this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
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What are some games that "spin" failure states? (beehaw.org)
submitted 1 year ago by bermuda@beehaw.org to c/gaming@beehaw.org
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What I mean by this, is instead of when you fail and are met with a game over, the game finds some way to keep it going. Instead of being forced to reset to a previous save or an autosave checkpoint, the game's story continues in an interesting path. Are there any games like this?

Asking because in IRL TTRPG's, a lot of DM's will find reasons to keep the story going, no matter how ludicrous because I mean.. that's why you're there. Do games do this? What are some that do?

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[–] LoamImprovement@beehaw.org 8 points 1 year ago

Disco Elysium is probably the best implementation of the 'Fail Forward' ideology I've seen in a game - not 'Game Over' per se, because running out of Health or Morale will give you a game over, along with some nonstandard endings, but failing important story-related checks doesn't lock you out of the story, you're just encouraged to go explore other parts of the world - raising the skill associated with the check you failed opens it up again, and certain objects, thoughts, or interactions can also open them up again. In the same vein, failing noncritical checks can often lead to more interesting and/or advantageous outcomes than succeeding. As an example:

spoilerOne red check (noncritical, can't be retried) you make early on is to try to remember your name via Conceptualization. Succeed, and you'll just admit to yourself that you can't remember. Fail, and you immediately land on 'Raphael Ambrosious Cousteau.' You can then spend the rest of the game referring to yourself as RAC, with humorous reactions from pretty much everyone who hears it, and if you do it enough, you unlock a thought that raises your Savoir Faire and Espirit de Corps skills.
Great game, by the way, highly recommend.