Last night we were featured on Nightline here in New Zealand. The article pitches the company as trying to break the mould of the traditional core gamer, and touches on our work for The Vision Quest

Also remember to check out the Meaningful Play video, which is the full presentation from the night.

Part One Part Two

Penny Arcade had a fantastic post and comic a couple of days ago describing their revelations around how non-gamers approach games.

Old School via Penny Arcade

I was particularly interested in Tycho’s comment about Brain Age being a gateway drug to other game content in that the casual market can warrant spending time with it as a kind of chore. “Gym for your brain” indeed. The thing is that when I go to a real gym I actually tend to enjoy it at the same time. You get the rush of endorphins, maybe listen to a bit of music while you’re there, get a bit of downtime, and as a bonus you’re getting fit and healthy. It isn’t nearly so much of a chore as Brain Age, which isn’t very fun to play, and is potentially a very stressful experience.

But the game has still been hugely popular because it has tangible relevance to the casual gamer’s real life. People are ready to throw time at any inane activity as long as some reliable source says it’s good for them. I wonder how much more we could expand the market if we actually made these experiences fun and explorative at the same time, as well as being certified “good for you.”