Comments on: Wing Commander and the Awesomeness of the Epic Fail

By: Rob Zacny

Rob Zacny — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:02:48 +0000

I think the consequence-driven mission structure also made the series evolution more convincing. So many games end with you winning a decisive victory over the forces of evil, and then start the sequel with those forces of evil somehow, miraculously resurgent and more powerful than ever before. The C&C series can have you kicking the crap out of the Allies or Nod in mission after mission, and somehow they keep getting stronger.

But Wing Commander wasn’t that kind of universe. When the second game starts with the Tiger’s Claw having been destroyed, and your character having been blamed for the debacle and consigned to backwater irrelevance, I can believe it. In the Wing Commander universe, shit happens, and it isn’t fair or predictable. The war drags on, neither side able to gain a decisive, lasting advantage, and you play your ambiguous part. What an incredible series.

By: jonnyflash

jonnyflash — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:43:43 +0000

Games like Civilization also let you finish but then give you a “losing” screen(inspired by Ozymandius even). There are also a fair amount of games that have some kind of time limit for a game-ending “losing” event(Mutant Army attack in Fallout 1, Kor-Ah genocide in Star Control 2), where you still “finish,” but you lose.

I think you are right about one thing in particular though: Wing Commander is the only game I can think of that embraced the “losing” storyline. Other games have losing endings, but you’re right on the ball that Wing Commander was unique in having a totally separate arc.

Great editorial.

By: LongTailGamer

LongTailGamer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:54:11 +0000

Thanks for bringing up the “Dark Quest” option, JonnyFlash. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, differentiating between a choice of an alternate ending and the repercussions of failing a required quest. RPGs seem like they’d be more interesting for this option, but usually it comes down a choice in a conversation tree between rescuing a kitten and mugging a girl scout for her cookies.

I had completely forgotten about the Wing 3 ending. Awesome.

By: Mut-Hoe

Mut-Hoe — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:38:00 +0000

I want it…just sucks it costs a good amount to get a legal copy of it…

By: jonnyflash

jonnyflash — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:05:10 +0000

I loved the direction Wing 3 took it, with the increasingly desperate defenses of Earth, climaxing in the never ending swarms of the games toughest enemies in Earth orbit. If you hold out long enough you get the game’s only appetance of a Kilrathi Dreadnaught, by far the biggest ship in the game. When you finally lose, you’re treated to your own execution by Thrakah, the Emperor laughing at the ruins of Washington, and your shipmates doing a suicide run on the Kilrathi fleet. Truly epic, & great enough that those scenes were featured in the games trailer.

To a lesser extant the game kept the subtle touches going, with scorned lovers lingering to insult you and wingmen dying and not replaced. Fantastic.

To a lesser extent RPGs do this with their alternate endings, but even the ‘bad’ endings end up with you winning a dark quest. Stalker had sone interesting stuff, allowing you to pretty much ignore the main plot and just kill almost anyone and wander.

By: lotr-sam0711

lotr-sam0711 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:27:24 +0000

I was having a conversation about a similar thing with some GC members last night. I think linear gameplay is about the least interesting way to present a story in video games and love the idea of branching narratives.

I haven’t actually played Wing Commander but the idea of failure as an option makes me want to check it out.

Come on GOG, make it happen.

By: Hunty

Hunty — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:01:32 +0000

Calamity Annie is a game where the romantic sub-plot is independent of game overs, which isn’t the same thing, but is similar:

http://www.auntiepixelante.com/?p=177

By: LongTailGamer

LongTailGamer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:43:36 +0000

I’m with Morinar — an indie game that embraced failure would get my attention right quick.

What other games did that? Really let you screw up and still enjoy the game itself?

By: Morinar

Morinar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:57:33 +0000

Great article; I really wish failure was accepted more frequently as an option. I personally believe that we lose a lot in games due to the save and reload. I think it would be far more interesting a lot of the time to allow the player to continue playing, but have each defeat actually mean something (unlike say Prey or Bioshock). Alas, seems like game designers (at the pressure of money grubbing publishers) are just making games easier and more mainstream (read: less original).

Here’s my vote for a solid (indie?) title that could bring back this great idea for Wing Commander.