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Cycle Mac daddy
Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:34 am Post subject: Games where failure is inevitable. A list thread? SPOILERS |
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* Call of Cthullu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Upen discovering what he actually is, and after all that he has witnessed, your character can no longer face life and offs himself.
* Flood
After 42 levels, you, as the final member of your species, finally emerge from the sewers for the first time in your life and are immediately squashed by a car.
* Tetris
You just can't win.
KEEP 'EM COMING. _________________
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Dracko .
Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:36 am Post subject: |
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Bitch, you stole my Tetris answer! _________________ "This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!" |
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Cycle Mac daddy
Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:36 am Post subject: |
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I don't know what you're talking about, good sir. I don't need to listen to these WILD accusations! _________________
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The Great Unwashed .
Joined: 27 May 2006 Posts: 359 Location: Perth, Western Australia
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 7:39 am Post subject: |
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The original Diablo!
Congrats on killing the big guy - now shove his soulstone in your forehead and go on to become him!
Awesome ending. _________________
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dhex Breeder
Joined: 13 Dec 2004 Posts: 6319 Location: brooklyn, Nev Yiork
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:04 am Post subject: |
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planescape: torment.
i never got past the very first puzzle in dark corners of the earth. i should go back sometime. _________________
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kirkjerk .
Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1227
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:08 am Post subject: |
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Among classic games, it's kind of a trope, too numerous to list.
Even Pac-Man ends in a crush of a mangled maze and distorted characters, like the Pac version of "The Matrix" just started breaking down.
Or well... maybe there's a distinction to be made, games that in (rough) theory could be played forever but in practice (and maybe in theory depending on how well they're programmed) you're going to run out of lives, and games that have a distinct ending, but it's a downer, and not allowing the player's character to reach their stated goals. _________________ =/ \(<D)_/
==/\/ >_ kirkjerk.com |
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dessgeega loves your favorite videogame
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 6563 Location: bohan
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:05 pm Post subject: |
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many of these examples just have negative endings - in terms of play, these are optimal endings, victory conditions. these are the resolutions of the story, they just happen to resolve badly for the protagonist (though not necessarily for the player, who has just "completed" the game).
as for arcade games that can only end in failure, i think missile command does the most with it. _________________
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Cossix .
Joined: 14 Nov 2007 Posts: 87
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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The Darkness fits within these lines.
Spoilers!
Not only do you commit suicide (TWICE!) but at the end of the game, The Darkness helps you get your final revenge ONLY IF you allow it to gain full control over you, the very thing you'd been fighting against the entire game! |
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dhex Breeder
Joined: 13 Dec 2004 Posts: 6319 Location: brooklyn, Nev Yiork
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:40 pm Post subject: |
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missle command is a good example, but almost every arcade game would have to be included because they almost all eventually end by the player giving up, having been quartered (or half dollared) out of commission. _________________
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bleak .
Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 258
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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dhex wrote: | planescape: torment. | That is highly debatable. _________________
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ryan .
Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 999
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:37 pm Post subject: |
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I worked on a game - Galactic Assault, I believe - where the last level is when you find out that an alien tearing through the galaxy is actually the universe's reaction to a parasitic organism (humans) and the final message from an ancient race is basically 'We all fucked up.' The End. _________________ Come to me, Mordel. We shall depart. |
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Redeye .
Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 986 Location: filth
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:50 pm Post subject: |
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bleak wrote: | dhex wrote: | planescape: torment. | That is highly debatable. |
In the end you have to fulfill your Blood Contract by serving in the Blood Wars.
That's the field of battle you see the Nameless One joining in the last cutscene.
Who knows, he could survive. _________________ I felt sheer anarchic joy when I ran over my first pedestrian. |
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dhex Breeder
Joined: 13 Dec 2004 Posts: 6319 Location: brooklyn, Nev Yiork
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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well he's paying his fair share for once, to be sure.
but most people wouldn't consider an eternal damnation war a win. _________________
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bleak .
Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 258
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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Redeye wrote: | bleak wrote: | dhex wrote: | planescape: torment. | That is highly debatable. |
In the end you have to fulfill your Blood Contract by serving in the Blood Wars.
That's the field of battle you see the Nameless One joining in the last cutscene.
Who knows, he could survive. | If you'll recall, in the game it goes over ( think it explicitly states, if not implies) TNO's services in the Blood War as one of the generals, or something like that. From what I remember, he was a key figure in certain parts of that war's history. The way I saw it, at the end of the game, TNo picking up the axe was representative of him taking up responsibility for all of his past crimes; that which he could never make up for while immortal. I don't see that as a failure, rather a pretty astounding success on a very personal level. I think that, also, acter TNO's encounter with TTO, he was stripped of his immortality, thereby indicating with the obtainment of the axe that he's signing his life away. If he's still immortal in the blood war, then well, he's still signing his life away. In either case though, he escaped service in the Blood War once, so why not do it again, if you've played TNO to be so inclined? _________________
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Hospital Zone .
