I’ve written about Heartwild Solitaire a few times, both here and on Twitter, and a few of you have downloaded the free version and yelled at me for allowing you access to such a huge timeslurp. It’s very pretty, this game, and the storyline is more than just your free version from that software company that comes installed on your PC with that other game with the mines that I suck at.
So Darek, mastermind of Heartwild, has offered me five free download coupons, good for the full version of the game, to give away to those of you who might need to take a soft, relaxing, click-click-click brainbreak while at your computers. Interested? Easy to win: just leave a comment, and tell me about how much time a day you spend playing games on your computer. I’m curious – because I suspect women play more than many people might think. Comments close in 24 hours.
Disclaimer: I’m not being compensated for this giveaway, although I might be bugging Derek for pointers on snowboarding. The data contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not represented to be error free unless I haven’t had enough caffeine. In which case your mileage may vary. This message is confidential. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is intentional but purely coincidental. Do not remove this disclaimer under penalty of law. Machine wash cold, tumble dry on low.
I had some questions for Sir Darek, and he was nice enough to answer:
Why a romance storyline? How’d you come up with that?
Darek: Back in the days, when we were doing shoot’em up games (you know, stuff teenagers play), I was longing to work on a game with more story and deeper emotions. We grew up on old school adventure games, which were just starting to get somewhere, but then the market died in late 90-ties.
Later casual games started exploding and it brought lots of new players. What was weird—mainly women. And I thought this could be our chance to do something new. We first considered various half-assed ways of testing the waters, doing me-too projects, but then a crazy idea dawned on me—romance games.
This was a pretty much non-existent category and I thought it shouldn’t be this way. I mean, I know why it isn’t popular with teenage boys 😉 but now that women were getting into games as well things could finally change.
Romance novels are a perfect mix of exciting story with strong emotions and that’s something I’d really love to see in games. So we decided to go all in—focus on romance and keep making games until we get the mixture right.
Heartwild Solitaire is just a first step in that direction. We already have few more titles planned ahead so you should expect more romance from us… shortly 🙂
How exactly did you figure out that more casual gamers were women? Demographic studies or self reporting?
Darek: I’ve heard casual gaming portals saying that the split between male/female for them is about 60/40, with most women being between 30 and 60.
Wikipedia cites sources that claim 74% of women: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casual_game
I haven’t ran any stats on our site, but from a quick glance at first names on our orders I’d say that at *least* 90% are women. Or men cleverly hiding behind female names 😉 Maybe it’s because we just assume that our customer is a woman and we design our games, website and everything for women specifically. That probably doesn’t make us too attractive to men, but hopefully it’ll fit with women more. I hope.
So here’s a big question: have you read some romances? And if so which ones?
Darek: Good question 🙂 I haven’t really read any typical romance book, but that’s on my todo list. Maybe you could recommend me few titles I should start with?
To be fair though, I am a sucker for emotional stories. Especially in the cinema. I love what French people do here, at least the old school. Do you know Andre Techine or, recently deceased, Eric Rohmer? They had some great relationship/romance themed movies and French… ah, they are so good in portraying subtle, fragile emotions. I also loved the 50-60’s in American cinema. Tennesee Williams’ days of Fugitive kind, Can on a hot thin roof, Streetcar… etc. Good stuff from Newman, Brando and others. And of course my dearest Bogart in Casablanca – all time best romance movie! 🙂
With books it’s mostly Polish stuff so I doubt you’d know Hlasko or Lysiak 😉 And for the last 8 years or so I’ve been reading pretty much only non fiction (I’m a sucker for pop psychology, personal development, spirituality as well as business and marketing), so yeah, I’d appreciate any good book recommendations.
Ok, then: got any recommendations for emotional stories Darek might like?
I’d say 2-3 hours a day. Mindless clicking games, mostly – Spades, Luxor, Hearts, and for a shamefully long time, Farmville.
I was relieved to see other commenters above mention World of Warcraft and Dragon Age; I thought I was going to be the only one! WoW is enough of a time sink right now (3-4 hours a day on raid nights) that I’ve put DA:O on hold until I have more time, though.
