Train2Game students are aware of the growing popularity, but that doesn’t mean hardcore games are going to go away.

That’s according to former Civilization II Lead Designer and Frontierville creator Brian Reynolds.

He doesn’t buy the idea that some gamers’ have that social media games are a bad thing, but rather he sees another change in the forever evolving games industry.

“I don’t think that traditional hardcore games are going to go away. I think they are going to keep making those. But it’s a consolidated industry and now there are only these several gigantic franchises,” he told Kotaku.

“I wouldn’t start a triple-A studio these days. Ten years ago, it almost felt like when we started Big Huge, ‘Wow, good thing we did it then because we never could have done it after that because the door was closing.’”

He also argues that he’s still using the same skills he used to produce other games, are being used to create the likes of Frontierville, and that he finds it to be fun.

“But it turns out that the skills we have are really valuable in social games and it’s actually really fun to design those games. First of all, I’m working on the forefront of a new thing. Second of all, I’m reaching (millions), tens of (millions) of players I could never have reached before.

And third, I really need my skills. It’s harder to design these games. We do the same things we did with strategy games: Design simple systems that interact in complex ways, but they have to be so much more accessible then they used to.”

It also seems that game developers have noticed the change and are looking to join in the production of social media games.

“I saw a big change in their attitude this year when FrontierVille came out, when CityVille came out,” he said. “I suddenly started getting letters from folks that said they wanted to work at Zynga.” He added.

BAFTA has seen the growing significance of social media gaming, with the games now getting their own category at the GAME Awards next month. Meanwhile, it’s been predicted that revenue from casual games will reach over $1 billion this year.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Reynolds comments? Do you agree that he’s obviously right when it comes to hardcore games? Are you surprised to see the developer of a classic game now working on a casual one?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum. You can also Tweet us on the Train2Game Twitter account.

[Source: Kotaku via VG247]

Train2Game, in association with DR Studios and the University of Bedfordshire, will be holding a Game Jam at the end of March. For more information, see the official Train2Game Game Jam website or the Train2Game Game Jam Facebook page. Alternatively, keep an eye on the Train2Game Game Jam Twitter account.