In elite we have "careers", ships and the sandbox.
Let's keep it base level with combat, trade and instagr... I mean exploration for careers.
So the basic game loop works that you start with a pot to pee in, a sidewinder and you're off. You are presented by the game with these basic activities, and a basic understanding that you need credits because you want to upgrade your ship to do them "better" and that requires.... Credits.
So the loop begins.
Problem - you need a more effective ship.
Why - to do things more efficiently/have more fun
Solution - get a better ship/upgrade, which gives us:
Problem: you need credits, and later materials/data
Why - to upgrade your ship and modules so you can do an activity more efficiently/safely
Solution - do the activities on your own (Rez sites, trade routes, mining, exploring, mat farming, etc) and/or utilize the mission board to steer you to earn credits/mats
Now this is repeated through the "ship progression tree" until you have the ships and upgrades you want. So it makes sense that this starting loop stops becoming the primary driver, and is only occasionally revisited when the player wants to try something new as far as ships/loadouts go.
So let's look at what comes after, since the player can exhaust that first loop under the premise that it's done for solving the stated problems the player runs into in the beginning of the game. What do we call what comes after the beginning game... Let's just make up a term and call it the endgame.
What problem is now introduced by the game for the player to solve?
Anyone? I got nothing.
The player can "create" problems to solve sure. You want to try out x build. Or attempt x feat of your chosen career path.
Squadrons/PP come close. You join a group, and now that group's goals/problems are yours, by your own choice still, but at least there's a mechanic to actually be in a squadron/pp faction. But these activities are mostly just fill number bucket with numbers, in many cases quite literally.
Eventually you'll have enough credits, mats, ships, which means our beginning gameplay loop breaks down. So whats the problem that the game presents you with once you arrive at the "endgame."
This is where the mile wide and inch deep phrase comes from. If you always have to choose your problems, they don't really feel like they're problems, or even important to the game, because if it's optional it must not be that important.
Thargoids are a good beaten dead horse we can look at as an example.
The game needs to present the player with some kind of problem that needs to be addressed once the starting loop is exhausted, or only addressable once completed sufficiently.
Tada. Welcome to elite dangerous.
note: I'm not mentioning modes, or PvP by design. PvP exists within the context of the pve game and as a separate method of problem solving when available. The lack of that problem is the topic. Thank you for taking time out of your day looking at cats on the inte... I mean working from home to read this.
Let's keep it base level with combat, trade and instagr... I mean exploration for careers.
So the basic game loop works that you start with a pot to pee in, a sidewinder and you're off. You are presented by the game with these basic activities, and a basic understanding that you need credits because you want to upgrade your ship to do them "better" and that requires.... Credits.
So the loop begins.
Problem - you need a more effective ship.
Why - to do things more efficiently/have more fun
Solution - get a better ship/upgrade, which gives us:
Problem: you need credits, and later materials/data
Why - to upgrade your ship and modules so you can do an activity more efficiently/safely
Solution - do the activities on your own (Rez sites, trade routes, mining, exploring, mat farming, etc) and/or utilize the mission board to steer you to earn credits/mats
Now this is repeated through the "ship progression tree" until you have the ships and upgrades you want. So it makes sense that this starting loop stops becoming the primary driver, and is only occasionally revisited when the player wants to try something new as far as ships/loadouts go.
So let's look at what comes after, since the player can exhaust that first loop under the premise that it's done for solving the stated problems the player runs into in the beginning of the game. What do we call what comes after the beginning game... Let's just make up a term and call it the endgame.
What problem is now introduced by the game for the player to solve?
Anyone? I got nothing.
The player can "create" problems to solve sure. You want to try out x build. Or attempt x feat of your chosen career path.
Squadrons/PP come close. You join a group, and now that group's goals/problems are yours, by your own choice still, but at least there's a mechanic to actually be in a squadron/pp faction. But these activities are mostly just fill number bucket with numbers, in many cases quite literally.
Eventually you'll have enough credits, mats, ships, which means our beginning gameplay loop breaks down. So whats the problem that the game presents you with once you arrive at the "endgame."
This is where the mile wide and inch deep phrase comes from. If you always have to choose your problems, they don't really feel like they're problems, or even important to the game, because if it's optional it must not be that important.
Thargoids are a good beaten dead horse we can look at as an example.
The game needs to present the player with some kind of problem that needs to be addressed once the starting loop is exhausted, or only addressable once completed sufficiently.
Tada. Welcome to elite dangerous.
note: I'm not mentioning modes, or PvP by design. PvP exists within the context of the pve game and as a separate method of problem solving when available. The lack of that problem is the topic. Thank you for taking time out of your day looking at cats on the inte... I mean working from home to read this.
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