History Main / DeliberateFlawRetcon

* ''VideoGame/TheQuietMan'' stars a deaf protagonist, and in a questionable decision to make the players emphasis with him, any and all dialogue is muted, despite the implicit fact that he reads lips and that several people sign to him as well. The story is thus entirely incomprehensible, and between that and its many other flaws, from the gameplay to the graphics, it was universally critically panned. Its publisher would later release a patch in which you can hear all of the game's dialogue on subsequent playthroughs, and produced a fake accolades trailer where fictional critics who originally panned the game turned around on it entirely because of this.

* When the Platform/ZXSpectrum game ''VideoGame/JetSetWilly'' was released, fans quickly discovered that the game was UnintentionallyUnwinnable because, amongst other things, after The Attic was visited, some other rooms became instant death traps. The publisher initially claimed that this was deliberate, and the affected rooms had become filled with poison gas, but eventually issued [=POKEs=] to fix this and the other bugs.

* This was parodied in ''VideoGame/DiscworldII'', where Ponder Stibbons introduces Rincewind to the magical computer Hex, which is partially operated by a colony of ants. He explains that whenever somebody complains about all the bugs in the machine, he tells them that they're not bugs, they're ''creatures''.

* The ChristmasRushed game ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog3'' left the game with several [[GameBreakingBug game-breaking Bugs]]. The solution was to have the English manual say that Dr. Robotnik laid some inescapable traps that exploit Sonic's speed, requiring a reset of the game.

* When the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum game ''VideoGame/JetSetWilly'' was released, fans quickly discovered that the game was UnintentionallyUnwinnable because, amongst other things, after The Attic was visited, some other rooms became instant death traps. The publisher initially claimed that this was deliberate, and the affected rooms had become filled with poison gas, but eventually issued [=POKEs=] to fix this and the other bugs.

* When told on Website/{{Twitter}} that there was a bug in the UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} version of ''VideoGame/Revolution60'' that made the FinalBoss UnintentionallyUnwinnable in keyboard mode, lead developer Brianna Wu said [[http://archive.is/N51dn "It's not a bug, it's a puzzle!"]]

* The original 2013 West End staging of ''Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', directed by Creator/SamMendes, was a SceneryPorn spectacle with [[http://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/06-2013/-show-pics-first-images-of-charlie-and-the-chocola_30884.html lavish, full-scale, stage-spanning sets]] -- even sets within sets. The 2017 Broadway {{Retool}} directed by Jack O'Brien was... [[http://www.broadway.com/photos/gallery/265/show-photos-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory/89694/ not]], despite retaining the same set/costume designer as the West End version. The creative team claimed in interviews that the changes were to better emphasize the CentralTheme of the power of imagination. As ''New Yorker'' critic Michael Schulman [[https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/not-exactly-golden-tickets-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-and-anastasia-on-broadway put it]], "The edible landscape where Wonka sings 'Pure Imagination' is a smallish terrarium, and the chocolate river that engulfs Augustus Gloop isn’t even visible. The idea, I think, is for us to project our wildest dreams onto a blank slate -- and to ward off the London production, which [''New York Times'' critic] Ben Brantley compared to an overstuffed Toys R Us -- but that’s not exactly how imagination works." [=BroadwayWorld.com=] commenters theorized the producers '''really''' wanted to save money and have a production that would be easier to put on tour.

This trope describes instances where a work had a largely negative reception, and the creators and/or fans HandWave the work's shortcomings by claiming they were intentional. Some creators will claim that their work was intended as a parody or satire (for that, see the subtrope ParodyRetcon) or that it was meant as a {{Homage}} to an earlier work. If a work is [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible bizarre and incomprehensible]], some creators will claim that it was their intention to confuse and alienate the audience, and so on and so forth.

* Most of Creator/TommyWiseau's excuses for the poor quality of ''Film/TheRoom'' fall under ParodyRetcon. However, when asked about the character of Denny, he claimed that Denny's strange, abnormal behavior was deliberately written in order to indicate that Denny was "retarded, a little bit" (even though none of the characters in the film seem to find his behavior particularly out of the ordinary) but he failed to tell the actor this, so the performance was confused and instead comes off as having an unspecified mental disorder.

* Most of Creator/TommyWiseau's excuses for the poor quality of ''Film/TheRoom'' fall under ParodyRetcon. However, when asked about the character of Denny, he claimed that Denny's strange, abnormal behavior was deliberately written in order to indicate that Denny was "retarded, a little bit" (even though none of the characters in the film seem to find his behavior particularly out of the ordinary) but he failed to tell the actor this, so the performance was confused and instead comes off as [[DiagnosedByTheAudience having an unspecified mental disorder]].

* Most of Creator/TommyWiseau's excuses for the poor quality of ''Film/TheRoom'' fall under ParodyRetcon. However, when asked about the character of Denny, he claimed that Denny's strange, abnormal behavior was deliberately written in order to indicate that Denny was "retarded, a little bit" (even though none of the characters in the film seem to find his behavior particularly out of the ordinary) but he failed to tell the actor this, so the performance was confused and instead comes off as an AmbiguousDisorder.

* The first few ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' books contained numerous errors in their first editions, notably ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach'', which was written in seven weeks from an almost totally cold start. A lot of the errors had to do with how many Spartans had been successfully created or were surviving. Curiously, after Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries took over the ''Halo'' franchise, it was announced that these errors only ''seemed'' like errors and that "all would be explained in time". The fact that the people saying this had no influence on the errors in the first place has not won over many readers. To their credit, 343 did release numerous "data drops" that attempted to reconcile the differences between the two accounts of the Battle of Reach, although how convincing they are will be a matter of personal opinion: ONI covered up the start of the invasion for months in order to lure in a Covenant ship that the SPARTAN-[=IIs=] could use for Operation: RED FLAG.

