Echoloop - prototype
This is a raw gameplay prototype, not a finished game. Placeholder rectangles, one resource chain, maybe ten minutes of content. It exists to answer one question: does one specific mechanic feel good?
The mechanic: earn a Recorder, press R, play one loop of the game by hand, press R again, then press G to paste a ghost that repeats your recording forever. Your skill at designing tight loops becomes the thing that earns while you’re gone.
How to play is in the sidebar. A session is 5-15 minutes. Saves happen automatically in your browser. Closing the tab is fine, ghosts keep earning while you’re away.
If you play it, I’d love two sentences of honest reaction, especially about the moment you pasted your first ghost. Brutal is useful. - Tickspire
Comments
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Really strong core idea. The record-a-loop-then-paste-a-ghost mechanic nails the automation fantasy in a tiny footprint going from clicking the loop by hand to watching a ghost do it forever is a real "aha." The first ghost paste is the standout moment; it immediately reframes your manual labor as something you're building a machine to replace.
The depth sneaks up on you. Stacking ghosts on one source starves it (Source A dropped fast while B sat full at [5]), so the "split across both mines" hint is where the actual puzzle lives you're really designing efficient, non-competing loops.
Honest rough edges: it's placeholder rectangles with no juice yet, the 5c-per-bar early economy is a slow grind before automation pays off, and the "⚠ re-record?" trap (a loop that never sells) needs a louder warning. But as a prototype answering "does this one mechanic feel good?" yes, it does. I'd play a fleshed-out version.