Core Loops First: How We Plan a Game Before Writing Code

Every game we start at Lone Wolf Studios begins with three flowcharts on one board: match structure, core gameplay loop and progression loop. They come before the prototype, the engine choice and the concept art. If we can't draw them, we don't understand the game well enough to build it.

All three charts here come from a co-op survival game we have in development right now. Renders are still on the way, but the loops are locked, and the whole team builds against them.

Why we draw three loops

"Core loop" usually means the thing a player does over and over: explore, fight, loot, repeat. That loop matters most, but on its own it hides two questions that sink games just as often:

• How does a session start and end? Lobbies, connections, loading, the end-of-run summary. In a co-op game, this is where players drop off.
• Why come back tomorrow? What survives the session (credits, gear, progress), and how it carries into the next run.

So we draw all three, at three time scales: the match (one session), the core gameplay loop (minute to minute) and progression (across sessions). Each one hands off to the next.

Loop 1: Match structure

The match structure is the shell around play, from the main menu to the end-of-session screen.

1. Game Start
2. Main Menu
3. Select Game Mode — Solo or Co-op
4. Choose Connection Type
5. Create or Join Session
6. Host

   1. Create Lobby and Configure Session Settings
   2. Set Session Name, Visibility, and Difficulty
   3. Invite Friends
   4. Wait for All Players to Ready Up
   Join

   1. Join Through Steam Invite
   2. Wait for Host to Start Session
7. Host Starts Session
8. Sync Player Data via Implants — ID, Health, Credits
9. Sync PDA Devices — Contracts and Logs
10. Load World and Environment Assets
11. Sync World Variables — Weather, AI Seed, Spawn Points
12. Begin Session Countdown
13. Players Spawn into Starting Zone
14. Session Active — Co-op Exploration and Survival Begins
15. 1. Core Gameplay Loop — Exploration, Contracts, Survival, Combat
    2. Squad Coordination — Trade, Heal, Support
    3. Encounters — Hostile AI or Environmental Threats
    4. Complete Contracts, Scavenge Resources, Earn Credits
    5. Check Session Objectives or Time Limit
    6. Session Complete?
    No · back to core gameplay loop
16. Yes Upload Implant and PDA Data to Local Server
17. Distribute Credits and Rewards
18. Sync Progression — Inventory, Implants, PDA Logs
19. Display Summary — Performance, Credits, Missions
20. Return to Safehouse or Main Menu
21. End Session

Three decisions are baked into this chart:

• Host and join paths converge before anything loads. Both sides wait for the host to start the session, so there is exactly one moment the world begins.
• Player data syncs before the world does. Each player's implant (identity, health, credits) and PDA (contracts and logs) sync first, then world variables like weather, the AI seed and spawn points, so every player starts from the same state.
• There is one way out. A session only ends through the Session Complete? check. Everything else loops back into play, so the upload and reward steps can't be skipped by an edge case.

Loop 2: Core gameplay loop

This is the minute-to-minute rhythm of the game, the loop players feel most directly.

1. Game Start
2. Load Basement Hub
3. Show Tutorial Prompts and Implant Initialization
4. Create Player Character
5. Form or Join Squad
6. Access Mode System — M Menu
7. Select Exploration or Combat Modes
8. Combat

   1. Enable Combat and Apex-Sub Behavior
   Exploration

   1. Enable Exploration and Survival Focused Mode
   Mixed

   1. Enable Mixed Mode — Combat and Exploration
9. Save Mode Configuration to Player Profile
10. Scan Templates or Load Map Seed
11. Choose World Source — Procedural or Custom Map
12. Procedural

    1. Generate Procedural Island or Zone
    VHS map

    1. Load Custom VHS Map
13. Initialize World Systems — AI, Vehicles, Weather, Streaming
14. Spawn Player and Squad in Starting Zone
15. Initialize Survival Stats — Health, Hunger, Thirst, Stamina
16. Sync Implant — Identity, Credits, and Vitals
17. Sync PDA — Contracts, Logs, and Inventory
18. Activate HUD with Implant and PDA Overlays
19. 1. 1. Select Exploration Layer
       2. On-road

