Casual Game Design

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Summary

Games grow out of play. As a game designer you must look at all manner of playful

activities and recognize their potential as games. By girding play with rules and

goals we can begin to transform play into games. And by transforming playful activ-

ities into games we can lengthen and deepen the experience. In designing casual

games it’s important to pay attention to this line between play and games. We don’t

want to overly discipline the frolicsome exuberance of play, as Caillois would say.

Instead we want to highlight and enhance the natural playfulness of the activity

while shaping it.

Now that we have a general framework for considering play we can look closely

at some specific games and see how the designers shaped the experience ...