10 Clever Ways Developers Make You Addicted To Video Games

5. Making Their Game Painfully Simple To Play

Generally speaking, the longer you play a game without consciously realizing that you are playing said game, the more addictive it is. As an escapist form of entertainment, games often lose their hook the moment that the player is able to look outside of the digital world and step back into their own.

It's why we see so many recent mobile gaming hits feature such incredibly simple gameplay. A title like Candy Crush or Temple Run requires almost no real thought or strategy to play beyond some instinctive reactions. Because of this, you never really consider turning to them for sustained amusement, but they are integrated so easily into your daily life that you never need to consider starting or playing them - you simply already are.

How many times have you ever opened a new internet tab, only to instinctively redirect to Facebook before even thinking? It's that. When playing a game becomes as easy and thoughtless as breathing or walking, it's capable of achieving a new level of addictiveness.