What causes the addictiveness of games like animal crossing?

Strategic/time management games are always addictive.
Mainly because, there aren’t any timed levels that you start and finish. It’s just a world that allows you to indulge in numerous activities, talk to numerous people and perform numerous tasks. It holds your attention because there is always something new for you to discover. The Sims is a perfect example. The possibilities of what you can do seem endless, hence you spend a great deal of time playing them.

I remember watching a video doc by Bungie sort of on this topic. They said that their goal was to capture 30 seconds of fun and repeat it constantly while making each segment of time a unique, new and engaging experience. I suspect games that are addictive like that have that at their core.

Dunno, but I make fun of my girlfriend for playing “working” games all the time. She plays Sims, Animal Crossing, and Harvest Moon quite a bit. I don’t know how anyone has fun playing them, but they certainly have a market.

I honestly have no idea. I tried Animal Crossing on the GameCube and thought it was…

The Most Boring Game Everrrrr.

Anything that you enjoy and find challenging can become addictive. Even games can provide an adrenalin rush.

humans are control freaks and such games provide the control and rapid advancement that players lack in the real world.

What’s interesting to me about the addiction potential of recent games like this is that, unlike what bobloblaw suggested, these games generally offer very little that is unique or new, and what is engaging or fun about them? Unlike what Darkscribe suggested, these games are usually very unchallenging and have very little that would seem to inspire adrenaline. I think it has something to do with the (also weak) social phenomenon of the massively-multi-player and free game.

Oh, Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon. I wish I could have those hours back.

LOL.. animal crossing took over half of my highschool career. I think what makes it so cool is that you can just hangout and do whatever your heart desires, I mean, fishing for the stringfish alone is fun….

@Shuttle128 I think it is because of the RPG aspects to those types of games. I lurve me a good RPG, and these basically are.

You can do whatever you want, decorate your house and character, and gives you goals to work towards. I think that’s why I got so hooked on Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon, and sometime I laugh when I think of my time piddled away. At least I had fun.