History Main / KillScreen

* In ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}'', clearing 255 stages will yield Stage 0, which crashes the game unless [[NintendoHard the DIP switches are set for the toughest difficulty level]], giving us an example of Kill Screen crossed with accidental EasyModeMockery.

* The page quote comes from Episode 5 of ''VideoGame/StrongBadsCoolGameForAttractivePeople'', where one puzzle involves ''deliberately'' triggering the Kill Screen in "Gel-arshie's Pro Fruit-Boarder". The reward is Gel-arshie himself as a party member. The solution is [[spoiler:to increase Professor Pineapple’s fire rate to maximum, then swap the bins containing damaging fruit and scoring fruit.]]

** Pictured is the Stage 256 error. You can actually [[https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/2381888-pac-man-kill-screen purchase it as a T-shirt]], too. Even Website/{{Google}}'s Pac-Man Doodle [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9us4CyGXJpA references it]]. Also the "Forbidden Maze" in ''WesternAnimation/PacManAndTheGhostlyAdventures'' is called 'Maze 256'

Most definitely related to and/or cause of UnwinnableByMistake, although the act of merely ''reaching'' the Kill Screen may be considered (in and of itself) a form of victory.

* ''VideoGame/BioShock2'''s DLC ''Minerva's Den'' has a mini-game called Spitfire. If you get the highest score, you get a "kill screen" that shows all the sprites, some large numbers, [[spoiler:a large R]] and [[spoiler:a golf club]].

** In the Tie-In videogame, Subspace deliberately contains random garbled shapes and text.

** The original [=NES=] ''Tetris'' becomes nigh impossible at Level 29, at which point the pieces drop too fast to move them into the extreme left and right edges of the screen, which is why later games adopt the "lock delay" mechanic, first seen in Sega's 1988 arcade version of ''Tetris'', that allows a piece to still be moved around when it hits the stack or floor.

Somewhat common in coin-operated video game machines, as the designers had reasonable expectations that most players would not have the time, patience, or quarters necessary to play the game for so long. Obviously, they underestimated the time, patience and deep pockets of obsessed players. It's less common for players to run into these in later games on stronger hardware with a higher overflow point; while that point ''is'' still there, it's so much higher that players will usually have to do weird things outside the scope of normal gameplay to trigger the Kill Screen.

Most definitely related to and/or cause of UnWinnableByMistake, although the act of merely ''reaching'' the Kill Screen may be considered (in and of itself) a form of victory.

Most definitely related to and/or cause of UnWinnable, although the act of merely ''reaching'' the Kill Screen may be considered (in and of itself) a form of victory.

** The original [=NES=] ''Tetris'' becomes impossible at Level 29, at which point the pieces drop too fast to move them into the extreme left and right edges of the screen, which is why later games adopt the "lock delay" mechanic, first seen in Sega's 1988 arcade version of ''Tetris'', that allows a piece to still be moved around when it hits the stack or floor.

* ''[[VideoGame/BuzzyTheKnowledgeBug Let's Explore the Airport with Buzzy the Knowledge Bug]]'' has a developer-induced kill screen in the "Time To Play" activity "Lost Luggage", a real-time puzzle game where players must manipulate conveyor belts and other contraptions to guide luggages into like-colored bins. Upon reaching the 99th and final level, the player will discover that it is impossible to complete [[LuckBasedMission without a huge stroke of luck]], since the only way to bring a luggage to a bin is to drop it into a huge network of chutes, in which the exit is completely randomized, and will likely lead it into a bin of the wrong color, causing the level to restart. Since the developers [[NoEnding never bothered to put in something at the end of the level]] [[AWinnerIsYou to congratulate the player]], the only thing that'll happen if he/she ''does'' beat it is to get sent back to level 1 while being able to play any level since he/she reached every level of the game.

TheMissingno is a game sprite that exists because of similar internal bugs. See also MillenniumBug, which people feared would be triggered by a similar overflow issue.

TheMissingno is a game sprite that exists because of similar internal bugs.

* The page quote comes from Episode 5 of ''VideoGame/StrongBadsCoolGameForAttractivePeople'', where one puzzle involves ''deliberately'' triggering the Kill Screen in "Gel-arshie's Pro Fruit-Boarder". The reward is Gel-arshie himself as a party member. The solution is [[spoiler:to switch Professor Pineapple’s blaster to fire fruit fast and always fire red fruit.]]

Yep, the Kill Screen, enemy of completionists of yore. The result of an EndlessGame being played for such a long time without a GameOver, and the player advancing so far that an internal counter (like the current level number) reaches its inherent limit (often 255 or [[UsefulNotes/PowersOfTwoMinusOne some other similar number]]) and "overflows" (e.g. resetting itself back to zero), causing a GameBreakingBug to result. Somewhat common in coin-operated video game machines, as the designers had reasonable expectations that most players would not have the time, patience, or quarters necessary to play the game for so long. Obviously, they underestimated the time, patience and deep pockets of obsessed players. It's less common for players to run into these in later games on stronger hardware with a higher overflow point; while that point ''is'' still there, it's so much higher that players will usually have to do weird things outside the scope of normal gameplay to trigger the Kill Screen.

Yep, the Kill Screen, enemy of completionists of yore. The result of an EndlessGame being played for such a long time without a GameOver, and the player advancing so far that an internal counter (like the current level number) reaches its inherent limit (often 255 or [[UsefulNotes/PowersOfTwoMinusOne some other similar number]]) and "overflows" (e.g. resetting itself back to zero), causing a GameBreakingBug to result. Somewhat common in coin-operated video game machines, as the designers had reasonable expectations that most players would not have the time, patience, or quarters necessary to play the game for so long. Obviously, they underestimated the time, patience and deep pockets of obsessed players. It's less common for players to run into these in later games on stronger hardware with a higher overflow point; while that point ''is'' still there, it's so much higher that players will have to usually have to do weird things outside the scope of normal gameplay to trigger the Kill Screen.

