If you have ever wondered why games with poor game mechanics can still entertain players, it is perhaps because many poorly designed games are at least easy to play – and if they provide rewards according to a reliable schedule, they will entertain. As long as they keep providing rewards. Good game mechanics can aid a game by eliminating rough edges and inconsistencies, and some players (those who fit the template of our H1 and H2 clusters in particular; those with access to the Rational temperament) are actively drawn to elegant game mechanics – but it is the delivery of rewards, and not the quality of the game mechanics, which maintains a player’s interest.
I’ve recently had an infatuation with Frontierville and have had an even larger infatuation with what makes such a boring, simplistic, and repetitive game so engorssing (and monetizable).I think the above quote neatly sums up a major reason why this, and other, Zynga games are so popular.
- Rewards on a reliable schedule
- Easy to play – especially the first user experience.
- Consistent game mechanics – even if simplistic.
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