Endless Game: Difference between revisions
Blitter Boy
m (update links) |
RivetVermin (talk | contribs) (Blitter Boy) |
||
| (12 intermediate revisions by 7 users not shown) | |||
Line 17:
Note that this trope applies to most [[The Golden Age of Video Games|golden age]] arcade games because of the need for the game to be over in order for other people to play. However, specific examples follow:
{{examples}}
* In ''[[Star Trek: The
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==▼
* ''[[Dungeons
** While all editions encouraged a beginning, middle, and end to their games, 4th edition is the first to avert this within the game mechanics. When the characters reach 30th level, they achieve their "Epic Destiny." This could be anything from ascending to minor god status, to fading into the shadows becoming a mover and shaker unseen. But the point is you won, you pick up a new sheet and start again.▼
*** The Dragonlance campaign averted this earlier, with only a few exceptional characters in Krynn above level 18, and none above level 20.▼
*** The old "colored box" games also had a definitive
== [[Theatre]] ==▼
* Referenced in [https://web.archive.org/web/20131220160130/http://www.ernestcline.com/spokenword/ Ernest Cline's] monologue "When I Was A Kid": "...and there were no multiple levels, there was just one screen... forever. And it just kept getting faster and harder until you died. Just like ''life''."▼
==
=== [[Action Adventure]] ===
* ''[[Critical Mass 1995 (video game)|Critical Mass]]''. The four factions are locked in an unwinnable war, so your character keeps doing missions until he is killed.
=== [[Action Game]] ===
* ''[[Bubble Trouble]]'', a 1990s game for the Mac. If you pass level 50, it constantly presents random levels as levels 51+ until you run out of lives.
* Survival mode (arguably the "proper" game mode) in the PC game ''[[Crimsonland]]'' has the player character being endlessly assaulted from all sides by zombies, aliens, giant spiders, and more. There literally is no way to win.
Line 37 ⟶ 50:
* ''[[Burger Time]]'' just keeps looping through the same stages, and the enemies eventually get ridiculously fast. Averted in ''Super BurgerTime'', which ends after World 5.
=== [[Adventure Game]] ===
* The hard mode of ''[http://www.bradthegame.com Brad the Game]'', unlockable by finishing the regular game.
=== [[Beat'Em Up]] ===
* ''[[Kung
* While the arcade version of ''Renegade'' plays this straight, the NES version averts it. Oddly enough, the arcade version actually has something resembling an ending, with Mr. K reuniting with his girlfriend after the fourth stage, while the NES version simply skips to the end credits (the Japanese version of both games had endings).
=== [[Driving Game]] ===
* ''[[Bump N Jump]]'' (arcade): after level 8, levels 4-8 loop indefinitely.
* ''[[Spy Hunter]]'' (the original).
Line 52 ⟶ 65:
* In ''[[Antarctic Adventure]]'', it's no surprise that the game repeats after 10 stages, since the game's between-stage display shows how the path loops around Antarctica. However, the sequel ''Penguin Adventure'' had [[Multiple Endings]].
=== [[Edutainment Game]] ===
* ''[[Word Munchers]]'', ''[[Number Munchers]]''. and ''[[Fraction Munchers]]''. On Level 19, the troggles move faster. Nobody has lasted long enough to see if the same thing happens on Level 37.
** Legend goes that people have lasted past level 100.
=== [[Fighting Game]] ===
* [[Multi Mook Melee|Endless Melee/Brawl]] from ''[[Super Smash Bros.]].''
** Same with Cruel Melee/Brawl, [[Nintendo Hard|in freakin Spades!]]
Line 64 ⟶ 77:
* [[Soul Calibur]] 2's Conquest Mode in the arcade version. You pick one of four armies, you help them conquer the world, 8 rounds at a time. Once all the enemies are out of the way, the world is yours! And then what happens? [[Vicious Cycle|A civil war breaks out and splits the victorious army into four factions!]] [[Foregone Conclusion|Always.]]
=== [[First-Person Shooter]] ===
* ''[[Call of Duty]]: World at War'''s [[Nazi Zombies]] mode. If you manage to get past ten waves, the bloody tally in the corner switches to a number in a simple sans-serif font. It's rumored that the game does eventually end (in a crash!) once you hit an {{{Cap} overflow number}} for rounds e.g. 128, 256, 65536, and so on.
* The April 2009 update for ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'' added Survival Mode, which is [[Super Fun Happy Thing of Doom|Exactly What It Doesn't Say On The Tin]].
* ''[[Halo: Reach]]'''s [[Playable Epilogue]]. The objective is to "survive"(as long as possible). As Noble Six takes damage, his visor is progressively cracked and dinged, and the HUD indicators start to fail. When damaged enough, the game switches to a cutscene where he discards the helmet and a squad of Elites delivers the coup de grace, shown from the helmet cam's perspective.
