History Main / EmergentGameplay

* Dualcasting, a signature skill of the RedMage in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'', allows one to cast a second spell immediately after the first. Players soon learned that they could exploit this ability to maximize the Red Mage's damage by using a weaker spell with a shorter casting time to prime the dualcasting skill, allowing them to instantly cast a much stronger spell afterwards. The developers learned about this exploit and decided from that point forward to [[AscendedGlitch make it a cornerstone of the Red Mage's skillset]].

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' is largely geared toward this, as unlike in other ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games, the player is provided a large variety of tools very early on with little more direction in the vast open world than 'defeat Ganon in Hyrule Castle.' Getting to certain areas requires players to figure out how to overcome the hazards, notably Death Mountain's obscene heat that will constantly damage the player and set fire to all wooden equipment. It will often nudge players to a particular way of achieveing it, such as stumbling on an NPC who will sell the player heat-proofing potions to get up Death Mountain, but several other methods exist for making the hazardous treck through the land's hottest environment, including [[https://youtu.be/7ywPA9_S0qk?t=958 floating from a nearby tower to a hot spring and making a deadly run up toward a guy with a mission to obtain a piece of fireproof armour,]] or simply stuffing your face with healing foods as you run to the Goron City where the entire fireproof armour set can be purchased.

* ''DethKarz'' is structured like most driving games of its time: the player starts out on low-performance vehicles and is supposed to aim for the high tier. However, along with the bad specs in most other areas, low-tier vehicles also have low grip, which makes them ''very'' slide-happy, a feature they lose as the player unlocks better ones. As a result, intentionally driving the low-tier cars exclusively turns the game into a drifting sim - possibly the first ever.

* In ''Anime/SwordArtOnline'', players developed a strategy known as "switching": one player uses a Sword Skill, then at the skill's conclusion, a party member "switches" in and attacks with their own Sword Skill while the first attacker is on {{Cooldown}} and thus unable to act.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' is largely geared toward this, as unlike in other Legend of Zelda games, the player is provided a large variety of tools very early on with little more direction in the vast open world than 'defeat Ganon in Hyrule Castle.' Getting to certain areas requires players to figure out how to overcome the hazards, notably Death Mountain's obscene heat that will constantly damage the player and set fire to all wooden equipment. It will often nudge players to a particular way of achieveing it, such as stumbling on an NPC who will sell the player heat-proofing potions to get up Death Mountain, but several other methods exist for making the hazardous treck through the land's hottest environment, including [[https://youtu.be/7ywPA9_S0qk?t=958 floating from a nearby tower to a hot spring and making a deadly run up toward a guy with a mission to obtain a piece of fireproof armour,]] or simply stuffing your face with healing foods as you run to the Goron City where the entire fireproof armour set can be purchased.

* As argued by Core-A Gaming, ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzIfubaQLyk saw a form of emergent gameplay through its back dash]], and the subsequent impact it had on the game's movement. This is due to the back dash's ability to be canceled into any other action except for another back dash; pro players were able to circumvent this by canceling their back dashes into a crouch, which was the fastest way to lead into another back dash. This led to the creation of the "Korean Back Dash", a technique that dominates high-level ''Tekken'' play and a contributor to the unique spacing game the franchise has when compared to other fighters.

** The biggest and most versatile example is the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi335VOnBZw "hoik"]], which is based on a sloped tile collision glitch and is used for a variety of purposes from ultra-fast transport and glitching through otherwise solid blocks to creating a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vh2BACkmQQ functional computer]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZNGn8F85w8 fully-automated boss killing machines]] in conjunction with the game's switch-and-wiring mechanics, which are highly versatile in themselves.

Compare EmergentNarrative. Unlike (but closely related to) GameplayDerailment, emergent gameplay features are generally seen as positive developments. May result from GoodBadBugs, but bugs are not necessary. {{Metagame}}s of competitive games, in particular CharacterTiers, are examples of emergent gameplay. SequenceBreaking and {{speedrun}}ning are also examples, as are VideoGameCaringPotential and VideoGameCrueltyPotential when not tied to the actual plot. The ImmersiveSim genre puts emergent gameplay on the forefront of its game design. Compare {{Self Imposed Challenge}}.

* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' is one of the most well-known shooters with [[TakeCover a cover system]], but people who've played its multiplayer will know that the only thing anyone actually ''uses'' its cover system for is "wallbouncing". Since sliding into cover is faster than running, people repeatedly bounce between pieces of cover (if they're good enough at it they never even touch cover and just repeatedly cancel out of the slide and start the next one) in order to move around the map quickly or dodge incoming shots. Anyone who doesn't currently have a power weapon will be bouncing around the map with the [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter Gnasher Shotgun]], since its reliable hipfire and ability to OneHitKill at close range makes it a perfect match for this particular playstyle, which is [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome so ubiquitous]] that deviating from it tends to invite hatred and get you called NoTrueScotsman (even so much as ''aiming'' the shotgun instead of hipfiring it will make a few especially hardcore players mad). Whether this is EmergentGameplay or GameplayDerailment probably [[BrokenBase depends on the person you're talking to]], but it did lead to the series adding mechanics or weapons in later entries to try to counter it. None of which worked particularly well, because it's simply that good.

* Online free-to-play shooter ''VideoGame/GunZ: The Duel'' began as a fairly standard shooter, albeit with wall-jumping and other feats of badassery. Then, the playerbase discovered a number of bugs; these days, it's difficult to compete if you aren't proficient in the styles of play known as K-style, D-Style, or E-Style.

Compare EmergentNarrative. Unlike (but closely related to) GameplayDerailment, emergent gameplay features are generally seen as positive developments. May result from GoodBadBugs, but bugs are not necessary. {{Metagame}}s of competitive games are examples of emergent gameplay. SequenceBreaking and {{speedrun}}ning are also examples, as are VideoGameCaringPotential and VideoGameCrueltyPotential when not tied to the actual plot. The ImmersiveSim genre puts emergent gameplay on the forefront of its game design. Compare {{Self Imposed Challenge}}.

* '''VideoGame/NBAJam'' allows players to knock down and gang up on other players to weaken them. This resulted in some house rules in which people would gang up on a player they didn't like, or to weaken each other as much as possible and then play the game with a heavily injured team.

Compare EmergentNarrative. Unlike (but closely related to) GameplayDerailment, emergent gameplay features are generally seen as positive developments. May result from GoodBadBugs, but bugs are not necessary. {{Metagame}}s of competitive games are examples of emergent gameplay. SequenceBreaking and {{speedrun}}ning are also examples, as are VideoGameCaringPotential and VideoGameCrueltyPotential when not tied to the actual plot. The ImmersiveSim genre puts emergent gameplay on the forefront of its game design.

* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'': By sheer weight of the amount of simulations such as weather, erosion, and population density (among other things), there is quite a bit of emergent gameplay. One of the most important concepts to know to create a running fortress in less than a few days of gameplay are pump stacks, which are clusters of pumps that allow for instant transportation of water or magma from any lower z-level to the top of the stack.

* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' is one of the most well-known shooters with [[TakeCover a cover system]], but people who've played its multiplayer will know that the only thing anyone actually ''uses'' its cover system for is "wallbouncing". Since sliding into cover is faster than running, people repeatedly bounce between pieces of cover (if they're good enough at it they never even touch cover and just repeatedly cancel out of the slide and start the next one) in order to move around the map quickly or dodge incoming shots. Anyone who doesn't currently have a power weapon will be bouncing around the map with the [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter Gnasher Shotgun]], since its reliable hipfire and ability to OneHitHill at close range makes it a perfect match for this particular playstyle, which is [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome so ubiquitous]] that deviating from it tends to invite hatred and get you called NoTrueScotsman (even so much as ''aiming'' the shotgun instead of hipfiring it will make a few especially hardcore players mad). Whether this is EmergentGameplay or GameplayDerailment probably [[BrokenBase depends on the person you're talking to]], but it did lead to the series adding mechanics or weapons in later entries to try to counter it. None of which worked particularly well, because it's simply that good.

* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' is one of the most well-known shooters with [[TakeCover a cover system]] but people who've played its multiplayer will know that its players without power weapons tend to actually use the cover system to suddenly to close-in or dodge shots from the enemy by quickly sticking onto or bouncing off a wall as they try to blast them apart with the Gnasher shotgun rather than using, say, the series' iconic chainsaw-bayonet Lancer assault rifle. Whether this is EmergentGameplay or GameplayDerailment probably [[BrokenBase depends on the person you're talking to]], but it did lead to the series adding mechanics or weapons in later entries to try to counter this [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome highly prevalent tendency]]. Regardless of which side one would be on, it was popular enough for many of the supporting side to go NoTrueScotsman over it.

* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' is one of the most well-known shooters with [[TakeCover a cover system]] but people who've played its multiplayer will know that its players without power weapons tend to actually use the cover system to suddenly to close-in or dodge shots from the enemy by quickly sticking onto or bouncing off a wall as they try to blast them apart with the Gnasher shotgun rather than using, say, the series' iconic chainsaw-bayonet Lancer assault rifle. Whether this is EmergentGameplay or GameplayDerailment probably [[BrokenBase depends on the person you're talking to]], but it did lead to the series adding mechanics or weapons in later entries to try to counter this [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome highly prevalent tendency]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}'': The entire metagame idea of [[CharacterTiers "tiers"]] is an emergent gameplay feature.

Unlike (but closely related to) GameplayDerailment, emergent gameplay features are generally seen as positive developments. May result from GoodBadBugs, but bugs are not necessary. {{Metagame}}s of competitive games are examples of emergent gameplay. SequenceBreaking and {{speedrun}}ning are also examples, as are VideoGameCaringPotential and VideoGameCrueltyPotential when not tied to the actual plot. The ImmersiveSim genre puts emergent gameplay on the forefront of its game design.

Unlike (but closely related to) GameplayDerailment, emergent gameplay features are generally seen as positive developments. May result from GoodBadBugs, but bugs are not necessary. {{Metagame}}s of competitive games are examples of emergent gameplay. SequenceBreaking and {{speedrun}}ning are also examples, as are VideogameCaringPotential and VideogameCrueltyPotential when not tied to the actual plot. The ImmersiveSim genre puts emergent gameplay on the forefront of its game design.

[[folder: Action Adventure]]
* ''Videogame/{{Metroid}}'': The maze-like structure and open-endedness of the first game was very interesting to {{speedrun}}ners, since it allowed them to devise and test alternative routes, intended [[SequenceBreaking or not]], through the game. Its third installment, ''Super Metroid'', continues to be a widely-appreciated game, with GoodBadBugs still being discovered that allow new speed tricks. Furthermore, said openness helped give rise to the {{metroidvania}} genre.

[[folder: Fighting Game]]
* ''{{Combos}}'' in FightingGames started out as this. Players were never intended to be able string multiple attacks together in the original ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', however once the players figured out how to do them, the developers [[AscendedGlitch acknowledged]] them, as did every other fighting game developer at the time. Even today, the majority of the combos in these games are things that the players themselves create. In fact, it's generally acknowledged that one of the marks of a good fighting game is how much freedom it provides the player in terms of developing combos.
* ''Videogame/SuperSmashBros'':
** Released as a fun, random, chaotic party game, Super Smash Bros. 64 and Melee have garnered much competitive attention for their astonishing, completely accidental technical depth. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXgpGBbh5r8 This video]] doesn't even begin to explain.
** ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' was a [[AvertedTrope conscious attempt]] to close the gaping chasm between skill levels in Melee, by slowing the overall pace and streamlining most high level techniques out. Opinions on the matter are mixed; most competitive players will point out that Melee was still a perfectly functional party game for people who didn't care to learn to wavedash, and casual players openly appreciate a larger character roster, stage selection and item list. All the same, competitive play developed, a new metagame arose and the skill gap opened anew.\\

One of the major things they were trying to get rid of were a lot of so-called "technical skills" - that is to say, very difficult to execute in-game commands which require a lot of practice to perform. Mechanics like wavedashing (which more or less replaced normal movement in Super Smash Bros. Melee) and L-cancelling (which was simply a case of bad design - there's never any reason not to l-cancel every move ever, so why is it the game in the first place?) were deliberately removed in order to simplify the controls. They largely succeeded at that, but the more people practice a fighting game, the more emergent gameplay tends to come out.

