"Yangelegeyang" is a recently popular WeChat mini-game (what a clickbait title...). If you haven't heard of this game yet, I suggest you give it a try and experience the "charm" of this game...
This article is a reflection after playing many rounds (really, a lot) of this game. I won't use clickbait titles or a sensationalist tone, I'll just give you the reason why this game can become popular right at the beginning -
Low threshold, psychological gameplay, harvesting players, torturing you.
When you suddenly realize what "joining the sheep group" means, you've already invested time, contributed traffic, and gained fluctuating dopamine and restlessness.
Before going into detail, I want to say one thing: this is not a good game!
What kind of game is it?#
Simply put, it is a match-three puzzle game similar to Mahjong stacking. The gameplay is as follows:
- Pick up a top block and place it in a slot.
- When there are three blocks with the same pattern in a slot, they will be eliminated.
- There are a total of seven slots.
- There are three game props, each can only be used once per round, and before using them, you need to watch a 30-second advertisement. The props are:
- Remove: Take out the three blocks in the slot to the vacant area on the field.
- Undo: Undo one step.
- Shuffle: Randomly shuffle the blocks on the field.
That's it. And for this type of gameplay, you may feel familiar with it, or even feel that it's exactly the same as the game "3 Tiles" (see the image below).
Putting aside the issue of plagiarism. After it was launched, it was able to ferment on various social media platforms in China (as of September 14, 2022).
How did I discover it?#
I first saw someone spamming it in a WeChat group. Before clicking on it, I searched on Weibo and found that it was being highly discussed; it was also on the hot list of Zhihu.
And the core of the discussion was the word "criticism".
"Completion rate less than 0.1%?"
"So many people are criticizing while playing?"
So, I became curious. I fell into this trap, clicked on it, and played for a while...
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(Image: Revive in the game requires watching an advertisement.)
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(A few moments later...)
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Game Flow#
Hello, I'm back...
Let me briefly explain the flow of this game.
- Start the game, one level per day (actually, two levels per day), can be replayed.
- The first level is extremely simple. It's the kind that you can pass without thinking, like using your feet. You will feel that your intelligence has been insulted.
- The second level is extremely difficult, what kind of concept is it -
(Image source: How do you think about the difficulty of the second level of the game "Yangelegeyang"? - Answer by Bi Dao on Zhihu)
In general, the difficulty comparison is -
So, you will fail repeatedly in the second level, and then start over from the first level... During the process of failing in the second level, you will repeatedly want to obtain props for "seemingly just a little bit more" by watching many advertisements and sharing in various group chats.
During this time, you will feel annoyed, regretful, rise again, and be defeated again. But what remains unchanged is the passion and innocence, believing that you will pass the "second level" of this seemingly crude game.
As time goes by, you are already "in the sheep group".
What's wrong?#
Or should I say, "What's right?"
This game is obviously broken in terms of gameplay and user experience, but it stimulates people to keep playing and generates discussions.
Why?
Let me analyze it boldly.
1. Marketing: Low-threshold gameplay + high-difficulty promotional approach#
"The completion rate is less than 0.1%" and the criticisms on various social media platforms are what attracted me. I went in to play with curiosity and a critical attitude, but I ended up failing miserably.
My mindset at that time was, "Why do they say it's so difficult to pass when it's such a simple game? I want to see what's going on."
This reminded me of the video ads for some trashy mobile games: they would show very simple gameplay and demonstration, but the last step would always make a clumsy move that leads to level failure, and then they would entice you to say, "Why don't you give it a try?" Viewers with low mental resilience couldn't help but shout, "If it's so simple and I can't pass, I definitely can," and then click to download, falling into the trap.
(Image: Video ad for a game, the demonstration character made a wrong move.)
2. Simple elements: Only two levels, called "routine" and "motivation"#
The game elements are simple. This allows players' enthusiasm and discussions to focus on conquering the second level.
Imagine if this game was like a typical match-three game (like "Happy Elimination"), with many levels and gradually increasing difficulty, would it generate such high levels of discussion and popularity? Probably not, it would be an ordinary game (of course, I'm not saying this game is extraordinary either).
2.1 Routine: There must be an easy first level#
Can the game elements be even simpler? For example, skipping the first level and directly starting with the second level? I don't think so. There needs to be a super easy first level that makes players feel:
- This game can be completed.
- The first impression is very simple, even silly.
- Between repeated retries, there is some buffer and hope.
Does this routine seem familiar? I gradually remembered the originator of this routine - Pinduoduo.
