Way back when I was going on and on about Massively Casual Online Games, on
Suttree, I missed the biggest example of the lot.
MCOs are meant to be casual, flash, browser-based games that have an element of persistence. They take the ‘easy to learn, difficult to master’ mantra of Casual Games and weld it to the addictive, progress quest nature of MMOs.
So far, almost all MMOs, even the newer, lightweight, browser-based ones, have dealt with fantasty or sci-fi. None of them have taken on other genres. The fantasy/sci-fi genre is very specific, and very male, whereas a game genre based around exploration and adventure, like Lego Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider, would have a much broader appeal.
The answer? Bejewelled Thief, of course! Take the gem-collecting addiction that is
Bejewelled and throw in some adventure along the lines of a bank-heist (see my game,
Jewel Thief) or a ancient tomb, and you’ve got the definitive, money printing, massively, casual, online game.
And for that, I’ll take 10%
Snakes & ladders, followed by Mousetrap, followed by some Ruby timezone debugging.
Yogic saying of the day: “Let you eyebrows be apart”