Monument Valley
Developed by design agency UsTwo, Monument Valley is a minimalistic puzzle game. While mobile gaming is designed to be addictive and endless, Monument Valley does not hook users. Here’s how:
Finite gameplay
In an era of infinite swipes and taps, the makers of Monument Valley decided to keep away from endless gaming. Instead of stretching the gameplay over a couple of hours, they deliver a finite experience. Players can choose to finish the entire game in about two hours – an experience like the length of a film.
According to the developers of Monument Valley, “In mobile gaming, the trend has been towards endless gaming. However, we felt more and more drawn to games that made much less lavish demands on our finite and precious time.”
No rewards
Game designers use various mechanisms and tactics to give their games more replayability. Research has found that certain features of gameplay may be associated with problematic behaviour that could pose a risk to players developing addiction-like experiences. For instance, Emily Reynolds suggests, “Games providing increasing rewards, such as earning points or finding rare items, had a significant association with addictive behaviour”.
Unlike other games, Monument Valley does not have a leaderboard and there are no gems, stars or coins to collect. It lacks game currency, pay-to-win strategies and there are no prompts to make in-app purchases. The entire gaming experience is simply focused on delivering novelty and delight to the user.
Source
UsTwo
Designing Mindfulness
Journal of Behavioral Addictions
The Guardian