A clicker game prototype
So this time I started to re-create one of the better games from 21st century: Universal Paperclips.
Universal Paperclips is a clicker game that's based on exponential growth (like some other clicker/idle games too). Here are my three most important findings about the genre:
1. You should always have a clear target
It's relatively easy to create an idle game which has some exponential growth built into the game, but keeping the game entertaining after a few minutes is hard.
Universal Paperclip absolutely nails this aspect by slowly but steadily introducing new gameplay elements, making the user always on their toes to learn how the next element works.
2. Timing is important
It's level design as with many other games, but you'll need to be very aware of how much time it takes to complete a single "step" of a game. Make it too easy and you'll need to create a ton of content, but make it too slow/hard to reach and the player loses interest.
3. Adding more variables makes it more interesting
A linear gameplay is great, but it does not inspire people, as there's not any aspect of luck or talent involved. You can increase the replayability of the game by adding more variables that good players (especially speedrunners) can tweak to find better strategies.
Play the prototype!
As always, here's the fully playable prototype. Unfortunately there's no win condition, but you can consider yourself a winner for trying it in the first place.