7 Levels of Video Game Complexity

Level 1: Single-mechanic games (pure timing)

• Core idea: Only one primary action; mastery is mainly about timing and obstacle avoidance.
• Examples mentioned: Alto’s Adventure, Geometry Dash, Vector, Google’s dinosaur game.
• Also noted: Second-level-like progression where you still press the same button, but more background systems run.

Level 2: One-button gameplay with many hidden systems

• Core idea: Player input stays simple, but behind the scenes there’s a lot of simulation.
• Examples mentioned: Vampire Survivors, Kingdom series.

What’s happening “in the background” (Kingdom series)

• Economy management
• Day-night cycle
• Building up defenses
• Assigning workers to jobs
• Stockpiling resources
• Enemy waves

Level 3: Multiple mechanics linked into major systems

• Core idea: Several core systems interact (e.g., resources → survival → building).
• Example mentioned: Minecraft
  • Crafting + survival + building form the main complexity loops.
  • Example loop: night → zombies → need shelter → need wood → chop trees.
• Other examples: Subnautica, Terraria, The Forest.

Level 4: Many mechanics + many interlocking systems (horizontal complexity)

• Core idea: Similar to Level 3, but with far more variables to manage simultaneously.

Vintage Story (“harder Minecraft”)

• Balanced diet requirement (not just eating one food type)
• Mental state/sanity impacts (mining too long can break sanity)
• Real seasons, realistic rock layers, actual food spoilage

Project Zomboid

• Multiple tracked metrics: hunger, thirst, fatigue, stress, panic, boredom
• “Moodles” (10+), which can trigger each other:
  • Boredom → unhappiness increases
  • Unhappiness → slower actions
• Detailed wounds:
  • Bleeding body part
  • Bandage cleanliness
  • Infection risk
  • Etc.

Level 5: City-scale systems where one decision causes chain reactions

• Core idea: You manage an entire city; complexity comes from how systems affect each other at scale.
• Examples mentioned: SimCity 4, Surviving Mars, Frostpunk, Banished, Song of Six.

SimCity 4 chain reaction example (from one factory placement)

• Factory → jobs
• Jobs → housing demand
• Housing → population growth
• Population → traffic increase
• Traffic → commute slows → production decreases
• Factory → pollution
• Pollution → land value drops
• Land value drop → wealthier residents leave → tax revenue shrinks

Song of Six emphasis

• Population treated as deep individual simulation (lineage, religion, fears, desires)
• Multiple races: humans, dwarves, elves, insect-like race
• Different needs by race (food/shelter/religion)
• Because many individuals are simulated, small events (famine, uprising) can destabilize the whole kingdom

Level 6: Engineering-heavy automation and logistics puzzles

• Core idea: Requires systems/analytical thinking; you must design efficient pipelines and production logic.
• Examples mentioned: Factorio, Satisfactory, Mindustry, Dyson Sphere Program.

Factorio highlights (math + cascading dependencies)

• Build production chains from ore → smelting → goods → rocket
• Automation ramps up using inserters + conveyor belts
• Belt speeds (yellow/red/blue) change items-per-second
• Strategy tip implied: get the correct production rate, or downstream lines slow too
• Build/defend while researching (uranium processing → nuclear power, etc.)

Satisfactory highlights

• 3D factory design; vertical space is crucial
• Need “floor-by-floor” skyscraper-style layouts
• Use vertical lifts and plan layouts to use space efficiently
• Feed the space elevator for increasingly complex parts

Dyson Sphere Program highlights

• Multi-planet logistics network rather than one planet
• Goal: build large solar collection sphere structures around a star

Mindustry highlights

• Hybrid of hardcore factory automation + tower defense
• Combat is central to the logistics network (materials routed into turrets)
• Later adds literal logic system:
  • microprocessors
  • simplified assembly language coding for automated mech behavior
  • can dynamically shut down factories if power dips
  • balance fluid pipelines with precision

Overall Level 6 takeaway: You’re not just playing—you’re acting like a systems architect / logistics engineer.

Level 7: Roguelikes with extreme realism and massive interaction complexity

• Core idea: Hundreds of mechanics that interact with absurd realism; you’re effectively required to learn through testing (often no wiki/tutorial).
• Examples mentioned: Dwarf Fortress, Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead, Caves of Qud.

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead highlights (detailed action modeling)

• Breaking a door depends on many variables:
  • strength, tool availability, door material
  • noise output → zombie attraction distance
• Nutrition modeled beyond a hunger bar:
  • calories, vitamins, protein tracked separately
  • canned food can lead to real illnesses (e.g., scurvy)
  • realistic cure example: find oranges or vitamin C supplements
• Crafting/research are realistic and chain-based:
  • repairing a rifle requires metalworking skill, tools, and recipe books
  • learning skills requires repeated use or NPC lessons
• Building complex items/vehicles from scratch:
  • welding chassis piece-by-piece
  • choose engine/fuel type (gasoline/diesel/electric/solar)
  • physics + weight distribution affect speed/durability

Dwarf Fortress highlights (medieval simulation depth)

• World history simulation before gameplay:
  • kingdoms rise/fall, wars, heroes born/die
• Individual dwarf psychology and relationships:
  • grief, trauma, breakdowns, possible “tantrum spiral”
  • mental collapse of one dwarf can unravel the fortress
• Deep production chain + realistic-ish metallurgy modeling
• 3D construction risks:
  • digging wrong spot can rupture underground lakes and flood the fortress

NetHack added

• Long-running dungeon crawler (continuous development since 1987)
• Procedural dungeon with many levels
• Hundreds of monster and action/environment interactions:
  • 375+ monster types
  • 121+ player actions
• Characters can die instantly from obscure mechanics (e.g., choking from too much food)

Sources / gamers featured (mentioned at the end)

• The narrator/video host (name not provided): “I” (no specific gamer/source named)
• No specific individual streamer/gamer names were given in the subtitles.
• The video refers to two other videos about:
  • Cataclysm development story
  • Factorio development story