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Idle Chatter - GDC 2016
1. Idle Chatter
What We All Can Learn from Self-Playing Games
Anthony Pecorella
Kongregate.com
2. Slides!
• You can download these slides right now from
developers.kongregate.com/blog
3. Who Am I?
• At Kongregate for 7 years,
directing our browser-based
F2P virtual goods business
• Producer for
AdVenture Capitalist mobile
• Also an indie designer,
cofounder of Level Up Labs
15. Why Are We Still Talking About This?
• Generates great revenue
– ARPUs (average revenue per user) well-above most single-
player games on Kongregate.com
16. Why Are We Still Talking About This?
• Top-grossing single-player
games by ARPU
17. Why Are We Still Talking About This?
• Top-grossing single-player
games by ARPU
18. Why Are We Still Talking About This?
• It is the most exciting genre in games today
• The genre has a short gestation period (development
time) and lots of hosts
(developers)
• Result: Rapid evolution!
20. Idle Game Mechanics Crash Course
• Progress without interaction
– Low pressure experience
– Constant growth and progress
• There are no lose conditions!
– Quick check-ins can be very profitable by shifting up the
growth curve
• Great for social/mobile play patterns
21. Idle Game Mechanics Crash Course
• Progress without interaction
– Creates a celebratory moment
every time you return to the game
• The longer you don’t the play the
game, the bigger the reason to return!
– Forced appointment mechanics
become an unnecessary element
Tap Adventure
22. Idle Game Mechanics Crash Course
• Rapid growth of costs and power/rewards
– Humans love big numbers
AdVenture Capitalist
23. Idle Game Mechanics Crash Course
• Rapid growth of costs and power/rewards
– Core loop:
• Log in
• Spend all of your cash
• Log out, to return in a few hours
– Sound familiar?
Cityville
24. Idle Game Mechanics Crash Course
• Rapid growth of costs and power/rewards
– Creates a “natural” energy system without the need for an
energy currency
– More palatable to players (esp. “gamers”)
• Has real-world analog, makes sense
– “I’m out of cash, need to come back when I have more.”
• Player feels more ownership over this decision
– “I could wait, but my time is worth more than that.”
25. Idle Game Mechanics Crash Course
• “Prestiging” (New Game+)
– Choose to reset your game to get a
boost the next time through
– Start back over, but with much more
power than before
– Provides an interesting strategic
decision for the player
Tap Titans
37. Idle Game Mechanics Crash Course
• Make It Bumpy
– Realm Grinder: The Infamous
Reincarnation 16
• Getting to R16 is arduous
• Some players spend money,
some wait it out
• Regardless, getting to R16 is an
accomplishment, reinforced by the
introduction of an entirely new
mechanic
Gaminic, Kongregate Forums
38. Idle Game Mechanics Crash Course
• Make It Bumpy
Jetpack Joyride Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
39. Idle Game Mechanics Crash Course
• Prestige Currency
– Prestiging allows you to reign in growth
– Typically a slower, often linear-growth currency is
rewarded
• Effectively takes a log of the main currency
• Gives the developer an opportunity to more easily balance and
control progression
47. Monetization
• Time warp
– Get a percentage of current rate
• Speed multipliers
– Permanent, stackable bonuses
• Prestige claim
– Gain prestige currency without
resetting
AdVenture Capitalist
Clicker Heroes
52. Monetization
• Opt-in ad models
– Game-initiated: the game offers
the option to watch the ad, must
be accepted or declined on the
spot
Bitcoin Billionaire
53. Monetization
• Opt-in ad models
– Player initiated: player
can choose to watch an
ad on-demand
AdVenture Capitalist
57. Monetization
• This is not in lieu of spending
– Paying players will gladly engage too
– A bit of hard currency won’t appeal to spenders, but a
multiplier or time warp could
• Have value to both free and paying players
61. Idle Game 2015 Innovations
• So, what’s new in the last year?
62. Idle Game 2015 Innovations
• Prestige Variation
– Change the game rules when prestiging
– Keeps the game fresher more engaging, rather than the
same thing just faster
63. Idle Game 2.0 Innovations
• Prestige Variation
Realm Grinder
68. Idle Game 2.0 Innovations
• Meta Prestiging
– So far more pre-planned progression rather than choice
– Helps give clear aspirational goals
– Makes for good break points for new features
81. Idle Game 2.0 Innovations
• Specialized Build Goals
– Give players targets to aim for beyond just making bigger
numbers
– Requires strategy to adjust resources to best optimize
towards that goal
82. Idle Game 2.0 Innovations
• Specialized Build Goals
Crusaders of the Lost Idols
83. Idle Game 2.0 Innovations
• Specialized Build Goals
Trimps
84. Idle Game 2.0 Innovations
• Creative and
Experimental
– True
Exponential
85. Idle Game 2.0 Innovations
• Creative and
Experimental
– Idle Quotes
86. On Auto-clickers
• Auto-clickers are considered necessary by any
“serious” idle game player.
– I substantially enjoyed idle games more when I broke
down and installed an auto-clicker
87. On Auto-clickers
• This is not cheating, this is an error in design.
– Think of Facebook games moving from clicking on
doobers to mousing-over them
– This is a needed quality of life improvement
88. On Auto-clickers
• Rapid clicking is fine occasionally but exhausting
and painful as the primary interaction
Clicker Heroes
89. On Auto-clickers
• Simplify repetitive and uninteresting tasks
– Tap and hold rather than repeated tapping
Farm Away!
90. On Auto-clickers
• Simplify repetitive and uninteresting tasks
– Allow saved “builds” or checkpoints for complex setups
– Don’t have the optimal strategy require clicking
constantly
91. Online vs. Offline
• Major design challenge, especially on mobile
• “What do you want the player experience to be
like?”
92. Online vs. Offline
• Why punish offline play?
– Timer limits, percentage limits, etc.
• These do pressure players to come back, but well-designed
games without them have great retention anyway
• Players don’t have to have your game open to be actively
playing it
93. Online vs. Offline
• Alternatives?
– Calculate offline the same as online
– Give players choices so they can decide if
they want to do online or offline play at
the moment
– Use the math of exponential growth as a
soft offline limit
103. Plot?
• Plot and characters a largely unused
• Given the long-term relationship from players, this
seems like a missed opportunity for storytelling
104. Spin-offs and Existing IP
• Spin-offs: Great way to kick-start with existing assets
Time Rifters Time Clickers
105. Spin-offs and Existing IP
• Spin-offs: Great way to kick-start with existing assets
Brave Tales
Tap Adventure
106. Spin-offs and Existing IP
• Spin-offs: Great way to kick-start with existing assets
Bush Whacker 2 Crusaders of the Lost Idols
107. Spin-offs and Existing IP
• Spin-offs: Great way to kick-start with existing assets
Cloudstone Clicker Heroes
116. Non-Idle Applications
• Launch games
– Consider varying launch goals/parameters to keep
launches feeling fresh
• Challenge player to specific activities per launch
• Random rule changes on a launch, with a bonus for success
