and the gods said: "go forth and cleanse the earth, until no one is left to cleanse." 

it's armageddon-o-clock: automate the end of the world and wipe out humanity! 

Idle Judgment Day is a very simple and short idle / clicker with real-time progression created in Twine (Harlowe) over a couple of days. 

Though it was created mainly as a proof-of-concept and experiment, it is functional on most devices, so I am releasing it as a pre-1.0.0 for Halloween. Technically, it works on mobile, but the idle part only really plays out on Desktop (see below).

For context: Despite its name it definitely shares more DNA with Cookie Clicker than Idle Apokalypse.

The proof-of-concept was rooted in the following challenge:

Is it possible to create a very simple idle / clicker game inspired by Cookie Clicker with an internal global clock driving progression, including level-based upgrades for automation as well as in-game message updates using a tool (Twine, Harlowe Format) that wasn't made to create games like this?

Background: Turn-based (!) incremental games are easy to make in Twine – but time-based progression with a real time clock across the entire game, not just a single passage (=story node in Twine)? That's a whole different story – at least in the Harlowe format.

Short answer: Yes, it's possible!

Long answer: Yes, but... it has some limitations due to the nature of Twine in general, and in some cases specifically the Harlowe format I used (example: no offline progress). That being said it overall works as intended and I will be open sourcing the code for the global clock.

Regarding the theme of the game: The game is a (loving) parody of clicker games, where numbers usually go up. I instead wanted to make an idle game where numbers go down. Plus I wanted to release it around Halloween with a spooky theme. That's all. (FWIW: I'm atheist, but I grew up in a doomsday cult, so that's where some inspiration comes from)

Let me know what you think of it, and if you encounter any issues please post it to the community page, I'll try and sort it out. 

0.9.1

  • changed font for better readability
  • functional on all devices and browsers, except iOS Safari
  • 15 levels and 20+ automation & one-time upgrades
  • real-time-based progression
  • random events
  • save functionality (browser local storage)
  • on desktop: Plays idle in background if browser tab is open (including in separate browser window if it's the open tab)
  • Audio FX and music (both mutable)
  • prestige / reset mechanics
  • endless play

known issues: 

  • Input lag (sometimes links need to be clicked twice: this also is due to the limitations of Twine and the way the (live:) macro works)
  • Error rendering it unplayable in iOS Safari (=was not able to figure out why yet, works just fine in MacOS Safari)
  • Stops running when a) you open a different tab b) screen saver turns on c) offline, but will automatically continue running when you return to the tab (= this is unfortunately due to the limitations of Twine, this is something I can't change)
  • Music does not loop perfectly (= I believe this is also due to Twine, the music should be a perfect loop)


credits: 

another game from odd pizza!


More information

Development log