Lofi Idle Game

This idea started as an idea about creating an app or a game that I can use to help myself maintain a good sleep schedule. As I looked into this idea, I realized that I have a similar but much bigger problem to tackle: during the day, I always seem to get distracted when I sit down at my computer and try to work. Whether it be a livestream or a podcast, I always wanted to put something on my second monitor while I worked, and it almost always distracted me. The one thing that I found that never distracted me but instead helped me focus was something like this:

lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to

This and all the other lofi playlist videos that are like this — simple, calming, atmospheric music with a looping animation — are good for several reasons:

  • The music is low-energy and very predicatable so it has little chance of surprising me.
  • The video is simple and repetitive enough that it doesn't distract me often, and when it does, it never holds my attention for long and I can easily drift back to work.
  • The video serves as minor background visual stimulus, which I've found can help me focus.
  • If I get distracted by anything, whether by the video or by something else entirely, I learned that I can easily get back into a working mood if I just sit and stare at the video for long enough.
  • If the lofi playlist is an hour-long video (as opposed to an indefinite livestream), then I can use the video as a timer where the ending of the video becomes a reminder to take a break.

Inspired by this discovery, I wondered if I could create a game that helps players focus on their work in the same way that these videos were useful to me. An incremental idle game seems to fit very well with the idea of these lofi videos. Players would work with the game open on the side. The game would be idling while providing ambient music and background stimulus, perhaps while also racking up resources that they can spend later.

Now, I'm not exactly sure what you would get from making a game like that. It seems like it will be some sort of productivity tool that masquerades itself as a game. Maybe I can trick people into working or something.