One game that used to take up a LOT of my time is “Legend of Slime: Idle RPG War,” a mobile idea incremental game. In this game, you play as a slime on a quest to defeat the evil humans who have invaded the monster forest. As an incremental game, LoS relies on a simple set of mechanics: endless waves of enemies that progressively get stronger with each stage, as well as an upgrade system that uses in-game currency obtained from defeating enemies to increase the slime’s abilities and equips it with tools and allies to meet the demands of the increasing difficulty.
The resulting dynamic is what is expected of an idle incremental game: the player presses buttons to upgrade the slime and watches as the slime goes off on its own to attack wave after wave of enemies. The player does not need to actually perform any inputs aside from upgrading the slime as its behavior is automatic; in fact, the slime will continue attacking even when the game is turned off. Most of the time, the player is waiting to accrue enough currency to purchase the next cool upgrade to make their slime even stronger, which will allow it to defeat enemies quicker, which will allow it to accrue currency quicker, which will allow it to get that next cool upgrade even quicker, which will allow it to…
This gameplay loop relies on a few core aesthetics. First: sense pleasure/sensation. As the player is idle for most of the time, they are hooked on the flashing colors and fast-paced music/SFX, which has kept me glued to my screen for longer than I would like to admit. There is always so much happening on the screen, which is enough to keep me stimulated. Second: discovery. There is certainly a sense of excitement whenever I obtain enough gold to afford the next upgrade and can finally see what new shiny weapon or cool side character I can equip my slime with. I also get to see what new enemies and stages are on the horizon. Third: abnegation/submission. As an idle game, I appreciate checking in on my slime whenever I have time to kill and mindlessly watch numbers go up and down on the screen. I have spent so many hours just staring at my slime instead of doing literally anything else… 😀
If my analysis of this game makes it seem like mindless brain rot, that is entirely correct. But perhaps that is exactly why it is so fun.
