Game Design - Bonus Screens

Bonus Screens can be an impressive feature to add to your game in a fun and exciting way. Usually in the form of a chest or prize room, these are activated after collecting 3 keys throughout the levels in your game.

One positive benefit of adding a chest room into your game is that they can then be added visually to your UI, level complete screens and especially on your level progression bars. Your bars can now display and indicate that there’s a key on that level to collect, and thus instantly introduces an extra dimension to your game design.

Picking up keys also adds a secondary collection item into your game that your player can aim for and can add spice to your level design, think of this like a secret item to collect.

Many times we’ll see a permanent key count display at the top of the UI showing the player how many keys have been collected so far and reinforces this feature. This key counter will then reset each time all 3 keys have been collected and the chest room has been played, therefore it’s a rinse and repeat system.

Don’t think of this as a nice to have add on, but as an integral part of your game that, whilst relatively simple, is an extremely powerful game design system. Bonus Screens can act as a gateway for introducing your players to your shops content, and possibly exposing new characters or skins that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Almost always the Bonus Screens are laid out in a grid of 9 and your player will have the option to choose 1 chest at a time. The chests will then open and reveal the prize which are generally coins in various denominations.

After your player has spent all 3 keys and opened all the chests, it’s common that the option to receive more keys in return for watching a 30 second, non-skippable video ad, if they didn’t win the “Top Prize” jackpot.

By keeping these offers in batches of three it means your bonus screen can be programmed to only award the “Top Prize” on the opening of the very last chest, and thus, the player will need to watch 2 rewarded videos to actually win.

Of course, we are not encouraging you to be super mean here, in fact, please be encouraged to give your best prize away on the first Bonus Room complete. This can bring an immediate smile to players and make them feel like a super winner and most likely to be more willing to watch more videos for the next great prize you offer.

The other upside is that with clever design and displaying a “Top Prize” on your bonus screen, this can entice your players to visit your shop to see what other goodies you have to offer and expose them to content they potentially never knew existed.

You also have the opportunity to add unique or rare items that are only available on the Bonus Screens and cannot be purchased with in-game currency. This consequently encourages your players to watch the rewarded videos and creates a real sense of both scarcity and urgency.

Although chest rooms are by far the most routinely used for hyper casual games, this doesn’t mean you are confined to these. Spin Wheels are a tried a tested option too and work in pretty much the same way in terms of the set up, just a completely different way to display the logic. A player will tap to spin the wheel instead of opening a chest and these can be equally as fun. You can also think about adding a basic slot machine or claw machine or any other mini games you could design that match closer to your games core mechanic.

All in all, Bonus Screens are a brilliant addition to your games core and, as mentioned previously, are a simple yet powerful game design system you should definitely consider when building your next title.