A gameplay loop is the heart of the gameplay experience for the player. In essence, it is a description of the player motivation to the activity in the game. It considers the risks they may take and the satisfaction they feel through the rewards that they receive while playing.
Considerations:
How compelling is the loop?
What is the rate of difficulty - how does the game vary to further motivate and satisfy the player?
Is the progression from each opportunity to another balanced?
Is there too much of a grind?
It it really fun?
Activity. Reward. Opportunity. These are the elements of a gameplay loop.
Activity/Risk - Must be MEANINGFUL. For example, avoid obstacles/Succumb to obstacles
Reward - Must MOTIVATE the player. For example, point collecting and unlocking new levels.
Opportunity - This can be achieved through VARIANCE. For example, increase the number of obstacles or increase the difficulty.
Now to create gameplay loops for a game idea of my own...
My first idea: Play as an omnipotent force. You have several tasks that need to be completed within a short space of time. You need to decide which tasks are of the most importance and which you can sacrifice. When the time runs out, you will see how your actions affected the game world.
Loop:
Activity/Risk - Complete tasks in order of what you think is most important. You risk losing some kind of inventory. Lives? Maybe too morbid. Perhaps resources.
Reward - Watch your world thrive.
Opportunity - Unlock new puzzles, new moral dilemma.
My second idea:
The game takes place in the future and is about what could happen if we let our planet succumb to the effects of climate change. You play a young person who goes on a journey into a world that has lost hope and reason, on a quest to find some resources for their family.
As you make your way along a path, you experience a series of scenes that present different ways that climate change could ultimately affect our reality.
Each scene will prompt the player with an action to create some form of change that would help prevent further damage or begin to heal our world. If the player doesn’t work out how to solve a problem the path will not change but rather loop a bit like the infinite path in P.T. So they will be forced to start again and re-assess.
I would want it to have a sort of apocalyptic vibe and show the worst case scenarios.
This could mean extreme weather, looted streets and some dangerous npc’s.
I want the player character to be a young person because we know the youth today are very driven for change and it will soon become our responsibility to fix the damage that’s already been caused. They would be quite small, pale and thin to present the effects on health that climate change could cause some communities. They would wear a respirator to protect from pollutants and illness.
Loop:
Activity/Risk - solve climate problems by completing small tasks. Risk of failing to solve the problems so cannot progress further.
Reward - changes in environment, new levels and narrative
Opportunity - opportunity to learn something helpful to own experience.
