The evolution and diversification of smartphone games is in line with the changing lifestyles of modern people, which has led to a shift from short, immersive games to games that require less time and are more fulfilling.
As smartphones have evolved at an alarming rate in recent years, smartphone games have also become increasingly diverse and feature-rich. These advancements aren’t just hardware, but software as well. New technologies are improving the graphics, sound, artificial intelligence, and other aspects of games, giving users a more immersive experience. For example, high-resolution screens and high-quality sound systems are making games more realistic, and advances in artificial intelligence are making games more challenging and fun.
If you go to a smartphone application that allows you to download games, you can see the top grossing or most popular games, and interestingly, the types of games that people prefer to play change relatively regularly, though not regularly. This is because game developers are constantly incorporating new ideas and technologies to create different genres of games. Among them, role-playing games (RPGs) have been consistently ranked at the top of the game rankings even before the development of mobile games. A few years ago, simple puzzle games such as Candy Crush Saga and Anipang were popular. These puzzle games were loved by many people for their simple controls and short play time. However, as evidenced by games like Clash of Clans, which is one of the top-grossing games of all time, the trend is toward games that don’t require you to move your fingers as much, but rather just sit still and watch the screen and tap a few times. When a game is “trending,” it means that a lot of people are having fun with it. But what’s so fun about a game that requires you to stare at a screen?
Let’s take a look at two types of games. Puzzle games, like the once-popular Candy Crush Saga or Anipang, require you to focus on the game for the duration of a game and create a sense of urgency and competition to beat other users. These games have simple rules and intuitive controls that make them accessible to everyone. On the other hand, games like Clash of Clans, which are very popular these days, require you to create your own village to win the game. To build the buildings of your village, you only need to click on a single building to start constructing it, and it will be completed after a certain amount of time. The big difference between these two types of games is time. Games like Anipang make you feel like you’re racing against time, you can’t reply to messages while you’re playing, and if you get a phone call, you’re interrupted and have to start over. However, games like Clash of Clans allow you to click to build one of your buildings, and during the time required for it to be built, you can check messages or do other tasks while the game continues.
Not only does the way the game is played vary greatly, but also the purpose of the game and the motivation of the player. Puzzle games are mainly aimed at scoring as many points as possible in a short amount of time, and this sense of tension and accomplishment is the main fun factor of the game. Strategy games like Clash of Clans, on the other hand, are all about setting long-term goals and creating a plan to achieve them. These games give players a sense of accomplishment as they constantly think of new strategies, put them into action, and see the results.
Games like Candy Crush Saga and Anipang, which were popular a few years ago, encourage competition with other users. By publishing leaderboards for each stage of the game, you’ll find yourself immersed in the game in hopes of getting a higher score than others. This type of game was probably popular because of the competitive nature of seeing how much progress you can make in a short amount of time. However, in recent years, the purpose of gaming has shifted from simply beating other users to emphasizing personal fulfillment, such as developing and decorating your own town.
If you look at people using smartphones on the subway these days, they often look at something on their phones, but not for long. For example, they’re on Facebook, then switch to the news, then reply to a message that just arrived, then play a game, then return to Facebook and repeat the behavior. In this way, modern people don’t focus on any one thing. When you play a game like Clash of Clans, you don’t feel like you’re losing time because the game progresses with only occasional glances, and you can easily feel the sense of accomplishment that is the purpose and joy of the game as your village becomes more complete over time without much effort.
In other words, games like Anipang, which were popular in the past, are the type of games that require you to immerse yourself in the game and compete within a given time limit, so they were popular at the time when people found the competition fun. However, nowadays, people are looking for games that they can play at the same time as their work, rather than competing, which is why games like Clash of Clans are so popular.
Modern society is such that if you don’t have capital or connections, you have to put in a lot of effort to get what you want. As a result, modern people are busy trying to get what they want and are always looking for a sense of accomplishment. In this situation, time-demanding games are a great activity to play if you know that you’ll get something for your time, and you won’t feel like you’re “stealing” time away from other things. Even though it’s virtual reality, it’s still fun and gives you the sense of accomplishment you’ve been craving, so why not play a game that requires you to spend time sitting still, watching the screen, and making a few taps?
In addition, another important element of smartphone gaming is social interaction. Many modern people have less direct social interaction in their busy lives. In this situation, smartphone games offer the experience of connecting with others through virtual space, collaborating or competing. For example, in Clash of Clans, you can play with users from all over the world through the clan system, which gives you a sense of belonging and collaboration. These social elements add to the fun of the game and are an important factor in keeping players engaged for longer periods of time.
In conclusion, the evolution of smartphone gaming and its changing trends are not only related to technological advancements, but also to the changing lifestyle of modern people. Games have become more than just entertainment, they have become an important tool for relieving daily stress, providing a sense of accomplishment, and social interaction. In the future, smartphone games will continue to evolve into more diverse and complex forms as technology advances, and people’s gaming preferences and trends will continue to change.
