Clever Ways Developers Manipulate Their Video Game Players

It’s also why some developers go that little bit further and even offer their game for free, meaning the upfront cost barrier is literally nothing, or at least that’s the impression it gives. These freemium games are usually stacked with microtransactions and paywalls: both words which are mud to players, but there’s no denying that intrigue and investment levels in these games are much higher than those that cost £60 to even play in the first place. While the majority are play and forget, there’s a reason why games like Candy Crush and Clash of Clans took the world by storm for a long old time without asking for a single penny up front.

But what about failure? What if your players simply can’t muster up the skill to breeze through your game? Surely defeat is a turn off to a game and you’ll see your base shrink? Well not if you’re clever about it. Instantaneous replay is a brilliant example of when a developer throws you back into the game before you’ve even had time to soak up the defeat.

It takes an already established idea - the countdown continue screen - and boils it down to it’s essence. While the countdown was designed to persuade players to pump in the quarters, this isn’t the case in this day and age, so an instant restart that puts you right back in the challenge means you keep investment high. Super Meat Boy and Trials HD are great examples of this.