Yep, the Kill Screen, enemy of completionists of yore. The result of an EndlessGame being played for such a long time without a GameOver, and the player advancing so far that an internal counter (like the current level number) reaches its inherent limit (often 255 or [[UsefulNotes/PowersOfTwoMinusOne some other similar number]]) and "overflows" (e.g. resetting itself back to zero), causing a GameBreakingBug to result. Somewhat common in coin-operated video game machines, as the designers had reasonable expectations that most players would not have the time, patience, or quarters necessary to play the game for so long. Obviously, they underestimated the time, patience and deep pockets of obsessed players.

* The [[TheStinger Stinger]] LogoJoke to ''Disney/WreckItRalph'' features half the Walt Disney Pictures logo getting changed into a kill screen.

Ah, the iconic games of our youth. We humbly sit at the 256th level of ''VideoGame/PacMan'', proud of our meager ach--''WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE SCREEN?!''

** Now an AscendedGlitch in the form of the mobile-only game ''Pac-Man 256'', where the objective is to get as far as you can while being chased by an AdvancingWallOfDoom in the form of the unreadable garbage from Stage 256.

* Wave 256 on ''VideoGame/MissileCommand'' goes back to the original slow speed, meaning it will take a long time to actually complete the level. If you do manage to beat it, you will warp back to level 1. Despite saying 0x score on the level start, you will actually earn 256x points, so you can earn millions of points.

* The Treyarch-produced ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies'' games happen to feature one of these. Zombies begin each game with 150 health, and this increases each round by 100 until round 9, at which point health is multiplied by 1.1 for every subsequent round. The game records this health value using 32-bit binary, which will reach its limit of 2,147,483,648 on round 163. The game, however, treats the first digit of that binary as a sign bit. As a result, Zombies on Round 163 have health in the negative, which depending on the game means they will either default to just 150 health (''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'') or die the instant they take damage (''Black Ops II''). As the binary continues to count, this continues to be the case of every odd-numbered round until 185, at which point the 1.1x multiplier falls out-of-sync, and the glitched rounds become more sporadic. This phenomenon has received theFanNickname of ‘Insta-kill Rounds’.

* The Treyarch-produced ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies'' games happen to feature one of these. Zombies begin each game with 150 health, and this increases each round by 100 until round 9, at which point health is multiplied by 1.1 for every subsequent round. The game records this health value using 32-bit binary, which will reach its limit of 2,147,483,648 on round 163. The game, however, treats the first digit of that binary as a sign bit. As a result, Zombies on Round 163 have health in the negative, which depending on the game means they will either default to just 150 health (''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'') or die the instant they take damage (''Black Ops II''). As the binary continues to count, this continues to be the case of every odd-numbered round until 185, at which point the 1.1x multiplier falls out-of-sync, and the glitched rounds become more sporadic. This phenomenon has received theF anNickname of ‘Insta-kill Rounds’.

* The Treyarch-produced ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies'' games happen to feature one of these. Zombies begin each game with 150 health, and this increases each round by 100 until round 9, at which point health is multiplied by 1.1 for every subsequent round. The game records this health value using 32-bit binary, which will reach its limit of 2,147,483,648 on round 163. The game, however, treats the first digit of that binary as a sign bit. As a result, Zombies on Round 163 have health in the negative, which depending on the game means they will either default to just 150 health (''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'') or die the instant they take damage (''Black Ops II''). As the binary continues to count, this continues to be the case of every odd-numbered round until 185, at which point the 1.1x multiplier falls out-of-sync, and the glitched rounds become more sporadic. This phenomenon has received the FanNickname of ‘Insta-kill Rounds’.

* The page quote comes from Episode 5 of ''VideoGame/StrongBadsCoolGameForAttractivePeople'', where one puzzle involves ''deliberately'' triggering the Kill Screen in "Gel-arshie's Pro Fruit-Boarder". The reward is Gel-arshie himself as a party member.

* ''In RC Pro Am'', the [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard cheating yellow truck]] eventually makes the race literally {{unwinnable}}. While you only need to avoid last place, the other trucks will eventually speed up as well.

* The Treyarch-produced ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies'' games happen to feature one of these. Zombies begin each game with 150 health, and this increases by 100 until round 9, before health is multiplied by 1.1 for every subsequent round. The game records this health value using 32-bit binary, which will reach its limit of 2,147,483,648 on round 163. The game, however, treats the first digit of that binary as a sign bit. As a result, Zombies on Round 163 have health in the negative, which depending on the game means they will either default to just 150 health (''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'') or die the instant they take damage (''Black Ops II''). As the binary continues to count, this continues to be the case of every odd-numbered round until 185, at which point the 1.1x multiplier falls out-of-sync, and the one-hit kill rounds become more sporadic. This phenomenon has received the FanNickname of ‘Insta-kill Rounds’.

* The ''[[VideoGame/NaziZombies Zombies]]'' mode of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' happens to feature one of these. The game calculates the health of zombies using 32-bit binary, which reaches its limit on Round 163. The game, however, treats the first digit of that binary as a sign bit. As a result, Zombies on Round 163 have health in the negative, which means they will be [[OneHitKill One Hit Killed]] whenever their health value gets modified. As the binary continues to count, this continues to be the case of every odd-numbered round until 185, at which point the Zombies' health multiplier falls out-of-sync, and the one-hit kill rounds become more sporadic.