Asking for feedback on my loop, obviously. Was hoping this new loop would make things more enjoyable, as my previous loop relied on player’s curiosity to maintain interest. This new one tries to work with clear goals and rewards.
- So at the beginning of a player’s experience they will find themselves at a hub; hubs will have all the shops, quests, and storage for the player. The player purchases the equipment they want/need, finds quests to do, and then leaves the hub for the rest of the map.
- When outside of hubs players can simply fight and collect currency or complete quests. These allow the player to return to hubs and purchase more or better equipment. This is its own loop, just smaller and simpler.
- The next step in the main loop is to find a damaged structure. Damaged structures will vary in appearance and requirements. Each damaged structure will need an item or currency to repair. Players may go back and forth between hubs and the rest of the map collecting everything needed to repair structures (typically the items needed to repair a single structure are easy to come by).
- Once all damaged structures on the map are repaired players are able to use a whole set of higher-level equipment. These equipment aren’t necessarily better than what players have and aren’t meant to replace the player’s current equipment, they’re more quality of life things that make the player’s gameplay easier, faster, or allows new possibilities.
- At the same time as this, all hubs will signify to players that all structures have been repaired and a countdown will begin. At the end of the countdown a location will be marked. At the location players can enter a dungeon containing loot, tougher enemies, and puzzles. It is a race against other players to reach the location and take the loot for yourself; if they want to players can eliminate each other in classic combat.
- These dungeons can be found and entered early, before the countdown ends, if players make use of the aforementioned higher-level equipment.
- After a certain amount of time passes the dungeon will close. The repaired structures around the map will slowly and randomly become damaged again, they cannot be repaired as this unfolds. When all structures are damaged a new set of structures around the map will become reparable.
- Players return to hubs, purchase their equipment, and return to the map looking for structures to repair. From here the loop begins again.
My concern with this loop is that dungeons have to interest everyone, whether they are a new player or a long-time one. A new player will take anything better than basic and a veteran player will only be interested if the dungeon can promise late-game items. Also some players may consider dungeons too big a risk or a waste of time, and so they’d be stuck in the smaller game loop (of course I plan for the game’s basic combat and exploration to be fun somewhat as well). This smaller game loop will feel similar to a looter-shooter (not exactly, unsure of the specific game description) with some basic base-building aspects.