Lately, I have been having a lot of time to play games and haven't had a chance to get into some game mechanics or theories like I like to. Today I am setting aside a review on another terrible phone app to talk about Feedback Loops, which after doing further research I found has been beaten to death. I know I am fucking excited too.
Recently I blasted through Bayonetta 2, which had a really interesting mechanic in the battle system. The better you did in a fight the more currency you would get. Even in the fight themselves if you are able to build up enough energy through deftly performed moves and dodges you could execute an enemy with a QTE that awards even more currency. In essence, the better you do the more you get. This a prime example of a positive feedback loop.
A feedback loop is a mechanical system where the output cycles back to the input.(Wikipedia.com) This term has been adopted when explaining systems in video games and is broken into two types. Negative and positive feedback loops each have their place in games and do different things. While negative is usually used more for balancing, positive feedback loops add more importance to earlier games and reward certain behaviors.(learn.canvas.net) The trick here is to balance.
Two games that are an example of striking this balance using a negative feedback loop with dynamic combat is Resident Evil 4 and Hellblade. Both of these games changed the difficulty of your enemies by your past performance. If you do well in your past battles the difficulty of your enemy raises. While others criticize it, I like this system. The obvious exploit players could use is making mistakes to make the enemy easier. I don't know many people who would do this on purpose but it is possible.
A great example of feedback loop gone bad is the a positive feedback loop mentioned in Mark Brown's video How Games Use Feedback Loops. A few of the multiplayer games in Call of Duty created a loop where a player doing really well would continue to do so. A series of kills would lead to a bonus like a helicopter attack that would add to kills then leading to even stronger weapons. A quick streak of kills could make the game almost impossibly one sided especially when an AC130 graces the map with its presence. Soon a nuke would follow making the game slightly unbearable.
I could go more examples such of a well-made feedback loop like in MOBAs that cause the whole game to be important and make it possible to end the game. This mechanic can be a great feature when used with caution in games. A feedback loop can add a dynamic that could make the game more enjoyable or kill the game completely. Really, all you need to understand this mechanic is Arcade Rage's comic strip on feedback loops.
Recently I blasted through Bayonetta 2, which had a really interesting mechanic in the battle system. The better you did in a fight the more currency you would get. Even in the fight themselves if you are able to build up enough energy through deftly performed moves and dodges you could execute an enemy with a QTE that awards even more currency. In essence, the better you do the more you get. This a prime example of a positive feedback loop.
A feedback loop is a mechanical system where the output cycles back to the input.(Wikipedia.com) This term has been adopted when explaining systems in video games and is broken into two types. Negative and positive feedback loops each have their place in games and do different things. While negative is usually used more for balancing, positive feedback loops add more importance to earlier games and reward certain behaviors.(learn.canvas.net) The trick here is to balance.
Two games that are an example of striking this balance using a negative feedback loop with dynamic combat is Resident Evil 4 and Hellblade. Both of these games changed the difficulty of your enemies by your past performance. If you do well in your past battles the difficulty of your enemy raises. While others criticize it, I like this system. The obvious exploit players could use is making mistakes to make the enemy easier. I don't know many people who would do this on purpose but it is possible.
A great example of feedback loop gone bad is the a positive feedback loop mentioned in Mark Brown's video How Games Use Feedback Loops. A few of the multiplayer games in Call of Duty created a loop where a player doing really well would continue to do so. A series of kills would lead to a bonus like a helicopter attack that would add to kills then leading to even stronger weapons. A quick streak of kills could make the game almost impossibly one sided especially when an AC130 graces the map with its presence. Soon a nuke would follow making the game slightly unbearable.
I could go more examples such of a well-made feedback loop like in MOBAs that cause the whole game to be important and make it possible to end the game. This mechanic can be a great feature when used with caution in games. A feedback loop can add a dynamic that could make the game more enjoyable or kill the game completely. Really, all you need to understand this mechanic is Arcade Rage's comic strip on feedback loops.
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