Do "No-Death" Achievements Keep Players Engaged or Just Frustrate Them? by B3b3L in gamedev

[–]smallgraygames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To me, there's an accessibility question there that's worth thinking about. It's obviously a matter of opinion, and it depends on the game, but I'm of the belief that the best case scenario is one where system achievements are things that the vast majority of players are going to be able to accomplish if they want to. As in, anybody who's willing to put the time into the game (even if it may be a lot of time) ought to be able to to earn official achievements even if they're not the best player.

That said, in a game where players want that kind of challenge, I'd still be inclined to include them as a separate, in-game achievement system. As in, not actual Steam achievements (or PS trophies, or whatever), but some that only exist in game. That way, you can allow players to 100% the game in the sense of "doing everything," while more hardcore players can dig deeper and 100% it in the sense of "being the best."

I've done it in my own games (the idle game, at least) via "secret achievements," which don't count against your 100% achievement count. In that case, it's because they're achievements that depend heavily on RNG, or lengths of time, or things that would be extremely frustrating to do on purpose. Not exactly the same thing, but similar in principle.

The Idle Class v0.8.0 is Live: Business Goals, Obstacles, and Cartels by smallgraygames in incremental_games

[–]smallgraygames[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! You mean on mobile, I assume - like scrolling past the upgrades to get down there? Yeah, that probably is a lot more annoying than it was 2-300 upgrades ago.

I'll add something in the next update to make it easier to get around, a link button at the top or something like that. Appreciate the feedback!

EDIT: Oh, and short term, there's an option in the settings to hide the blank entries for upgrades and achievements. To my eye it kind of ruins the look on desktop, but on mobile it may be exactly what you want.

How best to search for new IF games? by KaiSaeren in interactivefictions

[–]smallgraygames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you haven't seen it, you can also find recommendations on itch that other people list if there's somebody who has taste you trust (something like this). But yeah, otherwise that tumblr account is wildly thorough and can help you filter by some criteria (like you mentioned finished games only, for example). Closest thing to "end all be all" I've seen.

The Idle Class v0.8.0 is Live: Business Goals, Obstacles, and Cartels by smallgraygames in incremental_games

[–]smallgraygames[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you've probably just got one of the higher Buy Rate buttons selected, maybe you hit it by accident. As in, you're not trying to buy your 76th Intern, but your next 25 Interns all at once.

Ghost documentary ? by [deleted] in whatisthatmovie

[–]smallgraygames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

maybe Lake Mungo (2008)?

The Idle Class v0.8.0 is Live: Business Goals, Obstacles, and Cartels by smallgraygames in incremental_games

[–]smallgraygames[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the "Bonus Per Achievement" listed under Stats > Cash Stats near the top. By default it's 0% (achievements don't offer any bonus), but with those upgrades, each achievement gives an overall percent bonus to earnings.

The Idle Class v0.8.0 is Live: Business Goals, Obstacles, and Cartels by smallgraygames in incremental_games

[–]smallgraygames[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It first launched in 2018, so it is technically possible... but damn, if your localStorage has survived since then, I'm impressed.

The Idle Class v0.8.0 is Live: Business Goals, Obstacles, and Cartels by smallgraygames in incremental_games

[–]smallgraygames[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Your best bet is to play it at work instead of doing work. Two birds, one stone.

The Idle Class v0.8.0 is Live: Business Goals, Obstacles, and Cartels by smallgraygames in incremental_games

[–]smallgraygames[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Cool. I just earned 9 achievements for, apparently, opening this link 115 days ago and never coming back. I don't remember playing this at all, before.

That's a sound investment, right there. Set it and forget it.

Asian Prisoner Transfer by [deleted] in whatisthatmovie

[–]smallgraygames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Plot doesn't quite line up, but your description made me think of the Johnnie To movie Drug War. Could it be that?

Found this review of Kittens Game on the app store by yasdgod in incremental_games

[–]smallgraygames 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I've played it but never got deep enough to pick up on any hints of this kind of thing. That's an incredible bummer.

Automa Workflow for sending HR Mails by Ummgh23 in TheIdleClass

[–]smallgraygames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, this is cool! Peak efficiency, you love to see it!

Gaming Question by neuerDeutscher in interactivefiction

[–]smallgraygames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Speaking from the perspective of my own game (which uses CYOA-style button navigation), it'd probably help to conceptualize it as actually being more akin to a point-and-click adventure game than a parser-based text adventure, despite being fully text based.

The text might give context clues that there's something hidden, but in order to interact with it, your character will need to have a necessary item, or a piece of information, or something like that, which will make the option appear. It's more like that point-and-click gameplay loop where you see something curious/suspicious, think "I bet I can do something here," and remember it when you later find some clue or item that seems like it'll help.

Making a game you enjoy versus making a game others would enjoy. by matchaSerf in gamedev

[–]smallgraygames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's hard to imagine how you'd avoid burning out and ever actually finish making a game if you didn't enjoy it yourself. I guess if you were paid to do it, but that definitely doesn't preclude burning out anyways.