I play casual games now and again on Popcap and other sites. I spent money on Plants vs. Zombies and thoroughly enjoyed it (BRAAAAAAINS). Sometimes when I’m feeling down I play Chuzzle because the little fuzzy blobs make me happy. I was gifted a copy of Braid recently but have yet to play it. Growing up (which for me wasn’t all that long ago) I played Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, etc. – whatever was available on various versions of Windows. I remember Hover on Win95 fondly, and my uncle had a skiing game and a golfing game on one of his machines about 10-12 years ago that were a lot of fun.
You don’t have to enter me in the drawing, I’m just proud to be part of the “people who play MMOs (and other traditionally “male” games)” and “people who read a romance blog” demographic!
I go in cycles where I am addicted to games, then I don’t play for awhile. When I play, it may be anywhere from 30 minutes to 10 hours a day. I like many of the casual games, like Bejewelled, word games, and puzzle games . I was into Morrowind, Oblivion and The Witcher for awhile. And I play Still Life, some of the Sherlock Holmes games, and others like that. I loved the old text adventures and remember having a romance novel based one of those, but can’t remember the title.
Spam work yet96. No I am not yet 96.
I’ve been gaming since high school (now in my 40’s) and with the advent of computer games my addiction really took off. MMORPGs was an amazing step, but were obviously made by men – testosterone filled male fantasy based games. Then, recently, a game called Dragon Age came out…it actually had a romance element! I was amazed! I played it nearly straight through, 8-12 hours a day, just to see if I could get my character and the NPC “coupled” at the end (alas, he died, it was quite tragic…). I’m very glad to see that gaming companies are finally recognizing that women are playing games! When I play, I play often intensely, often 8-10 hours a day, every so often, I’ll just do casual games, like solitaire (I do like the Heartwild feel) and will play such games .5 to 1 hours a day.
Gamers must be the only one answering? I play computer/online games about one time per year. I waste too much time on the internet as it is. =)
I have played casual and online games in the past, though! I agree with the comment about no time pressure, and being able to save where you are at, even if logging out.
I will have to check out Heartwild!
plant65 – no thanks, I am not that much of a gardener!
When I add it all up, I probably spend a couple of hours a day playing games—in 5-10 minute snippets. I have Minesweeper, Bejeweled, and Sudoko on my iPod Touch, not to mention Solitaire, Mahjong, Snood, and Facebook’s Bejeweled on my laptop. Any time I get frustrated or bored, I grab one or the other and spend a few minutes playing.
On the other hand, I had a friend link me to a first-person Tetris game online, where the whole ‘camera’ rotates with the pieces—my eyes were crossed and my head hurt after a few minutes, so I avoided my usual games for the rest of the day after that, heh.
I play computer games (varieties of Solitaire, Mah Jongg, and Sudoku mostly) about 30 minutes during my lunch hour and up to an hour in the evening at home (though sometimes I get caught up in “just one more game and then I’ll stop”). I have never really liked adventure-type games though I have played them with my teenaged nephews. I like the aarp.org/games page and Great Day Games. I am 60 (am I only the only one that old here?) and I started with Pong and PacMan, and my ex-husband used to be very upset because I routinely beat him at Asteroid!
Wayyy too much time. We own every console and handheld known to man and everyone in my household plays World of Warcraft. I have a strange addiction to Taipei/Mahjongg and Picross. So all in all, I often spend 2-3 hours a day gaming on average, but if I’m sick or just lacking in motivation it can go up to 6 or more (but I try not to do that regularly). On the other hand, none of us watch TV. 😉
I play anywhere from 20 minutes to 2-3 hours, depending on my time ability. If I have stuff to do, I’ll just poke around my Facebook games. With time to kill, I head right for World of Warcraft. For the Horde!
I am a classic Solitaire addict. Right along with Jawbreaker (aka Bubble Breaker). I spend a minimum of an hour a day playing those on my PDA. Seriously, it’s like I’m in some kind of hypnotic trance when I’m playing and I have to FORCE myself to stop. Every now and then I’ll also pop onto an online site for Bejeweled.
The first emotional book rec that popped into my head for Derek is CRY NO MORE by Linda Howard. It’s not flowers and hearts, it’s not even much of a “Romantic” Romance, but I DARE him to read it without sobbing… out loud!
Oh, that looks like an awesome game.
And add me to the list of “way too much time” people. My current timesinks are WoW and Bejeweled, and http://www.zengaku.com/ … but I’m always on the lookout for fun new games 😀
I tend to multitask when I’m playing casual games (Spider Solitaire, Mah Jong, Bejewelled, etc.), in that I’ll play a round or two, do something else, then come back and play another round. All in all, probably about an hour or so spread out over several.