=== [[4X]] ===
* ''[[Sword of the Stars]]'' has Progression Wars, in which you keep on jumping galaxies trying to survive an enemy that gets more and more difficult.
* ''[[Civilization]]'' has victory conditions, but continues on endlessly if you decide to play just ... one ... more ... turn ...
Line 75 ⟶ 88:
** Technically, most versions of Civilization have an ending year, with the game ending (and victory awarded to the highest-scoring civilization) if nobody has beaten the game by that point.
=== [[Miscellaneous Games]] ===
* Many of the games on ''[[Action 52]]'' loop around to the first level upon "completion" while keeping track of your score. Most of the others, infamously, crash a few levels in. Only a few have a clearly-defined ending.
** ''Ooze'' crashes on level 3 of the more common version of the cartridge, but does have an actual ending on the rarer second version (wonder if anyone actually entered this contest).
Line 82 ⟶ 95:
* ''[[Tutankham]]'' loops after 16 stages, most of which are [[Hard Mode Filler]].
=== [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMORPG]]s ===
* Most MMORPGs could be said to fall into the trope, but especially the greatest MMO of all time, ''[[Progress Quest]]''!
** ''[[
* A number of flash games on [[Neopets]] follow this, but scoring well on the high-score tables nets you a [[Cosmetic Award|permanent trophy]]. One game, called ''[[Hopeless Boss Fight|Neverending Boss Battle]]'', somewhat [[
=== [[Platform Game]] ===
* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by a [[
* ''[[Donkey Kong]]'', for the most part, though it's notable as being the first game with a true storyline with an ending, even if viewing it doesn't end the game. There appears to be an ending when you manage to save Pauline from the titular ape, but when that's done the game just restarts at a higher difficulty level (and in the American arcade version, with extra levels) so that you can further increase your score until you run out of lives. At iteration 22 (which very very few people have reached), an overflow occurs which causes the time bonus, which is also a [[Timed Mission|death timer]], to start at a mere 400,<ref>that's its effective value; its displayed value is just all over the place</ref>
* ''[[Canabalt]]''.
* ''[[Chuckie Egg]]''.
Line 95 ⟶ 108:
* ''[[Lode Runner]]'', particularly Hang On mode in the 25th Anniversary [[Xbox]] Live Arcade release.
* ''[[Mega Man 9]]'' and ''[[Mega Man 10]]'''s Endless Attack.
** [[Game Mod
* The original ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', and the ''actual'' [[Kobayashi Mario]]: level -1, the Minus World.
* In ''[[Wario Ware]]'', the first time you play a character's stage, you win once you beat the first boss microgame. After that, it just continues on endlessly, getting faster and more difficult, until you lose all your lives, so all you can do is aim for the high score. Of course, there are rewards for getting a high enough score...
* Every game in Nintendo's [[Game and Watch|Game & Watch]] line of LCD handhelds from the 80s falls into this. While some later games like ''[[Donkey Kong]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Zelda (video game)|Zelda]]'' have definite endings, [[Hard Mode Filler|they just repeat a little faster]] until you run out of lives.
=== [[Puzzle Game]] ===
* ''[[Dr. Mario]]''. Depending, of course, on the mode.
* ''[[Pipe Dream]]''. Although, sometimes a level would be impossible to win, because the start was surrounded by blocks.
Line 106 ⟶ 119:
** [[wikipedia:Tetris#Possibility of indefinite gameplay|It has actually been shown]] that, assuming the version of Tetris in question has a (reasonably) unbiased RNG, the endless mode of the game cannot be played "forever." The right sequence of S- and Z-shaped blocks forces the player to leave a hole in one corner, then the opposite corner, and so on; this is an infinite sequence, so if the probability distribution is truly uniform, the probability of hitting it eventually is 1. Official Tetris games' random number generators thus follow [http://tetris.wikia.com/wiki/Random_Generator a specific algorithm] that prevents such unlikely events from ever occurring.
*** The odds of your next piece being the first in the so-called "kill sequence" are about one in "more than the number of atoms in the universe" against. So while it is eventually going to kill you, the universe's heat death is more likely to occur.
*** Completing B-Type mode of ''Tetris'' for Game Boy at level 9 and height 5 would show various Nintendo characters dancing to "Trepak" from ''The Nutcracker'', followed by a Buran shuttle launch.
*** In Justin Taylor's short story "Tetris" (in the collection ''Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever'', the answer is the end of the universe. (Or at least the world.)
Line 120 ⟶ 132:
* ''[[Slydris]]'', in both the Survival and Infinite modes. You keep going until you hit the top of the screen and die.
=== [[Real Time Strategy]] ===
* This is the final Protoss level of ''[[
=== [[Roguelike]] ===
* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' has absolutely no win parameters; you simply play until your fortress dies out for whatever reason, or the action grinds to a standstill because your computer's processing power can't keep up with the ever-increasing number of dwarfs/cats/water/magma/etc, or you get bored, or...
