The game loop

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22 December 2005

by Mike Rozak

The basic game loop

1. Goal - Give the player a goal, preferably an internalised goal, either using story-like techniques, or based on a goal that players bring with them to the game. Ideally, provide the player a choice of the goal, and/or the order to achieve the goals.
   
   
2. Problem solving - Provide a problem that the player needs to solve to accomplish the goal. Preferably, provide a choice of solutions. Problem solving also includes investigation.
   
   
3. Action - Provide a mechanism for the player to act on the world, to achieve the goal using the solution he devised. The mechanism involves time commitment, the player's skill, and the risk of failure. Preferably, there are a many subtle choices allowed with every action.
   
   
4. Reward - When the player succeeds (or fails) in the action, provide a reward (or an occasional punishment) based on the goal and the solution. Rewards/punishments usually involve the fulfilment of the goal, although not exactly as the player expects. Rewards/punishments sometimes affect future choices, future goals, the range of solutions available for future problems, and/or the actions used in future. They might simply be parts of a story or eye candy.
   
   
5. Repeat, not necessarily in this order.

The game loop in multiplayer games

1. Goal that somehow involves other players
   • Friends
     • Want to hang out with friends.
     • Help friends.
   • Guild members
     • Rising in guild rank.
     • Help guild.
   • Neutrals
     • Meet new friends (or enemies).
     • Recruit new guild members.
     • Help other players.
     • Get information or a service from a neutral.
   • Rivals
     • Beat a rival at a contest.
   • Enemies
     • Defeat an enemy player (or guild).
     • Must interact with other players to defeat an enemy player, or help a friend.
       
       
2. Problem solving that somehow involves other players
   • Friends
     • Getting friends in one place and/or convince to work towards a game/multiplayer goal.
     • Dividing loot.
   • Guild members
     • Getting guild members in one place and/or convince to work towards a game/multiplayer goal.
     • Dividing loot.
     • Organization.
   • Neutrals
     • Find a neutral willing to help with a game/multiplayer goal.
     • Determine what the other player wants to improve bartering positions.
   • Rivals
     • Determine how to overcome rival in a contest.
   • Enemies
     • Determine how to overcome an enemy.

    

3. Action that involves other players
   • Standard single-player mechanics applied to multiplayer games
     • Combat
     • Influencing NPCs
     • Pickpocket
     • Etc.
   • Multiplayer mechanics
     • Chat.
     • Forums.
     • Bartering.
     • Trading.
     • Guild management.
     • Contests.
       
       
4. Rewards/punishments involving other players
   • Standard single-player rewards/punishments, but gotten/given by other players
     • Loot, experience points
     • Damage, character death, loss of equipment
     • Knowledge
   • Multiplayer-specific rewards/punishments
     • Friendship
     • New guild members
     • Join a guild
     • Networking
     • Rivals
     • Enemies
     • Social status
     • Political power

Note: Mix and match between multiplayer game-loop components and single-player game-loop components. This, a goal might be single-player based, but require a multi-player solution, using single-player actions, producing a multi-player reward. Mixing and matching is important, since it provides more variety in game play (exponentially so) than single-player alone or multiplayer alone.