Make it more addictive

Let's think about why some games are more addictive than others. I will take ARAM(All Random All Mid) mode in League of Legends and Flippy Bird as examples. I have to admit that although the ARAM mode is highly unbalanced and not so strategic, it is more addictive than other modes. I also have to admit that although Flippy Bird is not so rich in game content, it is more addictive than most of other games in Appstore.

Firstly, let's talk about our brains. Our brains are almost the same from the brains tens of thousands ago. So we think as the same way as our ancestors did.  Thousands of years ago, the environment is changing all the time and very dangerous. So the best way to survive is living for the current moment. So nowadays, we still don't like to fight for the faraway happiness subconsciously. We tend to get the happiness we can get instantly.

That's why I am always procrastinating. When the deadline of an assignment is a week later and there is a new attractive game, I tend to choose playing the game instead of doing homework. Why is the game more attractive? Because the happiness of finish the assignment will come to my brain next week. Meanwhile, the happiness of playing the game will come to my brain instantly. So I will probably procrastinate until there are two or three days left for the assignment. When there is not much time left, it is more attractive to do the homework instead of playing the game: The anxious will make playing game not so attractive and the happiness of finishing the homework is not so far away.

Blaming ourselves for the procrastination is of no use because it is one part of our brain. The effective way to lessen procrastinating is making the task more attractive and making procrastination less attractive. If the tasks are very interesting and give me happiness very quickly, I will like to do it and stop procrastination. I can split big tasks into tiny pieces and give ourselves a reward after finishing even a tiny piece; I can work with others to make tasks like competitions; I can work in an environment where procrastination is not so fun because I will be punished. However, procrastination still exists because it is still very attractive. I feel it is better not push ourselves too hard or I will put myself in anxiety.

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There are so much digressions. Let's come back to game design. Why some games are so attractive and addictive? Because they give us happiness instantly. Even when we push a button, the game will prize us and give us reward! When we beat a monster, look at the number telling us how much damage we dealt, and the money and the piece of meat the monster dropped. We got these rewards 1 second after we did something. 

In ARAM mode of LoL, I played as Annie, when I pushed buttons at the right time in the right order, then I had a large bear and we heard 'You slain an enemy' and 'Double kill'. What's more, I see the number '+140G' twice; After 30 seconds, I won the team fight; After 1 minute we found I could buy new items; After 10 minutes, we won the game. There are bunches of rewards after I did right and they came so quickly (No more than 30 minutes). In the normal game, every reward comes slowlier because there are not so many chaotic team fights and the game lasts longer.

Another thing makes ARAM mode addictive is because you got random champions and they are highly unbalanced in ARAM. It makes the champion selection more interesting because we don't know what we will get and how we will be in the game.

Then let's talk about Flippy Bird. This game looks so simple and can take only one week to finish. But why the game is so addictive that many players cannot stop playing it? Firstly, it needs only one push to enter the game and restart the game. No cut-scenes, no dialog, just one push and game starts. Secondly, the game is so difficult that we have to be very concentrated or we will die instantly; What's more, the game has instant reward such as sound effects and online highscore board. Players can play a round of game in just 10 seconds and start over again and again. Every time I play, I can feel the rewards or happiness in some extent. After 20 minutes, although I think this game is too simple and not worthwhile to put efforts into it, I cannot stop playing it. I keep playing for 2 hours and remove it from my iPad. This game seems so stupid but it succeed to be addictive.

So let's generalize the reasons why a game is addictive:

1. Short. It doesn't mean the game should be short, but the time between the action and the feedback should be short. The addictive games give players rewards or feedback instantly.

2. Challenging. When something is very difficult, players tend to keep thinking about it.

3. Rewarding. The reward can be anything which makes players happy. The more straightforward, the better.

4. Randomness. If players cannot predict the result, they will keep thinking about it.

I hope to put these elements into my dice game and make it more addictive...