Professionals who are addicted to "mentally handicapped" games

　　"Give gold equipment at the beginning of the game", "Come and cut me if you are a brother"... These "mentally handicapped" games that were originally ignored by many people, or even looked down upon, have actually already quietly surrounded a group of people.

　　Talk show actor Pang Bo recently shared on the show the "mentally retarded" mini-games that he swiped when he was addicted to short videos. At first, he thought, "How can anyone play this kind of thing?" Share with friends, and pay to watch ads to get the chance to resurrect.

　　Compared with heavy games, those leisure and entertainment games that are simple to operate and do not need to use the brain are ridiculed as "mentally handicapped" games, but such "mentally handicapped" games have unknowingly occupied the free time of many working people. .

　　In the opinion of some professionals, these "mentally handicapped" games are "a little naive for elementary school students, but just right for adults". After they clicked on the mini-games, they often passed an hour or two without noticing it. Not only that, but the fragmented time on the way to and from get off work and queuing for shopping was also contributed to the mini-games, even walking to the water dispenser to pick up a cup. Water, also click on the mini game to let the 30-second advertisement play, and make full use of the time.

　　The user scale of mini games has already become very large. As of now, the official backstage of WeChat mini games shows that more than 2,000 mini games have been accessed, with more than 310 million users. The topic of "Douyin Mini Games" has been played 115.78 billion times. According to the "2022 Casual Game Development Report" released by Gamma Data, the number of mobile casual game users in China is expected to be 520 million in 2022.

　　Shen Ran chatted with five professional people who are addicted to "mentally handicapped" games about their stories of getting better and better. Among them, some people swiped short videos to get casual mini games. They wanted to pass the time, but they ended up with 20,000 to 30,000 krypton in two years; Three hours were spent on it; after someone's mobile phone was stolen, the first reaction was not to feel distressed about the phone, but to play the mini-game again; some people regarded the mini-game as a tool to create a common topic with friends; As a secret garden, reject redundant information and decompress yourself.

　　People in the workplace are addicted to "mentally retarded" games. Some people cool down after a short time, and some people take it as a daily pastime, but they are not so addicted that they can't give up, but at certain stages, they use this pastime to quickly Satisfaction at high frequencies. They also reminded that krypton gold is not worth it, and addiction is even more discouraged.

　　A small game to play casually to pass the time,

　　Unexpectedly, two years of krypton gold two or three thousand

　　Zhao Fei | 31-year-old product manager

　　I used to be a product manager and worked in the Internet industry. After leaving this industry, I found a job that was easy and had a lot of free time. One day I was on Douyin and saw an advertisement for a casual game that felt very bad, and I just wanted to play it casually.

　　This is a foreign casual puzzle game. There are simple confrontation links, but as long as krypton gold buys props and equipment, it can be stronger. At that time, I had a lot of time. I played when I was free. I was very sleepy. I was still operating in bed. Sometimes I fell asleep accidentally. When I woke up, I quickly checked whether the task was completed. Now that I'm old, I can't stay up late, but sometimes I stay up until 2 am because of this game.

The game is very expensive. At the beginning, I can spend thousands of dollars a month. The frequency of krypton gold is getting higher and higher. After playing for 2 years, I spent at least 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.

　　Such a high investment is also related to my psychological changes. In the beginning, it was just to pass the time. As I invested more and more time and money, my account level became higher. In order to maintain a leading position, I had to invest all the time.

　　In order to retain users, the operation of this game is also very hard, and the activities launched for players will not stop. Often, the last game activity has not ended, and the next activity has to enter the pit, which makes me as a player. very tired. For example, you can spend money to buy a bonus of 0.01. If you miss this opportunity, you really miss it. You are weaker than other players. When everyone is in krypton gold, in fact, no one has become stronger, but, Once the krypton is lost once, it will be permanently weakened, and I cannot accept it.

　　Later, the game charging settings became more and more serious. At one point, I started to spend money when I logged in. After I bought the equipment, I went offline. Now I have a bunch of useless krypton gold props. Playing mini-games originally took time, but I didn’t expect to spend so much money. In the process of spending money, I also began to observe how I was mobilized by the designer.

