4 ms·

Does anyone have a theory on what makes this game so successful? I went through a phase where I was addicted to it myself - and yet it's so mind-numbingly simpl

Does anyone have a theory on what makes this game so successful? I went through a phase where I was addicted to it myself - and yet it's so mind-numbingly simple!

wmf 17y ago
The random procedural map must be a factor; it's like gambling.
- BigZaphod 17y ago
  That makes me think of the purpose of dice in many boardgames. In particular, Settlers of Catan - which is a great blend of skill and chance.
jazzychad 17y ago
Dead-simple gameplay, retro 8-bit style graphics, nice grey-scale visuals, awesome music. There are no instructions (on the iPhone version), so the discovery of how to play is also fun (helps that this phase doesn't last long, only one thing to figure out).
matthew-wegner 17y ago
I've been viewing games through the prism of how many "almosts" they have lately. Canabalt is fun because you almost fall off dozens of times before you actually do (and when it happens you usually almost made it). Because you think your death was avoidable, and only barely occurred, you immediately want to try again. Something almost happening is surprisingly compelling. Slot machines are a very pure implementation of this idea; if they just showed you all three symbols immediately you would never have that sense of something almost happening...
- BigZaphod 17y ago
  I find this comment remarkably insightful. It's such a simple concept and yet that idea never occurred to me - but yet it just feels right! The slot machine example is dead on. Awesome.
  - matthew-wegner 17y ago
    Thanks! It first occurred to me when we were trying to figure out why our most popular game, Off-Road Velociraptor Safari, was our most popular game. I realized that it's essentially an "almost" generator; the game is always teasing you with cool possibilities (you'll jump your vehicle off a cliff and almost hit a raptor, and then later realize you can actually do this and the game will reward you for it). "Almost" is a pretty common trait in fun/addictive designs if you start looking for it...
pronoiac 17y ago
I love the detail & variety of the backgrounds, & touches like the flying birds.
teamonkey 17y ago
You're continually testing your skills with steadily-increasing difficulty. You have an inherent yet self-imposed objective (to beat your own score or someone else's). It requires high concentration but allows you to run on autopilot. It's textbook Flow Theory. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) Also Raph Koster's book A Theory of Fun

Does anyone have a theory on what makes this game so successful? I went through a phase where I was addicted to it myself - and yet it's so mind-numbingly simple!

wmf 17y ago

The random procedural map must be a factor; it's like gambling.

BigZaphod 17y ago
That makes me think of the purpose of dice in many boardgames. In particular, Settlers of Catan - which is a great blend of skill and chance.

jazzychad 17y ago

Dead-simple gameplay, retro 8-bit style graphics, nice grey-scale visuals, awesome music. There are no instructions (on the iPhone version), so the discovery of how to play is also fun (helps that this phase doesn't last long, only one thing to figure out).

matthew-wegner 17y ago

I've been viewing games through the prism of how many "almosts" they have lately. Canabalt is fun because you almost fall off dozens of times before you actually do (and when it happens you usually almost made it). Because you think your death was avoidable, and only barely occurred, you immediately want to try again. Something almost happening is surprisingly compelling. Slot machines are a very pure implementation of this idea; if they just showed you all three symbols immediately you would never have that sense of something almost happening...

BigZaphod 17y ago
I find this comment remarkably insightful. It's such a simple concept and yet that idea never occurred to me - but yet it just feels right! The slot machine example is dead on. Awesome.
- matthew-wegner 17y ago
  Thanks! It first occurred to me when we were trying to figure out why our most popular game, Off-Road Velociraptor Safari, was our most popular game. I realized that it's essentially an "almost" generator; the game is always teasing you with cool possibilities (you'll jump your vehicle off a cliff and almost hit a raptor, and then later realize you can actually do this and the game will reward you for it). "Almost" is a pretty common trait in fun/addictive designs if you start looking for it...

pronoiac 17y ago

I love the detail & variety of the backgrounds, & touches like the flying birds.

teamonkey 17y ago

You're continually testing your skills with steadily-increasing difficulty. You have an inherent yet self-imposed objective (to beat your own score or someone else's). It requires high concentration but allows you to run on autopilot. It's textbook Flow Theory. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) Also Raph Koster's book A Theory of Fun