I’ve played a lot of games in my day, and I like to think that I have the brain-power to follow just about any plot out there. Except for one:
The ‘Time Loop‘.
A time loop is a plot device where some sequence of events happens, then something happens, usually catastrophic, that sends the universe back in time by some set amount, where it all happens again.
In the games, at least, your job is to be the guy (or team of guys) that has to break the loop somehow. But the problem is that most of the characters don’t know that they’re in the loop to start with.
Confused yet?
So, what’s the problem?
Well, mostly it’s that large parts of the story are left ambiguous, probably on purpose. The thing is, though, that the implications are typically so vague that I either miss them or am just left scratching my head.
And, I’m typically not the kind of person that needs to have everything explained to me, I like to think that I’m reasonably good at understanding convoluted plotlines… except when it comes to time travel plots more complicated than Back to the Future. For some reason, I just can’t wrap my head around them.