To be honest, I was just wandering around the forum and suddenly saw someone mentioning the game "Happy Train Adventure", which suddenly took me back to more than ten years ago. I'm not bragging, I played this game on Symbian back then. The developer is Beijing Gulu Marketing Consulting Co., Ltd., and the charging model is 0. It is one of those high-quality small games that rely purely on content to attract people.
The game itself is actually quite hardcore. This is not a mindless casual train game, but one that requires you to plan the time and speed of several trains in advance, and to mentally rehearse the avoidance logic when the tracks overlap. The first level can keep you stuck for a long time, but once you pass it, the sense of accomplishment is really not comparable to those current mobile games that automatically find paths and hang up with one click. 😊
Since this game, I have been thinking that the current development trend of mobile games has really changed a bit. Ten years ago, we played works like "Happy Train Adventure" where developers carefully designed levels and tested players' strategies and reaction abilities. At that time, everyone was competing to see who could clear the level faster and who had higher scores. The discussion forum was filled with technical posts and strategy sharing.
Looking back now, the mobile game market is dominated by the free download + in-app purchase model. Whether it is card drawing, physical system, or various development systems, the core purpose is to make you spend money or time. The gameplay of the game itself has become secondary. Many popular games look gorgeous, but in fact they are repeating daily tasks after a week. 😅
Of course, I also understand that commercialization is the way to survive. But occasionally when an old game like "Happy Train Adventure" is played out, people can still feel the most authentic joy of the game - there is no progress bar to force you, no krypton gold gift package to tempt you, it is just to challenge yourself purely and enjoy the fun of using your brain.
So if you young players feel tired of current mobile games, you might as well look for classics on these old platforms. Version 5.0 has a nostalgic feel to it, it's free, and it doesn't take up any memory. After playing a game, your mind will be full of calculations, which is definitely more practical than watching short videos. 🚂
Finally, I would like to say: I am not bragging, but the good games of that era were really carefully crafted with gameplay. As for the current trend... I can only say that each has its own pros and cons.