The Core Mechanic of Engaging Idle Incremental Games
The concept of idle incremental games, where you watch a number increase and buy upgrades to accelerate the process, might seem unappealing. Players often reset their progress for a production bonus, pushing further each time. Yet, these games boast huge communities and dedicated players. What makes them so engaging?
As a solo game developer working on an idle incremental game, "Get a Little Gold," for over a decade, I've studied this phenomenon. I've concluded that the best games share a crucial mechanic. To illustrate this, I'll create a basic incremental game focusing solely on this mechanic to demonstrate its impact.
Building a Basic Incremental Game: "Duck Game"
Let's start building our game.
-
First, we need a main currency. Instead of the usual dollars, we'll use "Ducks," complemented by a quacking sound effect for each button press.
-
The background and button design are borrowed from "Get a Little Gold" to keep things simple, emphasizing the core mechanic over fancy graphics.
-
The central element is a Duck counter displayed prominently on the screen, starting at 10 Ducks.
Generators: The Engine of Progress
If you've played incremental games, you're familiar with generators. For those who aren't, a generator is simply an upgrade or building that produces the main currency.
-
The first generator in our "Duck Game" costs 10 Ducks and generates 2 Ducks per second.
-
A button allows players to purchase generators.
-
A text field displays the current Duck production rate (Ducks per second).
This is where the core mechanic takes shape.
The Seesaw of Profits and Costs: Linear vs. Exponential Growth
At their heart, idle incremental games are a balance between profit and cost. Profits from generators grow linearly, while costs increase exponentially.
-
Linear Growth: Each generator increases Duck production by 2 Ducks per second. 10 generators produce 20 Ducks/second, and 100 produce 200 Ducks/second.
-
Exponential Growth: The cost of each subsequent generator increases by 10%. The 10th generator costs 24 Ducks, while the 100th costs over 100,000 Ducks.
Let's look at what this means:
With 9 generators producing 18 Ducks/second, the 10th is easily affordable. But progressing from 99 to 100 generators takes over 10 minutes. Purchasing the 200th generator, after already having 199, costs over 2 billion Ducks and would take over 50 days!
In the early stages, production exceeds costs. As you buy more generators, the price of the next one increases, eventually slowing the game down.
Overcoming the Wall: Creative Solutions
The single most important mechanic making idle incremental games fun is the availability of creative ways to overcome the "wall," the point where progress slows significantly. There are potentially dozens or even hundreds of such approaches, so we will just focus on the two basic ones.
- These two methods are essential and can create a reasonably engaging game.
Introducing New Generator Types
The first method is introducing new generator types that have greater production but are more expensive.
-
In "Duck Game," the second generator type costs 1,000 Ducks and produces 100 Ducks per second.
-
Although the initial cost seems unfavorable, the exponential price growth makes it more efficient than buying many of the first generator type.
Let's consider some examples:
50 of the first generators (producing 100 Ducks per second) cost over 11,000 Ducks. The same production is achieved with the second generator for just 1,000 Ducks. 100 of the first generator would cost 1.5 million ducks, while two of the second type cost only 2,100 ducks.
The number of generator types is a game designer's decision. "Duck Game" has three, with the final one producing 5,000 Ducks per second and costing 100,000 Ducks. "Get a Little Gold" has 15, ranging from fans to white holes.
The Prestige Mechanic: Reset for a Boost
The second key approach is the well-known prestige mechanic.
- This allows players to reset their progress in exchange for a permanent boost, accelerating future progress.
In "Duck Game," the prestige mechanic is simple:
-
The game tracks total Ducks produced.
-
Reaching 1 million Ducks unlocks a button to reset progress for a 100% boost to Duck production.
-
Each subsequent 100% bonus requires 1 million more Ducks than the previous bonus. 3 million Ducks grant a 200% bonus, and 6 million grant a 300% bonus.
Offline Earnings and Winning Conditions
Adding offline earnings makes the game more appealing and easy to do:
-
The game saves the time when the player closes the game.
-
Upon restarting, it calculates the offline time and multiplies it by the Duck production rate to award offline earnings.
Finally, a winning condition provides a goal and encourages competition:
- "Duck Game" is won by reaching 1 billion Ducks.
I was able to do it in 14 minutes and 44 seconds.
Conclusion
The game has been uploaded and there is a link for it. If you enjoy incremental games, consider subscribing for more content.