Regarding your last point.

There is a psychology behind "obtaining bigger numbers" being a never ending goal. (Aside: I mean, why does Bezos even work anymore?)

And then you have Universal paperclips... a game largely designed around increasing a number - and that's it. No 3D graphics, some bits of text every now and again.

Full game on website:https://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/

...and yes. I played it through to the end on a car trip once.