Addictive Gaming
I've never understood the appeal of Candy Crush. It's essentially a clone of Bejeweled, designed in a way to manipulate people into spending money and spamming their Facebook friends. Out of principle, I had never played it before this assignment. As such, in order to write this, I had to spend a couple hours playing the game as far as I could without spending money. And yet, after finally playing it, I still feel the exact same way I did originally.
While I will never fully understand how people can become addicted to this, I can at least attempt to make a few assumptions. For starters, it's a feel good game. They aim to make you feel happy by using bright colors and catchy music. It's also something you can do autonomously, without putting much thought into it. The game will even show you where possible moves are if you’re having trouble finding any on your own.
It also has special moves that seem pretty cool when you use them, creating all sorts of chain reactions. They even give you a lot of them early on, making you want more of them as you go. Rewarding players with stars for their performance gives them objectives to strive for. Completionists will want to try to keep playing until they get all of the stars in all of the levels. The game encourages you to play with friends to help each other out, and competitive players can strive for a high score.
It also has elements of flow. Each level tells you of your goals up front, and you can visibly see the progress you're making towards that goal. You get immediate feedback when you make a move, and can adjust your strategy appropriately. And the special abilities (when you have them) help to balance between too hard and too easy. Saving them makes the game more challenging, but using them when you are having trouble can be a game changer.
But all of that being said, I’m reminded of the South Park episode on “freemium” games, and I believe that they explained it best. These types of games are marketed as free, despite the fact that they still charge you money to keep playing regularly. They give players just enough choice to feel like they are in control, but are actually mostly random. They aren’t all that fun on their own, but you can buy items that make them more fun. They even give you a bunch of free items in the beginning to give you a taste of the fun you could be having. They train the player to spend a fake currency, which makes them forget that they are spending real money once they start paying for it. They encourage the player to share the games with friends by using in-game rewards, ensuring that they build up a player base. And notifications act as triggers to make sure you’re always thinking about the game. All in all, they are Skinner boxes that condition players to spend money for their body to release dopamine caused the flashy sounds and colors. But since the games are all about waiting, players feel the need to pay money to get their “fix”.
On the other hand, the Undead Puzzle is a game that I find addictive without being manipulative. There are no microtransactions, no waiting, and no spamming your friends. And I respect the game so much more because of it. It's a simple concept, you can only see vampires if you're not looking through a mirror, you can only see ghosts if you are looking through a mirror, and you can always see zombies. You are rewarded with your own satisfaction after completing the puzzle. And the game has various levels of difficulty, so that you can play without it being too easy or hard. Much like Candy Crush, it uses all of the elements of flow in a way that feels fun to play. But unlike candy crush, I'm not being manipulated while playing.
