nDreams: Casual’s future is in narrative

Developers of casual games should look to crafting more titles with narraive-lead mechanics. At least that’s the case if nDreams CEO Patrick O’Luanaigh’s vision of the industry’s future rings true.

Speaking to Develop for a special feature looking at how social storytelling and alternate reality specialist nDreams has carved a successful niche by defying conventions and pushing innovative projects, O’Luanaigh also suggested that the future will bring more profitable times for those working on release for PSN and Xbox Live.

“We’ll see cross-platform digital games, Apple becoming the primary gaming platform owner, a rise in narrative-focused casual adventure games and more money being made from PSN and XBLA through PS 3 and Xbox 360 retail," said O’Luanaigh of the industry’s future.

The CEO’s upbeat prediction, if accurate, could see a significant change in the casual sector, which has typically made successes out of genres and titles in which narrative is a secondary concern while accessibility and convenience take priority.

O’Luanaigh also offered insight into how nDreams is adapting to that paradigm shift: "We’re continuing to focus on innovation and creating new kinds of games. You’ll see less focus on Facebook and more on Appstore, PSN, XBLA and Playstation Home.”

Click here to read the full feature.