Octopus Overlords

figured this needs its own thread. what is the appeal of this whole 'games that play themselves' thing?

(of which Progress Quest is still the antecedent and the answer, the joke and the prime model)

I got hooked on Pincremental for two days before I made my Will saving throw.

My kids play them and I think they are nuts. On the other hand, when my son was having an issue with his tablet As I was trying to help him I started playing one of them and then 30 minutes had passed. It's the constant stream of upgrades. There is always an action you can be taking to improve your position and no fear of losing anything.

In any other game there is that excitement when you get an upgrade that is going to make you stronger. In clicker games the upgrade excitement may be smaller depending on the upgrade, but it is constant and sometimes significant. They are still largely thoughtless games, but that is part of the appeal.

Does Antimatter Dimensions fit the bill?

Or watching other people play games.

Jaymann wrote: ↑Wed Jan 06, 2021 7:42 pm Or watching other people play games.

i would agree this should be included, but this would also include "TV watching" types of activity. i feel there might be some different motivations here, in addition. worth discussing...

As someone who enjoys these types of games on occasion, I feel that maybe I should defend them.

For me I have 3 types of games I enjoy, and they are directly proportional to how tired I am. When I have lots of energy, such as on weekends, I want to play thinking games -- Factorio, XCOM, Divinity Original Sin 2, puzzle games. When I've had to work all day and I'm a bit tired, I prefer action-RPGs or other games at that level -- Path of Exile, Diablo 3, Pillars of Eternity, Dragon Quest Builders 2 are my latest in this area.

And when I'm tired and just don't really want to have to think, don't want to test my reflexes, and don't really have much energy -- but still want to play -- idle games, clickers, and incrementals are perfect. They don't have to be that good, just have to be pretty and make me feel like I'm accomplishing something, even something very small. I want a game that pretty much plays itself because I just don't have energy for any more.

For me personally these games are perfect on my iPad while I lie in bed. If I'm worn out I don't want to have to turn on the PC and sit in a chair, so I lie in bed and watch the pretty numbers climb and think to myself what a great job I'm doing. I suppose it isn't for everyone but then again it isn't something I like all the time, only on rare occasions.

I just "beat" Pincremental (saw some of you guys playing it, and enjoyed how you could automate the game away). I've also enjoyed Farmville 2 for many years and Weapon Shop Fantasy when I'm feeling "ambitious", plus a host of forgettable ones. Every time I log back in to Farmville 2 I get all sorts of rewards because I've been gone for months at a time, but I still keep it on the iPad just because I enjoy how simple it is when I do get worn down.

I just watched a half an hour video to see if there were any clickers I was interested in. I've played two probably both from the timewaster thread. One was cookie clicker and one had these Nordic names throughout and you'd try to hit a point by zooming through time and then resetting the game for bonuses. I can't remember the name. The video did not reference it. OO history suggests is may have been XKCD's Sandcastle Builder, which sounds correct.

stessier wrote: ↑Wed Jan 06, 2021 4:55 pm Does Antimatter Dimensions fit the bill?

I've played lots of them, and AD was one of my favorite, though I can't explain why. Probably just for the sheer mathematical ridiculousness of it.

I got started most recently playing NGU Idle. It's a very slow grind. I'm 220 days in right now and I've got plenty to go to get to the end content if I want to stick with it.

I tend to have one such game on my phone at a time. I'll play in the morning while I'm waking up/eating breakfast. Right now it is Guitar Girl; a cute story that uses the idle game as the timer.

Madmarcus wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 10:38 pm I tend to have one such game on my phone at a time. I'll play in the morning while I'm waking up/eating breakfast. Right now it is Guitar Girl; a cute story that uses the idle game as the timer.

Guitar Girl is super cute.

I love idle's and incrementals. It's totally an ADHD thing.

The best ones, to me, are ones that have an ending like Spaceplan or Universal Paperclips.

I'm currently hooked on pincremental (and I don't know why) and Idle Armada which is pretty neat.

My other favorites have been idling to rule the gods, star tap, and zen idle.