* This is played with in ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''. Many reviewers have praised the developers for ''intentionally'' making the gameplay awful as a [[TakeThat reflection of the oversaturated shooter genre]], with generic TakeCover mechanics and terrible controls. However, in an interview, the developers [[WordOfGod have explicitly stated]] that they ''weren't'' trying to make the controls horrible on purpose, but they were more than happy to let their audience assume that [[SureLetsGoWithThat if they wanted to]]. In fact, one developer basically stated, "show me any other game with a TakeCover mechanic, and I'll explain why ours is better."

* The first few ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' books contained numerous errors in their first editions, notably ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach'', which was written in seven weeks from an almost totally cold start. A lot of the errors had to do with how many Spartans had been successfully created or were surviving. Curiously, after Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries took over the ''Halo'' franchise, it was announced that these errors only ''seemed'' like errors and that "all would be explained in time". The fact that the people saying this had no influence on the errors in the first place has not won over many readers. To their credit, 343 did release numerous "data drops" that attempted to reconcile the differences between the two accounts of the Battle of Reach, although how convincing they are will be a matter of personal opinion: ONI covered up the start of the invasion for months in order to lure in a Covenant ship that the SPARTAN-IIs could use for Operation: RED FLAG.

You can acknowledge that the work had its flaws that really could have used a bit of ironing out. Or, you can claim after the fact that the "flaws" in the work were entirely deliberate: they were the IntendedAudienceReaction. The characters aren't ''really'' one-dimensional: they just seem that way because the audience is viewing events [[UnreliableNarrator from the protagonist's POV]]. The muddy colors aren't done for their own sake; they're a way to visually represent that the protagonist is colour-blind (which is [[InformedAttribute never actually mentioned]]). And the pacing issues aren't accidental, but an ingenious method of demonstrating the monotony and tedium of working-class Yorkshire.

You can acknowledge that the work had its flaws that really could have used a bit of ironing out. Or, you can claim after the fact that the "flaws" in the work were entirely deliberate: they were the IntendedAudienceReaction. The characters aren't ''really'' one-dimensional: they just seem that way because the audience is viewing events [[UnreliableNarrator from the protagonist's POV]]. The heavily stylized visuals aren't done for their own sake; they're a way to visually represent that the protagonist is colour-blind (which is [[InformedAttribute never actually mentioned]]). And the pacing issues aren't accidental, but an ingenious method of demonstrating the monotony and tedium of working-class Yorkshire.

* This was parodied in ''VideoGame/{{Discworld II}}'', where Ponder Stibbons introduces Rincewind to the magical computer Hex, which is partially operated by a colony of ants. He explains that whenever somebody complains about all the bugs in the machine, he tells them that they're not bugs, they're ''creatures''.
* This is PlayedWith in ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''. Many reviewers have praised the developers for ''intentionally'' making the gameplay awful as a [[TakeThat reflection of the oversaturated shooter genre]], with generic TakeCover mechanics and terrible controls. However, in an interview, the developers [[WordOfGod have explicitly stated]] that they ''weren't'' trying to make the controls horrible on purpose, but they were more than happy to let their audience assume that [[SureLetsGoWithThat if they wanted to]]. In fact, one developer basically stated, "show me any other game with a TakeCover mechanic, and I'll explain why ours is better."

* When the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum game ''VideoGame/JetSetWilly'' was released, fans quickly discovered that the game was UnwinnableByMistake because, amongst other things, after The Attic was visited, some other rooms became instant death traps. The publisher initially claimed that this was deliberate, and the affected rooms had become filled with poison gas, but eventually issued [=POKEs=] to fix this and the other bugs.

* When told on Website/{{Twitter}} that there was a bug in the UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} version of ''VideoGame/Revolution60'' that made the FinalBoss UnwinnableByMistake in keyboard mode, lead developer Brianna Wu said [[http://archive.is/N51dn "It's not a bug, it's a puzzle!"]]

* The first few ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' books contained numerous errors in their first editions, notably ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach'', which was written in seven weeks from an almost totally cold start. A lot of the errors had to do with how many Spartans had been successfully created or were surviving. Curiously, after Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries took over the ''Halo'' franchise, it was announced that these errors only ''seemed'' like errors and that "all would be explained in time". The fact that the people saying this had no influence on the errors in the first place has not won over many readers.

* [[NeverNeedsSharpening "It's not a bug, it's a feature!"]] Attributed to Microsoft executives.

* The godawful editing of the fight scenes in ''Film/BatmanBegins'', with their extreme close-ups and rapid cuts, was ''supposed to be'' incomprehensible, to represent the fact that the bad guys had no idea what was happening, according to Creator/LindsayEllis.

Fans of the early ''Franchise/SilentHill'' games will often claim that the awkward, FakeDifficulty-tastic combat is deliberate, because the protagonists of each game are not combat-trained and therefore the games are scarier as a result. While there is some truth to this, such as the first game where Harry is programmed to randomly miss shots at a distance and the lack of a dodge mechanic, that's where it stops being deliberate. Most of the problems with the combat really comes down to the stiff TankControls, which are no different from other influential SurvivalHorror games of that era, such as ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' and ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark''.

* Fans of the early ''Franchise/SilentHill'' games will often claim that the awkward, FakeDifficulty-tastic combat is deliberate, because the protagonists of each game are not combat-trained and therefore the games are scarier as a result. There is some truth to this, such as the first game where Harry is programmed to randomly miss shots at a distance and the lack of a dodge mechanic.