[[folder: First Person Shooter]]
* Originally, ''Starsiege {{VideoGame/Tribes}}'' was a tactical FPS, based on vehicles, and teamwork with massive open maps that would be nigh-impossible to practically cross on foot. And then players discovered that by "Hopping" using their jetpacks, they could essentially disable friction for their character, letting them "Ski" down slopes at immense speeds, and use the built up momentum to hurl themselves across the map. Soon players were using client-side macros to automate skiing at the ideal rate, superseding vehicles as the favored form of transportation. By Tribes 2, [[AscendedGlitch skiing had become an official feature]], and the game's largely projectile-based arsenal would lead to a game of speed, trajectory prediction, and reflexes, with the well-earned title of "World's fastest shooter".

[[folder: MMORPG]]
* In ''FinalFantasyXI'', the ninja job was introduced with the intention that players would use it as a damage dealer that would use magical ninjutsu to supplement physical damage. However, players discovered that the Utsusemi ninjutsu, which would nullify attacks for a few times, coupled with the ninja's great evasion stats, made it a great choice for a tank. Eventually, developers began producing gear for ninjas that complemented this play style instead.

[[folder: Pinball]]

[[folder: Real Time Strategy]]
* ''Videogame/{{Starcraft}}'': being able to tell where a (competitive) opponent's base is by how long it takes their scout to find you.

[[folder: Role Playing Game]]
* ''Videogame/{{Pokemon}}'': the entire metagame idea of "tiers" is an emergent gameplay feature.

[[folder: Simulation Game]]
* ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'': Due to the game's WideOpenSandbox nature and [[DesignItYourselfEquipment the diversity of available parts]], quite a few people find ways to have fun with the game without launching rockets into space at all, or by finding unusual uses for game parts. [[http://imgur.com/a/dhHfr#0 Geofley's]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Sj-NX3aS4 Cove]], a fully aquatic base on Laythe,[[note]]A moon with a mostly-ocean surface that orbits one of the other planets in the local solar system[[/note]] is one of the ''less'' outlandish examples.

[[folder: Stealth Game]]

[[folder: TTRPG]]
* Starting in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3rd edition, the codifying of rules that were previously [[RuleZero only the purview of the DM]] combined with the rise of the internet (and with it the ability to easily share information) led to optimization. Among the most well-known (and controversial) outcomes of this optimization were [[http://www.brilliantgameologists.com/boards/?topic=1002.0 the tier system for classes in 3.5e]], and [[http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?104002-3-5e-The-Logic-Ninja-s-Guide-to-Wizards-Being-Batman the guide to being Batman in 3.5e]], a wizard playstyle that eschews traditionally-popular spells like Fireball to instead prepare spells that buff party members, debuff enemies, control the battlefield, perform utility tasks, or instantly kill/render helpless enemies.

[[folder: Web Game]]
* ''Videogame/GoCrossCampus'': Spies (people signing up accounts on opposing teams), Special Forces (people who make their moves late in the turn so as to prevent spies from being effective), and Swaps ("trading" territories between allied teams to give both teams conquer bonuses).
* ''Videogame/NationStates'': The World Assembly Delegate election system gave birth to Raiding/Defending, where organizations compete to take over or protect regions by forcefully electing someone and using the delegacy's powers such as regional appearance or ejecting nations.

[[folder: Wide Open Sandbox]]
* ''Videogame/{{Terraria}}'':

* ''Videogame/{{Minecraft}}'': The game as a whole has a lot of this, but one of the most notable examples is the redstone system of which a wide manner of contraptions have been made, including 16-bit computers.

[[folder: Other]]