Geometry Dash + Subway Surfers + Endless Runner and research
Geometry Dash
Gameplay Compared to the genre
Typical Endless Runners Genre Trends
Research
Endless Runner
Abstracts
David Cao - Game Design Patterns in Endless Mobile
Minigames
What is an Endless Runner?
Mobile Market Facts
"An Endless Runner is characterized as an action game, linear in design with no end, without pauses or breaks for rest and no stages or changing levels. It has one continuous level. The game difficulty starts slow and easy." - Jerry Momoda http://jerrymomoda.com/analysis-endless-runners/
Why are they popular?
"Endless Runners are easily accessible for the majority of players. They’re easy to learn, but hard to master. The games are “snackable”, meaning games on average last less than three to five minutes. Fans of the genre are faithful to the game play and will at least give new runner games a try." - Jerry Momoda http://jerrymomoda.com/analysis-endless-runners/
Where did Endless Runners first start from?
Canabalt
Canabalt was the first Endless Runner ever made which actually inspired Jetpack Joyride "“The first endless runner I played was Canabalt,” said Luke Muscat, Jetpack Joyride’s designer. “You had this single button to jump. I loved the juxtaposition of high-intensity action with absolute simplicity.” Prior to Canabalt’s release, game makers had struggled to reconcile the smartphone’s absence of buttons with the interactive complexities of contemporary video games. Canabalt’s solution was elegant and simple: tap anywhere on the glass and your character leaps. Muscat recalled: “I remember playing Canabalt and just thinking, How has nobody ever thought of this before?”" https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/dont-stop-the-game-that-conquered-smartphones
It is thought that Canabalt was the game that popularised the endless runner genre. However, there is some doubt whether it originated the genre,"Saltsman included: “Two months after Canabalt’s release, I remembered an old DOS game. You had to fly a helicopter down a tunnel, avoiding obstacles in order to see how far you could go." https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/dont-stop-the-game-that-conquered-smartphones
Heli Game
Most popular Endless Runner
Subway Surfers is an Endless Runner which has a total of 1 billion downloads on the Google Play Store. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kiloo.subwaysurf
Techjury
21% of Android and 25% of iOS apps downloaded are games.
62% of people install a game on their phone within a week of owning it.
78% of gamers are Android users.
57.9% of the games played are puzzle games.
More women spend money on in-game content than men.
Subway Surfers was the most downloaded game for May 2022.
The mobile gaming content market will be worth $173.4 billion by 2026.
33% of American mobile games are available for both Android and iOS.
The American company which is best known for its gaming app, “Temple Run” owns 4 mobile games that have been downloaded more than 1.2 billion times worldwide.
In 2021 alone, Candy Crush generated over $550 million in revenue in the US.
49% of mobile gamers are men.
In fact, 60% of females play daily. And 36% of those who play spend money on mobile games.
Only 8% of mobile gamers are teenagers.
Top Mobile Game Subgenres of 2021 by Downloads according to AppAnnie
Action (Hyper-casual) – 4.01 billion
Puzzle (Hyper-casual) – 3.78 billion
Simulation (Hyper-casual) – 3.15 billion
Kids (Other) – 2.57 billion
Driving (Simulation) – 1.63 billion
.io (Hyper-casual) – 1.41 billion
Runner (Action) – 1.20 billion
Creative Sandbox – 1.12 billion
Simulation Sports – 1.10 billion
Pet (Simulation) – 0.90 billion
The gameplay of Geometry Dash is a trial and error type of experience. Geometry Dash takes the normal experience of an endless runner where you tap the screen and jump, but introduces difficulties and changes in controls such as flying. A typical Endless Runner would be going as long as you can without dying normally but Geometry Dash actually has an object to reach the end of the level.
Sounds Compared to the genre
In Geometry Dash, music is synchronised with gameplay like a rhythm game. Most Endless Runners don't tend to do this.
Visual Design compared to genre
The visual design of Geometry Dash uses basic shapes such as cubes, rectangle and triangle to create a level. Every Endless Runner is different in some regard with their visual design which is quite common.
Most common patterns in Endless Runners chosen by developers
Endless Mode - 26 (96.3%)
Quick Progressive Difficulty - 17 (63%)
Random Level Generation - 21 (77.8%
Protagonist - 10 (37%)
Score System - 25 (92.6%)
Obstacles - 19 (70.4%)
Supporting Objects - 7 (25.9%)
Simple Controls - 20 (74.1%)
Power ups and specials - 9 (33.3%)
Currency - 10 (37%)
Challenge - 8 (29.6%)
Character Selection - 2 (7.4%)
Mini Tutorials - 11 (40.7%)
Leaderboard - 17 (63%)
Store- 7 (25.9%)
Subway Surfers
Sounds compared to genre
Visual Design compared to genre
Gameplay Compared to genre
Subway Surfer follows the typical genre of an endless runner by having the player continuously running away from something.
When it comes to sound Subway Surfers plays the same sound on repeat whilst in a run. The idea of rapidly playing the sound is maybe designed to get the song into the players head by making it a catchy tune.
The visual design of Subway Surfers is shown as being bright and colourful like a cartoon.
The Popular mobile gaming genres of 2022 - GamingOnPhone
- Arcade
- Battle Royale
- MMORPG
- Puzzle
- Casino
- Racing
- Role-Playing Games
- Simulation
- Sports
- Digital Card Games
Chart-topping Mobile Game Genres - Digital Turbine
- Puzzle
- Word
- Card
- Arcade
- Strategy
- Casino
- Trivia
- Action
- Adventure
- Board Games
- Simulation
- Sports
- Racing
- RPG
- Educational
- Music
- Family
Localize Direct
"In the Western markets, hypercasual, action (arcade), and puzzles (excl. Match-3) were the most downloadable mobile games. This trend was relevant for the Asian markets (South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan) too, although with some differences. Unlike the Western users, Asian gamers love playing party battlers and action/MMORPG games, securing them the spots among the top 5 most popular game genres." - Localize Direct - https://www.localizedirect.com/posts/most-popular-game-genres-revealed
Arcade Games Hold 12% of the market with 4% for Endless Runners
Touch Arcade
Touch Arcade found that the gender split in ratio for men to woman is even with males at 52% and woman at 48%
What apps tend to do better free to play or payable games
At first glance, paid mobile gaming seems like a bad pricing model. But it’s not just games: people don’t like to pay for apps in general. This trend can be mostly explained by a psychology concept called price “anchoring.” In other words, we’ve been trained through experience to expect certain prices for products. Usually, price anchors are set by a lack of options over time (see: the 90’s Microsoft monopoly on PC products). While we won’t get into the nitty-gritty of consumer psychology here, the outcome is easy to grasp. App stores started low — in a range of $0.99 all the way down to $0. So, we expect modern apps — including games — to follow suit. Paid apps just simply aren’t that attractive to most users.
Delivery Platform Research
Google Play allows small companies to upload their app with a 15% cut for every sale if you're a small company. https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/11131145?hl=en#zippy=%2Chow-much-is-the-service-fee
Apple App Store takes a 30% cut for every sale you make. https://www.theverge.com/21445923/platform-fees-apps-games-business-marketplace-apple-google
Style
The Cartoon style dominates the US Casual market with over 77% share, whereas the Realistic style is the most popular in other categories.