　　Later, when I got busy with work, I didn't care about this game, so I passively stopped playing. I have also discovered a lot of things with higher priority in life. For example, I recently took a fancy to a villa with high cost performance. I want to change the house, do ideological work for my family, analyze the pros and cons, so I made a PPT and invested in it. When it comes to specific life and work, the satisfaction that small games brought to me is gone.

　　Playing small games to relieve stress is understandable. Many uncontrollable things in the workplace will affect us. We also need some quick ways to get out of our negative emotions, which can be meditation, exercise, watching dramas, or small games. , just in moderation.

　　A small game that has been played for nearly ten years,

　　I feel like "living and krypton" when I play

　　Martin | 37 Media Industry

　　Shortly after the little game "Love Elimination Every Day" was launched in 2013, I downloaded it and started playing it. In the past eight or nine years, I have changed many mobile phones, played many small games with the trend, and tried many mobile games but gave up because the operating threshold was too high. The little game I've been stuck on playing. Up to now, I have reached the 3779 level, and the money spent in it is estimated to be tens of thousands of yuan.

　　Who would have thought that an ordinary elimination game would feel like being played by me for a long time (need to be online for a long time, but also need to recharge and spend money). I spent all the trivial time on the subway and queuing up on this small game. I once hit the point where there were no new levels to play, and waited until the official development of a new level to continue playing.

　　Recently, I have played this little game almost five days a week , especially before going to bed every day, as long as I lie in bed, I may not stop playing, and before I know it, two or three hours have passed. . Just like watching a short video for two or three minutes makes people unable to stop, playing a small game in just a few minutes, you can get quick feedback and it is difficult to stop.

However, this little game is not something that can be played at any time of the day. After the energy "love" is exhausted, it will take time to restore blood to continue playing. In the past, I thought this setting was simply used to prevent addiction, but I gradually discovered that this is one of the ways to make money in this small game.

　　To play this small game, if you want to have fun, the simplest and most rude way is to charge money. In the past, because I was eager to pass a level, I felt that I was only a few steps away from success, so I would charge money to increase the number of steps, maybe only 20 or 30 steps at a time, and the single amount was very small, so there was absolutely nothing after paying. I feel that when I can play well, I may charge hundreds of dollars a day.

　　But once last year, by chance, I found the experience to be a bit extravagant . Each level increases the number of steps, up to three times, it may cost more than ten yuan, but it will be used up in less than a minute, and it may not be possible to pass the level. When others play games, the value of props may be appreciated. It is an asset in disguise, and mine is completely a consumer product.

　　After realizing that it was not worth it, I started to control myself and try not to pay any more. Because I also found that this small game also has a lot of side-line gameplay, such as weekly competitions, etc., which can also achieve the effect of quickly getting feedback. If the energy "love" is used up, I will play these, wait for the blood to recover, and then play the main line level, and the cycle goes back and forth.

　　Although I will spend a lot of time and energy on this little game, I am definitely not addicted. After all, if there is an urgent matter to be busy, this little game will naturally be left behind. It's just that these short and easy pastimes make it difficult for me to think deeply in my spare time. Even watching a long variety show or TV series will feel that there is a psychological threshold for opening.

　　I also know that spending time on small games is worthless compared to reading books and learning to recharge, but in my opinion, this is a way to pass the time for entertainment and time. I can play this little game because I have free time in my life. I'm just an ordinary person, not like some big bosses. If I don't think about it a day, I may lose hundreds of millions. If I don't play small games, I spend my free time on other entertainment.

　　Without socializing, without getting spam,

　　Minigames are my secret garden

　　Lisa | 28 years old in the media industry

　　Since 2017, I have been playing a small game called "Seaside Match". It's been 6 years, and I've been addicted intermittently. I've hit 843 levels so far, and there are about 3,000 levels in total. I feel like I'll have to fight for the rest of my life.

