Time Loop
A plot device where characters re-experience a repeated span of time, often with retained memories.
The time loop is a plot device in fiction whereby characters re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition. Time loops are constantly resetting; when a certain condition is met, such as a death of a character or a certain point in time, the loop starts again, possibly with one or more characters retaining the memories from the previous loop. A time loop is also sometimes used to describe a scenario involving time travel where events form a circular chain of causality. In this context, actions in the past lead to future events, which then trigger the original journey back in time, creating a self-contained loop without a clear starting point.
- Originators
- The Nomai via the Ash Twin Project
- Reset State
- The moment the player wakes up at the campfire (memories retained via statue pairing, not a universal reset)
- Memory Retention
- Only for those paired with a Nomai statue
Lore & Background
The time loop in Outer Wilds is a central mechanic explicitly created by the Nomai through the Ash Twin Project. The loop resets every 22 minutes, triggered by the sun going supernova. The player character retains memories from previous loops due to being paired with a Nomai statue, a process that selectively grants memory retention to certain individuals. This is not a universal reset; only those paired with a statue remember the loop.
In Their Own Story
The source does not provide a specific story about a time loop in Outer Wilds. It describes the time loop as a narrative device where characters learn from each successive loop through time. Jeremy Douglass, Janet Murray, Noah Falstein and others compare time loops with video games and other interactive media, where a character in a loop learns about their environment more and more with each passing loop, and the loop ends with complete mastery of the character's environment. Shaila Garcia-Catalán et al. provide a similar analysis, saying that the usual way for the protagonist out of a time loop is acquiring knowledge, using retained memories to progress and eventually exit the loop. The time loop is then a problem-solving process, and the narrative becomes akin to an interactive puzzle.
Reader's Guide
The source does not provide a guide for a time loop in Outer Wilds. It notes that the presentation of a time loop as a puzzle has led to video games centered on the time loop mechanic, giving the player the ability to learn and figure out the rules themselves. Games like The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Minit, The Sexy Brutale, Outer Wilds, 12 Minutes, Returnal and Deathloop were all designed to allow the player to figure out the loop's sequences of events and then navigate their character through a loop a final time to successfully complete the game. According to Raul Rubio, the CEO of Tequila Works that created The Sexy Brutale, "Time loops allow players to train to get better at the game, faster, smarter, by experimenting from a fixed starting situation, and seeing what it works to move 'forward' within the loop and adding something else to that structure to build a solid process."
Did You Know?
- An early example of a time loop is the 1915 Russian novel Strange Life of Ivan Osokin.
- The episode "The Man Who Murdered Time" in the radio drama The Shadow was broadcast on 1 January 1939.
- The short story "Doubled and Redoubled" by Malcolm Jameson appeared in the February 1941 issue of Unknown.
- The highest-grossing Japanese film of 1983 was The Return of Godzilla (also known as Godzilla 1984); The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was not in the top two.
- The visual novel and anime franchise Steins;Gate (2009) is a Japanese work that uses the time loop concept.
Development Origins and Evolution
The source does not cover the development origins and evolution of Outer Wilds.
Core Mechanics and Survival
The source does not cover core mechanics and survival for Outer Wilds.
Narrative Setting and Alien History
The source does not cover narrative setting and alien history for Outer Wilds.
Critical Reception and Legacy
The source does not cover critical reception and legacy for Outer Wilds.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is the Time Loop?
The Time Loop is a cosmic phenomenon that resets the entire solar system to a specific moment every twenty-two minutes whenever the sun goes supernova. This cycle prevents any permanent changes from occurring, trapping all life in an endless recurrence of events.
Who created the Time Loop and why?
The Hourglass Twins, ancient Nomai scientists, engineered this loop using the Eye of the Universe to preserve their knowledge across eons. Their goal was to give future explorers enough time to solve a catastrophic mystery before the universe's inevitable end.
How does the Time Loop affect memory and existence?
While the physical world resets completely, any sentient being who experiences the reset directly retains their memories from previous cycles. This allows them to accumulate knowledge over countless iterations despite the environment returning to its original state each time.
What triggers the start of a new cycle?
A new cycle begins automatically when the sun explodes into a supernova at the end of every twenty-two minutes. This event instantly rewinds the entire solar system back to the exact moment the previous loop started.
Why is the Time Loop central to the game's story?
The loop serves as both a prison for exploration and a desperate mechanism to prevent total extinction by allowing civilizations to retry solving cosmic threats. It transforms the player's journey into an eternal quest where death is merely a reset rather than a final end.
More in Powers & Artifacts
Elsewhere in the Outer Wilds universe
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