A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and Their Players
Monday, November 9, 2009
5-6 PM at the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab

Jesper Juul chronicles the rise of the casual games: puzzle games, the Nintendo Wii, and music games. These are video games that reach beyond the traditional video game audience; games that redefine what a video game can be, and who can be a video game player.

Just published by MIT Press, A Casual Revolution is Jesper's take on what is happening with video games right now:

• Why is the Nintendo Wii more successful than the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3?
• Why is the audience for video games expanding?
• Who plays Bejeweled, and why?
• What is a casual player? What is casual game design?
• Are casual games a return to the arcade game, or are they something new?
• How did Solitaire become one of the most popular video games?
• What is the secret behind the success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band?
• Why is Parcheesi/Ludo a social game? Why is Animal Crossing?
• Does the rise of casual games mean the downfall of hardcore games?
• ... and more!