78 Getting Stronger Through Clicking

One day, I just had this sudden thought for a new type of system. One that basically took the form of a clicker game. From that day it had been stuck in my mind, I had to find a place to put this idea. So, I wrote it down in my notebook of fan-fiction ideas, because it could lend itself to many different stories. Hell, it could be its own stand-alone story if someone put in the effort. But before I get ahead of myself, let me explain how the system would work.

So basically, a Clicker-Style System would work in a fashion akin to clicker games, where you click to gain points which can be used to automate and improve the quality of your clicks. Transforming that into a system seems doable, by having a certain action gain points and then using them on skills or production. I'll give an example: Say the Main Character chooses punching as his action, well now we have a martial arts system. As he practices or fights, he'll gain points, which will be used to purchase either skills/upgrades or automated production. Upgrades will affect both his physical body and how many points he gains by his own independent actions. Say he buys an upgrade which increases his clicking power by x4, it causes his punches to become 4x stronger. Skills will change the amount gained by personal efforts too, but will also give the mc new powers. For example, the protagonist buys the Skill: Double Strike, which causes every punch to act as two, which doubles both points gained and damage dealt. This is how he becomes OP over time, by purchasing these powers as they appear.

On the flipside, automated production causes the MC to gain points at all times, which slowly stockpiles the precious currency. Let's say the first "building" is something akin to Shadow Clones, which punch at a rate of 1 per second, which leads to about 86,400 punches in a day. If we have them also affected by the upgrade and skill from before that's 691,200 punches. Now, it could be difficult trying to come up with more "buildings" than just that one, but I could see something like a master who punches much faster than the clones or a dojo that acts like a huge group.

Another thing to add is the Ascension function that at least a few clicker games have, which resets all your progress in exchange for a rarer currency that buys upgrades which permanently affect the way the game acts. In Cookie Clicker, you get Heavenly Chips, which can be used to buy numerous useful upgrades. They are made as your Prestige level goes up, which is done by making tons of cookies. You have to ascend if you want access to them, though. I can see how you would translate that into the system, by making it a multiversal travel button. Basically, the MC would relinquish all his power in his current world, and move on to a new one, and by doing so would gain a currency to buy more special upgrades. It could be things like powerful martial arts, bloodlines, special summons, you name it. As for new worlds, you could either have the protagonist choose or have it be a random world.

If you wanted to add something akin to a mission system, I could see it working in a specific way. So the system would give out a daily quest list, which has the reward of an extra type of currency, which buys a temporary production multiplier, an instant gain of a certain amount of production, or a temporary decrease in shop prices. The missions could also give out free "buildings" to aid in production. These tasks could range from earning a certain amount of points, to killing a powerful foe, with the rewards increasing with difficulty.

Now that we've established the system, let's talk about where to start, world-wise. Honestly, you couldn't go wrong with a martial arts world, like Kenichi, Baki, or Kengan Asura. Heck, you might even be able to start with a Xianxia or Wuxia world. Basically, this system lend its functions to just about any action based world, even things like Marvel and DC.