PSBlog Feed: Inside the gameplay systems of 4:Loop

[Commander Fury]

Hi, I’m Mike Booth, Chief Creative Officer at Bad Robot Games, and Game Director of 4:Loop. A core goal when I’m designing games is to make new kinds of experiences that always offer interesting surprises and unpredictable moments for players, and for our own dev team! To achieve this means building emergent gameplay.

The result is 4:Loop, an unpredictable, challenging, combat sandbox where you succeed through cooperation and improvisation.

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What is 4:Loop?

4:Loop is a rogue-like co-op shooter where you and three friends try to save the world from a devastating alien invasion that turns 99.99% of humanity into glass. A massive Mothership suddenly appears above Earth, striking the planet with a powerful energy beam leaving humanity frozen in time.

You’re one of the “lucky ones” who escaped being glassed and now must find a way to stop the invasion to save the world (no pressure). Of course, since we’re Bad Robot, there are a lot of mysteries to unravel, including why you were spared.

The gameplay loop

Decide

At the heart of 4:Loop is the Probability Map which combines alien technology and human ingenuity to predict the immediate future and plot your best path forward to defeat the invaders.

Each node of the Probability Map represents a distinct mission type with its own risks, rewards, and surprises.

Players vote on which node to start from, keeping in mind that each node chains together into specific routes. You need to look ahead and decide on the strategy your team thinks is best. As you progress and the game throws increasingly bigger curveballs, the stakes are raised. Seasoned players will discover creative ways to use the Probability Map to their advantage, setting their team up for ever more epic runs.

Fight

Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy. Once you’ve chosen a node on the Probability Map, your team teleports into the mission. You may have to hack into alien technology, collect mission critical resources or even rescue survivors that can offer powerful upgrades for your team while trying to avoid the alien forces constantly sending drop pods of Killbot squads to stop you.

As long as one person from your team manages to survive and reach the Escape Zone, the run continues. Anyone who died during the mission is “reprinted from backup” in your Homebase. But reprinting from dying means gaining a broken bone that can only be healed by the medic at a Rest Stop. If everyone fails to survive a mission, the entire run ends.

Each section of the Probability Map culminates in a Boss Battle. There are currently three very different Bosses in 4:Loop. You’ll want to check which Boss you’re up against and choose your loot choices carefully. Each Boss is designed to push on team co-operation in a different way to really test your team’s mettle.

Choose a reward

When you survive a mission and beat a Boss, you return to the Homebase, where the Probability Map operates. This is a place for your team to readjust strategy, evolve your loadout, and select rewards from an increasing array of powerful gear and upgrades.

During your run, you might also encounter The Shop, another key place to acquire valuable items and gear. Each visit gives you a new chance to spend the Cache you’ve been collecting in the world, find that missing piece of equipment you need, or inspire a change in your play style for the run.

Equip & strategize 

There are many different weapons, items, and abilities in 4:Loop that players can combine in creative ways for improved combat, intel, movement abilities, stealth, hacking, and healing. It’s all about the choices you make during each run. Should I pick a jetpack or an SMG? There are so many items to choose from, and the combinations are infinite.

Built for replayability

Once you make your gear and Probability Map choices, it’s time to head back out to take on the invasion!

4:Loop is a world that’s been carefully crafted and filled with surprises, bursting with exciting ways to play. Our talented level designers and artists create the environments, but starting location, mission objectives, enemies, and how loot appears, are always unique. Plus, the time of day and weather are also randomly generated, which really changes how the missions unfold.

The various enemies, creatures, plants, weapons, items, and mission objectives are also designed to interact with each other in dynamic ways that create emergent gameplay and endlessly replay-able chaos. That means your decisions really matter, and creativity and improvisation are key. No two runs are ever the same.

As a developer, I’ve always been driven to make the kinds of games I like to play, going back to the original Left 4 Dead. I’m a bit old school and I like things straightforward. Our plan with 4:Loop stays true to that: Once you buy the game, we’ll update it based on what players like. Our goal is for you to have a great time, invite your friends, and we build a thriving community together. 

If you want to give 4:Loop a try for yourself, we are currently recruiting for the Beta*. 

Click this link to sign up!

Just don’t expect to save the world on your first loop.

Now go and fail to save the world! 

I’ll see you all in the game!

*The Closed Beta will be available on PS5 & PC coming soon this spring. Signing up for the Closed Beta will put players in the FirstLook queue to participate. The Closed Beta will be available to players in North America with additional regions being rolled out throughout the Beta Phase. Stay tuned for more details – We can’t wait to share more very soon.

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