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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 7728193" data-attributes="member: 4937">I have the same story.&nbsp; I got all the exploration banners/achievements, and then I was done.&nbsp;&nbsp; The Core Loop in WoW - which is often little more than a loop of repeating, well-timed, keystrokes - wasn't in and of itself enjoyable enough to sustain the game.As for loops in D&amp;D, they look almost nothing like video game loops and - while tabletop games can learn a lot from video game design theory - loops are one area that can't be ported into tabletop games.The reason is that video games with their immediate feedback, reflex based mechanics, and their visual and auditory effects are visceral in a way that tabletop games never can be.&nbsp; Those 'loops' in a video game activate primal centers of the brain down in the Amygdala that in return pushes out adrenalin and thereby creates addictive pleasure and excitement.&nbsp;&nbsp; You can engage the adrenalin of a player of a table top game but not so much with a loop per se.To the extent that there is repeated satisfaction in a tabletop, it's often in character development which happens much less frequently than any ordinary loop.&nbsp;&nbsp; But cashing out and getting their XP is something players typically look forward to.&nbsp; The experience of leveling up is common to both tabletop RPGs and video games.&nbsp;&nbsp; One area that treasure as XP really hooked into back in the 1e AD&amp;D days was the loot drop.&nbsp; But really, what tabletop RPGs bring isn't the loop, but that thing that I was looking for in World of Warcraft and which caused me to quit as soon as I could no longer find it - novelty.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 7728193, member: 4937"] I have the same story. I got all the exploration banners/achievements, and then I was done. The Core Loop in WoW - which is often little more than a loop of repeating, well-timed, keystrokes - wasn't in and of itself enjoyable enough to sustain the game. As for loops in D&D, they look almost nothing like video game loops and - while tabletop games can learn a lot from video game design theory - loops are one area that can't be ported into tabletop games. The reason is that video games with their immediate feedback, reflex based mechanics, and their visual and auditory effects are visceral in a way that tabletop games never can be. Those 'loops' in a video game activate primal centers of the brain down in the Amygdala that in return pushes out adrenalin and thereby creates addictive pleasure and excitement. You can engage the adrenalin of a player of a table top game but not so much with a loop per se. To the extent that there is repeated satisfaction in a tabletop, it's often in character development which happens much less frequently than any ordinary loop. But cashing out and getting their XP is something players typically look forward to. The experience of leveling up is common to both tabletop RPGs and video games. One area that treasure as XP really hooked into back in the 1e AD&D days was the loot drop. But really, what tabletop RPGs bring isn't the loop, but that thing that I was looking for in World of Warcraft and which caused me to quit as soon as I could no longer find it - novelty. [/QUOTE]

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