Space of Possibility and Pacing in Casual Game Design

Casual Games Definition (according to Marcos Venturelli):

Casual games can be played without having to learn how to play them right away and offer gameplay which can be interrupted at any time without consequences. Complexity can still be added later on.

The human brain is goal driven, we automatically try to turn the game into routine as we play, to make the game easy, which in turn can lead to the game becoming boring.

Space of possibility: This refers to the amount of options and choices are allowed within the game's system.

A simple game is easy to get into, but will be solved by our brains quickly and therefor becomes boring quickly.

A game with a larger space of possibility will take long to master, meaning it stays entertaining for longer, however players might be frustrated due to not knowing how to play properly.


There should be minimal use of tutorials in a casual game, this should happen as the game progresses in order to keep the player from investing big amounts of time learning instead of playing.

Ideally the game starts simple with minimal space of possibility, and consistently builds up by adding or replacing mechanics, keeping the player happy because s/he is hardly interrupted from the game, and yet, patterns are always being added while they play, to prevent them from getting bored.

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I think the methods used to hook players at the start, and keep them hooked by adding complexity are very effective for new players, however from my experience, these games tend to have a drawback: Bad replay value.

When replaying a game, after knowing all of the game's complexity, it is very frustrating being limited to basic mechanics at the start. I think the solution to this problem is to create a different type of gameplay such as a skirmish mode, in strategy games, where players can continue playing, using the full knowledge they have gained, in a balanced, repeatable scenario.

Having considered this reading, it seems digital games have an advantage over non digital games.

Since all the learning required must be done before playing a non digital game, these games suffer the inevitability of  being too simple in the long run or too complex at the start.