“Digging for the mind.”
I think I’m afraid of commitment.
Time meant nothing to me; now, it’s all I think about.
It’s part of a growing trend in casual games.
One third of Islanders developer, Grizzly Games.
But the beginning of this new trend reaches back further.
The result was Islanders.
“We wanted to create something that lets you actually focus on just building things,” Schnepf says.
It’s interesting that paring back established mechanics to something less overwhelming drives so many placement-style games.
It’s almost like gardening.
This focus on a single, robust mechanic appears to drive Schnepf’s games so far.
So why mention a skateboarding rhythm game amid placement-style experiences?
Well, there’s rhythm to every videogame.
It’s just casual games enjoy a much gentler rhythm.
“That probably came from myself having less and less time for playing videogames,” he says.
That lack of temporal obligation feels core to the appeal of games like Islanders and Cloud Gardens.
I can stop when I want.
It’s easy to look at the lockdowns of 2020 as a primary catalyst.
Almost overnight, swathes of us gained unprecedented free time.
It’s why I’m excited aboutThe Block.
Curiously, when I ask Schnepf what he plays, casual games are low on the list.
It feels like a sharp contrast: the hectic FPS multiplayer and the tranquility of The Block and Islanders.
Yet, it’s one I understand.
Strip away the complexities and they’re fundamentally similar.
“Yeah,” Schnepf says when I suggest this.
There is a human phenomenon in which we feel compelled to dig holes.
Head down to the beach and chances are you’ll spot someone merrily excavating.
Not all of us can dig a hole.
But I wonder if playing a game like Islanders isn’t so different like digging for the mind.
A singular, focussed, low-impact exercise for cognitive muscles.
Perhaps I’m thinking too much into it.
