Current Events > Why is everyone suddenly saying 'Gameplay Loop' all the time?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've been playing and following games for decades and I swear no one said that until 2017 once or twice but now in late 2019 I swear every gamer and their cat says it every conversation about a game

Was it on a word of the day calendar or something?

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You know how sometimes, a term gets introduced into the lexicon of a hobby, and people start using it?

It's kind of like that.

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What a strange thing to have a melty over.

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I've been hearing the term for a long time. Here's a GDC article from Bioware about Dragon Age Legends (a Facebook game) from 2011:

https://gdconf.com/news/gdc_online_speaker_spotlight_b_1

The second factor I would cite is the game's core gameplay loop.

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markconigliaro posted...

I've been hearing the term for a long time. Here's a GDC article from Bioware about Dragon Age Legends (a Facebook game) from 2011:

https://gdconf.com/news/gdc_online_speaker_spotlight_b_1

Maybe that's what has caused the term to become more common.

That kind of gamer/gaming content has grown in popularity alongside the internet

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I don't even wanna know what it means cause while I'm a huge nerd, I'm not THAT much of a huge fucking nerd

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Bungie talked pretty heavily about multiplayer games needing a core 30-second gameplay loop to work back during the original Xbox days. And I doubt that they were the first to use it.

It's honestly not a new term.

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ThyCorndog posted...

I don't even wanna know what it means cause while I'm a huge nerd, I'm not THAT much of a huge fucking nerd

It means the repeating gameplay between story sections or other content.

So for example the gameplay loop of Call of Duty is shooting galleries were you pick sides on chest high walls and shoot each other.

For another example the gameplay loop of Kingdom Hearts is fighting enemies. All that ship building and mini game stuff isn't the gameplay loop.

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It's definitely been in pretty common usage for a lot longer than 2017. At the very latest, it became common for people to use it once open world games started to become a huge fad.

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I've never heard that term until I read this topic just now and I've been playing video games for 22 years

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I think it started being common around Destiny's release

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MorbidFaithless posted...

I've never heard that term until I read this topic just now and I've been playing video games for 22 years

This, but more like 30 years. The only "loops" I know are like in old shoot em ups like Gradius when the game goes back to level 1 but on a harder difficulty and you start the new "loop".

MorbidFaithless posted...

I've never heard that term until I read this topic just now and I've been playing video games for 22 years

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This isn't a new phrase...like at all.
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MorbidFaithless posted...

I've never heard that term until I read this topic just now and I've been playing video games for 22 years

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Guns_of_Verdun posted...

It means the repeating gameplay between story sections or other content.

So for example the gameplay loop of Call of Duty is shooting galleries were you pick sides on chest high walls and shoot each other.

For another example the gameplay loop of Kingdom Hearts is fighting enemies. All that ship building and mini game stuff isn't the gameplay loop.

so it's just gameplay then?

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ThyCorndog posted...

so it's just gameplay then?

Kind of, the best example of a core gameplay loop is Monster Hunter. The loop is fight monster, use parts to make stronger weapons and armor, use better gear to fight bigger monster, repeat. Sure there's more small stuff to the gameplay, but that's the core loop. If you don't like that gameplay loop, then you won't like the game.

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I wish my cat can say gameplay loop

Not meow
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Never heard that tbh

But people are saying "soft-locked" a lot now, as opposed to just stuck or whatever.
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Captain_Qwark posted...

I never heard it until death stranding came out then suddenly everyone is using it

You might be onto something

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Damn_Underscore posted...

Never heard that tbh

But people are saying "soft-locked" a lot now, as opposed to just stuck or whatever.

Also really old term too, not really recent.

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Not saying it's a brand new phrase, I don't think TC is either.

But it's become a lot more popular recently, it's like a meme.
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Damn_Underscore posted...

Not saying it's a brand new phrase, I don't think TC is either.

But it's become a lot more popular recently, it's like a meme.

Yes

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Damn_Underscore posted...

Never heard that tbh

But people are saying "soft-locked" a lot now, as opposed to just stuck or whatever.

Softlock carries a widely different connotation from stuck. Softlock means that it is literally impossible to proceed because of a glitch or flaw in the scripting even though you can still run around and do shit. The only way to beat the game now if you don't have a save backup before the glitch is to start a new game and avoid the steps that caused the issue.

Stuck means it is possible to proceed but you just don't know how to on your own (welcome to GameFAQs).
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Captain_Qwark posted...

I never heard it until death stranding came out then suddenly everyone is using it

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Doesnt it just refer to games that are extremely repetitive?
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DespondentDeity posted...

What a strange thing to have a melty over.

You think the OP was a melty?
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EffectAndCause posted...

Doesnt it just refer to games that are extremely repetitive?

Nope

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Id say I first started encountering it when I started browsing more board game related content in 2012.

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I adapted it after the first time hearing it, cause I thought...huh good way to put that. Sometimes shits just that simple. And Im usually last when it comes to adapting new terms. If you can think of a better way to describe a repetitive cycle of activities in a game, let me hear it.

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it's not a new concept. it's just basically answers "what do you mainly do while you play". every game is constructed of a core gameplay loop, with features added onto it.

it's a very basic idea though. something like "build > kill > gather resources > build" would be a very common core gameplay loop.

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Guns_of_Verdun posted...

Nope

Pretty sure it does, especially MMOs.
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First time Ive heard this term

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MorbidFaithless posted...

I've never heard that term until I read this topic just now and I've been playing video games for 24 years

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EffectAndCause posted...

Pretty sure it does, especially MMOs.

it has nothing to do with whether or not it is good or boring

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I started hearing it back in the early monster Hunter days

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This topic is the first time I've encountered the term.
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Guns_of_Verdun posted...

it has nothing to do with whether or not it is good or boring

Usually its used as a criticism if the gameplay loop is too obvious because its repetitive.
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EffectAndCause posted...

Usually its used as a criticism if the gameplay loop is too obvious because its repetitive.

If you say so

Thats like saying "graphics is only used as a term if the graphics are bad so people point them out"

It's a term. Every game has a gameplay loop. Even Plumbers Don't Wear Ties had one

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The first I heard loop was some older MMOs & Diablo to describe the cycle of game profession.

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Damn_Underscore posted...

Never heard that tbh

But people are saying "soft-locked" a lot now, as opposed to just stuck or whatever.

Soft lock is specific. It means the game is still functioning but it's impossible to progress. A good example of this are those fucking asshole levels in Super Mario Maker that drop you into a pit and when you try to jump out you get stuck in there because of invisible blocks.

Of course in that context it's referring to the local impact of the level and not the game as a whole.

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Guns_of_Verdun posted...

If you say so

Thats like saying "graphics is only used as a term if the graphics are bad so people point them out"

It's a term. Every game has a gameplay loop. Even Plumbers Don't Wear Ties had one

It is just a term, youre right. But im saying that its usually referenced when theyre criticizing a game for being repetitive.
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It's an old term and concept, it's just new for popular usage. General knowledge of any given subject tends to increase over time, gaming is no exception. Plebs catch up cause pats disseminate this stuff, and the internet helps.

ThyCorndog posted...

I don't even wanna know what it means cause while I'm a huge nerd, I'm not THAT much of a huge fucking nerd

Man, you're not a nerd if this is new info.

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