Pinduoduo is most famous for its "Slash the Price" activity. When users participate, they are first told that they can withdraw when they accumulate 100 yuan, and then they are asked to play a lottery wheel, which directly slashes more than 80 yuan from the 100 yuan. Wow, such good luck! Next, they need to invite friends to help, and each friend will slash a few yuan. Wow, success is within reach! But then, each invited friend can only slash a few cents; when it reaches 99 yuan, this amount becomes a few cents.
(Image: Pinduoduo's "Slash the Price" activity page.)
Putting aside what Pinduoduo will do when it really reaches 100 yuan, let's consider the success factors of this routine, which are similar to this game. They both have a low threshold and high difficulty.
If Pinduoduo made the amount slashed by inviting friends gradually increase, would so many people still be willing to participate? I guess not.
2.2 Motivation: There must be a difficult second level#
High difficulty brings challenge and sharing desire. The more your friends' circle is filled with complaints about not being able to pass, the more it motivates you to challenge the second level and share your victory with your friends.
If the challenge is easily overcome and various strategies circulate online, the motivation effect would be poor, and not many people would be willing to continue playing.
However, how does it maintain the balance of "high difficulty that makes it impossible to pass but still allows some people to pass"? After searching, I found that many people have invested a lot of time and discovered that the level generation may be completely random, which means it does not guarantee a solution.
(Image source: How to pass the second level of "Yangelegeyang"? - Answer by a Zhihu user)
Is this a flaw in the game? On the contrary, it may be intentionally designed this way. It copied the scam model of Pinduoduo - most of the 100 yuan slashing attempts fail (the method is to delay the process by inviting friends one after another, see "What is the experience of bargaining on Pinduoduo with 60,000 people? Super Xiao Jie bargains on Pinduoduo, but no one succeeded online" - Bilibili). But there is still a certain probability for a small number of people to succeed and share their achievements, giving the public hope and confidence.
The game's homepage displays a leaderboard of completions and constantly reminds you during level transitions how many people in your region have completed it, telling you - you are not alone, and we didn't deceive you.
This is a scam. But it succeeded.
3. Other less important elements: Regional pride? Gameplay coherence?#
I have also seen some other analyses, such as the sense of belonging and competition brought by regional groups; or the continuous stimulation from block elimination.
Maybe. But compared to the aforementioned harvesting players gameplay, they are not important.
Insights for me#
If there is any meaning in life that it can bring me, it is to further understand that "some things cannot be achieved through effort alone" (mistakenly).
Let's review its elements again -
- Low threshold makes you feel capable.
- High difficulty brings a certain desire for challenge.
- Successful people around you give you hope.
- After falling into the abyss, it tortures you but you remain unyielding.
Upon careful consideration, the gameplay of the stock market, cryptocurrency market, and gambling is probably similar - everyone can get started, taste a small profit, fall into difficulty, and there are successful people around to give you hope while you struggle in the abyss.
Product deduction: The achievement system of Crossbell.io#
Crossbell.io is a social data on-chain platform that my team has been working on recently. We are currently developing an achievement system for it to increase user belonging and stickiness.
Our achievement system is like this: users receive a regular badge for posting 1 article, a bronze badge for 10 articles, a silver badge for 100 articles, and a gold badge for 1000 articles.
After playing this game, I realize that we are still stuck in a rut, being honest and straightforward.
So, how should I design an achievement system for a social platform now to make it more appealing to users? I think it might be like this -
As soon as a user registers, tell them: 10 limited edition gold badges are given out every week across the platform. Before the user even posts anything, let them spin a wheel to unlock 88% progress, ranking first in the platform's luck! The remaining 12% requires the user's own efforts! For example, each post can allow the user to spin the wheel again to unlock the progress bar. Although the points will become less and less, each time it makes the user feel within reach, about to achieve it. At the same time, don't forget to remind the user of the number of people in their region who have completed it, constantly hanging banners to tell them how many people are striving and how many people have succeeded.
In addition, every time a user posts, there is a certain probability of triggering a limited-time branch task, completing which will directly unlock x% of the main task. The branch task can be something else, such as giving likes to N posts, following N people, browsing for N seconds, being online for N minutes, etc., further increasing daily activity.
When (a small number of) users really unlock the badge, of course, a super cool animation must be played, displaying the exclusive badge with their name and avatar shining on the screen. Let the user feel full of pride, eager to broadcast their glory loudly on external social media. Inside the platform, it is also necessary to showcase their achievements, motivating other players to strive forward.
The Plagiarized "3 Tiles"#
Speaking of the game "3 Tiles" that was copied one-to-one, I downloaded and played it for a while yesterday. Although there are also advertisements, the graphics are smooth and delicate, the levels are progressive, and the experience is extremely comfortable. If you have really suffered and still addicted, you might as well try playing it. But I guess it won't make you play longer than "Yangelegeyang".
I wish you -