- The Rebel Monkey (Habitat Rescue, CampFu) and later Playmatics co-founder Nick Fortugno shares how this lack of expectation allows for more diversity in themes and narrative but restricts in terms of controls, presentation, and challenge in casual games. In this classic GDC 2007 lecture, digitized from videotape by digital historian Jason Scott and now available for free courtesy of the GDC Vault, Fortugno offers four casual design principles, beginning with abandoning the standards of hardcore gamers. The full lecture is available to watch for free on GDC Vault. For more in the history of casual game design, Nick Fortugno co-wrote this extensive transcript based on his GDC 2009 Casual Games Summit lecture.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent GDC events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers. Those who purchased All Access passes to events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC China already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscriptions via a GDC Vault inquiry form. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available via an online demonstration, and interested parties can find out more here. In addition, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault admins. Be sure to keep an eye on GDC Vault for even more new content, as GDC organizers will also archive videos, audio, and slides from other events like GDC China and GDC 2013. To stay abreast of all the latest updates to GDC Vault, be sure to check out the news feed on the official GDC website, or subscribe to updates via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.