Positive Feedback Loops
The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.
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Contents
Examples
Anti-Examples
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Using the pattern
updating the names of the Arithmetic and Geometric patterns, and Rules of Play; farms in CityVille and Empires & Allies
Providing players with the possibility to create Gameplay Engines is a typical reason to have Positive Feedback Loops in games. Another is to the wish that the game should have certain systemic properties as part of a Critical Gameplay Design. A general approach to creating Positive Feedback Loops is to make use of Geometric Progression for Rewards or effects of player actions where the Rewards and effects also make the actions easier to do in the future. Since such Rewards often take the form of Resources (or access to Units), the use of Positive Feedback Loops heavily affect how these work in a game.
Quite naturally, Resource Caps work against the pattern if applied to Resources affecting the relevant player actions (by definition Negative Feedback Loops related to the same parts of the game state also work against the pattern).
Several different Positive Feedback Loops can exist in a game. For example, in Dominion players can have Positive Feedback Loops related to gaining Cards with actions or purchase ability or those related to gaining Cards that increase their Scores. Knowing when to start focusing on the latter due to the game being about to end is a skill in this game, and shows how the presence of the Construction/Scoring Phase Shift pattern can affect Positive Feedback Loops.
Consequences
Positive Feedback Loops can create a Runaway Leader and thereby also Predictable Winner. For this reason, Positive Feedback Loops work against Player Balance and Team Balance (while Negative Feedback Loops can work for them). However, such situations also promote Predictable Gameplay Time since one of the players may be likely to be able to exploit the Positive Feedback Loop before certain amount of gameplay time has occurred.
When the Positive Feedback Loops are focused upon the challenges players met (rather than players' Abilities, Gameplay Engines, Scores, etc. that lead to a Runaway Leader), the pattern can create Ever Increasing Difficulty in a game. Using Geometric Progression to create Positive Feedback Loops often makes Combos exist in games as well as offering players Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses and Value of Effort when that effort is connected to making the Positive Feedback Loops occur. When the Geometric Progression occurs through Investments, the Positve Feedback Loops that occur can also give rise to Tension (if they can be lost) and Timing (in that one may need to know when to collect on one's Investments).
Relations
Can Instantiate
Critical Gameplay Design, Ever Increasing Difficulty, Gameplay Engines, Predictable Gameplay Time, Predictable Winner, Runaway Leader
with Geometric Progression
Combos, Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses, Value of Effort
with Geometric Progression and Investments
Can Modulate
Can Be Instantiated By
Can Be Modulated By
Construction/Scoring Phase Shift
Possible Closure Effects
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Potentially Conflicting With
Negative Feedback Loops, Player Balance, Resource Caps, Team Balance
History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
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Acknowledgements
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