game length, is this game only going to last me an hour and then I'm done and move onto the next?
Both "Casual games" and "Microgames" would be fine for talking between developers, but I think when it comes to marketing to the public all such terminology should be dropped and the game marketed as a "Video Game", "Computer Game" or simply a "Game".
#13
unless your games make enough cash to not qualify for GG's indie license, then I think indie is right. (even then, it still is probably right)
10/14/2005 (9:16 am)
Gary is right... much more elloquently explaining what my prior post ranted and raved :)unless your games make enough cash to not qualify for GG's indie license, then I think indie is right. (even then, it still is probably right)
#14
10/25/2005 (3:18 pm)
I think we are getting somewhere with this. I think it would be cool to have something focused around the addictiveness of the games though. Like E Games or Crack Games :) But not that, something better from someone more creative than I am.
Torque 3D Owner Andy Schatz