Evaluating the Successful Factors of Arknights as a Mobile Gacha Game with GameFlow

Abstract

GameFlow is a widely used model of player enjoyment, with numerous applications to game designation and evaluation. Derived from a general set of heuristics for creating enjoyable player experiences, GameFlow has already become a general model of player enjoyment,suitable for all kinds of game genres and platforms. However, research so far has been focused on traditional mobile games while gacha game has not received enough attention. Arknights is a famous gacha games released in 2020 worldwide. This study evaluates how Arknights grows into one of the most successful mobile gacha games and IP in recent years,using the GameFlow model as a conceptual foundation. One reason is that designers of Arknights are good at dealing with the balance between game challenges and increasing players’ skills. In other words, the complexity management of Arknights is pretty good. Another one is that players can get high concentration and immersion due to Arknights’ excellent auditory and visual experience. The two advantages behind the success of Arknights are worth studying for global mobile game industry.