　　It is no exaggeration to say that it is my haven, utopia, and secret garden. I get an absolute sense of detachment from Xiaoxiaole. Playing on the toilet, riding the subway, playing while eating, and also playing before going to bed. When the work pressure is particularly high, if you want to change your mind, you will play a couple of games to refresh yourself. I don’t think I’m an addicted type. Sometimes I don’t play for a few months. In short, I only open the mini-games when I need them, get the most direct and immediate pleasure, and then put them into daily life.

　　Other people's decompression methods may be to use fragmented time to brush short videos and brush various social media. But I think that brushing videos and Weibo is basically to get information, and most of them are spam. You can also say that the mini-games are mentally retarded and rubbish, and I admit it. However, the "garbage" brought by mini games will be gone after you finish playing. It only takes up a little of your time and will not continue to affect your brain. Some short videos not only take up time, but also instill spam into your mind.

　　The rest I want is to stop accepting any information. Just like when I traveled to Dali by myself, I sat in a small bar at night and didn’t want to communicate with people, so I also played a small game while drinking. Well, I think that's my own time.

　I never make money for this small game, because I enjoy the process of customs clearance, rather than rushing to achieve any results. There was one level that I played more than 100 times before I passed it, and I didn't even think about spending money to get out of this level quickly. And this game also has a blood limit, you can play 6 times in a row each time, and you can't continue to play after you run out of opportunities, unless you are gold. I'll go back when I can play, of course I've tried other games, but I found they didn't have a time limit, and I didn't feel good.

　　Friends around me think this game is silly, I occasionally show off that I hit hundreds of levels, and they all think it's funny. But I don't care about this, because I didn't want to socialize in the small game, I just wanted to hide and be alone. There are many types of Xiaoxiao Le, this one is not popular, but one day I accidentally found that some friends in the list were also playing, and I thought it was very strange, because this game can increase the number of steps by sharing links, and they didn't give it to me After sharing, I feel that everyone is silently playing each other.

　　Seaside Xiaoxiaole has been manually set as a commonly used applet, because I don't want it to be pushed down by other applet. Standing side by side with it in the column of commonly used small programs are Beijing Healthbao, which is used every day, Luckin Coffee, which is ordered every day, and Tencent Health, which checks the national epidemic situation every morning.

　　I play games on silent, never disturb others, and recharge myself. What's wrong with finding a clean private plot and hiding in occasionally to catch your breath?

　　After the phone was stolen,

　　The first reaction is that the mini-game has to be played all over again

　　Rice Grain | 31-year-old Internet practitioner

　　In 2017, I came into contact with the small game Dream Garden. It is a match-3 plus development game. After playing the elimination game, you will be rewarded with gold coins. With gold coins, you can buy things to decorate your garden.

　　This game gives a maximum of eight rewards every day. It doesn’t take too long to play. There is an unlimited opportunity every Friday or Saturday. I usually play for half an hour to an hour every day, and play for three or four hours when there is no limit.

　　At the beginning, I was always ranked second and third in our team, I always wanted to rush to the first , and sometimes a certain level was always difficult to pass in one place, so I started to recharge money to buy props, usually one recharge 12 dollars. After that I basically stayed at No. 1.

　　In 2018, I played this little game to 2000 levels, but my phone was stolen by a thief. At that time, my first reaction was: "I have to play Dream Garden again from the beginning." My friends all laughed at me that I didn't feel bad for my phone but worried about the game.

At that time, the game was still in the form of a small program. There was no account, and there was no way to save the historical records. Later, when an account was established, there was no such problem when changing mobile phones.

　　I've been playing this game for 6 years now, and I've reached 11,089 levels. The recharge is about 4,000 to 5,000 yuan. By the beginning of this year, I had played the game until all levels were cleared, and I had used all available props. Now the APP will update the version every once in a while, and a few new levels will be released, and I will update and play a few levels every once in a while. Still waiting for a game update.

　　Friends who play heavy games around me think this is a very mentally handicapped game, but I don't care, as long as I am happy. I just use fragmented time to play, usually on the subway or when I have free time. This app is on the same screen as my WeChat, and I open it basically every day.

　　In the game, my garden is very large, occupying all the surrounding sites. During the holidays, the official will also have some new decorations, such as Christmas-themed decorations. Every holiday, I will think that since there are these decorations, I will All have been replaced.

