Universal Paperclips

Post by adamrezich » Wed, Aug 02, 2023, 5:15 PM UTC

Groxx wrote: post #34

adamrezich wrote: post #11

what're some other interesting "incremental games" out there these days? for me at least, just seeing numbers go up and get huge (Swarm Simulator) doesn't really do it for me. part of what makes Universal Paperclips so good is that, like Candy Box, a huge part of the joy is uncovering entirely new gameplay systems as you progress. A Dark Room was neat in that it brought the idea of a coherent narrative that you (some…

Crank is pretty similar to both A Dark Room and paperclips in terms of feel, also not mobile friendly at all sadly: https://faedine.com/games/crank/b39/

Post by wccrawford » Wed, Aug 02, 2023, 5:16 PM UTC

Groxx wrote: post #29

wccrawford wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO, it's not just the numbers. It's the constant strategizing to make the numbers go bigger, and the changing strategy as the game progresses. There are plenty of really crappy clickers that don't do anything for me. And there are some that are too complex to be really fun (Kittens), but the ones in the middle, like this one, really feel good.

Crank is a pretty similar-feeling one imo, if you're looking for your next fix :) It is unfortunately not mobile friendly (or even functional) though. https://faedine.com/games/crank/b39/

Post by ndsipa_pomu » Wed, Aug 02, 2023, 5:24 PM UTC

ramesh31 wrote: post #18

gms7777 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I played it first a few years ago and was totally engrossed. A few months ago, I remembered it and thought "well maybe I'll find it again and play for a few minutes"... and then I did nothing else for the rest of the day.

This is an entire genre now called clicker games. For whatever reason, people are entranced by watching numbers get bigger. It's the same thing with RPGs.

Post by 7373737373 » Wed, Aug 02, 2023, 5:39 PM UTC

wccrawford wrote: post #24

ramesh31 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an entire genre now called clicker games. For whatever reason, people are entranced by watching numbers get bigger. It's the same thing with RPGs.

IMO, it's not just the numbers. It's the constant strategizing to make the numbers go bigger, and the changing strategy as the game progresses. There are plenty of really crappy clickers that don't do anything for me. And there are some that are too complex to be really fun (Kittens), but the ones in the middle, like this one, really feel good.

Post by MetallicDragon » Wed, Aug 02, 2023, 5:52 PM UTC

adamrezich wrote: post #44

jprete wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the best ways to expand an incremental game’s gameplay is to gradually automate one layer, while introducing new mechanics in a higher layer. So one’s focus for optimization gradually shifts from older and better-understood mechanics to a higher level, where the gameplay is to manipulate the lower layer’s mechanics to make it run as quickly as a basic action did at the start.

a couple years ago a friend of mine got into botting Diablo II, which seemed like a whole game in itself, which made me think, how neat would that be, a game where you start off doing regular gameplay stuff, and then you eventually automate/optimize that gameplay at increasingly more meta levels of play. still think there's something to that idea...