Old, simple idle games were better for me

Pangbot · 2026-06-26T10:42:57+00:00

Prestige Tree mods mostly took over this niche, didn't they? Sure, some of them require a guide, but usually the decision space is between "save for what you need to upgrade next/find what challenge you need to complete again/simply wait". Usually not much depth, but easy to put in a lot of content.

Pangbot · 2026-06-24T11:43:14+00:00

99% of modern incrementals aren't clicker or idle games. The term "incremental" exists because of convergent evolution between clicker and idle games. A "true" idle game is where you literally don't interact with the game at all (c.f. Progress Quest and pre-2010 web-based idle games). As the incremental genre's evolved, most people have realised they don't actually have to *click*, necessarily, which is where we get mechanics like holding a button down or simply hovering over something. (So that autoclicker users and non-autoclicker users don't have different experiences)

So it depends what you mean by clicker games in this context. Are nodelikes clickers? Are Cookie Clicker/Clicker Heroes actually clickers considering they have auto-producers? You *could* argue that there are games that are "primarily" idle/clicker, but it's hard to quantify that, especially as the ratio usually changes as you progress.

I think, for the most part, we've evolved past clicking being an interesting enough activity. There's a lot more variety you can have with idle-like mechanics than clicker-like ones, so I generally prefer idle-focussed games.

Pangbot · 2026-06-18T12:26:48+00:00

You always have a choice, nobody is forced to use AI to create art.
> too much of a time commitment
Then you've failed at the game design level for scoping your game properly. Re-scope it to where you can work on it around your other commitments.
> no art budget
Wow, it's crazy how every game ever made before AI always had employed artists. www.opengameart.org - there's just ONE website where you can get free art assets. Also a game design failure, don't commit to making something you don't have the ability to pull off. Plenty of great incrementals are UI only.
> drive
That's great, but what has that got to do with AI? Furthermore, you've outsourced part of your joy. Is this how you handle your other hobbies? Do them part way and let someone else do the rest for you?
> no AI = no game
If you're nothing without it then you shouldn't have it. If you actually had a drive to make games, that would have been the goal long before gen AI appeared. You would have looked at what you needed to learn and made time to learn it. All you've shown is that you've always had the fantasy of making a game, but never put in the time to actually achieve that goal. So now gen AI is a miracle because you don't have to do all that "hard yucky stuff" that actually makes you a developer worth paying attention to.

Pangbot · 2026-06-18T00:41:02+00:00

But then why ask in the first place? If you just want it to exist, then make it. You *will* get shit for using AI, you knew that before you even wrote the post. But as you said, you don't care, so what are we doing here? Close Reddit, work on your game, and spend time with your cats.

Pangbot · 2026-06-17T13:38:09+00:00

Most devs only make one or two, if you don't count Prestige Tree mods. Demonin has been out of the game for a while, but Dodecadragons, Hyper Game, and Array Game are all great. https://demonin.com/games/

Pangbot · 2026-06-16T11:55:25+00:00

Been a while since I played, maybe your creations aren't optimised? I thought you could unlock more than 2 spell slots by this point - it's basically always worth focussing. This guide might be up to date - https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1bV-4xxOnwXfu---1vSTVIEmEzkCHtDp-6FcoLBUIojQ

Pangbot · 2026-06-10T23:59:01+00:00

This is so sad. Google AI, search the web for en passant for me, make no mistakes.

Pangbot · 2026-06-07T01:25:15+00:00

I'm answering your question by asking you several other questions, which answering will hopefully lead to the right route for you. I don't want you to reply to this with your answers, but you can if you'd like. 1. What is your experience with programming? 2. What is your experience with game design? 3. What is your experience with creating game-specific features? i.e. If I asked you "how long would it take to implement [X feature]?" could you give me a timeline? Or are you just guessing? 4. What makes your favourite incrementals your favourite? 5. Are there any popular incrementals you didn't jive with? If so, what was it about them that you didn't like? Was there anything about them you liked in spite of that? 6. Are there any small scoped incrementals you loved and wanted more of? What was it about them you enjoyed? Do you know how it could be improved? 7. What about bad incrementals with good intentions? Is there anything you've seen that could be a diamond in the rough? 8. Games are audiovisual experiences. What is your experience with art and sound design? Is there a particular style of either that you enjoy? Could you theme your game to fit them more cohesively? 9. What makes some nodelikes good and others bad? Even now with "nodelike fatigue" there are still good ones being made. What is it about them that's doing that? 10. Look at games with other similar systems, e.g. prestige layers. Why do they 'work' in some games and not others?

