GDC 2005: On impulsiveness and convenience

I am archiving older pieces I have written on other sites, making this the definitive home for all my work. This is one of several I am porting over from my GameDev.Net user journal. Enjoy!

Touching down in Las Vegas, I couldn't help but notice the proximity of the casinos. They even had slot machines in the departure lounges!

I suppose because I'm headed to the GDC I'm seeing everything in terms of games, but isn't that the epitome of casual gaming? Availability, instant gratification, play for as long or as short as you wish. (By the way, I'm loving this phone. It's going to inspire a note of its own shortly, on user interfaces.) I don't gamble, generally, though I do plan to build a poker table for my intended apartment in Brooklyn, but I could see the appeal of playing with some spare change. As game designers and developers, how can we better leverage the notion of "disposable time"?

Maybe I should attend a couple of the mobile gaming sessions.