Kiev Casual Connect has long passed, a number of other equally interesting events are on the nose, but we could not resist the temptation to catch the director of “connect” and ask what she thinks about the future of the industry.
Jessica Tams, Director of Casual Games AssociationHi, Jessica!
You’ve been running Casual Connect since 2005. How has the casual industry (mood, people) changed during this time?Hi!
You know, I was most impressed by what the developers have turned into in recent years. I’m talking about the fact that they have seriously matured, they are published independently. Portals are still important because it is important to have partners who can help with distribution abroad. But I was surprised at the time by the growing number of tools that help developers stay independent.
Secondly, the perception of casual games themselves has changed. Previously, they were often considered low-quality crafts. By the way, one of the reasons we organized the Casual Games Association was that people from the big industry didn’t think we were also developing games. There was a lot of talk among console developers on the topic “casual games are not games” back then.
Many people dream of achieving the success of casual “Angry Birds” todayPuzzles were talked about with disdain.
People often asked me: hey, when will you return to developing full-fledged games (Jessica started her career at Sierra Studios, and also worked with Chris Tayler for two years at Gas Powered Games, approx. App2Top.ru). And now everyone dreams of being like Rovio. And no one scoffs at casual games anymore. People from the big industry realized that developing such projects is just as difficult as console projects.
And how do you see the future of casual games?I would say that casual games will continue to grow up.
And they will become the most popular product in the entertainment market. More popular than even TV. Now games are not what people want to talk about. To say that you like the game, you hang out on it is not ok. It’s quite another thing to say that every night you spend three or four hours on TV shows. And this situation will change over time.
Thanks for the interview!