Motion Twin

Fighting Against Return: A Taxonomy of Time Loops in Digital Games

This research outlines a foundational taxonomy for time loops in digital games, specifically focusing on instances where character rebirth occurs after a "game over" state.

• The report proposes a taxonomy of time loop configurations in digital games, focused on how characters are reborn after a game over, and argues that loops are a foundational structure of play.
• It links Juul's 'failure-improvement cycle' to narrative cases where the character forgets previous deaths while the player remembers, and introduces the term 'Meta-Loop' for loops that extend from mechanical repetition into narrative progression.
• The author argues that the implementation of loops is inseparable from the navigable spaces players traverse.