** Losing is fun, afterall.
Line 129 ⟶ 141:
*** but a continent wide genocide might be attempted.
=== [[Role
* ''[[Shadowkeep]]'' for the PC was an interesting variation: you ''could'' win the game and defeat the Shadow King. HOWEVER, once you did, the game wouldn't end. You had to actually ''quit the game'' to end
=== [[Shoot
* A great many vertical scrolling [[Shoot'Em Up
** Even moreso if you count shooters that loop back to the first stage with increased difficulty, such as the ''[[Gradius]]'' series.
* The arcade version of ''[[Commando (film)|Commando]]'', while having more unique levels than the NES version, infinitely repeats after level eight, while the NES version, with only 4 unique stages, ends after the fourth loop, with a [[Blind Idiot Translation]] [[A Winner Is You]] screen.
Line 143 ⟶ 155:
* ''[[Space Invaders]]''.
* ''[[Xevious]]''. Absurdly, the tagline for this game (at least in Nintendo's VC description) is, "Are you devious enough to beat Xevious?" Later Xevious games, such as ''Xevious: Fardraut Saga'', ''Xevious: Fardraut Densetsu'', ''Xevious Arrangement'', ''Solvalou'', ''Xevious 3D/G'', ''Super Xevious: GAMP no Nazo'', and ''Xevious Ressurection'', do have endings.
* ''[[Tempest (video game)|Tempest]]'' (arcade): if you get past level 98 (which is actually a repeat of level 82), you're stuck on "level 99" until you lose all your lives. (However, if you re-enter the level ? whether by clearing it, or by losing a life ? the shape changes to a random choice from the 16 shapes available.)
* ''[[Twin Cobra]]'' arcade version: After level 10 (which is nearly impossible to get to without credit-feeding, and levels 6-10 are mainly [[Hard Mode Filler]]), the game loops back to level 1 with faster bullets and enemies. Averted with the NES and Genesis versions.
* ''[[Tyrian]]'' has two examples:
Line 159 ⟶ 171:
** The remake also has multiplayer modes Arms Race and War Party, the first of which gives each player three lives, while War Party gives you infinite lives and a respawn timer- the game ends when there are no surviving players on the screen.
* ''[[Bosconian]]''
* ''[[Blitter Boy]]'' pits you against increasing waves of baddies on each floor until they inevitably overwhelm you.
=== [[Simulation Game]]s ===
* There are two schools of thought about ''[[Animal Crossing]]'' series. One side thinks ''AC'' is a typical [[Wide Open Sandbox]] example: the player can never win but can't lose either. The other side claims aversion, citing hints from the shopkeeper in the opening cut scenes that the player "wins" with a fully paid-off mortgage and a perfect town, and the rest of the game is a [[Playable Epilogue]].
* Will Wright's ''SimFoo'' games.
** Essentially any game with Will Wright's name attached to it is endless. There are two notable exceptions: in ''[[
** [[Urban Legend of Zelda]] has it that once you reach the year 1,000,000 in SC2K, the sun goes nova and burns up everything, [[The End]].
** And ''[[
*** However, experimental mode is endless, but also has no objective.
** The lack of win conditions in ''[[
*** Realistically there was a period of 5ish years where all the various Sim games (and there were an unbelievable amount) had win conditions. Games before and after were all sandboxes though.
**** In ''[[Sim City 2000]]'' at least, accomplishing the "win condition" only mean that you don't get thrown out of office and can continue playing indefintely. You don't even get [[A Winner Is You]].
Line 175 ⟶ 188:
** ''[[Sim Isle]]'' had numerous victory conditions, even in the sandbox maps, though figuring out how to achieve them was a headache.
** ''[[The Sims]]: Bustin' Out'' (at least the GBA version) actually had an ending sequence if you completed all the missions the game gave you.
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[The Sims Medieval]]'' has Kingdom Ambitions, but once you beat them you can keep playing in the kingdom, and a free-play mode opens up once you beat the first ambition. It does a better job of pretending ''not'' to be an
* [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in the [[Intellivision]] game ''Space Spartans'', in which it's actually part of the plot: "In 480 B.C. a small Spartan force held off Xerxes and the entire Persian army, in the famous Battle of Thermopylae. The Spartans chose to die defending the pass into Greece, to give their allies time to prepare for attack. SPACE SPARTANS reenacts this battle in space, in a heroic adventure that pits you against overwhelming alien odds. You are the elite force. Stop the first alien onslaught and a new alien force appears. Hold the aliens back as long as you can and give your home galaxy time to prepare for attack!"
* ''[[Transport Tycoon]]'', being a simulation game in the ''[[
* A certain mission in ''[[Trauma Center]]: Under The Knife 2'' goes on forever unless you use a special move to end it. Otherwise, you're just racking up points until the patient dies.