Of course, RPGs, Guitar Hero, and console-style games take more full attention, and I probably average 4-5 hours of those a week.
At least 2 hours a day, playing on a PC and pda. Mahjongg, Spider Solitaire and Zuma the biggest time-sucks on the PC CrazyDaisy, SolFree and Sudoku on my pda. Heartwild Solitaire sounds like a fine addition to these 🙂
I’ve been trying to cut back on games on my computer. However, Heartswild Solitare is one of the *few* games I still have on my laptop that I play when I’m needing a break between activities.
Between Puzzle Pirates, Cribbage, and Solitare, I was averaging 4 hours a day last summer on games…. Now, I’m down to 3-4 hours a week, which is a huge improvement 🙂
I probably spend 2 hours a day playing games. I tend to fill dead time at work with spider solitaire. At home I’m more likely to play freebies from games.com or Yahoo Games. And then there’s Snood, which is totally addictive. And Kyodai mah jongg. And I loved the free version of Heartwild Solitaire—so beautiful and mesmerizing I suspect it’s good for my high blood pressure!
I’m addicted to Facebook’s Bejewled Quest. I play that everyday for at least an hour. It can and does go longer if I’m on a hot streak.
I just pulled up Heartwild Solitaire last night to play again and was admiring the designs.
I’m more of a Wii gamer (Lego series anyone?), but I was watching my fiancee play Civilization this weekend and it looked fun. I kept asking for the other game where you can attack with a monster or other natural disaster. Can’t recall what it’s called now.
As for recommendations, I’ve heard the JD Robb “In Death” series is a good starter for men. I love the series myself.
Currently, I spend no time playing games on my computer. This is very much on purpose as I’m an “all or nothing” kind of gamer. Meaning when I DO play, I can (and have) spend an entire weekend raiding villages or shooting aliens or whatever. When I was in grad school, marooned in a middle-of-nowhere town, I would spend 4-6 hours a day on an old version of Quake. Not as responsible as doing research, but better than excessive alcohol consumption.
I don’t want to think about how much time I spend, because whenever I feel like procratinating, I go play Kakuro or Killer Sudoku. I keep telling myself that these games are good for my brain because they’re logic.
A rough estimate would be 30 minutes a day, Solitaire, Minesweeper, or Tetris. I used to play Risk with my brothers, but we got too mad at each other and stopped.
Well, I think it’s more an age thing than a gender thing… for me at least. When I was a teen I plaid the occasional game, but nowadays I don’t have the time / money / interest to discover new ones
I would say that I spend about 5 hours a day playing computer games, mostly Pogo games. And, I get swollen ankles to prove it.
The Wii has sucked my computer time in the evenings away. I am embarrassingly addicted to Animal Crossing. But pre-Wii I could easily lose three hours to Bookworm or various puzzle games. Heartwild Solitaire has been on my mind since you last mentioned it, however, and I suspect I will be buying it for my mom to play while she recovers from surgery later this month. That’s the excuse I’m sticking by. I’m also intrigued by the puzzle game by a different company to be based on Marjorie Liu’s book. Her books are like crack for me. I will drive my exhausted butt into town on release days for her books because I can’t wait for them to come by mail.
Sometimes I log into a game for an hour, sometimes i’ll be on for 6 hours. I’ve played games straight from dinner one day until lunch the next before, though these days I don’t really have that kind of free time. I’d say on average, 2 to 3 hours a day.
I’m not really a computer gamer, but I do play a couple MMOs, and I have an emulator installed for old PS1 and SNES games. I absolutely love games with deep and complex stories.
Well, and when i’m in class I am often playing Hearts or Mah Jong.
I play solitaire on the computer at the very end of my day, to unwind.
I try to watch the time, since my DH is usually just gone to bed!
My computer gaming is mild right now. I finally gave up on World of Warcraft for right now, I am waiting for the Cataclysm to hit. I have spent time on Final Fantasy XI and Lineage 2 in the online gaming world, and have spent entirely too much time with console rpgs. I have an xbox 360, ps2, and we are thinking of getting another ps3. I am anxiously awaiting ffxiii next month. (wow next month! yay!)
