The Schizophrenic Passive/Aggressive Face of Casual Connect
I’m at Casual Connect in downtown Seattle today and tomorrow. For those of you who don’t know, Casual Connect is a conference dedicated to the casual games industry… think GDC for casual developers and publishers. Some interesting talks on the slate today – I’m particularly interested in the “Finding Success on the Facebook Platform” presentation later this morning, especially now that they’re being more explicit about being a web platform, and not just a potentially monetizable social network.
All that said, I have to say it’s interesting to watch the passive-aggressive undercurrent that flows beneath the show. Casual Connect has always tried to portray itself as a fun, friendly little show, where friends who just happen to be in the business of making casual games get together to share information, tips, tricks, and contacts (as well as drink way too much at hosted bars). As the industry has grown and people have realized just how much money there is to be had, that’s changed. The facade is still there, and people are still really friendly, but now you can see a highly competitive undercurrent. Companies joust for position in the different display halls, in the press, on the web. Smaller companies are getting acquired by larger, and you see intent discussions in every corner that quickly hush as people walk by. And speakers walk a fine line between sharing inspiration and helpful information to promoting themselves, their platforms, and their agenda. That’s probably the weirdest part… just this morning I’ve been in two talks that veer from attempts at inspirational thought to sudden “we’re proud to announce mega-partnership Foo” sorts of bombs. It’s schizophrenic, to say the least.
There’s nothing wrong with all this – in fact, it’s very common in any quickly-growing industry. It just struck me that this year was the year I personally recognized the “we’re all friends in the casual industry” facade had worn thin. RIP casual gaming innocence… if it ever really existed.
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Thanks for sharing that. I had not heard about this conference until I read your post.
Where you signing up devs to work on Natal games?
Natal devs are all over the world… think of them as many of our existing Xbox developers as well as some new ones.