Joined: 30 Jan 2008 Posts: 19 Location: The Canadas: Kelowna
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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Breath of Fire Five: Dragon Quarter. It demands that you play for a while, die, then start from the beginning with some of your levels. Apparently you have to do this a few times to make it near the end and see any conclusion at all. There's no scripted ceremony in doing so either (although I think there's a bit of a flaky plot that mentions why in the manual), it's just a reload your stuff, like a new game + until you get it right. I was too frustrated with the game to begin with and didn't want to deal with that crap so I put it away. _________________ he was the first to realize there was no future in farming |
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Redeye .
Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 986 Location: filth
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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bleak wrote: | Redeye wrote: | bleak wrote: | dhex wrote: | planescape: torment. | That is highly debatable. |
In the end you have to fulfill your Blood Contract by serving in the Blood Wars.
That's the field of battle you see the Nameless One joining in the last cutscene.
Who knows, he could survive. | If you'll recall, in the game it goes over ( think it explicitly states, if not implies) TNO's services in the Blood War as one of the generals, or something like that. From what I remember, he was a key figure in certain parts of that war's history. The way I saw it, at the end of the game, TNo picking up the axe was representative of him taking up responsibility for all of his past crimes; that which he could never make up for while immortal. I don't see that as a failure, rather a pretty astounding success on a very personal level. I think that, also, acter TNO's encounter with TTO, he was stripped of his immortality, thereby indicating with the obtainment of the axe that he's signing his life away. If he's still immortal in the blood war, then well, he's still signing his life away. In either case though, he escaped service in the Blood War once, so why not do it again, if you've played TNO to be so inclined? |
I didn't know he was a general, I just thought he became immortal to keep from dying in the Blood War. The process caused him to have amnesia. The amnesia made him forget his Blood Contract.
So for centuries he's been in breach of contract- that's why so many bad things happened to him (aside from other just desserts).
The term of duty will be up eventually. What was it? 10, 20, 30 years?
I don't know if the contract term-extension had penalties for dereliction of duty/AWOL.
Now I have to play again to find out.
This would be a great play along subject, 2+ people could simultaneously report their different paths/findings. _________________ I felt sheer anarchic joy when I ran over my first pedestrian.
Last edited by Redeye on Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:39 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Intentionally Wrong .
Joined: 09 Sep 2005 Posts: 248 Location: [Subject Hometown Here]
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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The Interactive Fiction game "Rameses". While dessgeega might contest its status as "unwinnable", the "victory condition" represents the protagonist's ultimate rejection of all of the player's attempts to improve the quality of his life. |
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bleak .
Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 258
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:01 pm Post subject: |
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Redeye wrote: | bleak wrote: | Redeye wrote: | bleak wrote: | dhex wrote: | planescape: torment. | That is highly debatable. |
In the end you have to fulfill your Blood Contract by serving in the Blood Wars.
That's the field of battle you see the Nameless One joining in the last cutscene.
Who knows, he could survive. | If you'll recall, in the game it goes over ( think it explicitly states, if not implies) TNO's services in the Blood War as one of the generals, or something like that. From what I remember, he was a key figure in certain parts of that war's history. The way I saw it, at the end of the game, TNo picking up the axe was representative of him taking up responsibility for all of his past crimes; that which he could never make up for while immortal. I don't see that as a failure, rather a pretty astounding success on a very personal level. I think that, also, acter TNO's encounter with TTO, he was stripped of his immortality, thereby indicating with the obtainment of the axe that he's signing his life away. If he's still immortal in the blood war, then well, he's still signing his life away. In either case though, he escaped service in the Blood War once, so why not do it again, if you've played TNO to be so inclined? |
I didn't know he was a general, I just thought he became immortal to keep from dying in the Blood War. The process caused him to have amnesia. The amnesia made him forget his Blood Contract.
So for centuries he's been in breach of contract- that's why so many bad things happened to him (aside from other just desserts).
The term of duty will be up eventually. What was it? 10, 20, 30 years?
I don't know if the contract had penalties for dereliction of duty/AWOL.
Now I have to play again to find out.