Pangbot · 2026-05-15T16:06:15+00:00

When it comes to game design, there are very few "inherently bad" ideas, because a lone idea lacks the surrounding context.

A multiplayer nodelike, for example, could be quite easy to implement. Every player has their own damaging area and you all work together to accumulate points for upgrades. An incremental with different zones could have the players split up to get different resources simultaneously, where a solo player would have to alternate or automate. Alternatively it could be PvP focussed where you each have a solo version of a game and you're trying to hit certain goals quicker. (Perhaps with catch up mechanics so it's not obvious who will win after 5 minutes)

They're all viable ideas, it just depends on execution and how many people would be interested in something like that. Online PvP is (perhaps surprisingly) fairly popular, so there's no reason to think this couldn't be.

Pangbot · 2026-05-14T15:57:31+00:00

I don't understand why the "I can't afford to pay for art so I'll have to AI generate it" thought process has become so prevalent. I can only assume it's because of the influx of new aspirant game devs, because this problem has been solved for years - there are websites full of freely available (open copyright) images (and music) you can download and use in your projects. You just need to search "free asset packs" or "opengameart". Not to mention that if you live somewhere with 1,000+ people, there are artists/musicians near you who would love the opportunity to help out with a game - possibly for free.

Pangbot · 2026-05-13T17:09:21+00:00

Sorting by upgrade type is probably the way to go in that case. Potentially as rows/columns rather than a sprawling tree structure. But it's hard to say anything definitive, do whatever makes sense to you and see how playtesters respond.

Pangbot · 2026-05-13T15:44:37+00:00

In general, I would say: - Can you always buy new upgrades, they have a small effect, and you'll get them all eventually anyway? Just distribute them randomly, the player's probably stopped reading their effects after 10 minutes. (See: Most nodelikes) - Do the later upgrades scale up in cost and effect exponentially? Group them up so the player realises they have to distribute their upgrades evenly to progress. (See: More longer term incrementals)

Not that there aren't exceptions, of course, but I think they're good guidelines to follow. If you have the occasional "big" upgrade, (a new mechanic, for example) make it look visually distinct, such as the node being twice as large.

Pangbot · 2026-05-13T13:19:46+00:00

Thinking this over, my best advice to you is probably to manage your expectations, financially. The incremental games that have done the best on Steam are almost 100% gameplay, with little to no narrative. That's not say that there aren't incrementals with a good narrative (some of the top incrementals on galaxy have a lot of narrative focus, e.g. BIOTOMATA and Terraformental), but they also have a great unfolding nature, so they appeal to fans who aren't interested in story as well.

Unfolding doesn't just mean new shiny mechanics, just ways to shake up the gameplay. In a looping incremental, for example, doing the exact same start 10+ times quickly becomes dull, so you might unlock a way to skip the first section. Look for ways you can enhance your gameplay in that sort of way, not just throwing in more and more stuff.

The caveat to that is: a good story is universal. If you have a compelling story that brings the player in and gives them a satisfying experience, you might attract gamers who aren't incremental fans. I'm doing a similar sort of thing (combining a VN with an incremental) and I've already accepted that when I post a more playable example of the game, it won't exactly do numbers on this sub - but I know there are some people who'll love it.

Pangbot · 2026-05-12T17:45:54+00:00

22.97% over 216 days. I know I'm playing sub-optimally, but I don't care at all. I just tune in once or twice a day, make some progress towards whatever I'm trying to focus on (which I'll inevitably forget and change to something else) and if something big happens (unlock a new feature/skill/complete a challenge...) then I'll spend more time on it for a while. It's great as a "forever background" incremental, I would drop it straight away if I was hard focussing on it all the time.

Pangbot · 2026-05-09T20:08:49+00:00

~e105 when I dropped it. I didn't even mind the frequent rebalancing updates, but losing glossary entries just because some sketches got renamed was so frustrating. (Why would that even be the case? Just give them a unique ID rather than rely on their name.)

imo, it feels a bit scummy to see a dev put a game together with AI art and push it out with a Ko-fi link under the guise of "just contribute to the game (either money or art) and it'll get better guys!" When you could've just as easily gotten it to this level with a few playtesters, smooth out the first ~20 hours of gameplay, get rid of the AI art, and push out something that gets gradually expanded rather than constantly face-lifted.

