"Cunningly Addictive" ~ The Game Tips And More Blog
Recipe For "Egg Stream Lee", A Very Addictive Game (Clicking Spices version):
2 parts random-loot-and-gold-collection feeling of Diablo2
3 parts colorfulness of a Japanese Animation
1 part the simplicity of a Browser-based game
Generous sprinkles of Humour
Pour mixture into a shell of Mathematics, Statistics and Programming
Let Steam, Downloading for 1-2 Minutes, until thoroughly Installed
Pour Clicking Spices all over top and sides
Prepare desk for eating and have enough supplies for never getting up again
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| Spend the rest of your life Clicking at the main website, or through Steam (Graphic from the Clicker Heroes Website) |
I haven't played this game for very long (I expect to do so, over time); but I already feel like I am a rat in an experiment. That, or the creator of the game is a Psychology Major, as the entire thing feels like a series of Human Cheese Traps, spaced out skillfully apart - each one just far enough away so that it doesn't seem like you have limitless amounts of cheese, but also close enough together, so that once you are finished with your present goal/cheese, looking up, there is another piece not far away - and you want that one now, too.
One of the first things to learn, for your own safety, is how to Exit the game. To do this, click on the 'x' in the corner of the Window. If in FullScreen mode, hit ESC to go into Windowed Mode, then click on the 'x' to do a typical Exit [Suggestion To Devs: an Exit within the Main screen area would be great]
"An Interactive Study Into Human Tendencies", should be an alternate name for this game. The Recipe I made above says it all: there is a nice sense of progression in the game, just enough to keep you interested as, everytime I 'got bored', something else 'unlocked' and I wanted to play further. There is even a sense of 'Inclusion' - the concept that your performing some action (you, as the player) makes a difference in the game. While overall, it does not [I mean that literally in the game and metaphorically as this is a game], it does still add to the sense of Inclusion, as you are helping your Heroes kill even faster, gaining gold even faster, which allows Upgrades even faster, which then allows killing even faster! And thus is the Circle Of Life. That is, your life, which could possibly become nothing but this game (esp. if you have compulsive tendencies). Serious for one moment: be careful to balance this game and the human tendencies it illicits, with discipline, restraint and breaks with 'real life' (if you can)...
"Need to do the laundry? Give the puppy a shower? No worries! Your heroes will farm monsters and automatically collect the gold while you're gone, even when the game is closed. But don't forget to come back and spend all that sweet gold on new heroes and upgrades!" ~ from Clicker Heroes Steam Store Page (Above Graphic from Clicker Heroes Steam Store Page)
That's right, after closing the game (if you do happen to pull yourself away from it, into Real Life), all the Heroes you hired in the game will continue to fight for you, killing monsters and collecting teh goldz, non-stop. While not a new concept in games ('working for you while you are gone'), it adds to the sense of progression, as you return to huge masses of gold, ready to spend on Upgrades and New Heroes that have come to help you amass even more gold...
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| While you weren't playing, you earned 567 Trillion Goldz. Trillion. |
The background music that plays (but can be turned off, which is important to many), is a pirate/adventure-style beat, from what sounds like Midi-powered Orchestral sources. It is catchy, even though it merely repeats over and over. [It would be nice to see a 'Battle Music' concept here, where the music changes if you actively participate (with immense clicking), changing back to the 'standard music' when you stop helping out your heroes]
When you hire the Hero named "Betty Clicker", Unlock her Upgrades as fast as possible, as her Upgrades help all your other Heroes out! As well, when you are able to hire the Hero named "King Midas", Unlock his Upgrades as soon as possible too, as his Upgrades increase all gold amounts found, from then on!
The overall strategy in the game is simple: You click/hit Monsters that automatically appear, which eventually die, and drop Gold. This money can then be used to hire Heroes, which approach you automatically and can fight for you, adding to your Damage. These same Heroes fight for you constantly, even if you aren't playing the game. After each batch of Monsters are killed, it makes opens the way for you to enter a new Area (Level). Each consecutive Area/Level has another batch of Monsters - but higher Level/Area Monsters drop more Gold. However, the higher you go in Levels, the more Damage you need to do, as the Monsters have higher and higher Hit Points [amount of Life] to hack through, in order to kill them... It quickly becomes a delicate balance of what level you could play at, versus how fast you can kill - which means how much gold you can acquire for Upgrading your Heroes (which allows them to do more Damage for you) ...to kill faster, to play higher levels, to get more goldz... and on and on it goes. So then, 'what do??'
Do you stay on the same level longer, to get easy (but less) gold?
Do you try to move on, killing slower (but the monsters you kill drop higher amounts of gold)?
