Utah Games Speaker Series presents:

Numbers Getting Bigger: A Critical Look At Incremental Games
Alexander King

When: Thursday September 26th, 2024 from 4:00-5:00
Where: Building 72, Lecture Room 103, University of Utah

Join us for a close examination of ‘incremental games’ with game designer Alexander King. Incremental and clicker games are full of contradictions: They appear to be choiceless and have no way to lose, but produce compelling gameplay nonetheless. The genre began with absurdist arthouse critiques, but quickly became a mainstream commercial powerhouse. They seem to be obsessed with numbers, but they’re ultimately narrative experiences. How do we make sense of all this? Are they just mindless skinner boxes, tricking players into empty experiences? Are they even games at all? If examined closely, perhaps they’re not so mysterious after all, and maybe understanding incremental games can help us get new insight into the things we enjoy about all games.