This would be a great play along subject, 2+ people could simultaneously report their different paths/findings. | Well the details in my memory are sketchy. I like that idea though! I'm always hunting for another reason to fire up that game again. _________________
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dessgeega loves your favorite videogame
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 6563 Location: bohan
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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dhex wrote: | but most people wouldn't consider an eternal damnation war a win. |
he resolves the primary narrative thrust of the game, which is to reattain mortality and accept the consequences of his selfishness. which i think is a favorable outcome, all things considered. the nature of a man is changed, and whatnot.
rameses ends in the same sort of hopelessness as 1984: nothing has changed, the wheels tick on. although, again, the player has navigated the game to the ending the author wants her to see, so its being a failure is really an illusion.
re: missile command, tons of games have inevitable game overs, but i think missile command gains the most by playing its game over in the context of nuclear war. obviously, there's no winner to a two-sided nuclear conflict, and to enter the game is to accept that predetermined outcome. _________________
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Cycle Mac daddy
Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:26 pm Post subject: |
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The reminds me:
* DEFCON
Everybody dies! _________________
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Redeye .
Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 986 Location: filth
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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bleak wrote: | Redeye wrote: | bleak wrote: | Redeye wrote: | bleak wrote: | dhex wrote: | planescape: torment. | That is highly debatable. |
In the end you have to fulfill your Blood Contract by serving in the Blood Wars.
That's the field of battle you see the Nameless One joining in the last cutscene.
Who knows, he could survive. | If you'll recall, in the game it goes over ( think it explicitly states, if not implies) TNO's services in the Blood War as one of the generals, or something like that. From what I remember, he was a key figure in certain parts of that war's history. The way I saw it, at the end of the game, TNo picking up the axe was representative of him taking up responsibility for all of his past crimes; that which he could never make up for while immortal. I don't see that as a failure, rather a pretty astounding success on a very personal level. I think that, also, acter TNO's encounter with TTO, he was stripped of his immortality, thereby indicating with the obtainment of the axe that he's signing his life away. If he's still immortal in the blood war, then well, he's still signing his life away. In either case though, he escaped service in the Blood War once, so why not do it again, if you've played TNO to be so inclined? |
I didn't know he was a general, I just thought he became immortal to keep from dying in the Blood War. The process caused him to have amnesia. The amnesia made him forget his Blood Contract.
So for centuries he's been in breach of contract- that's why so many bad things happened to him (aside from other just desserts).
The term of duty will be up eventually. What was it? 10, 20, 30 years?
I don't know if the contract had term-extension penalties for dereliction of duty/AWOL.
Now I have to play again to find out.
This would be a great play along subject, 2+ people could simultaneously report their different paths/findings. | Well the details in my memory are sketchy. I like that idea though! I'm always hunting for another reason to fire up that game again. |
I'll dig it out this weekend. _________________ I felt sheer anarchic joy when I ran over my first pedestrian. |
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helicopterp .
Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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Good catch on defcon, cycle. _________________ Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one. |
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JasonMoses .
Joined: 15 Oct 2004 Posts: 407
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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Hospital Zone wrote: | Breath of Fire Five: Dragon Quarter. It demands that you play for a while, die, then start from the beginning with some of your levels. Apparently you have to do this a few times to make it near the end and see any conclusion at all. |
I finished Dragon Quarter the first time without any restarts. Knowing a couple of people who finished the game before helps out a lot! The game's narrative actually does almost qualify as an "inevitable failure," - it posits that your returning to the surface world will be the worst possible thing that could happen to the denizens of the underground. Even though it ends up wimping out at the end, it comes close. |
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dhex Breeder
Joined: 13 Dec 2004 Posts: 6319 Location: brooklyn, Nev Yiork
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: | he resolves the primary narrative thrust of the game, which is to reattain mortality and accept the consequences of his selfishness. |
yeah, without a doubt it's a great ending. part of what's made it endure as a favorite.
it's a moral success, but not a conventional success to be sure.
i feel i should go play some missile command now. _________________
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Worm .
Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 142
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Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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Immortal Defense, DROD, Halflife. _________________
Exit stage left, exit stage right, there is no place to run, all the fuses in the exit signs have been BURNT OUT |
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Harveyjames the meteor kid
Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636
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Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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Every Leisure Suit Larry Game, since the beginning of the next game always sees Larry out on his arse again, the girl of his dreams exposed as shallow, heartless and cruel. It's a pretty bleak series of games. Bad sax, bean dip, casinos and cruise ships. It's got a David Lynchian quality to it that's completely unintentional; check out a playthrough of Larry 3 to see what I mean. |
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Cycle Mac daddy
Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767
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Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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I played through Larry 3, the point and click remake released not that long ago... man, that game was so brutally hard! It happened in a sort of real-time, and if you didn't know where and when to be or figure something out soon enough, you'd be screwed.
I still loved playhing through it though. With a walkthrough, of course. I like how every airport looks exactly the same.
EDIT: LOL, nevermind. It was Larry 2! I don't think I played the third one, now that I think of it. _________________
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