Unleash the Power of Core Loops to Fuel Creativity and Collaboration!

Welcome to the Cycle of Play series! This collection of articles will explore the importance and multidisciplinary utility of the core loop in game development, extending far beyond the typical conversations held by game designers and product managers. We’ll unpack how core loops can unite cross-functional teams, guiding the development of more cohesive and engaging games and software.

The Creative Chaos of Game Development

Throughout my career, I’ve worked with many game dev teams — sometimes as part of a publishing team, other times contributing as an individual or a manager, or simply observing the process up close. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: there’s no single right way to make a game. Development is messy, creative, and, at times, a bit like herding cats that have recently discovered caffeine. The trick lies in finding ways to improve processes so that everyone on the team can do their best work.

The Core Loop: Your Game’s Pulse

The core loop is the heartbeat of your game: the repeated sequence of actions that drives player engagement. It’s the thing that keeps players coming back, the fundamental gameplay cycle that players perform over and over again, sometimes without even realizing it.

At its most basic, a core loop typically consists of three interconnected actions that drive player engagement — Engage, Earn, Upgrade. This simplified loop forms the backbone of many games, from casual mobile titles to deep strategy games.

A basic core loop. The cycle repeats, creating a satisfying rhythm that keeps players invested

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It can be disheartening, especially for someone deeply passionate about the art of game design, to see something so complex and magical reduced to a few words and arrows. It might even feel like a betrayal of creativity — stripping away the nuance and depth. Trust me, I’ve been there. Please read on because the goal here isn’t to diminish the artistry or simplify the magic; it’s to give you and your team the tools to enhance and elevate your creation. Even within this simple structure, small tweaks can lead to dramatically different player experiences, as you will see shortly.

Core Loops Aren’t Just for Games

While our Cycle of Play series will focus primarily on game development, core loops extend beyond games into other software as well, making this approach valuable to anyone involved in designing interactive experiences. Even if your work isn’t in game development, these insights still matter. Think of financial software, for example — it’s all about investing, earning, and reinvesting. The truth is, every product with cyclical interactions has a loop, and understanding yours is crucial. So, stay with us; games are fun, loops are everywhere!

The Beauty of the Core Loop

A well-designed core loop offers something priceless: clarity. It’s not just a tool for game designers; it’s an reference point for all disciplines. If used correctly, it helps us align our visions, plan our features, and set our roadmaps. When everyone understands the loop, it reduces cognitive load — much like having a good GPS app, but for game development. You don’t need to know every turn before you start, but it’s helpful to have a sense of direction.

Anatomy of the Loop

The anatomy of a core loop consists of Nodes, Action Vectors, and Anchors, which together define player interactions, transitions, and the focus of the loop:

Node: A verb and noun pairing that represents high-level player actions (e.g., “Collect Resources” or “Build Structures”). A node can represent a system or key feature that answers the question, “What does the player do?”

Action Vector: Arrows connecting nodes, representing the flow, cause, and effect between actions. They can contain verbs like “enables,” “allows,” “supports,” or “unlocks.” Adding these verbs helps clarify the relationship between nodes, especially when the core loop becomes more complex.

Anchor: The tone, setting, theme, genre, and project pillars that frame and focus the core loop, ensuring discussions are aligned with the overall vision. (e.g., Setting: Alien Planet, Theme: Isolation, Tone: Serious, Genre: Survival, Project Pillars: Immersion, Challenge, Exploration; or Setting: Mystical Kingdom, Theme: Heroic Adventure, Tone: Epic, Genre: Fantasy RPG, Project Pillars: Player Choice, Narrative Depth, Rewarding Exploration).
Note: Anchors are unique components of the loop as defined by the Cycle of Play framework. Along with additional elements that will be introduced in Part II and beyond, anchors are vital in ensuring a cohesive and focused design direction. I’ve added Anchors to this framework due to their utility. Anchors represent essential guiding principles — such as tone, setting, theme, and project pillars — that help align the entire team around a shared vision.

Anatomy in a Nutshell

Nodes define what the player does (e.g., Explore Areas, Craft Tools, Build Structures).
Please note, you can say Explore, Craft, Build or Engage, Collect, Upgrade, but adding a noun (Explore +X) helps better describe the player’s experience.
Action Vectors define the connection between nodes(e.g., Exploring enables Collecting Resources).
Anchors define the context of the loop (e.g., survival, sci-fi, fantasy, or project pillars like World Immersion, Social Simulation, Character Customization).

Together, these elements create the dynamic foundation of your game’s core loop, driving player experience while keeping the creative direction grounded.

Anatomy in (Survival) Action

In a typical survival game, the core loop revolves around key player actions like exploration, resource collection, crafting, and fortification. Here’s how it could break down:

High-level Core Loop with Nodes and Action Vectors.

Now let’s add the Anchors! It’s ok if you are not sure what some of the Anchors are, the more you define early, the easier it is to align on the vision.

High-level Core Loop with Nodes, Action Vectors, and Anchors.

