If you’re expecting some fresh hot takes on why idle games are bad, this isn’t the article you’re looking for. The internet beat that topic to death years ago because, to be frank, we need fewer traditional idle games that badly. Instead I’m tackling that goal from a more optimistic angle, by explaining how NeverEnding Legacy shows the potential for idle games to be creative and stimulating instead of lazy and manipulative.
Never heard of NeverEnding Legacy? That’s fair. It was developed by a small developer named Orteil. He’s only known for a niche, obscure title called Cookie Clicker. Though I think it’s a shame because even though NEL is built around Cookie Clicker’s formula, it is much more gameplay-driven and doesn’t feel like a psychological trap.
NeverEnding Legacy is an idle game where you are tasked with managing the growth of a populace, from a humble tribe to an iron age civilization. You collect resources to help your people grow. You assign people to collect resources, or to build resources from materials, or to discover resources, or so on. You apply policies that change how your civilization uses your resources. There are dozens of variables to manage, but at its core, everything revolves around spending resources and waiting to get more resources.
The basis of the traditional idle game is that you’re constantly gaining resources with minimal effort. You have a currency, you spend it on stuff, that stuff makes more currency over time. You buy more expensive stuff, that stuff exponentially increases your income. Lather, rinse, repeat. No obstacles. No risk of failure. Just constant forward progress for no effort. So, how does NEL subvert this without borrowing elements from other genres?
By making your own resources your obstacles.
via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/how-neverending-legacy-subverts-the-vices-of-idle-game-design-497763.phtml