There is nothing.

April 30, 2014 1:22 PM

"Drowning in Problems" is a new incremental/clicking game by Notch, the creator of Minecraft.

The game is Notch's entry in the recent Ludum Dare competition, in which a record 2,497 games were created over a weekend.

Rabbit hole to the world of incremental games here.

posted by jbickers (53 comments total)

I like what I see here.
posted by oceanjesse at 1:30 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm dead, but I still have hope, so apparently that can be solved.
posted by jacquilynne at 1:36 PM on April 30, 2014

The game seems to start over after death. Is what happens different if I solve things faster?
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 1:37 PM on April 30, 2014

Well that was depressing as hell.
posted by zachlipton at 1:42 PM on April 30, 2014 [8 favorites]

This is depressingly accurate.

By which I mean, QUIT JUDGING ME STUPID GAME.
posted by fight or flight at 1:43 PM on April 30, 2014 [2 favorites]

Stick around as a child, do nothing but play and learn. It's quite a bit funner. And you live forever.
posted by mediocre at 1:48 PM on April 30, 2014 [7 favorites]

This broke my heart into a thousand tiny shards.

But I had a lot of memories, and it took a long time for me to be forgotten. I am heartened by that.

It reminds me of one of the speeches at a friend's memorial.
posted by Kpele at 1:49 PM on April 30, 2014

Got to the very end. I mean I don't believe in a personal afterlife, but the game could've been nicer about it :c
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 1:49 PM on April 30, 2014

Stick around as a child, do nothing but play and learn. It's quite a bit funner. And you live forever.

If I had to guess, I would guess that's exactly the message that Notch is trying to convey with this (i.e. keep your childlike qualities, don't be in such a hurry to get to the "next thing.")
posted by jbickers at 1:51 PM on April 30, 2014 [9 favorites]

Christ this respawn time is interminable.

I'm wondering if the Memory stat is linked to the Dead-Forgotten counter speeds. 'Cuz I had like 185 Memory before I gave in and grew up into a dead old man and the respawn is taking FOREVER.
posted by mediocre at 1:55 PM on April 30, 2014

Spoiler alert: you could always use more money and knowledge.
posted by vverse23 at 1:57 PM on April 30, 2014

The graphics are better than Minecraft's anyway.
posted by Blue Meanie at 1:59 PM on April 30, 2014

I'm dead, but I still have hope

Give it time.
posted by mediocre at 2:01 PM on April 30, 2014

You are human.

Objection: I didn't see a gom-jabbar mentioned anywhere.
posted by Going To Maine at 2:03 PM on April 30, 2014 [5 favorites]

For those of us who want to cheat, http://game.notch.net/drowning/drowninginproblems.dart.js. Search for "There is nothing" to find all the messages.

There's no escape with money and knowledge, it will always end in bitterness and death.
posted by dragoon at 2:06 PM on April 30, 2014

Not true. I assure you, you can be a learning, playing child for eternity. Well, I wouldn't put it past him to have coded a happy childs death in there somewhere. But I did nothing but learn and play until I got bored enough to grow up.
posted by mediocre at 2:10 PM on April 30, 2014 [2 favorites]

A reminder that in the end, nothing matters. It all fades away. Thus only the journey itself is important.

Of course, the journey itself isn't all that interesting here. :/
posted by evilangela at 2:12 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

Disagree! Like the spare computer I set up to do nothing but run Progress Quest (still running, presumably) you can live forever with nothing but a steadfast refusal and follow the most obviously progressive paths.
posted by mediocre at 2:16 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

Why? Why have you done this to my clients?
posted by humboldt32 at 2:32 PM on April 30, 2014 [2 favorites]

I want an option to transcend my humanity. Maybe in the next expansion?
posted by Oxydude at 2:36 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

That was gorgeous.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 2:41 PM on April 30, 2014

nerf teens
posted by theodolite at 2:49 PM on April 30, 2014 [2 favorites]

Money can't buy you solve.
posted by chavenet at 3:02 PM on April 30, 2014 [8 favorites]

How masturbatory.
posted by kafziel at 3:05 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

I don't remember having that option to click...
posted by stenseng at 3:21 PM on April 30, 2014

that was the exact opposite of profound
posted by mightygodking at 3:36 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

I basically wanted to hoard friends
posted by aubilenon at 3:38 PM on April 30, 2014 [2 favorites]

If it's a game, it's boring. If it's a message, it's heavy handed. And boring.
posted by Flunkie at 3:42 PM on April 30, 2014 [3 favorites]

For me, it was the curiosity about what would come next that kept me clicking.