　　When I first played this game, I was a little addicted, thinking about how to clear the level, and I also checked some strategies, or recharged to buy props to clear the level. Later, it gradually became a habit, mainly for entertainment.

　　The downside is that the time is not displayed after the game is opened, and messages will not pop up.

　　I have also played small games such as 2048 and Cool Running every day before, but I haven't persevered. I have played a sheep for two days recently, and I have been playing this game all the time, probably because it still has some cultivated attributes. Build a garden, choose flowers of different colors, shape the grass into an arc shape or a square shape, watch the garden grow a little bit bigger and richer, and go up to see your garden every day, it is still very satisfying.

　　I think small games are a relatively light existence in my mind, and the people who play heavy games around me are really addicted. My suggestion is that it is okay for people in the workplace to play mini games for entertainment or decompression, but I think it is more "mentally retarded" to recharge mini games, and it is of little significance. It is not recommended to recharge too much.

　　Relying on small games and girlfriends to create common topics,

　　But after returning to reality, I let it go

　　Cathy | 32 Marketing PR

　　After the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020, our company started working from home. At the beginning, everyone was very uncomfortable, the work rhythm was disrupted, and the work content was much less. My two girlfriends and I often chatted on voice calls at home every day, but that time was too boring. After a few days, we The chattering topics are scarce, and there is really nothing to talk about.

　　Suddenly one day, a best friend threw a link in our small group and said, "Let's play this little game." She found the little game "Animal Restaurant" on social platforms and found it very interesting, especially the style of painting is very healing. If we all play, we can add some common topics. As soon as I opened it, I was also attracted by the cute little animal images in the game.

　　This little game is to run a restaurant in the animal kingdom, and the guests are all small animals. Playing this small game, the greatest sense of achievement is to receive more guests and unlock new small animals. For us, the most important thing is that the operation of this small game is very simple, I think it is completely brainless operation.

　　In order to receive more guests, on the one hand, you need to earn dried fish, then use dried fish to buy more tables and unlock more dishes, and on the other hand, you have to keep clicking the "promotion" button to attract more guests.

　　Every time we receive new guests and unlock new small animals, we will be very excited. Sometimes we will directly post in the group and start showing off. Sometimes we are talking on the phone, and we are dancing and describing what the new guests look like. Although friends may not be able to see what the new guests look like, everyone just feels very happy.

In order to receive more guests, I also fight the online time. During the home office period, I will simultaneously open this small game online on my mobile phone and let the restaurant open. After working for a while, I stopped to collect small dried fish. I often watched video advertisements to get more dried small fish because of my anxiety. When I'm not busy at work, I've been holding my phone for a while, and before I know it, a few hours have passed.

　　At home at the time, my mother often saw me holding my phone and biting all the time, and felt incomprehensible, but my girlfriends and I enjoyed it. We also looked at the small animals that others had unlocked on social platforms, and found that it seems that many players are primary and secondary school students, but this does not affect our feelings about this small game in the community.

　　However, when the home office ended and we started to work, the time we spent on this little game was greatly reduced. I just turned it on a little bit when I commuted to get off work and took the subway. Since the second half of last year, because of some changes in my work, I have played less.

　　From what I have observed, it is not uncommon for adults to indulge in mini-games, even retired seniors. My mother has played a small elimination game from the beginning to more than 3,000 levels three times. The first time was on the mobile phone. After changing the mobile phone, she did not save the account. After hitting more than 3,000 levels on the new mobile phone, because the screen was too small, she switched to the tablet and opened a new account. Recently I found that I hit more than 3,000 levels again.

Author / Li Qiuhan Wang Min Zou Shuai Tang Yahua

　　I think playing small games is just a way for adults to pass the time. I was quite addicted for a certain period of time, just because I had a common topic with my girlfriends. Now I have developed new leisure methods such as listening to books, and the attraction of small games is getting smaller and smaller.

source/deep burning (shenrancaijing)

The title image comes from Visual China, and the pictures in the text come from unsplash. At the request of the interviewee, Zhao Fei, Martin, Lisa, Mi Li, and Cathy are pseudonyms in the article