This is the perfect time to experiment! Can you imagine the impact of adding, removing, or changing a node’s position, such as skipping loot collection or introducing crafting? Even small changes can shift the entire player experience.

High-level Core Loop with Nodes, Action Vectors, Anchors and additional Nodes which add *more emphasis on base building and weapons and combat.*

Note: It’s baffling how often traversal, movement, or exploration are left out of core loops, as if getting from A to B is some inconsequential footnote in game design. I’m an advocate for including traversal nodes — and trust me, the reasons for this will become glaringly obvious as we dive into Part II of Cycle Of Play.

The Importance of Keeping It Simple

A word of caution: if your core loop is hard to describe visually, it will be hard to map mentally — whether it’s your development team or the players. Good loops should reduce cognitive load, not increase it. Clarity is key.

A Silly Example

Ah, yes, the pinnacle of game design complexity — where logic is as elusive as a hidden boss in a fog-filled dungeon. We start by Exploring the World to Collect Xray Loot, because who wouldn’t want some? Soon enough, you’re thrust into the high-octane excitement of wandering into Dimensional Rifts which somehow enables Racing Horses (obviously an essential task), which sounds deceptively simple until you realize it leads you right back to Crafting partial invisibility cloaks. It’s a showcase of overcomplication, perfect for those who thrive on running in endless circles with no clear destination in sight!

If the core loop looks like a frustrating maze, the gameplay will feel the same.

Core Loops Are Not Just for Designers

While core loops are often discussed among designers, they’re far more than just a design tool. A clear, well-mapped loop helps with:

Quick Iteration: Easy to map, easy to discuss, and easy to iterate on.
Internal and External Alignment: It gets everyone, from designers and programmers to marketers, internal and external stakeholders, on the same page, creating a unified vision of the core experience.
Roadmap Planning: The loop informs which mechanics and features should be prioritized.

But these are just the tip of the iceberg. In the Cycle of Play series, we’ll dive deeper, exploring how the core loop is much more than a planning tool. The core loop is a versatile framework that can guide decision-making across disciplines, from UX design to marketing and beyond. Whether you’re building gameplay mechanics or structuring monetization flows, the core loop serves as a unifying concept that keeps your project on course.

Immediate Production Utility

The beauty of a core loop lies in how quickly it can be leveraged for planning and production. Take just one node, like “Collect Resources.” The team can immediately brainstorm resource categories — Basic (Wood, Stone), Advanced (Metals, Gems), and Electrical (Wiring, Circuits).

After defining a Node, the team can determine which resources are needed.

From there, you can identify features and mechanics that stem from this node: Mining, Digging, Hunting, Foraging, Salvaging, Chopping, and more. These actions can then be prioritized and mapped onto a Gantt chart, aligning development tasks, timelines, and dependencies, turning a simple node into a structured, actionable plan that drives production forward.

A clear loop can be your best friend when designing and planning a project.

Beyond the Obvious

Not all core loops fit neatly into the gather-craft-progress model often seen in survival or RPG games. Some loops are more abstract, focusing on skill refinement and escalating challenges rather than gameplay expansion and progression. Take Tetris, for example: its loop isn’t about advancing through levels but mastering a cycle of placing blocks, clearing lines, and adapting to increasing speed — a pure, skill-based loop that keeps players hooked through escalating difficulty. At their core, they all engage players in a repeating, satisfying cycle of action and feedback.

Looking Ahead: What’s Next in the Cycle of Play Series

This first part of the Cycle of Play series has laid the groundwork by exploring the anatomy of the core loop and its impact on game development. But this is just the beginning. In Part II, we’ll dive deeper into how you can layer UX considerations with the F.I.R.E. Framework, ensuring that your loops aren’t just functional, but also deliberate emotional experiences.

Stay tuned for more insights on transforming your core loops into powerful tools that drive engagement, satisfaction, and long-term player engagement. Whether you’re crafting gameplay or structuring a roadmap, the Cycle of Play has only just begun.

P.S. A Note from the Author: Why These Series Matter

Games are an art form, a beautiful blend of creativity, technology, and passion. But having been part of many organizations, I’ve seen firsthand the waste of time, money, and creative resources that can plague game development. I’ve been both the culprit and the victim of these inefficiencies. I witnessed projects that were years in the making get canceled, studios shut down, and teams disbanded without ever shipping a title.

This experience has fueled my mission to “hate” wasted efforts and eliminate inefficiencies wherever possible. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don’t, but it’s a battle worth fighting. Waste can come from mismanagement, miscommunication, or simply from misaligned visions. Over the past six years, I’ve dedicated myself to developing frameworks focused on cross-disciplinary communication and alignment.

These frameworks aren’t about stripping the magic from game development but empowering creativity to flourish in a structured environment. They’re designed to enhance project planning, provide clarity in vision, and offer a platform for everyone, especially those who often don’t have a voice in the creative process. By doing this, we can turn great ideas into great games, elevating the art form we all love.

Cycle of Play Framework

Cycle of Play: Part I | Anatomy of the Game Loop