What do a game and a candy bar have in common?
Hyper casual games are a unique phenomenon on the mobile gaming market. But what actually makes a good hyper casual game?
written by Oskar Speruda, Game Designer
Polish version here
What is a hyper casual game?
Simply put, it is a game built around the main mechanics. It means that there is no script, cutscenes or character development. As soon as you open the application, you go right into the core gameplay.
Hyper casuals are also characterized by a very low entry threshold — the game must clearly communicate the goal and the way to achieve it, and the player should be able to grasp the mechanics by watching a few seconds of gameplay, e.g. as presented in the product ad (more about that later).
Hypers should reach the broadest audience possible, even people who do not play on a daily basis — both young and old; women and men. The game should therefore be set in a fairly universal environment and encapsulate a lightweight topic. A setting appealing only to a portion of the audience, i.e. fantasy, sci-fi, horror or retro, should be avoided.
Due to the wide audience, the game should suit both players who prefer a slower pace of play (who are mainly older people) and those who like to play fast (especially younger players). It is good if the game can be interrupted for a while without using an active pause — the player will not be punished if they take their eyes off the screen for a while. One of the greatest hyper hits, Helix Jump is a good example of this approach.
In many hyper casual games there are no characters — the game is focused solely on activities such as peeling fruit or ironing clothes. However, when characters are introduced, simple models of one-colored stickmans are most often used, without any distinguishing features.
The main mechanics of the game must be based on simple controls, which does not require precision and tolerates some player’s shortcomings. Ideally, the user does not have to touch or hold the screen in a particular place, but rather at the right time (so-called timing). This is due to the fact that hypers are usually played in the “meantime”: while using public transport, on school breaks, at boring meetings etc. This does not mean, of course, that the creators are limited to mechanics based on timing. There are more and more productions that implement, for example, the simple control of a vehicle / character by slide, swipe or allowing the player to draw simple shapes.
The game should allow for one-handed control, hence nowadays all hyper casuals are produced in vertical orientation.
The hyper casual genre is very broad, but the most common feature is the approach to designing lightweight games focused around simple mechanics. Among the titles appearing on the market, there are popular categories such as:
- Arcade e.g. Hoop Stars, Helix Jump
- Runners e.g. Cube Surfer!, Rolly Legs
- Puzzle e.g. Tangle Master 3D, Press to Push
- Simulation/ASMR e.g. Woodturning 3D, Icing on Cake
- .io (fake multiplayer): paper.io 2, hole.io
However, there are still many titles on the market that are difficult to assign to any of the above categories (or only to one).
History
The roots of hyper casual games can be found in arcade games, popular especially in the 70s and 80s. The common features include simplicity of control and visual design, which was then mainly due to technical limitations.
The release of Flappy Bird (2013) is considered to be the beginning of the development of the hyper casual genre, which initiated a wave of games described as ketchapp (the term comes from the name of the company that dominated the market for these types of games at that time) i.e: Circle, Stack, Don’t Touch The Spikes. These games were aimed at a young audience, most often focusing on endless gameplay (no levels), in which the goal of the game was to beat the high score. These games were presented in 2D format and their motto was: Easy to play, hard to master. Despite very simple rules and controls, these games were quite a challenge, sometimes even leading to player’s frustration.
Hyper casuals in their current form began to appear in 2017. At that time, publishers found out that it is much easier to promote games that are highly rewarding , do not cause frustration and forgive mistakes made by players, and at the same time are easy to play and quickly provide exciting gameplay. This has resulted in dividing the game into levels and adapting the difficulty curve known from puzzle games. The games were thus adapted to an ever-expanding audience. In addition, it allowed for better monetization of the titles, introducing ads as natural breaks between levels. The technology has moved forward, the computing power of smartphones has increased, and thanks to that the creators could implement more and more bold ideas, using 3D graphics.
Phenomenon
Hyper casual games are the productions that have the highest ratio of potential profits to workload, as they can be made at relatively low cost and in a short time. The prototype, on the basis of which the quality of the concept can be assessed, can be implemented in a short time by even less experienced developers. You don’t have to throw everything on one card and spend several years of your life on one project to see if it will be successful. Business risk is small and potential profits are very high. The most popular hyper casual titles conquer popularity lists with hundreds of millions of downloads, and thanks to aggressive monetization with ads, they bring huge profits for publishers. It is enough that one of the ideas turns out to be a hit. This is not easy, however, because the competition on the market is very high and the biggest publishers test dozens of titles a week — the key to success are original ideas. The whole hyper casual game market is constantly evolving, new styles and mechanics are appearing.
Love at first sight
Everyday, hundreds of free mobile games are available in app stores such as App Store and Google Play. However, publication on the store alone will not guarantee many players and it becomes necessary to acquire users. Most often this is done via ads — usually short films, which then appear on Facebook, Instagram and other social media. The cost of acquiring one player will essentially depend on how many people click on the ad. In short, therefore, the success of a hyper casual game depends on its ability to advertise well.
It is important to see the concept not only from the perspective of the person playing, but also from the perspective of the person watching the advertisement. The goal is to attract the user’s attention and make the interested party click on the advertisement to test the game themselves.
Getting the users’ attention while they are browsing their social media news feed is quite a challenge. The first seconds of the video are decisive for success — if it does not interest the user, they will scroll further. Hyper commercials usually present fragments of the game without unnecessary elements or effects that are not present in the game. That’s why it is so important that the mechanics and goal are presented in a simple and understandable way. The player seeing the first seconds of the video must understand what the goal of the game is.
It is also important to choose the right colors to highlight the most important objects and characters in the game. The foreground should be clearly separated from the background. It is worth using the appropriate color coding to provide important information such as green = target, red = threat. Dark colors are not used, but bright, contrasting colors are. Models of objects should be as simple and legible as possible.
In all this simplification, it should be remembered that the picture presented should be satisfactory — this is the key to focus attention and deepen the player’s interest. Hyper casual creators often draw inspiration from satisfying videos circulating virally on the Internet.
Summary
You can see that a good hyper casual should be like a sweet candy bar:
- You can reach for it almost anytime and anywhere, no special preparation or dishes are needed;
- Each bite of it provides a lot of flavour and satisfaction;
- Its flavour is chosen so that it appeals to as wide a customer group as possible;
- you can eat several of them during the day :)
tl;dr
HYPER CASUAL:
- Built around the core mechanic.
- Low entry threshold: communicates the goal and how to achieve it in a clear way.
- It reaches the widest possible audience: lightweight theme; allows you to play both fast and slow.
- Based on simple controls: does not require precision; allows for one-handed control; phone in vertical orientation.
- It catches the eye: appropriate choice of colors; satisfying; understandable.
Timeline:
1970+: Hyper casuals can be traced back to arcade games.
2013+: Introduced by Flappy Bird and Ketchapps
- Target: young customer;
- Easy to play, hard to master;
- Endless mode (lack of levels);
- 2D.
2017+: In the form known today:
- wide audience: regardless of gender , non-gamers;
- adaptation of the difficulty curve known from puzzle games;
- Gameplay divided into levels;
- 3D.
