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I had no idea what 'autobattle', 'heroes charge', 'idle game' meant, and wonder what exactly gets people interested in games of this kind. It doesn't even look

I had no idea what 'autobattle', 'heroes charge', 'idle game' meant, and wonder what exactly gets people interested in games of this kind. It doesn't even look like a game in the traditional sense at all - for enjoyment / fulfillment / fun. More like a colorful spreadsheet, with cheap visuals and not even mechanical skill. 'Gameplay' videos on youtube show people flipping cards and clicking through a dozen inventory management screens, nothing really happens. Really puzzling. Is this what getting old feels like?

mlrtime 8y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incremental_game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incremental_game
moate 8y ago
As an avid fan of very complex board games and a player in an "advanced stat" fantasy baseball league, I can promise you that long term grinding using spread sheets and optimization trees is fun for some people. You play <name of FPS de jour> to show off fast twitch muscle memory, but you play games like this to show a different sort of ability. Perseverance? Intellect? I'm not sure what it is for each person specifically, but they can be fun.
shostack 8y ago
If you want to get a taste with a quality game that doesn't prey on people with IAP, check out Kittens Game.[1] You can play free online. I paid $2 one-time fee to play on my phone. There's a vibrant community on /r/kittensgame on Reddit and the dev is active there. It is also arguably one of the most well-done idle/incremental games I've played after playing a few. The depth of it is jaw-dropping once you really start getting into the mechanics of late stage play, and you'll hit several points along the way where you think you are there only to find out everything you've been working on gets abstracted away into new growth concept that becomes critical to the next stage. [1]http://bloodrizer.ru/games/kittens/ http://bloodrizer.ru/games/kittens/
- Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
  How similar is Kittens Game to CivClicker? http://dhmstark.co.uk/games/civclicker/ http://dhmstark.co.uk/games/civclicker/
  - shostack 8y ago
    This looks pretty cool and appears pretty similar in some ways. Not sure how advanced the late game is as that's where Kittens Game REALLY shines. Is there a version for Android? I see CivCrafter, but that looks like a monetized knockoff.
- ricardobeat 8y ago
  Oh, I can get behind that, played paperclips and it was pretty fun. For some reason the addition of [flash-era like] graphics on these mobile games turns me off completely.
TheGRS 8y ago
Eh...a lot of things that seem like they should be relatively stupid on the surface are loved and revered, maybe even enjoyable. I still don't get why people pour so much over baseball statistics, but clearly its an enjoyable pastime for many. Some other sources of fun to mull over: Tamogatchis, fantasy football, pulling a lever on a slot machine. I spent more time playing Adventure Capitalist than I'm really willing to admit to, but despite being an idle game I have to admit it has a fun core game loop that rewards you for checking in on it occasionally. I don't really recommend that game, since its ultimately a huge waste of time, but I'll just admit that it was fun while it lasted. When I played Universal Paperclip I realized that the whole idle game genre has a lot of untapped potential. That game has neat shifts in gameplay as well as a story arc that ends in a pretty satisfying way. http://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/ http://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/

mlrtime 8y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incremental_game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incremental_game

moate 8y ago

As an avid fan of very complex board games and a player in an "advanced stat" fantasy baseball league, I can promise you that long term grinding using spread sheets and optimization trees is fun for some people. You play <name of FPS de jour> to show off fast twitch muscle memory, but you play games like this to show a different sort of ability. Perseverance? Intellect? I'm not sure what it is for each person specifically, but they can be fun.

shostack 8y ago

If you want to get a taste with a quality game that doesn't prey on people with IAP, check out Kittens Game.[1] You can play free online. I paid $2 one-time fee to play on my phone. There's a vibrant community on /r/kittensgame on Reddit and the dev is active there. It is also arguably one of the most well-done idle/incremental games I've played after playing a few. The depth of it is jaw-dropping once you really start getting into the mechanics of late stage play, and you'll hit several points along the way where you think you are there only to find out everything you've been working on gets abstracted away into new growth concept that becomes critical to the next stage. [1]http://bloodrizer.ru/games/kittens/ http://bloodrizer.ru/games/kittens/

Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
How similar is Kittens Game to CivClicker? http://dhmstark.co.uk/games/civclicker/ http://dhmstark.co.uk/games/civclicker/
- shostack 8y ago
  This looks pretty cool and appears pretty similar in some ways. Not sure how advanced the late game is as that's where Kittens Game REALLY shines. Is there a version for Android? I see CivCrafter, but that looks like a monetized knockoff.
ricardobeat 8y ago
Oh, I can get behind that, played paperclips and it was pretty fun. For some reason the addition of [flash-era like] graphics on these mobile games turns me off completely.

TheGRS 8y ago

Eh...a lot of things that seem like they should be relatively stupid on the surface are loved and revered, maybe even enjoyable. I still don't get why people pour so much over baseball statistics, but clearly its an enjoyable pastime for many. Some other sources of fun to mull over: Tamogatchis, fantasy football, pulling a lever on a slot machine. I spent more time playing Adventure Capitalist than I'm really willing to admit to, but despite being an idle game I have to admit it has a fun core game loop that rewards you for checking in on it occasionally. I don't really recommend that game, since its ultimately a huge waste of time, but I'll just admit that it was fun while it lasted. When I played Universal Paperclip I realized that the whole idle game genre has a lot of untapped potential. That game has neat shifts in gameplay as well as a story arc that ends in a pretty satisfying way. http://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/ http://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/