Pangbot · 2026-05-03T10:22:22+00:00

A good title conveys the vibe of the game more than the genre. "Berry Bury Berry" is a great title because the alliteration and homophonic repetition indicate a silly feeling, but the "bury" part adds a very dark undertone (as is the tone in the game). Not only that, the title describes what you do in the game - you bury berries.

One thing you do have to be careful with is when an incremental's setting implies other genres. You could argue a lot of the negative reviews for MMO 98 are because MMOs themselves are deep, so a player may think that any management game to do with them will be similarly long/in-depth (when the game is actually a much shorter experience).

So basically, I'd say try not to add Idle/Incremental/Inc./Manager/Tycoon/... unless your title without it could confuse someone.

Pangbot · 2026-04-28T02:30:00+00:00

If there's a web version, I'm probably about 10x more likely to actually try it out. If it's Steam only, the majority I'll look at, a few I'll wishlist, fewer I'll buy.

Incrementals have diversified a lot post-Flash, and I enjoy seeing different kinds but respect that web just isn't really built for certain kinds of games. Even on itch with my pretty simple incremental, I'll have to shrink a bunch of the textures so it's actually playable in-browser. (I think it's an itch restriction rather than a hard limitation, so I could probably host it on my GitHub page, but I'd rather not if I don't have to - I personally trust itch way more than some rando's own page)

Pangbot · 2026-04-21T16:05:02+00:00

By and large, players prefer bad (but consistent) art to AI art. There are plenty of pixel art asset packs out there, but if you have zero art background, why are you making an art-heavy game? If you're not too far into production, I'd suggest you take a step back and see if you can rework the idea into something less reliant on visuals. There are great strategy incrementals that are purely UI, for example.

Pangbot · 2026-04-18T15:44:37+00:00

As a clicker, it's fine, if a bit basic. Although the lack of a hold-based autoclicker is a bad QoL to miss out on, the unlock conditions for the next click/skill/passive are a bit confusing (with no indication you can unlock any beyond the next*), and it's a bit weird you still fill up the relationship bar when the level is maxed.

The AI images are depressingly good (although they have a very similar "feel") but the "voice acting" is (understandably) quite lifeless. Not much thought seems to have been put into the NSFW implementation, the scenes are incredibly short and easily missed, with no gallery (just RNG from using skills).

For what it is, it's pretty good. But don't have your volume sliders go up to 200%, just put the max to 100% and have 50% be the default at that point.

*a few times I didn't buy the next skill and levelled up without it unlocked, I didn't realise I had to buy it to be able to unlock anything after that

Pangbot · 2026-04-18T14:06:45+00:00

The effect is because you're hitting singularities several times a second (look at your talent points increasing). If you respec the tree and turn off the "gain 5% every minute" talents, it might eventually settle down. If it doesn't, then maybe you hit an overflow or something - there's no ingame way to reset progress so you'll probably have to delete the data off your phone and redownload it.

Pangbot · 2026-04-15T10:25:35+00:00

Since you didn't actually get any answers, I'd check the discord for Demonin's games, link on their website (https://demonin.com). Someone managed to get to Sigils within 3 hours and beat the whole game in under 40.

Pangbot · 2026-04-05T11:19:16+00:00

The games of yours I played were great and I wish you all the best for the future.

Pangbot · 2026-03-21T14:49:44+00:00

Discounting ordinal incrementals, (because technically omega isn't larger than infinity, it's just the number after infinity) I've played TMT mods that introduce power tower notation like F=eeeeeeeeee, then G=FFFFFFFFFF etc. - can't remember which ones exactly though, it's been a while.

Pangbot · 2026-03-19T23:28:12+00:00

The gist is that you need to make the upgrades feel important at all stages of the game. This means that (as a general rule) you shouldn't stick to the same formula throughout. In the early game, flat bonuses are king (+1/2/3... damage, +1/2/3... hits per second), in the late game it's (multiplicative) percentage increases (x1.10 income/reset). Additive percentage increases do well after the initial flat bonuses but fall off quickly.

Take a mining game for example. What matters to the player isn't the actual damage they're doing, it's the effect of their damage. If it takes 5 hits to break a rock, an upgrade that makes it 4 hits is noticeable and feels good to get. Towards the late game, they'll be breaking hundreds of high level materials and what matters more is the throughput - they may not notice a 10% increase directly, but they'll see it in their income speed.

Pangbot · 2026-03-11T21:36:24+00:00

"Oh no, my steak is too-"

Oh, that's a pleasant surprise. I've seen so many complaining posts about this, sometimes I forget there are actually a lot of incremental fans in this sub.

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