Idle Games - Why do i like these things?

[CriticalGaming]

Ever since Cookie Clicker (or maybe Progress Quest) became a browser game sensation, I've been in love with a set of absolutely mundane games called idle games. Sometimes called Clickers, idle games are games that involve incremental progress through actively just clicking on a stagnant item until resources generate enough to where your power ups take over and you no longer have to interact with the game to make progress. Thus the name Idle game.

Cookie Clicker is one, but since then I've fallen into many others. Some of the best idle games are Clicker Heroes, Tap Titans 1 and 2, Spaceplan (though short), and what I think the best one on the market today NGU-Idle. All of these games are sort of not really games and are basically the equivalent of that thing I did as a kid where I would do 1+1 on the calulator and then spam the = button to see how high of a number I could get before class was over.

Even still I think that many of these games are a lot deeper than people give them credit for. There is strategy and math in planning what upgrade to get and when. And NGU-Idle is by far the deepest of the idle games I have ever played. That game has so many moving parts that it becomes more management game than idle game.

Anyway, what do you guys think of "clickers" or "Idle" Games. Have you gotten into any of them? If so, which ones are your favorites and why?

 

[stroopwafel]

I read somewhere those kind of games really work on the reward center in the brain. I personally don't really enjoy them but I think there is also a risk of them being used exploitatively like gacha or gambling games.

 

[BrawlMan]

I get the appeal, but they do nothing for me. I find them too boring.

 

[Chimpzy]

To each their own, but I don't see the appeal. If I want to keep my hands busy I just grab a bass and play that. More rewarding imo.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

I mean, drugs are more efficient at this as long as you can trust who and where you getting them from, while using them responsibly. Not only that, but you can do them while playing games! The best of both worlds!

Well, some of them while playing games. There's a few I wouldn't recommend for being able to focus on reality.

 

[CriticalGaming]

To each their own, but I don't see the appeal. If I want to keep my hands busy I just grab a bass and play that. More rewarding imo.

You play bass? That's dope. I play guitar.

But idle games give me something to do at work when it's slow.

 

[happyninja42]

I think it's just a "goal/reward" system, given visual and audio elements. It appeals to people, who like to "think out plans" to very detailed, elaborate levels I think. I have a friend, who is VERY analytical, and suspects he is either mildly autistic, or as Asperger's syndrome, though very mild version of it, given his social skills vs analytical skills. And he LOVES these types of games. He plays multiple ones, to fill up the time while waiting for the other one to build up enough for another threshold upgrade. He actually makes Excel spreadsheets about the most efficient way to upgrade people, and when you get diminishing returns, so he can maximize his effectiveness. It's a whole thing for him. I've tried them a few times, but I quickly get bored with them. On one level I get the appeal, the whole "set a goal, build towards that goal, accomplish goal, get endorphin hit of satisfaction" but eventually it just becomes sort of a blur I don't pay attention to at all.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Videogame bubble wrap.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Idle games are REALLY dumb, but I only realized that after one got a hold of me (Idle Mafia) about 6 months ago for about two weeks, and I dropped it like a crack habit. I was sitting on the toilet, collecting cash from the various buildings I’d acquired in the game, and it hit me that I was doing absolutely nothing; I wasn’t “playing” a game. I mean, “idle” is in the name, for fuck’s sake. So stupid. Not to bash on RTS games again as I’m wont to do, but I feel the same way about them; I’m not DOING anything, just managing the action.

I read somewhere those kind of games really work on the reward center in the brain.

^This.

 

[Chimpzy]

You play bass? That's dope. I play guitar.

But idle games give me something to do at work when it's slow.

One of the advantages of working from home is that there's no bosses looking over my shoulder. If work is slow and I'm done with all my tasks I can just watch something or grab my Switch and play, checking in every 10 minutes or so, instead of spending the remaining hours keeping up a charade of doing pointless busywork. Don't feel particularly guilty about it. I know for sure that I get as much or more done than my colleagues. With time to spare. Company refused me a raise early this year, so from my pov, the extra free time is my reward for doing my job well.
Heh, kind of reminds me of this:

 

[Gordon_4]

Ever since Cookie Clicker (or maybe Progress Quest) became a browser game sensation, I've been in love with a set of absolutely mundane games called idle games. Sometimes called Clickers, idle games are games that involve incremental progress through actively just clicking on a stagnant item until resources generate enough to where your power ups take over and you no longer have to interact with the game to make progress. Thus the name Idle game.

Cookie Clicker is one, but since then I've fallen into many others. Some of the best idle games are Clicker Heroes, Tap Titans 1 and 2, Spaceplan (though short), and what I think the best one on the market today NGU-Idle. All of these games are sort of not really games and are basically the equivalent of that thing I did as a kid where I would do 1+1 on the calulator and then spam the = button to see how high of a number I could get before class was over.

Even still I think that many of these games are a lot deeper than people give them credit for. There is strategy and math in planning what upgrade to get and when. And NGU-Idle is by far the deepest of the idle games I have ever played. That game has so many moving parts that it becomes more management game than idle game.

Anyway, what do you guys think of "clickers" or "Idle" Games. Have you gotten into any of them? If so, which ones are your favorites and why?

It sounds like you just get a zen feeling out of playing them. Like using a fidget spinner or playing a guitar merely to move your hands. It’s relaxing, simple and stops your brain from snapping it’s own stem due to stress.

 

[CriticalGaming]

It sounds like you just get a zen feeling out of playing them. Like using a fidget spinner or playing a guitar merely to move your hands. It’s relaxing, simple and stops your brain from snapping it’s own stem due to stress.

That's is probably it.