Do you hire a new Hero to help your DPS (Damage Per Second) or Upgrade your current Hero to do more damage instead?
Do you hoard your gold and spend it in large purchases, or do you spend it as fast as it is coming in?
These are Life Lessons, people.
Maybe that's what this game is, a Training Course for Real Life... It is showing you that the sense of progression in Life is merely nothing but one piece of cheese after another. Feed that hunger, earn that money, buy that thing, play that game, poop that poop. Sleep. If you wake up, Repeat: Feed that hunger, earn that money, buy that thing, play that game, poop that poop. Sleep. If you wake up, Repeat. Do you see? This game is an allegory for the human experience! It is showing you the folly of life! Life is nothing but a treadmill of "upgrades" and "quests" and "other people that come along" and all your life can be simplified down to what... CLICKS! The clicks are your footsteps in life! The clicks are your thoughts as you walk around, the thoughts of the people "the heroes" in your life, the clicks are your actions, your doing homework, your paying the bills, your food going in your mouth! The clicks are your breaths! The clicks are your heartbeats! IT IS ALL JUST CLICKS AHAHAH...
...I got up off the floor after laying there a while... I'm ok now.
See this little orange guy to the right? Hit these! They have a chance of dropping Rubies, which can be used to purchase items from the Shop (giving you 'buffs' such as Gold, Faster Cooldowns, and Higher DPS).
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| These 14 Rubies I have, were found (not bought) by killing the li'l orange Monsters shown in the GIF above. They appear randomly and have a random chance at dropping a Ruby. Of course, the Developers of the game can always be Supported by purchasing some! (Screenshot of Cash Shop, Click to see Full Size) |
Wondering what the Letters and Symbols mean? Here is the Key to them:
- 1K = 1,000 = One Thousand
- 1M = 1,000K = One Million
- 1B = 1,000M = One Billion
- 1T = 1,000B = One Trillion
- 1q = 1,000T = One Quadrillion
- 1Q = 1,000q = One Quintillion
- 1s = 1,000Q = One Sextillion
- 1S = 1,000s = One Septillion
- 1O = 1,000S = One Octillion
- 1N = 1,000O = One Nonillion
- 1d = 1,000N = One Decillion
- 1U = 1,000d = One Undecillion
- 1D = 1,000U = One Duodecillion
- 1! = 1,000D = One Tredecillion
- 1@ = 1,000! = One Quattuordecillion
- 1# = 1,000@ = One Quindecillion
- 1$ = 1,000# = One Sexdecillion
- 1% = 1,000$ = One Septendecillion
- 1^ = 1,000% = One Octodecillion
- 1& = 1,000^ = One Novemdecillion
This game deals with extremely high damage, gold and numbers in general - use the above Key to decipher what stage/amounts you are dealing with!
- 1* = 1,000& = One Vigintillion
There's not much else to say about this deceptively addictive game (other than you can play it at the Main Website or Install it via Steam). You will either hate it, saying it is too stupid, too simple, too repetitive - or you will love this game and you will find it fun and addictive, and you will play it a lot - you will play it forever. Just don't hold your breath when you are trying to click as fast as you can...
Don't hold your breath when you are trying to click as fast as you can. You may die.
Actually, you will just pass out, and then you will resume breathing normally and wake up. Unless you hit your head on something when you pass out, or fall on something that crushes your windpipe. Then you will die. Basically, don't hold your breath while clicking, ok?
I haven't been playing very long [Level 85 woo!] and already I can see this game may ruin my life. This game has already ruined many lives. Maybe you shouldn't play this game after all. Maybe everyone should.
See You In The Game... or at least, Playing It.
[Personal Logarithm: I have a 'tip' for clicking speed, something I call "The Quiver"... It's something I figured out in the days of Famicom/Nintendo, where I could 'stiffen' my hand (holding out my index finger) and tighten my arm (bicep and tricep at the same time, almost as though 'flexing' for your 'special someone') - and then just let it 'quiver'... If done right, your finger (held stiff on your tightened hand and arm) will be bouncing up and down, very fast, on the desired button (in those days a Nintendo Controller..today a mouse). It may take practice, but once mastered, it will increase your speed not only on mouse-driven games, but also in all other games that require repeated button pressing (tested since the old cabinet stand-up arcade games..). I pass this torch of button-mashing technique, from "Old Skool" gaming days onto a new generation, you. Hopefully my unmet gamer friend, you can master this 'quivering' technique, one that will assist in mounting massive attacks in fighting games and all manner of button-mashing machines - and in Clicker Heroes, may it help you amass large amounts of goldz for your deepz... Enjoy]
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