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A 'Game over' is a common message when the player loses in a video game. Notably used first in pinball machines and later arcade games, it has since been adopted widely and is now commonly associated with video games in general.

Contents

History

Origin in gaming

Modern usage

"Bad" endings

Twists on usage

Cultural influences

See also

References

History

Origin in gaming

The phrase was originally used at the end of games, whether the player has won the game or not. Early devices such as electromechanical pinball machines would light up the phrase with a lamp (lightbulb).^[1] This usage was carried over into arcade games. Early video arcade games such as ''Space Invaders'' have the phrase "Game Over" simply superimposed on the screen, while more recent games usually have a separate Game Over screen.
Some arcade games additionally used the "Game Over" not only to indicate the end of the game, but also to signify that the game was not currently being played; a flashing "Game Over" would appear over a demo of the game to indicate that it was not in use.

Modern usage

The usage of "Game Over" varies. Most games of today have dropped the usage of "Game Over" for a successful completion of the game, and instead use other ending texts such as "The End" or an outro and credits sequence. "Game Over" is then only used to signify failure, though some series continue to use the phrase for all endings.
With the advance of computing power, modern Game Over screens tend to be more elaborate than mere flashing text. The phrase may be animated and accompanied by graphics. Furthermore, many modern games don't actually use "Game Over" as the failing ending text. For example, the ''Resident Evil'' series uses the ending text "You Are Dead" or "You Died," in a font that resembles bloody slashes. ''Mortal Kombat 4'' and ''Mortal Kombat Gold'' contains a gory Game Over sequence where the beaten fighter falls down a chasm into a spike pit if they run out of credits or choose not to continue. Many other variant texts exist, from "Mission Failed"^[2] to "Your adventure has ended."^[3]
Occasionally, the screen contains no text at all, but merely a picture, as in ''Dracula'' or ''. The phrase can also be spoken by someone off-screen as the scores are shown, such as in the '' series.

"Bad" endings

A "Game Over" is not necessarily the same thing as a bad ending. A bad ending occurs when the player finishes the game but is not completely successful for some reason. Bad endings are usually ending branches where the player has chosen poorly or otherwise failed some task. For example, the main character agrees to join the villain and rule together; the damsel in distress is not freed; or the curse afflicting a character is not broken, and that character is dead in the ending. These endings usually have their own unique screens and results distinct from a standard "death."

Twists on usage

As games have matured, new twists have been found to keep Game Over sequences unique. In '', for instance, the game is related as a story being narrated by the Prince. If the Prince or Farah dies, the Prince stumbles a bit and says "No, wait, that didn't happen. May I start again?" or "No, no, she didn't die. I defeated those monsters and moved on. Shall I restart?" The ''Metal Gear'' series is particularly notorious for breaking the fourth wall, and has exploited the Game Over screen in game events. In ''Metal Gear Solid 2'', several bizarre events occur, one of which is the sudden switch to the Mission Failed screen, except that the phrase "Fission Mailed" is in the corner, with the gameplay continuing in the small window that normally shows the main character's dead body. '' continues this tradition with a "fake death pill" that, when taken, shows the Game Over screen (though the player can still access items and revive themselves).

Cultural influences

The usage of the words "Game Over" in English certainly predates even pinball machines.^[4] However, modern usage outside of gaming usually at least references the "end of a computer/video game" meaning. It is sometimes used to signify an abrupt (and nasty) end, similar to the one a player might meet in such a video game.

★ In the 1986 film ''Aliens'', Bill Paxton's character Hudson uses the phrase to indicate what he thinks is a hopeless situation: "... Game over, man! Game over!" A voice sample from the film, shortened to "Game over, man!", was later used as part of the Game Over screen of the SNES game ''Alien³'', based on the film of the same name.

★ In the 1995 animated series ReBoot, the words "Game Over" are voiced when a game is completed. If a User wins the game, the words "Game Over, user wins" are heard. There is one exception to this, when a game was corrupted by a deletion bomb, and they said "Game Corrupted" instead.

★ In the ''Saw'' film series, Tobin Bell's character Jigsaw uses the line "Game over" numerous times, usually at the end of the film to indicate his victims have failed his deadly "games"

★ Japanese "Pink film" director Hisayasu Sato often concludes his films abruptly with the use of the legend GAME OVER and a surge of white noise, emphasizing the ambiguous nature of the reality of his films.

★ WWE wrestler Triple H (who calls himself "The Game") often uses the phrase "Game Over" in his promos. He also has a shirt that on the front says "Game Over?!", with the back continuing the phrase with "You're Damn Right I'm Over!"

★ Eric Gagné, during the height of his dominance as the closer for his previous team the Los Angeles Dodgers, was associated with the phrase "Game Over" as a gimmick; when entering a game during the 8th or 9th inning, scoreboards flashed "Game Over!" The team would sell merchandise with this phrase as well, in reference to Gagné. He currently pitches for the Boston Red Sox.

★ A flashing Game Over message was displayed after the end credits of the British gaming television series ''Gamesmaster''.

★ If you reached an ending in the Nintendo Adventure Books series, it would say Game Over. If you hit the one good ending, it would say "Game Over. You Win."

★ In Super Paper Mario, a character's life is referred to as their "game". Thus, numerous references to death in the game's dialogue mentioned their "games" being "over".

★ In the Seinfeld episode The Frogger, Jerry says "Game Over!" when George's newly-acquired Frogger machine gets destroyed by a truck.

★ Houston rapper Lil Flip had a hit single called "Game Over" that featured a sample from the '80s game Pac-Man. He was subsequently sued over the sample and the case has since been settled out of court.

See also

★ Continue

References

1. 1950 pinball machine patent
2. The Metal Gear Solid games are one example, while this one appears in the second game, Sons of Liberty.
3. The '' games are one example.
4. William Thackeray, (1848). ''Vanity Fair''. "The Game, in her opinion, was over..."