Why many indie games are perfect for casual gamers

Many indie games are great for casual gamers. This is because in many cases they meet features that casual gamers are after. Not every indie game is perfect for someone who doesn’t spend the majority of their free time on gaming, still, a lot of indie mobile games, Switch and PC gamers are. For the following reasons, many indie games are more accessible to casual gamers than larger AAA titles are.

Fun and simple gameplay

In games, the gameplay is leading. If the gameplay is to difficult or not good enough, many gamers stop playing. Fun and simple gameplay are very important for this kind of player. Indie games often offer the less complex kind of gameplay and therefore these kinds of games have a higher chance of appealing to the more casual kind of gamers. Just to give an example: many indie game developers create mobile games. Most of the time those games have really simple controls and therefore they are very accessible.

Simple user interface

A lot of indie game developers create mobile phone games that use a tap-and-swipe interface, or PC games that use a one-button mouse interface. Not all indie games have a simple user interface, but lots of indie games have. Therefore a lot of the indie games on mobile and tablets can be very appealing to a wide mainstream audience. Just think how popular simple indie games like Flappy Bird and Candy Crush have been for even people that did not game that much at all.

Short sessions

A lot of indie games are also appealing to casual gamers because they are perfectly designed to be played for short sessions. Think about games that can be played during work breaks, while you’re on public transportation or waiting in the waiting room of your dentist. Especially the games that are made for devices you can take with you are perfect for the more casual gamers. Of course, not all indie games will fit this category, but there are a lot of indie games out there that will be more appealing to casual gamers than that popular AAA-title every hardcore gamer is desperately waiting for.

Familair visual elements

Games like Match 3 or hidden object games often work fine for casual gamers. Lots of puzzle games are fine too. Why? Because most of those puzzle indie games have simple but familiar visual elements. They don’t look complicated. They are not overloaded with graphic splendor, so the viewer has no idea what to look at first. Even Fortnite is very popular for casual gamers because the cartoonish art style is appealing to them. Unlike many AAA shooters, the simple visual design makes the game accessible

Casual games cost less

Casual gamers do not game that much and therefore they don’t want to pay top dollar for games. Most of the time indie games cost less than the AAA titles on the market. There are always some exceptions (more than usual the exceptions are games from the more experienced indie game developers), but a lot of indie games are free to play or only cost about the price of a sandwich. Therefore the cheap games attract more and more casual gamers in their strategy to acquire as many players as possible.

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