Block users with automatic clicks

Question

I am having problems with users who trick my online game into using macros to automatically click certain spots on the screen in a specific order to automate various tasks without actually having to play the game. Are there any methods that can be used to block this type of activity without having to disguise CAPTCHA throughout the site and ruin the experience for honest users?

Edit: I forgot to mention, this is a web game, not the use of flash.

Answer 1

As a programmer, I say to search for patterns in volume or click time. Simple bots will fall into the same places at very regular intervals and do it much faster than a person can. This leads to fairly easily identified patterns.

As a gamer and game developer, I say, I correct your game so that it is not so meaningless. Although there will always be a few gamers who will do everything to move forward if more than approximately a percent of your player base resorts to these kinds of things, it is probably because you make them repeat a bit stunningly boring task a ridiculous number of times. Play your fun game, and people are more likely to play it instead of the bots standing behind them. Since doing this is fun, as a rule, it involves creating a gameplay that is more diverse than just “pressing these three spots again and again and again and ...”, this will also naturally make the game more resistant to bot, as it will not be such a trivial pattern for repeating a bot.

Answer 2

As Dave Sheohman said, make the game more fun.

If you cannot do this, you can do several things. Perhaps the user will be able to change the user interface in a certain way, so that the bots could not just re-click. If this is unrealistic, you can try to detect the bots by recognizing the patterns, and then change the user interface or give a CAPTCHA, similar to how StackOverflow does it. This should not annoy users too much, since they almost never see it unless they are a bot.

Answer 3

Yes, the problem with your game - the wrist - is killing, stunned, the RSI is the induction of "non-content."

You can easily fix the problems by making the game fun, not a terrible shiver.

No one should force you to press the same button again and again like a monkey to advance in the game - and I REALLY CALL everyone who fix this problem with a bad game, using their brains well enough to use the bot.

In fact, bot programming is more fun than a dumb click. I think it causes much less RSI.