incrementally losing my mind: some context
I have been playing Kittens Game for millennia at this point.[1] I have been working on this kitten civilization for just over seventy-two hours, but if I were to calculate how many real-world hours, I’ve had this game running I’d come up with a number higher than I’d like to admit.[2] Of course, I have the time to perform the math required to answer these questions because the game practically plays itself. Once I started automating the collection of resources, I stopped having to click “Gather Catnip.”
A screenshot of the Stats tab in Kittens Game.
Kittens Game is an incremental idle game. Incremental games are games where the complexity of the systems players interact with unfold over time. You might start with a few available actions, but by the midpoint of the game you could find yourself drowning in options. Idle games are games that you “play” by not touching them. These games are simulations, generally themed around resource production and management. Incremental idle games are games where the number of resources you are managing and collecting grows as you play; you discover new resources and systems as your existing resources and systems chug along. There’s something addictive about this genre of game. Seeing the numbers go up to ridiculous levels brings me genuine enjoyment. I think about my kittens when I close my eyes. What are they doing? How is their leader? Did I make the right choice investing in Monarchy?[3], [4] So much of my down time is checking the tab in my internet browser where Kittens Game is running, hoping that I’ve estimated my time correctly and that I have accumulated enough titanium to purchase my next upgrade. And for all this time I’ve spent “playing” this game,[5] I still am in what is considered the “early game.” I haven’t even unlocked Metaphysics yet.
Why do I like this game? Why do I obsess over similar games? I currently have Cookie Clicker[6] running in the background, I just finished The Barnacle Goose Experiment, I’ve previously played Crank and A Dark Room, and I have vague memories of Candy Box 2. There’s something to these games that scratches an itch in my brain. I’d like to know what it is.
[1] Eight millennia, to be specific. At the time of writing this first sentence, I have seen 8613 years go by.
[2] Roughly 478.5 hours. (Based on the table of values found here.)
[3] Yes, according to the guide by avocadho.
[4] This is, I believe, the only context where I can ever be quoted saying I opted for Monarchy.
[5] Again, I’ve spent the equivalent of twenty(ish) days, non-stop, on this game.
[6] Available for play in browser on the web and as a downloadable app on Steam.
