Hyper-Casuals
a hyper-casual game is an ultra-simple game that offers an addictive gameplay loop, combined with minimalist art, and usually playable with nothing but a screen tap. It often presents straightforward goals – get the highest score (Stack), clear levels (Phases), and more
Key players
Ketchapp
Voodoo
Appsolute Games
Popular Games
Ball Blast
Stack
Key Requirements
User Acquisition
A short 30-sec video ad, showing nothing but the best features of the game
The video showed how easy it was to play the game and beat it
In short, it looked fun. I wanted to start playing it immediately,
Which was made possible thanks to the low download size, a crucial thing for hyper-casuals.
Hyper-casuals rely majorly on User Acquisition campaigns on social media
The idea is to quickly educate potential players about this game that’s super fun and allow them to start playing instantly
Since they’re browsing on their phone, chances are that they are on mobile data
low download size.
Onboarding
Roughly, it takes about 7 seconds for a player to decide if the game’s fun and worth the storage space on his phone. Such a short window means, no lengthy tutorials or UI transitions!
The moment you fire up the game, you’re presented with the game screen which says “swipe to shoot”, and that’s the only gameplay ‘tutorial’ you ever receive. You touch the screen, and the canon starts shooting bullets.
allowing the player to start the game by tapping anywhere
Because these games boast a simple single mechanic, it’s reasonably easy to teach it without using complex tutorials. The player learns by failing and overcoming the challenge. The gameplay is “Youtubeable”, meaning, it’s easy to learn by just watching.
Core Loop
You take the phone out
unlock it
tap on the game’s icon,
and within 2 seconds you are in! Isn’t that great?
That’s what the brain wants when it’s dead-bored and wants a potion that can revive it instantly. I start the game, play a session, fail a couple of times, beat my high score, and collect my rewards. That’s what makes up the short feedback loop in the core gameplay. The actions contributing to success or failure are communicated instantly. Combine this with upgrades (discussed later in the blog) and you have a strong positive feedback loop that’s rewarding and highly engaging while being short.
EDIT: In the short feedback loop illustrated below, you’d realise that the player also improves by failing
If you’ve managed to create a game with a fun gameplay hook and the players love it, know that’s probably the only thing they care about in your game. Ball Blast puts me right into the action as soon as I start the game because it understands my needs — instant fun. No UI transitions, cutscenes, or texts.
Even if I play the game after a week, I know how to interact with the game, thanks to the ultra-simple mechanic, and no prior commitments. Getting in and out of a game session is another crucial aspect that helps towards the success of these games.
While at work, I often take breaks in the form of short game sessions on my phone and I rely on hyper-casuals for the same, because I know I don’t have the time or the environment to play anything “complex“. Hyper-casuals give me my dose of fun when I want it and where I want it.