As games have become increasingly ubiquitous, they have naturally branched out to appeal to demographics that were previously ignored. One of these new—but rapidly expanding—markets consists of players who want games to provide an experience closer to meditation than escapism. Rather than taking out their frustrations in a night of deathmatches or horde mode, these gamers are more likely to chill out with titles like Flower or The Undergarden, that occupy your mind just enough that you can forget about the world and just zone out. While there's no agreed-upon label for this category, some have appropriately called it "zen" gaming.
Now I actually think that stress-reduction is a perfectly valid use for games, and have no problem with developers exploring low-engagement game designs. But they should realize that in doing so, they’re walking a fine line. Requiring too much of the player can kill the relaxed mood, but so can requiring too little. That was what I discovered while playing Eufloria, a PSN and PC release that takes its zen qualities to such an extreme that the best strategy for most levels is just to lay your controller down and go do something else for a while.
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