What Is The Psychology Behind Idle Games?

The genre of clickers has been at the top among others for several years, and their creators have been increasing their income drastically. What kind of genre is this, why do players like it, and what secrets does it keep? Let us find out the psychological principles that were used in their development.

What genre is this?

People call these games clickers, but the genre as such is called idle. One of the most famous representatives of this genre was released in 2013 and immediately gained popularity among many people. It was Cookie Clicker.

Its main idea is more than simple. The gamer has to click on the screen to earn some currency and then spent it for different game purposes. It does not sound awesome, but why then has this game gained such popularity?

Why are the clickers so attractive?

For those who do not play the game may seem ridiculous. However, as soon as one launches it he completely forgets about time and allows to be immersed in this world.

First impression

First of all, these games create a fascinating first impression. In the beginning, the gamer gets many resources, more than he needs. That is why he is quickly leveling up and increasing the capital.

Bright feedback

After each action, the player receives generous feedback with colorful animation. If the gamer has improved something, the reaction will be thunderous.

You are superb

The encouragement always follows the player and he can be rewarded for being in the game every day as well as for skipping a week and coming back.

No matter what you are doing, you are always successful and that is exactly the thing that many people want to feel.

Perfect gaming

This game perfectly fits into the daily life of many people who have a couple of minutes throughout the day and want to spend them without too much thinking.

Some issues of the genre

However, over time, you will get tired of clicking, but then auto farm will come to the rescue and the game will play itself! Is this not happiness? After a certain level of accumulation, improvements are opened for you that automatically extract currency, and then your role is reduced only to the distribution of your untold wealth.

In many games, this would lead to destruction, but not in clickers thanks to the exponential price growth curve for improvements. The player can leave the game for long without attention, and savings will grow, but this will not cause any damage to the economy, because prices grow, even more, thereby arranging a good savings challenge for you.

Yes, when you reach huge values, then you need a week or more to save up for the desired improvement, this forces you to drop the game.

It seems that nothing can be done about it, but prestige came to the rescue. When you gain prestige, you are reborn, and all your progress is reset to zero, but in return, you get more compensation and a bonus, the higher your prestige level, the greater this bonus will be.