What‘s the Highest Number You Can Reach in Games?
As a hardcore gamer, I‘m obsessed with chasing crazy high numbers. Can a game even have a "last number" you can count to? Let‘s geek out on massive in-game values and how they link back to real number sequences!
No Limits in Incrementals and Idle Games
Incremental/idle games like Cookie Clicker are literally designed to count higher and higher indefinitely. The premise is you increment small gains which build toward astronomical totals.
Popular entries like Clicker Heroes openly usepowers of 10 for flavor. You start counting in the millions, before rocketing into quintillions and beyond!
But someone will always add another zero. Your bakery makes a centillion cookies? Hold my drink while I break infinity!
Level Scales That Defy Reality
RPGS allow us to live out superhuman hero fantasies. So naturally, their scaling totally breaks real-world numbering.
In WoW, top players in the millions of HP, and hit for over 10 million damage…per second! Final Fantasy caps at 99,999 – but you can exceed it with certain gear.
Developers admitted that they struggle to balance extreme magnitudes. But we gamers crave the power trip!
Number Sequences That Mirror Math
Behind these unreal values are actual number patterns. Franchises show numeric wit:
| Franchise | Number Sequence | Example Values |
|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Bros | Linear | 100 coins to add 1 life |
| Sonic games | Geometric sequence | 100, 200, 400, 800 rings to earn continues |
| Resident Evil | Fibonacci sequence | Item box ammo values |
So developers do sneak real math fundamentals into unreal values!
Gamer Culture Embraces Crazy Counts
Gamers relish unfathomable accomplishments. In Mass Effect, fans Recently count over 2 billion damage by perfectly min-maxing.
Speedrunners overflow integers through meticulous play too. In Tony Hawk Underground, you can notch over one octillion points thanks to numbering glitches!
We love breaking systems through obsession. That includes developer assumptions on number limits!
Pushing the Boundaries of Digital Counting
Maybe no game yet CONTAINS a definitive "last number." But collectively, gamers will always find ways to increment higher. The same urge that drives us to 100% games makes us test boundaries of all kinds too.
I can‘t wait to count up infinity points or Googol coins. Once math geniuses and data can perfectly simulate entire worlds, will we finally satisfy this primal urge?
For now, I‘ll fire up my NES and level grind to 999. Gotta pump those rookie digits! Let me know what ludicrous gaming numbers blow YOUR mind in the comments.
