by King Hazard
Gamers, especially of the casual variety, are looking for a little more oomph when it comes to their favorite gaming experiences. Once, mobile titles were slanted towards the easy end of the spectrum, with simplistic offerings like Snake taking center stage. These days, challenges both grip and addict players each and every day with popular apps like Candy Crush or Angry Birds offering high-score-chasing gameplay, ways to view and counter the scores of friends, and huge amounts of levels with ever-increasing difficulties.
It’s not only mobile titles that are seeing an increased focus on skill-based gameplay, either, with online casino and slots titles also embracing the opportunity to test and reward players through in-game challenges. While the most casual of gamers may find the prospect of a skill-based game somewhat daunting, due to their potentially steep learning curves, developers are often willing to help players out along the way.
For instance, iGaming operator bgo’s guide on how to play online slots provides instructions in the form of a tutorial-like infographic, teaching players the difference between classic, bonus and progressive slots – but ultimately leaving them to pick up the mechanics as they play. The same can be said for the likes of the aforementioned Angry Birds or Square Enix’s mobile offerings, Hitman Go and Lara Croft Go. Each series contains levels that become increasingly difficult, with further instructions as you progress.
Hitman Go in particular, with its minimalist feel, leaves the player on its own for the majority of the time, but by the final few levels, you have been equipped with all of the knowledge needed to succeed and complete the game. This learning curve, and its isolationist perspective on difficulty, have not put off players, however, as the game has been downloaded 50,000 times in the US Android store alone, and has received some stellar review scores from the likes of Polygon, Pocket Gamer and Joystiq.
These mobile titles epitomize the recent success of app store developers, as they present challenges that are both addicting because of their short-burst nature, as well as satisfyingly difficult; overcoming a complicated puzzle in Cut the Rope or Where’s My Water is as fist-pumpingly brilliant as experiences come.
Slot games, then, are an ideal genre with regards to satisfying this skill-based need, due to their shortened run times, and the satisfaction of seeing those reels and colorful icons slot into place. Their variety is also well-noted, with Magical Vegas containing the thematic concerns of the American city itself, bgo offering the brutality and horror of the Aliens franchise, and Double Down Casino’s presentation of high-quality slots all across the board.
Therefore, it can be concluded that both mobile and browser-based online games are the perfect outlets to express this desire for skill. Casual fans can get into them though their bright colors and enticing designs, but their addicting, satisfying learning curves and challenges help them to stick around in the long run.
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