DESIGNING NEW CASUAL GAME EXPERIENCES: COMPETITION AND SOCIAL INTERACTION CONVERGING WEBSITE AND GAMES

Casual games are usually considered to be single player and short-term games without direct competition. These web-based and downloadable casual games are played within a single game window. To update this old-fashioned gaming concept, we proposed new experience models that focus on competition and social interaction in an environment where websites and games are converged; even puzzle games have direct competition against real people and interact with other users who display themselves using their own customizable avatars. To design a new user interface optimized for North American users, we performed user studies with participation of real users. Playability and usability of the games were improved based on the results from the studies. Finally, through competition-related elements such as player matching and level system and community features such as avatars and relationship building services, users could enjoy integrated game experience through both the gameplay itself and the related long-term services.