What makes an “automaton” game good? Never played one, not so much my cup of tea I don’t think, but curious how people into the genre know if it’s a good automaton or a bad automaton.
Good automation games are ones that feel like you are progressing, not repeatedly creating the same setups over and over again. Ones that introduce new interesting challenges as you progress, not just another step in the 'crafting' process. They don't try to just replicate factorio, they have things to do other then the automation.
Just in general the best automation games all introduce something new or in a way that makes you feel like number go up in a satisfying way, marveling at your own creations complexity.
This is why I don't like most Factorio mods/overhauls. The bad ones just add more complexity to the system, more ingredients to make more things.
Ideally a good automation/factory game also gives you new solutions as you progress to simplify or power up your existing systems, and those solutions feel powerful. It's the same kind of power fantasy as getting better guns in a shooter or stronger equipment in an action RPG.
Yeah, the Factorio DLC really demonstrates what it takes to make an innovative addition to the automation genre. Any new challenge has to involve new problems that require new solutions. If you just tell players "Okay, now do the same thing but this time with a different kind of metal", the game won't be interesting.
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u/MadeByTango 2d ago
What makes an “automaton” game good? Never played one, not so much my cup of tea I don’t think, but curious how people into the genre know if it’s a good automaton or a bad automaton.