          1. Highways, Gas Stations, Abandoned Vehicles
          Near-road

          1. Towns, Diners, Trade Posts
          Off-road

          1. Ruins, Hidden Sites, Rare Loot
       3. Scavenge Resources and Collect Items
       4. Earn Credits Through Contracts, Trade, and Scavenging
       5. Manage Inventory and Squad Equipment
       6. Use PDA to Track Objectives, Logs, and Missions
       7. Consume Items to Restore Needs
       8. Repair or Maintain Tools and Vehicles
       9. Maintain Survival Stats and Implant Sync
       10. Check for Encounters or World Events
       No encounter · back to select layer
    2. Encounter occurs Spawn Hostile or Neutral NPCs
    3. Coordinate with Squad — Trade, Heal, Support
    4. Fight

       1. Engage Combat — Melee or Ranged
       Avoid

       1. Avoid Conflict, Stealth, or Negotiate
    5. Loot Enemies and Recover Stability
    6. Complete or Update Contracts via PDA
    7. Use Vehicles to Explore or Transport Supplies
    8. Trade, Upgrade Gear, or Purchase Supplies
    9. Decide — Continue Exploring or Return to Hub
    Continue exploring · back to select layer
20. Return to hub Return to Basement Hub
21. Implant Uploads Health and Credit Data to Server
22. Receive Credits and Sync PDA Logs
23. Spend Credits for Upgrades or Supplies
24. Save Progress and Exit or Start New Session

What the chart forces us to decide early:

• Mode is a player setting. Combat, exploration or mixed is chosen once and saved to the player profile, so every downstream system reads one setting instead of guessing.
• Picking a map layer means picking a risk level. On-road, near-road and off-road trade safety for loot: highways and gas stations are quick pickings, towns and diners have traders, and ruins and hidden sites hold the rare stuff.
• Encounters aren't scripted. After every scavenge-and-maintain pass, the game checks for encounters or world events, and if there are none, the player goes straight back to picking a layer. That inner loop is the core rhythm of the game, and combat interrupts it.
• Fighting and avoiding both pay out. Combat and stealth or negotiation rejoin at the same step, so avoiding a fight is a real choice rather than a penalty.
• Leaving is always the player's call. The outer loop ends at one decision: keep exploring, or return to the hub and cash in.

Loop 3: Progression loop

Progression is the reason the first two loops are worth repeating.

1. 1. Game Start
   2. Main Menu
   3. 1. Select Game Mode — Solo / Co-op Session
      2. Choose Connection Type — Host or Join
      3. Create or Join Survival Session
      4. Sync Player Implants and Squad Data
      5. All Players Ready
      6. Load Map and Sync Environment
      7. Initialize PDA and Implant Interfaces
      8. Session Begins — Players Spawn Together
      9. Explore — Survive — Complete Contracts
      10. Earn Credits Through Jobs, Scavenging, and Trade
      11. Use PDA to Manage Contracts, Inventory, and Logs
      12. Implant Tracks Health, Stats, and Credit Balance
      13. Complete Team Objectives and Return to Extraction Point
      14. End of Session — Upload Implant Data
      15. Receive Credits and Sync Player Progress
      16. Return to Main Menu or Start New Session
      Start new session · back to game mode
   Exit game · back to game start

Much of this chart is the match structure again, seen from further away. That's deliberate, because progression gives weight to the systems already there. Credits earned through jobs, scavenging and trade are uploaded at the end of the session, synced to the player's profile and waiting at the main menu, where the player either starts another session or exits the game.

What mapping loops before development buys us

• The charts become the first-pass backlog. Every box is a feature and every arrow is a dependency, so the nearly fifty boxes in the core gameplay chart above are already an ordered backlog.
• We know the network contracts up front. Every sync and upload box is a message between client and server. In a co-op game, knowing that list before writing netcode is the difference between a deliberate authority model and a pile of one-off calls. It's also where a multiplayer backend gets scoped.
• Each loop becomes a playtest question. Does a session start fast enough? Does the inner loop feel good without combat? Does the credit payout make players want another run?
• The whole team uses the same words. Designers, artists and engineers point at the same box, and "the near-road layer" means the same thing to all of them.

How we draw them

We sketch each loop as a plain flowchart first and lay it out in Figma once it stops changing. Three rules:

1. One action per box. If a box needs "and" twice, it's two boxes.
2. Every decision labels every exit. No encounter and Encounter occurs both get an arrow.
3. Every loop points back at something. If an arrow doesn't lead back into play, it had better be the end of a session.

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Planning a game and want the loops pressure-tested before production starts? That's the first thing we do on every game development or co-development project.

• Game development services
• Co-development and embedded teams
• Multiplayer backends

Building the online side? Read how Redis sorted sets keep a leaderboard fast at a million players.