Addict - Real Racing 3

my addiction continues...

(from a Real Racing 3 fan website)

How many years have I been playing now? How many hours have I wasted? I actually do know but I am too embarrassed to tell.

As I have mentioned before it is a type of game on a cell phone categorised as "freemium". This means you can initially download the game for free but the upgrades will cost you either internet time of playing or paying with real cash. The blockage relates to gold coins; you can accumulated vast quantities of almost valueless R$ currency (I have about sixty- five million R$). But the key focus is acquiring gold coins. Coins can be earned by accumulating FAME and increasing your levels. Currently I am at level 345 and at this stage I can earn about 46 gold coins per level increase.

Where does the addiction lie? The answer is in the accumulation of cars; from simple cheap cars to the pinnacle of sports cars in the various famous manufacturers, like Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and so on. At this stage there are about 230 cars you have the possibility of earning. You have to reach certain levels of completion in various series of races in order to buy these cars. When you drive a car, it incurs wear and tear from racing and accelerated damage from collisions or going off track. You then must repair the car at a certain cost but with a passage of time to repair.

How do the creators of the game (Fire Monkeys they call themselves, a bunch of very clever Aussies) generate this addiction? The answer, by creating "scarcity". The elements of scarcity are time and ultimately gold coins. Also design various skill levels of playing the game; from lots of assists to no assists. The "professional players" can play the game with great skill, a level of skill that I can only admire from a distance.

The sparing distribution of gold coins is vital to the interests of the game developers. You, the player, can earn a certain number of coins by watching adverts. You can also earn rewards by visiting the game on a regular basis. When you play the game a lot, you know that you can earn these gold coins in many ways.

So how do the Fire Monkeys create this desire to play the game incessantly?

Create competitions to "win" cars. But only give a the opportunity in a limited time scenario. I am currently trying to win a Mazda endurance car, the 787B. There are eight days to complete the quest. I got stuck on stage 5.1 for three days. My car was not sufficiently upgraded. I did an insane amount of racing to upgrade the car sufficiently to pass the test. On day eight I just managed to do so. I am now trying to complete the challenge's last few days on the final day.

What do I mean by upgrades? A car has various upgrade trees, for example there can be 30 developments in various trees, like the engine, drive train, body, tyres, exhaust and so on. The early stages are R$ and the later stages are gold coins.

So I have a knot in my stomach. Can you believe that? Obviously I have been playing the game for too long. Continual exposure to something creates validity or reality.

You would think I have become good at the game. Not even close.

You would think that I am one of the long players. Not even close. There is one fellow in Russia somewhere for example who has gone way past level 1 000. Some one asked him how many gold coins a person earns when increasing the level? I loved his response, I presume it was in jest, but who knows? He answered and said he didn't know as he only played the game when he was drunk!! I guess the Russian winters give a person a lot of indoor time to play this game.

Cheating? Yes there are those who cheat. Ultimately they only ruin it for themselves. When they are caught they are permanently banned.

Over the top? Yes I reckon all the serious players have gone way over the top. There is even a specialised website where the fans of the game can all log on to. There various methods of winning are recorded for those following in the footsteps of the experts.

You may remember my bragging when I won the Ferrarri Fxxk. Now that I have won it, one of the premier cars on the game, I hardly even play it. CRAZY, I am. Just shows where my focus really is, trying to get new cars.

(I still have a lot to do, can I do it???)

Anyway enough of this, I have a car to win...