Core design · all games
Meta game
The layer of goals and systems around the core loop, such as upgrades, collections and maps, that gives each play session a longer-term purpose.
Also called: meta loop, meta progression, meta layer
The meta game is what the core loop feeds. Winning a level earns currency or items, and the meta game decides what those are for: upgrading a character, completing a collection, rebuilding a town, climbing a map.
It stretches a game from a few minutes of play to weeks. Players return not only for the next level but for the next upgrade or the missing piece of a set. Much of a mobile game's shop, offers and timers usually sits in this layer, which is why it matters for revenue.
Be careful with the word. In competitive games, metagame means something different: the strategies players favor that sit outside the rules of the game. This glossary uses the term in the first sense.
In mobile games
Casual mobile games often put the meta game on top of the core loop as a second layer: a base to rebuild, a collection to complete or a map to travel. The examples below show upgrades and collections, two common shapes of it.
What to watch for
- Piling meta systems on a weak core loop. They hide the weakness for a while, but players leave when the loop itself is not fun.
- Too many systems at once. Each system is something new to learn, so introduce them one at a time.
