Game 4000 Group 3 Project 5

Progression Mechanic Name

Resource Accumulation

Description of mechanic and its progression

The player spends their time to generate a single resource. The progression of the mechanic is, once the player has spent enough time generating that resource, they can automate the process of generating the resource so they can move on to more fruitful tasks.

Implementation description

To demonstrate this mechanic and its progression, we created a playable concept that resembles an idle game, in which the player’s goal is to accumulate as much currency (gold; anchor resource) as possible. To do so, the player must click a button to mine stone, which is automatically converted to currency and displayed in a counter at the bottom of the screen. As the player accumulates more of this resource, more valuable tasks worth the player's time appear. These tasks are clicking a button to mine gold ore and a button to mine diamonds. This encourages the player to spend some of their money to automate the process of mining stone, so they can spend their time on the more fruitful task of mining gold ore and diamonds. Finally, the goal of the game is to save up enough gold to buy an animal companion that the player can click to pet - and even that process can be automated!

Description of how your pattern(s) relate to the prototype. (Include a link the to pattern)

Our pattern, I Will Take My Time Back, Thank You Very Much, states that designers can reward players without adding additional complexity to the game by allowing them to automate tasks the player considers “grindy” or laborious. Our playable concept is designed to make the button clicking and stone mining feel boring and repetitive, such that when the player finally gets a chance to automate the process, they feel rewarded and get the satisfying experience of watching a number tick up without expending any effort. 

Analysis describing the implications of the progression explored in your playable prototype.

Many types of progression add complexity to a game to reward the player. Mechanical progression invites players to learn new systems to interact with the game. Narrative progression encourages players to interpret new information in a story and draw new conclusions. Level progression often unlocks new content for the player to explore. The implication of the progression we explore here is that the player can feel rewarded and as though they have progressed without designers needing to provide new content or introduce complexity. Instead, the designer just needs to present the player with a grindy task (like our stone button clicking), a worthwhile reward (like the animal companion), and allow the player to take their time back by automating the grindy task.

Pattern Link and Summary

I Will Take My Time Back, Thank You Very Much - Instead of rewarding players with new complexity, designers can reward players by first taking away their precious time with a monotonous task, and then giving it back to them through automation.

Attribution

All assets used for this playable concept are original except for those listed below:

Fonts

• "Lato" font by Łukasz Dziedzic - Used with permission under SIL OPEN FONT LICENSE Version 1.1 (Asset Link)

Sound Effects

• Sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com 
• Cat Moaning, Meow, Hungry Sound Effect (Asset Link)
• Cat Meow, Hungry, Moan, Miserable Sound Effect (Asset Link)
• Cat Meow, Hungry, Begging for food Sound Effect (Asset Link)