** All the missions in ''Trauma Center'' are timed. The ones that aren't don't have patients that die.
* A staple of the ''[[Anno Domini]]'' games. There are also scenarios and a campaign.
* ''[[Crazy Bus]]''▼
=== [[Sports Game]]s ===
* ''[[
* The ''[[Punch-Out!!]]'' remake for Wii. It doesn't matter how good you are at the game; you WILL lose eventually, resulting in the game's [[Downer Ending]]. It's possible to beat "Mac's Last Stand"; but after that, it goes into "Champion" mode, in which any fighter (including Glass Joe) can knock you down with just one punch (a reference to the NES game's "Dream Fight" mode where you fight Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream). It keeps going this way until you mess up. There is no "good" ending. To add injury to insult, the file you were using is listed as "retired" afterwards. You can still access it, but you can only play the game's exhibition mode. The game's career mode can never be played again with that file. You have several save slots, but still.
* ''[[Football Manager]]'': The player character manager will never die. So you can play until you get bored or you die in real life.
=== [[Third-Person Shooter]]s ===
* The "Dead Man Walking" mode in ''[[Max Payne 2]]''.
=== [[Tower Defense]] ===
* Many [[Tower Defense]] games are designed that they are in the beginning cakewalks, towards the middle challenges, later-on challenges that required foresight to handle, and in conclusion impossible. Usually, games such as these possess a fixed growth rate for the enemy's health per level, and/or towers that stop getting stronger or become too costly to upgrade. Some games avert this loss by having fixed missions or a certain number of levels.
* ''[[Monday Night Combat]]'' (a [[Tower Defense]] game at its core) features two Endless Blitzes (Blitz being the solo/cooperative mode of the game). Sudden Death Blitz literally had endless waves of robots trying to attack your Money Ball, and you and/or your friends simply held out for as long as you could. But when players displayed strategies that allowed them to hold out for hours (until either boredom or the bad luck of a string of boss waves got you), the creators added a ''Super'' Sudden Death Blitz on a specialized map. The rules were the same, but the enemy robots came in much stronger numbers and more strategic patterns and the map was less in your favor.
=== [[Turn-Based Strategy]] ===
* The classic computer game ''[[Crush Crumble and Chomp]]''. The only way to end the game is to (eventually) get killed by the humans.
=== [[Wide Open Sandbox]] ===
* ''[[Minecraft]]'' is this, although a [http://www.minecraftforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=43677&sid=a4427aa4ada1868bf8a25a2b28edf68e certain thread] on the Minecraft forum would [[Calvin Ball|suggest otherwise]].
** Minecraft has an End! As of the official release, it has a new area known as "The End," home of the Enderman and the Enderdragon. If you manage to [[Nintendo Hard|defeat the]] [[That One Boss|Enderdragon]], then you get [[The End]] credits! You still get to keep playing after that, but it is the canon ending at this point.
▲== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
▲* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'': Most editions of the game allow the characters to continue playing, if not endlessly at least far longer than any group could ever hope to maintain. In 3rd edition, the rules scaled infinitely (though balance becomes an issue, combats take longer, and adventures are harder and harder to prepare so in practice most DM's draw the game to a close and start over.) The point of the game is the experience and working your way through a shared adventure.
▲** While all editions encouraged a beginning, middle, and end to their games, 4th edition is the first to avert this within the game mechanics. When the characters reach 30th level, they achieve their "Epic Destiny." This could be anything from ascending to minor god status, to fading into the shadows becoming a mover and shaker unseen. But the point is you won, you pick up a new sheet and start again.
▲*** The Dragonlance campaign averted this earlier, with only a few exceptional characters in Krynn above level 18, and none above level 20.
▲*** The old "colored box" games also had a definitive ending -- characters who become immortal, rise to become rulers of the universe, give it up to become mortal again, become immortal ''again'' and rise to become rulers of the universe ''again'' are recruited into the [[Eldritch Abomination|Old Ones]]. Um, yay?
▲== [[Theatre]] ==
▲* Referenced in [http://www.ernestcline.com/spokenword/ Ernest Cline's] monologue "When I Was A Kid": "...and there were no multiple levels, there was just one screen... forever. And it just kept getting faster and harder until you died. Just like ''life''."
▲== [[Live Action TV]] ==
▲* In [[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]], the game Strategema could turn into one if neither side can gain a winning advantage. Data uses this fact in order to defeat a person who beat him in a normal version of the game.
== Other ==
* The [[Ur Example]] may be the pre-electronic arcade game pinball. You keep going till you run out of balls (lives) and the only reward for playing well is [[Bragging Rights Reward|bragging rights]].
▲* [[Crazy Bus]]
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Video Game Tropes]]
[[Category:
| |||