import{_ase,cast,oasa,dasi}from"./app.dfaf5358.js";constu=JSON.parse('{"title":"Appeal to Players","description":"","frontmatter":{"title":"Appeal to Players"},"headers":[{"level":2,"title":"Numbers Going Up","slug":"numbers-going-up","link":"#numbers-going-up","children":[]},{"level":2,"title":"Progression","slug":"progression","link":"#progression","children":[]},{"level":2,"title":"Effortlessness","slug":"effortlessness","link":"#effortlessness","children":[]},{"level":2,"title":"Addiction","slug":"addiction","link":"#addiction","children":[]},{"level":2,"title":"Strategy","slug":"strategy","link":"#strategy","children":[]},{"level":2,"title":"Avoiding Staleness","slug":"avoiding-staleness","link":"#avoiding-staleness","children":[]},{"level":2,"title":"Good Game Design","slug":"good-game-design","link":"#good-game-design","children":[]},{"level":2,"title":"Artistic Merit","slug":"artistic-merit","link":"#artistic-merit","children":[]}],"relativePath":"guide-to-incrementals/ludology/appeal-gamers.md","lastUpdated":null}'),n={name:"guide-to-incrementals/ludology/appeal-gamers.md"},o=i('<h1id="appeal-to-players"tabindex="-1">AppealtoPlayers<aclass="header-anchor"href="#appeal-to-players"aria-hidden="true">#</a></h1><p>Thisissomethingthathasbeendiscussedandanalyzedbymanypeople,andtosomeextent,Ifeellikeeverythingthatcanbesaidonthetopicalreadyhas.However,alotoftheseanalysesarefromtheperspectiveofthosewithnotasmuchexperienceandinvolvementwithinthegenreasI'darguewouldbenecessaryforafullycontextualizedanswer.IrecentlywatchedavideoaboutVampireSurvivors,whichhassincebeentakendownduetodrawingnegativeattention,whichmademethinkaboutsomeinterestingargumentsaboutwhatgames<em>are</em>,andwhatmakesthem<em>good</em>.Thevideo'sargumentthat"VampireSurvivorsisnotavideogame"mirrorsaclaimbythedeveloperofCookieClickerthathisgamesare<ahref="https://www.polygon.com/2013/9/30/4786780/the-cult-of-the-cookie-clicker-when-is-a-game-not-a-game"target="_blank"rel="noreferrer">"non-games"</a>.UsingVampireSurvivorsandthevideomadeonitasaframework,I'llbeansweringwhyincrementalgamesappealtoplayers.Sincethevideohasbeentakendown,I'lldomybesttocontextualizeandgeneralizetheargumentsofthevideowithoutrequiringthereadertowatchit.Forwhatit'sworth,whileIdisagreedwiththevideoIactuallylikedalotofthewayitwentaboutthinkingaboutgames,andIconsiderthisacontinuationofthatdiscussion.</p><h2id="numbers-going-up"tabindex="-1">NumbersGoingUp<aclass="header-anchor"href="#numbers-going-up"aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2><p>Thisisaverycommonresponsetowhypeopleenjoyincrementalgames,althoughit'snotoneIfindcompelsmepersonally,andIsuspectitmightbeastand-infor<ahref="./appeal-gamers#progression">progression</a>or<ahref="./content">content</a>.Butreportedly,somepeopledojustlike<em>seeing</em>bignumbers.ImustreiterateIsuspecttheactualcauseisseeingbignumbers<em>incontext</em>though-ifyoustartat1e1000ofacurrencyandgetto1e1001,thatisn'tgoingtofeelassatisfyingasgoingfrom1e10to1e100,andinanycase,Idon'tthinkabuttonthatjustaddsazerotoyournumberwillfeelquitesatisfying-Ibelieveitsthesenseofhavingmadeprogress,andcomparingwhereyouaretowhereyoustartedandfeelinglikeyou'veearnedyourwayherethatisenjoyable.</p><h2id="progression"tabindex="-1">Progression<aclass="header-anchor"href="#progression"aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2><p>VampireSurvivorscanbearguedtohaveacomparativelylowdepthtoitscombatcomparedtomanyothergames.I'dargueithas<em>sufficient</em>depthandmorethansomeonemightexpectwhohasonlyplayedthegameforashortwhile,butitstilldefinitelygetsbeatoutbymanyothercombat-focusedgames.Instead,alotoftheprogressioninVampireSur