“hyper-casual” is a term that “hyper-casual games” was introduced just a few years ago. As per Google Trends the term first came up as a Google keyword in February 2017 and the peak of its popularity was in August of 2018.
What caused this spurt of interest? We believe that the phenomenal performance that Voodoo’s Helix Jump played a significant part in this. Helix Jump was eventually the game with the highest number of downloads in the year, with 334 million downloadings surpassing Fortnite along with PUBG. It’s not a coincidence it is true that the popularity of this game was preceded by the appearance of a new term in the language of game developers according to the study by Sensor Tower. Alongside Helix Jump, other hyper-casual games like Love Balls, Rise Up, Snake vs Block, and Hole.io have topped the list of games.
“hyper-casual,” or “hyper-casual” first appeared in 2017 in a collection of essays written by Johannes Heinze titled The Ascendance of Hyper-casual. In the article, 360dev team describes the key features of games that are hyper-casual:
- Access to content immediately. Without plot inserts or preloading, level selection or an extensive tutorial, players immediately are at the center in the action. Because of the easy game, players can be able to comprehend the game’s action in a matter of a few minutes. Additionally, the game’s short loop lets you play at any time, anywhere.
- The gameplay is minimalist in design. The gameplay is usually as simple as you can get. The other game’s elements are as well with regard to the visual element control, audio, and controls and controls. Nothing should stop the player from completely focusing on the game. In addition, the hyper-casual game is so easy that one person could create and build these games.
- Simple monetization model. The games don’t require players to purchase the content. Instead, users “pay” with their time. Over 70 percent of the games’ revenue comes from advertisements: banners, video advertisements, and ad-hoc advertisements.
Hyper casual games are a popular alternative name, which was first mentioned prior to it was the “new trend” – super-casual. The earliest references we discover led into being the 2014 App Annie Index The 2014 Review. App Annie is probably the first company to utilize this term. Then it was translated in a very simple way: games that require one tap that have a brief game. First game to “tried on” this term was Flappy Bird with more than 50 million installed and a sixth place in Google searches.
In 2018, large businesses like 360 dev team finally saw “small games” and started spending huge sums of money on these games:
- Zynga acquires Gram Games (creators of the Merge! Franchise) in the amount of $225 million.
- Goldman Sachs invests $200 million in Voodoo to establish a publishing company.
- Peak Games (creators of Toon Blast) are selling their casual games to Zynga for $100 million.
- Zynga buys the sole proprietorship of a start-up studio Harpan LLC for $ 42.5 million.
Based on App Annie’s latest report Hypercasual games contributed to one-third of the mobile games’ downloads in the first half of 2021. The figure was 6.8 billion downloads. This is nearly 2x more than two years earlier and more than 5x over 3 years before. The top players in the first half of 2021 include:
- by the downloads number through the action (hyper-casual) by the number of downloads – game Join Clash 3D,
- through consumer spending – by the creative sandbox (simulation) of the gaming ROBLOX,
- with active players by active players – by active players – Battle Royale.
Why Hyper-Casual Games are Popular?
Games that are hyper-casual are made for a broad range of players, and are based on simple rules and are not demanding any particular skills of the player. Contrary to casual games, players in hyper casuals are spending considerably less time during playing.
The main reason behind the popularity of games that are hyper-casual is the simple design of the game that differentiates them from other types of. Hyper-casual games are mainly puzzle games, and therefore don’t necessarily require a story. But, the sport “Love Balls” has its own story, and declares: “Help two balls in love to reunite.” A lot of games that are hyper-casual may appear unfinished and without much thinking, but in actual they’re created with great care and thought. Let’s explore some kinds of game mechanics for hyper-casual that are so addicting.
Hyper-Casual Game Mechanics
- Aim Puzzle. The player decides on the character of the object’s motion. The object is then moved by itself. (Sand Balls, Rope Rescue, Crazy Kick, Mr Bullet, Dig It).
- Tap Runner. The game object is moved by itself. When you tap on the display, the user alters its motion. (Subway Surfers, Square Bird, Perfect Slices, Jelly Shift)
- Swipe Puzzle. A player can move an object, or engage with an object to solve a problem. (Collect Cubes, I Peel Good, Polysphere, Neon Splash)
- Race. The participant sets objects in motion in order to eliminate obstacles and earn bonus points. (Fun Race 3D, Traffic Run)
- Swipe Evolution. The player puts an object that is in motion. The object moves as it moves. object’s properties change. (Dinosaur Rampage, Train Taxi)
- Puzzle. The player must complete actions in a precise sequence to achieve the goal. (Wordscapes, Sandwich!)
These simple principles keep users entertained even though they are so simple to master.
