A problem with casual games

Design: Me and MS Paint, Background Image Credit: ausdroid.net

There seems to be a certain style of casual game on the rise and I don't like it. Games like The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Clash of the Clans and Tiny Death Star and no doubt many others all share a similar formula: a free download, a game that 'plays in the background' while the app isn't open, tasks that take an inordinate amount of real time to complete, and in-app purchases of some form of credit that allows you to hurry these tasks along. The game tends to introduce you to this mechanic rather deviously in the opening tutorials, and essentially leans on your impatience being greater than your control over your pursestrings.

The other slightly wicked psychological trick they exploit is the sunk cost fallacy. The sunk cost fallacy can be simply explained as "I can't stop now otherwise I'll waste all of the time and money I've invested". This type of thinking can be useful, for instance to guilt yourself into hitting the gym after buying expensive gym gear, but most of the time it's detrimental logic. Games like those mentioned above do this by getting you immersed in the game quickly; your first few tasks are simple and they often 'help you out' by giving you free credits (be them Donuts, Imperial Bux or some other in-game currency) to hurry tasks - indeed, hurrying tasks is encouraged. Once you are on your own, you have already invested some time in playing. This is where the free credits you've been using stop being given to you and, if you have more dollars than sense, it becomes easy to justify a few bucks for a more enjoyable experience. The problem is that this cycle can quickly become ingrained behaviour.

While I appreciate that game companies are profit-driven and are seeking new business models to generate revenue, does this particular model have to be one of them? Arguably it sacrifices what could be a good, engaging game (a Simpsons-flavoured Sim City, a Simp-City if you will (I'm so sorry), or a Star Wars-themed Sim Tower) for the unapologetic and obvious grab for your wallet. Admittedly in this day and age where people demand almost everything digital for free (I don't pretend to exclude myself) there is a cost of losing customers by charging a price for a game, but there is also something unpalatable about thinking that people playing your games are just that, consumers to be captured in the market rather than building a community of players.

What do you think? Are in-app purchases the new frontier of casual gaming, or just a blatant cash grab? Let me know in the comments.