Attracting Casual Gamers to "Stealth" Genre

Stealth and casual might seem like a discordant duo, but it is not. If you can adapt your game to a level that can attract casual players, you can use a complex genre like "Stealth" in your game.

The Stealth genre is mostly preferred by hardcore players due to the complexity of the mechanics and required amount of time. If someone new wants to investigate this genre, they have to spend a significant effort and time on the game even though they don't know whether they like it or not.

Therefore, we, as designers, will need to find a workaround to eliminate that barrier. Thus, we can increase the rate of user acquisition in our game.

It is possible to achieve this result by:

• Shorter and more simple gameplay loops.

• Simple Level Design

• Casual-friendly UX Design

Shorter Gameplay Loops

Keeping the experience simple is essential for casual players. If the player needs a significant time to understand the mechanics, it will cause frustration for your target audience. It is possible to inspire from the Casual and Hypercasual genres in terms of simplification. Fewer mechanics, fewer loops will help you to keep it simple.

However, having fewer mechanics doesn't mean it will be enough. The core loop must be simple and understandable. Don't forget that your target audience didn't spend hundreds of hours on the

Simple Level Design

Level Design is one of the key elements in the game. The whole experience is generated by the application of the mechanics through the level. As a designer, you should stick to these bullet points to make the experience.

• A simple layout

• Giving lots of "Window of Opportunities" to the player.

• Putting more obvious navigation clues.

However, something should be considered, and that is the Flow. Oversimplifying the level might create boredom which can cause a decrease in user engagement. Therefore, the level should bring some challenges gradually to keep the flow in a good state.

Casual-Friendly UX Design

Since our target audience is casual users, the experience should also be simplified along with the mechanics and level. Here are more considerations for the experience:

• Is the goal clear to understand?

• Are the controls easy and feels good?

• Are the indicators in the game clear enough?

• Can the player remember the mechanics after returning the game?

All these rules and considerations should be thought of by taking the human brain into account. To learn more about the human brain and make the experience memorable, check Celia Hodent's "The Gamer's Brain: How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design" book.