Jeff Minter is working on Space Giraffe, and blogs about it. The most recent post is about him worrying if people will “get it”, if it’s perhaps too complex for people?

but I *worry*… I love how it feels and I love the new stuff that makes it not just Tempest, like the bulling and such but will it be too complex for normal people to understand? (Not that is is that complex, just that the mechanic is new, at least the things that score the best are new techniques)… you *can* just playing it just shooting everything and not trying any of the tricks that really give rewards, but then if you do that you won’t get any extra lives and your scores will seem puny compared to someone in the know…

Jeff, don’t worry so much. Not every game on Live Arcade need to be a super-casual thing. Do the hardcore gamer dance, and make sure that the trial version will be telling enough for curious casual gamers to help them decide. Just do the game you want and we’ll be happy. Or sad, if it sucks. But it probably won’t.