I always have a game open on my work computer. I play puzzles mostly while I pretend to work (Shhhhh… don’t tell LOL) But when i get home on my own computer I usually limit the playing to about 30 minutes but have been known to waste hours and hours and hours playing games instead of doing what I’m supposed to be doing 🙂 But I have the free version and love it… it would be great to try the full one too!
I definitely play games (mostly on my iPhone, but sometimes on the computer) but they are always more word based or puzzle based than the sports/guns/war style games the boys around me play. I don’t know if anyone remembers this, but back in the days of massive computers with green screens, there was a word-game designed by Douglas Adams based on his book Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I was a teen at the time and the only one I knew who EVER managed to get past the first stage!
I definitely spend too much time on my laptop playing games: solitare, minesweeper, bejewled, and really anything that tickles my fancy. I downloaded the Heartwild free demo a while ago and loved it.
In between Neopets and Heartwild Software (the free trial), probably about an hour to three hours if I get really caught up in it.
If I find a game that interests me – usually if there is a good story to suck me in – I’m like an addict. I do love solitare games too just for the zen-like mental break they give you. I’ve really enjoyed the free download of this game and would *lurve* (!) to be able to enjoy the full version.
It varies pretty widely, depending on how busy I am at work—occasionally there are times when I legitimately have nothing better to do. I’ll say maybe anywhere from 30-90 minutes a day?
I’m a gamer, I’ve like a few others here, have been playing since high school with Pong and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – (I found a nice BBS full of hints to get me to the end) .
I have a lifetime sub for Lord of the Rings Online and I usually play at least 2 -3 hours a day or 8 hrs/day on weekends. I like to take a break and read for a few weeks before I head back to LOTRO or try another game.
I’m a sucker for historical romances… but depending on your tastes, you can count on the reviews on this site for a good read.
Ahh games.
They are dangerous. Once I find one I like, I get totally addicted and need to play for hours everyday until I get bored with it, mostly after 2 weeks or something. But in these weeks I barely do any other stuff. So I tend to be careful with games, and only start them when I’ve got time 🙂
In my hometown we have a gameshop that also has a library system, so I often get my games there, to try out if I like them or not.
I’ve played a lot of Strategic Games, like Age of Empires when I was a kid, and various version of Civilization. The Sims and Spore were quite addictive too. And Rollercoaster Tycoon, I love Tycoon games.
I learned English playing Neopets (on Neopets.com) back when it was still very, very small and had only an English version. Popomundo was a devious timekiller for a long time too.
Lately I tend to play short flash games on Kongregate.com when I need to make my mind blank when I’m stuck on writing.
If it’s solitaire,| can literally get carried away for hours. I’m also guilty of the 2+ hour long gaming session on Dream Day Wedding. What can I say – I’m addicted to finding an egg in the bridal salon!!!
I like to play hidden object games randomly and when I do I usually play until its over which can last anywhere from 2-4 hours. Its not an every day thing but I play World of Warcraft on days I don’t find a hidden object game to play.
Hmmm, well I play a lot more than I should. I play several facebook games, also my Big Fish games ( I played straight through that Harlequin mystery object thing in one day) and I have the free Heartwild Solitaire download. I also play Civilisation and other city and world builders. Um, yeah … faaaaaaaar too much time. At least 2 hours a day while watching TV. I probably spend as much time gaming as my husband does, which is kinda spooky.
death47: yes gaming may cause my early demise at 47. Thankfully that is a few years off yet.
Just seen all the comments about Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I loved that game so much (and a number of other games we had on our old Apple II C, haha), but I got stuck at the door that wanted tea and no tea at the same time. Even after my cousin explained how to get past we never managed to make it work.
I play World of Warcraft, so usually I end up spending waaaay too much time playing the game to admit how much time I really spend.
This was a really pretty time-wasting-brain-off game. Much prettier than Windows Solitaire.
I tend to spend about an hour or so playing logic and word games a day.
I have two brothers, so I’ve grown up playing video games and computer games. What with university going on now, I don’t spend as much time playing games as when I was younger, but I’d say I spend at least half an hour to an hour playing games a day. It’s a nice way to relax. (: I’m currently hooked on Fable II (my brother bought himself an XBox 360 for Christmas).
I haven’t read any romance in a while… ): Most of my reading is in textbook-form. The last novel I read was ‘The Birth of Venus’ by Sarah Dunant. It does have romantic elements to it, but most of the plot is focused on the protagonist’s desire to paint and how unusual it was to have female painters in 16th century Italy.