Psychology Takeaways for Good Mobile Game Design

Finite vs Infinite Games

“There are at least two kinds of games.”

So begins the classic 1986 book on the philosophy of play by James P. Carse. James continues:

“One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing to play.”

Most of us can probably think of games that fall into both categories. The games we play the most are, of course, the infinite kind. Games like Minecraft, PUBG Mobile, Roblox, and Clash of Clans operate on such a basis: while the games have in-game missions and challenges, the overarching goal is broad and open-ended enough that there are many ways of going about moving towards victory.

The games that people just won’t stop playing are more similar to the infinite ones, where the goal is just to build upon our progress rather than meet a certain objective.

A Good Core Game Mechanic

Good games have a good game mechanic and are centered around this one mechanic. While the game might occasionally branch out into other mini-games within the game, there is a unique core game mechanic that’s easy to learn and hard to master.

A clear core mechanic centers the game experience for the players, which creates clarity and focus – things much needed for a positive game experience. 

Clear Constraints

While constraints and rules are inevitably part of the game, they need to be predictable, coherent, and clear. A sudden constraint that feels frustrating or even unfair will simply turn a player off from the game forever, while clear restraints lead to an engaging challenge.

And for the things that don’t go against the rules? It needs to be clear what is allowed, and it needs to be as seamless as possible. This seamlessness is often especially important for mobile gamers who quickly want to get into the gaming experience without any hassle.

This doesn’t just go for the game experience, but also for signing up or making payments for the game.  An analysis of credit card casinos emphasizes the importance of providing an overall simple experience with fast deposits and withdrawals in order to draw in players rather than repelling them.

Implementing Flow Triggers

In order to truly get into a game, players need to have a feel for how they’re doing. Through rewards and instant feedback, a player can gauge how well they’re doing and improve their performance – a key factor that will keep people playing.

Besides just feedback, there are 21 more flow triggers that psychologists have found help unlock the flow state in whatever activity. Since the flow state is the ideal state for gaming, intentionally implementing many of these triggers is good game design.

These triggers include autonomy (such as the freedom to choose the path forward), clear goals (in-game objectives), the right challenge-skills ratio (difficulty levels), and novelty (unexpected rewards and new game elements unlocked).

The Use of Inertia

The law of inertia says that things in motion stay in motion, and the principles also extend into psychology. By providing a seamless experience, mobile games can often entice players to keep playing for hours and hours.

A trick to increasing retention in mobile gaming is layering goals and missions. Even as you have to wait for one objective to come into fruition, you’re closing in on another one, ad infinitum.

Another important point that especially applies to mobile games is making it seamless for users to get back into the game after a short interruption that mobile players often experience throughout their gaming sessions.