In the second chapter of his book, A Casual Revolution, Jesper Juul describes five major traits that are prominent in casual games—fiction, usability, interruptibility, difficulty and punishment, and juiciness. He argues that casual games contain positive fiction, are generally easy to use and play, are capable of being interrupted, have lenient punishment for mistakes, and contain very juicy gameplay. I agree with the first four arguments, but his opinion about the fifth point sharply contrasts with mine.

Juul mentions that hardcore games like Gears of War have a large amount of juicy content, including massive gunfights and explosions. As a frequent player of the Gears of War games, I believe that it is necessary to mention that the game includes obscene amounts of evisceration and disembowelment—two things which one could arguably call “juicy.” I agree wholeheartedly that such games are quite juicy.

However, the description of casual games, such as Pacman or Bejeweled, as “juicy” is something with which I disagree. Perhaps this is because my definition of “juiciness” differs from that of Juul. While his definition of “juicy” is “giving excessive amounts of positive feedback to the player in response to user input,” my definition is simply “evoking exorbitant amounts of emotion, including—but not limited to— excitement or pleasure.” Being the huge fan of first-person shooters that I am, I believe that games like Gears of War (which is actually a third-person shooter—minor details can be ignored) and Call of Duty are very juicy. Intense games such as these fit my definition very well, because they stimulate strong feelings of excitement and exhilaration.

On the other hand, casual games like Pacman are not exactly what I would call “juicy.” While Juul may view them as such, I certainly do not. Whenever I play casual games that aren’t particularly exciting or adrenaline-pumping, I don’t receive nearly the same emotional stimulation that I receive from playing a shooter game. In my opinion, Pacman or Bejeweled are both fun, quick games that offer the player a bit of a challenge, but they lack substance. This lack of substance is directly responsible for the failure of these games to be classified under my definition of “juicy.”

I’m not denying that casual games are fun; on the contrary, I frequently play sports games on the Wii very competitively. The problem is that the simplicity of such games is simply incapable of arousing the same feelings of fervor that more intense games are capable of delivering.