And then I started noticing my clicking.

I think that was the point.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 3:47 PM on April 30, 2014 [2 favorites]

I like it. I don't find it particularly heavy handed, though it is somewhat blunt. One of the more interesting parts, for me, was my style of play led me, throughout the middle part of the game, to click on every "solve" as fast as possible just to get to the end.
posted by papayaninja at 3:49 PM on April 30, 2014

The version of me in this game was apparently much smarter and sexier than the real me.

(But yeah, I'll go with gorgeous.)
posted by capricorn at 4:01 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

You need to create. [Can't afford]
posted by Ian A.T. at 4:02 PM on April 30, 2014 [2 favorites]

Aww man this is precisely what I needed to see right now! Also, I now imagine Notch as a man of many lovers and quite a few crushed dreams xD
posted by zscore at 5:24 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

I liked it too. At first, I was just clicking like I was playing Clicking Bad, but then slowed down and starting thinking about what each next step needed, and why.
posted by supercres at 5:30 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

I just opted to make love and play for all eternity.
posted by ifjuly at 5:38 PM on April 30, 2014

I had a lover and lots of experiences and memories before I died. Sounds good.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:43 PM on April 30, 2014

I think I prefer A Dark Room. If all men must die, might as well build a thriving post-apoc village first and die repeatedly in explore the environs.
posted by ersatz at 6:05 PM on April 30, 2014 [2 favorites]

mediocre

Nope; I just did a playthrough with the minimum "baggage" necessary for "advancement" (given the nature of said advancement, I think the quotation marks are appropriate), and solving "You Are Forgotten" is still interminable.

By the way, beyond the obvious prerequisites needed for advancement, make sure you pick up at least three extra Memories. It's possible to get stuck otherwise.
posted by The Confessor at 7:16 PM on April 30, 2014

Also for cheaty: run this bit of js in your javascript console.

setInterval(function(){ $("a").click() }, 1000)

(From the HN thread. There are other fun variations.)
posted by tapesonthefloor at 7:51 PM on April 30, 2014

I can only hope it takes that long to be forgotten. I'm afraid the game is optimistic.
posted by maryr at 8:23 PM on April 30, 2014

Considering the author's personal history for the past three years, success like a bolt out of the blue, death of his father, quick marriage and divorce, I'd say this is more autobiographical than anything else. He's had a strange ride recently.
posted by bonehead at 8:56 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

I wonder if this is a cry for help by Notch?
posted by Joe Chip at 8:57 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

i've been feeling really down on a lot of stupid bs going on if my life, and this REALLY bummed me out.

usually i'd just laugh at the cynical statement it's making, but... fuck.
posted by emptythought at 9:22 PM on April 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

Ludum Dare Contributor: "Hey, I'll make a game over a weekend and give it away."

Half of the Internet: "Yay!"

The Other Half: *crickets*

Ludum Dare Contributor Who Happens To Be Kinda Famous: "Hey, I'll make a game over a weekend and give it away."

Half of the Internet: "Yay!"

The Other Half: "Your so-called 'work' is mediocre, boring, and you should feel shitty for having wasted our time."
posted by belarius at 11:00 PM on April 30, 2014 [7 favorites]

How masturbatory.

But I was quite surprised how often I got laid.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:23 AM on May 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Metafilter : [Can't Afford] +Broken Heart +Crushed Dreams +Friend +Knowledge
posted by fullerine at 12:31 AM on May 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

worst in game sex scene ever
posted by destrius at 1:54 AM on May 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I wonder if this is a cry for help by Notch?

It could just be his way of journalling.
It could have just been a guy in his shop whittling away at his hobby.
posted by DigDoug at 6:12 AM on May 1, 2014

It was interesting to think about the decisions behind him creating the game and how I might set it up. It's akin to playing with someone's prototype. It would actually be fun to see if it's possible to do a version of this with twine or something similar as it's an approachable format for writing an IF game.
posted by typecloud at 7:31 AM on May 1, 2014

Plays like a weird cross between Choose Your Own Adventure, Zork, and Flappy Hat.
posted by ephemerae at 7:38 AM on May 1, 2014

You Need a Hug
posted by fullerine at 8:37 AM on May 1, 2014

If you've got a little programming ability and want to have fun making your own game like this, check out Idle Game Maker. It's essentially an engine for making these sorts of things.
posted by DWRoelands at 8:45 AM on May 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I am born. I have hope, lots of love and lots of knowledge, but I can't afford. What else is new…
posted by Yellow at 5:29 AM on May 2, 2014