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| *'']'': In ] before the briefing, John gives his ID to the guard. After the briefing the guard returns the ID to him. The player must specifically do a LOOK ID to see that the guard actually gave him wrong ID and then ask for it back. The Pentagon cannot be visited again in the game so the player will be in trouble when he is later asked for his ID. | *'']'': In ] before the briefing, John gives his ID to the guard. After the briefing the guard returns the ID to him. The player must specifically do a LOOK ID to see that the guard actually gave him wrong ID and then ask for it back. The Pentagon cannot be visited again in the game so the player will be in trouble when he is later asked for his ID. | ||
| *'']'': The ] ] version is completely unwinnable. Several items needed are in computer terminals, which are unfortunately unsearchable, so the game cannot be completed. The ] version fixed the bug. | *'']'': The ] ] version is completely unwinnable. Several items needed are in computer terminals, which are unfortunately unsearchable, so the game cannot be completed. The ] version fixed the bug. | ||
| *'']'': Rosella is stranded on an islet. Behind a rock there is a bridle (which is not visible and can be found only by SEARCH GROUND) which she will use to ride the Unicorn later on after she leaves the islet. There is no way to return to the islet after she has left. The difficulty of finding the bridle and the lack of direction guiding the player to search for it, makes the dead end almost certain, |
*'']'': Rosella is stranded on an islet. Behind a rock there is a bridle (which is not visible and can be found only by SEARCH GROUND) which she will use to ride the Unicorn later on after she leaves the islet. There is no way to return to the islet after she has left. The difficulty of finding the bridle and the lack of direction guiding the player to search for it, makes the dead end almost certain, even in reattempts. | ||
| *'']'': Before the player arrives on the cruise ship, the player must obtain several items - including a soda, a wig, and some thread - in order to survive on the boat. He must also obtain a pin, a parachute, and a bottle from the airport. With the latter he can open the exit and escape the plane (the game ends when the airplane lands), and the bottle is used at the very end of the game. | *'']'': Before the player arrives on the cruise ship, the player must obtain several items - including a soda, a wig, and some thread - in order to survive on the boat. He must also obtain a pin, a parachute, and a bottle from the airport. With the latter he can open the exit and escape the plane (the game ends when the airplane lands), and the bottle is used at the very end of the game. | ||
Revision as of 23:49, 12 November 2005
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, and where the only other options are restarting the game, restoring a previously saved game, wandering indefinitely, or meeting death. It is also known as a walking dead, dead end or zombie situation.
This happens due to an earlier mistake or oversight that cannot be corrected (compare with point of no return), for example the player has destroyed or lost an essential object, become trapped in a place with no exit, failed to complete a puzzle within a time or turn limit, or failed to interact with a non-player character to meet a subgoal. Other ways to enter such a state include exploiting a cheat that changes the game mechanics, or upon finding a bug in the map continuity.
Since there is no hope for an optimal ending (or, in many cases, any ending), and there is no indication that the game is now unwinnable, the player's character is often blocked from further progress but does not die and is reduced to trying increasingly outlandish actions to find a way out of this 'trap': hence the term zombie. The player rarely knows exactly what caused the dead-end situation, which can cause severe frustration. A term sometimes used to describe games with unwinnable states is that they are "cruel". Some players prefer to either cheat or rely on walkthroughs in order to finish games that can result in dead end situations.
A very general example of a 'walking dead' scenario: a game starts in a cave. As soon as the player leaves the cave, it collapses and can not be reentered. Later, the player finds a house with a locked front door. The key to the house is in the cave — but if the player did not search the cave thoroughly before leaving, the door can never be unlocked.
The early generations of text adventure games tended to have more unwinnable states, as this kind of game design was not yet considered unfair, simply a way to make a game deeper and more challenging. It was usually considered a product of the game's difficulty rather than poor design, which also encouraged (rather forced) replayability. Veteran players created save files before every major action to avoid making the game unwinnable. Some games let the undo command take back an action or event, including the player's death, but many designers considered this cheating. Other games limited the use to one undo over a certain number of turns. In the case of unlimited undos these could be used instead of multiple save files.
Modern graphical adventures are much more resource-intensive, and it can be an arduous task to search through earlier parts of such a game for a missed object. Therefore, 'dead ends' have recently come to be equated with poor game design.
As a generalisation, Sierra's graphical adventures tended to contain walking dead situations, whereas LucasArts often boasted that most of their games could not result in a dead end. Although some die-hard adventure purists scorned such practices as "dumbing down games for the masses", more games adopted the approach over time, like Sierra, whose games eg King's Quest V and Codename: Iceman are rather notorious for their sheer amount of zombie situations.
Unwinnable should not be confused with "unbeatable", which is used to describe a character, monster, or puzzle that is too powerful or difficult to be overcome by the player or character at a lower standing, and is normally found in computer role-playing games. This state is not unwinnable because it can be solved by levelling up.
Actual examples
- Codename: Iceman: In The Pentagon before the briefing, John gives his ID to the guard. After the briefing the guard returns the ID to him. The player must specifically do a LOOK ID to see that the guard actually gave him wrong ID and then ask for it back. The Pentagon cannot be visited again in the game so the player will be in trouble when he is later asked for his ID.
- Impossible Mission: The NTSC Atari 7800 version is completely unwinnable. Several items needed are in computer terminals, which are unfortunately unsearchable, so the game cannot be completed. The PAL version fixed the bug.
- King's Quest IV: Rosella is stranded on an islet. Behind a rock there is a bridle (which is not visible and can be found only by SEARCH GROUND) which she will use to ride the Unicorn later on after she leaves the islet. There is no way to return to the islet after she has left. The difficulty of finding the bridle and the lack of direction guiding the player to search for it, makes the dead end almost certain, even in reattempts.
- Leisure Suit Larry 2: Before the player arrives on the cruise ship, the player must obtain several items - including a soda, a wig, and some thread - in order to survive on the boat. He must also obtain a pin, a parachute, and a bottle from the airport. With the latter he can open the exit and escape the plane (the game ends when the airplane lands), and the bottle is used at the very end of the game.