Unwinnable: Difference between revisions
Content added Content deleted
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{trope}} |
|||
{{trope}}{{cleanup|This needs to be turned into a category.[[Category:Pages that should be categories]]}} |
|||
{{page should be category}} |
|||
{{quote|''"Ethel, I think we’re fighting a losing game!"''|'''Lucy'''|''[[I Love Lucy]]''}} |
{{quote|''"Ethel, I think we’re fighting a losing game!"''|'''Lucy'''|''[[I Love Lucy]]''}} |
||
Latest revision as of 01:05, 3 June 2020
This needs to be turned into a category. |
"Ethel, I think we’re fighting a losing game!"
—Lucy, I Love Lucy
|
'Unwinnable' is a gameplay state in which it is completely impossible for the player to finish the game. Players who have reached this point have only two options: reload a previous save—in the fortunate situations where this is possible, or start the game anew—for the much more unfortunate situations where it is not.
Unwinnable comes in four flavors:
- Unwinnable by Design, where chaotic evil programmers deliberately create traps for people to stumble into. Either type has been known to prompt a Big No from frustrated gamers, and if the instance is the result of particularly egregiously bad programming, it may result in an Internet Backlash.
- Unwinnable by Insanity, where the player looks at a few perfectly harmless game elements and says "Hey, if I did this highly unlikely thing, I'd break the game! Cool!" It's more of a novelty than anything.
- Unwinnable Joke Game, where the game is intentionally impossible from the beginning, generally played as a joke on the player.
- Unwinnable By Mistake, where bad design oversights or bug-filled programming stop the player from progressing, prevent the player from accessing needed equipment, or otherwise make the game impossible to beat.
Examples go on the subtropes above.
Compare Luck-Based Mission and Controllable Helplessness, as well as Endless Game. See also "Wake-Up Call" Boss.