Talk:Unwinnable
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I think that Impossible Mission is a bad example. It is unwinnable because of a bug, while the other games mentionen have unwinnable states as a consequence of their design (intentional or not). It is not the same.
- its still a valid example, unwinnable states can be caused by bugs too, although i have now emphasised the fact that it is bug-based and not design-based. Niz 12:50, 13 November 2005 (UTC)
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[edit] "Often by Eating" not true?
My memory may have been tickled by the screenshot of Zork being made unwinnable by eating the garlic; however typical or atypical that may be, most of the accidentally-unwinnable states I've had the misfortune to stumble into have revolved around food items apparently not intended by the designer for mere consumption by the player:
the cheese sandwich (or hey, the tea at the wrong time) in the Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy is a striking example (though that game is riddled with them); if you prefer a Sierra example, eating the pie in King's Quest 5 (mm, pie, looks good!) renders the player unable to pass the Abominable Snowman later in the game. My recollection is that it's also possible to get Maniac Mansion (again, a home to a wide variety of unwinnabilities) into an unwinnable state by feeding Green Tentacle things intended for the hungers of others.
It's perhaps true that after a certain amount of adventuring experience no sage adventure-game-player is going to eat anything in their character's inventory unless there are hunger daemons driving them, because... I might need that stick of butter later to grease a sticky door hinge! That said, I am not trying to be funny by trying to squeeze in a reference to making games unwinnable by inadvertently eating something needed later -- I'm merely to represent a salient detail from my misguided hours of adventuring. "Be careful what your character eats because you might need it later" is a hard lesson that I had to learn, eventually, and unwinnability is precisely the reason I had to learn it.
That said, if I can find a more elegant way of phrasing it, might I be permitted to slip it back in there? Pseudo Intellectual 06:33, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
I can at least confirm one unwinnable situation to which you don't get by eating anything. In Horrorsoft's Elvira 2, you were trapped in a refrigerated room. Using the matches to trigger the alarm would make the game unwinnable, since the matches are required in the very final spell you make in the game. In that very game, wearing the wrong clothes when visiting the doctor would also make the game unwinnable, as well as cutting the wires to Frankenstein out of time. This game could have several more of these situations. And, by the way, eating the eggs will also render the game in an unwinnable state.
I would also think that Elvira 1 can also be rendered unwinnable. But I can't confirm this. I have vague memories of an ingredient only found once that is useful in several spells (after that it should disappear)... including one required to find a key in the kitchen. The ingredient, if I recall correctly, is also needed in the "Wall of Fire" spell. Miguel Martinez, 20:06 31st January, 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Paper Mario example
The Paper Mario TTYD example isn't valid. It's not even described correctly in the article. Reading the diary will cause the ghost to kill you, but it's done on the spot. When you read it, you are killed before you manage to do anything else, like save. You cannot read the diary and then save, but you can save first, read the diary, be killed, and reload the file with no harm done. Agent CH 19:55, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
My apologies. I was going off second-hand information, not being stupid enough to read the diary myself.
[edit] F.E.A.R
I think that was fixed in a update
[edit] Metroid Fusion example
I removed this:
- Metroid Fusion: During the final boss fight against the Omega Metroid, the player is required to take damage before gaining the power-up necessary to win the game. If an unlimited health cheat is used, then the player will never take damage, and therefore never be able to win.
I don't think the use of cheat codes really counts, because cheat codes are outside the normal playing circumstances. - furrykef (Talk at me) 17:34, 25 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Definition
Unwinnable is a state in many text adventures, graphical adventure games and computer role-playing games where it is impossible for the player to reach the end goal [...]
Generally speaking I'd say that unwinnable may apply to every computer and video game genre. --Abdull 14:40, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] The Image
I am not sure if this is the best possible way to illustrate an unwinnable situation. While it IS a true example, it just seems out of place and requires more explanation than a picture should need. Of course, I can't think of anything else that would demonstrate it without such a lengthy explanation. Maybe scrap the pic idea completely? Gundato
