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Quick Guide To Hyper-Casual Games: Definition, Types, Mechanics and Monetization

This year pandemic has fueled the popularity of mobile games. During the lockdown, the market saw a mind-blowing quantity of downloads hitting all records with 103% global growth. Moreover, people are predicted to spend US$77.2B on games in 2020.

Nikita Seleznev, Blogger

November 9, 2020

3 Min Read
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This year pandemic has fueled the popularity of mobile games, especially of hyper casual ones. During the lockdown, the market saw a mind-blowing quantity of downloads hitting all records with 103% global growth. Moreover, people are predicted to spend US$77.2B on games in 2020.

The reason why hyper casual games are so engaging is a joyful in-app atmosphere, comfortable gaming experience, and infinite replayability.

Definition 

Hyper casual games are games developed with a straightforward and minimalistic UI and UX design, usually on a F2P (free to play) basis. They are easy to start even for novices without the need to learn long-read tutorials and so on. Hyper casual games offer a high level of replayability, meaning that gamers can play them repeatedly. 

Casual games differ from others by addictive gameplay, allowing them to reach out to a vast and diverse audience. The modern market is overwhelmed with casual games, as publishers do not require costly work resources for creating such video games. Instead, with minimal investments, gaming companies can generate incredible revenues. If you see a game in an ad, understand the play from the first seconds, it's a hyper casual one. 

The most popular types of hyper casual plays may include games with balls, coloring books, piano tile games,  io games, idle games, clicker game,  play to win prizes, and more. 

Mechanics 

In general, hyper casual games use one simple mechanic, but there is a vast array of them: 

  • Timing Mechanic – A player taps the screen timely and accurately to achieve the best result.

  • Puzzle Mechanic – Logic and ability to plan are the core values for games with this mechanic.

  • Object Fall & Rise Mechanic – A user should protect the object from different instant hurdles during falling or rising it up.

  • Stack Mechanic – It's like a timing mechanics, which needs timely and precise tapping. 

  • Growth Mechanic – Games with growth mechanic assume that a gamer controls the character's or object's movement and consumer items to get bigger.

Of course, in the fast-developing gaming industry, there is plenty of different mechanics emerging every minute. We have demonstrated the most popular ones. Another question that may interest you is how to monetize those simple but so appealing games.

Monetization

In monetization, advertising appears to be a commonplace and effective way to generate money in mobile games. There are several types of in-game monetization: 

Rewarded Videos – It’s a creative way to monetize games. Players are offered to watch a video ad and get a free prize for it, such as additional coins, superpowers, skins, hints, etc. It often appears between the in-app content, after passing a level, for example. Users like this format and usually take their chance to get something for free. 

Banners and Interstitial Ads – Banner ads remain one of the several non-intrusive mobile ad formats that can be easily added into the bottom or upper screen of the mobile game UI. Interstitial ads are interactive and cover the full screen of the smartphone. These ads appear between content and are implemented at natural transition points.

In-App Purchases – Users are often provided with extra in-game items for real money. They can purchase the desired skin or weapon directly in a game and boost their capabilities if needed. It isn’t necessary for the gamer to buy these items, only if they want.

Summary

This quick guide aims to help beginners to get to know the casual games better. If you want to start your own game development, it is vital to understand which games are popular, what resources a business needs to launch a game, and how to monetize the games properly. Nowadays, hyper casual games are an excellent chance to try yourself in game creation.

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