History UnwinnableByDesign / Infocom

* The text adventure ''VideoGame/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' contained some deliberate, devilish cases of obscure things that needed to be done within a certain time frame. They're so devilish that Creator/DouglasAdams once gleefully described the game as "user-mendacious". For instance, at the end of the game, Marvin will ask you for a specific tool to repair the ship with. The tool required is randomly selected from a pool of ten--except that if you are missing any one of those ten items, then the game will always choose that one. So, if you left the toothbrush in your bedroom at the beginning of the game, then you'll be forced to start over completely.

** Early in the game, as Arthur Dent, if you buy the sandwich but forget to feed the dog, the game's unwinnable. This is different from the recovery procedure, if you, as Arthur, don't buy the sandwich, then, as Ford, you buy it and give it to Arthur to feed to the dog.

** [[http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Invisiclues/spellbreaker/chapter8/TheStringRoom2/ Fail the copy protection]]. The game [[TheComputerIsALyingBastard lies to you]] and tells you that you passed it. Many hours later, at the very [[http://talking-time.net/showpost.php?p=1186990&postcount=245 end of the game]], you will be killed while attempting to use a vital object, with no warning as to why, what you did wrong, or when.

** If you shortcut through the fog, down the mountain, wishing for rain with the umbrella, then [[spoiler: you must open the can too early, to get the stone, and you lose the snake and can't get past the troll, unless you have the horseshoe, wish for luck, then give the coin to the troll. But then you can't get into the theatre, which absolutely requires the coin. No theatre, no 3d glasses. No 3d glasses, the game is Unwinnable.]]

** If the Boot Patrol captures you twice, and you don't have the chocolate, then [[spoiler: you can't eat it and wish for freedom to escape the now sealed jail cell. You're trapped there forever but the game doesn't tell you.]]

** Without asking Canuk about the bottle, smash it (though that's really UnwinnablebyInsanity).

** If you didn't solidify the rainbow using the scepter, then you are going to be stuck if you go down the river to retrieve the scarab and emerald. And you cannot bring the scepter on the raft, as it will puncture the raft.[[spoiler:There's a way around this. Go down the river and get only the emerald, then go west to White Cliffs Beach, then go back to the Living Room. Come back later for the scarab by climbing down from the Canyon View with the scepter, solidify the rainbow, cross it, then go north and get the scarab.]]

** If you eat both the leftover fish and bread found in the Guild Hall, you can't [[spoiler:get the Liskon spell scroll in the bottle in Mid Ocean. And you certainly can't get the "light" cube on the Ocean floor later in the game. This puzzle's "don't" clue is similar to the ''Zork I'' garlic-bat puzzle, which is even more unfair, because eating and drinking WERE required in Enchanter, the first game in the Enchanter trilogy!]]

** If you eat both the leftover fish and bread found in the Guild Hall, you can't [[spoiler:get the Liskon spell scroll in the bottle in Mid Ocean. And you certainly can't get the "light" cube on the Mid Ocean floor later in the game. This puzzle's "don't" clue is similar to the ''Zork I'' garlic-bat puzzle, which is even more unfair, because eating and drinking WERE required in Enchanter, the first game in the Enchanter trilogy!]]

** If you eat both the leftover fish and bread found in the Guild Hall, you can't [[spoiler:get the Liskon spell scroll in the bottle in the Flathead Ocean. And you certainly can't get the "light" cube on the Flathead Ocean floor later in the game. This puzzle's "don't" clue is similar to the ''Zork I'' garlic-bat puzzle, which is even more unfair, because eating and drinking WERE required in Enchanter, the first game in the Enchanter trilogy!]]

** If you didn't solidify the rainbow using the scepter, then you are going to be stuck if you go down the river to retrieve the scarab and emerald. And you cannot bring the scepter on the raft, as it will puncture the raft.

** If you push the wrong button and fill up the maintenance room at the dam with water, you can't retrieve the wrench and screwdriver, thus preventing you from getting the treasure chest, trident, emerald, or diamond.

** Place the rats into the box with the mice. [[spoiler:If you do so, just throw the mice away, navigate for about 20 turns, then return to the General Store for another rat pack.]]

** Feed the rotten meat to the vultures without drugging it first. [[spoiler:If you do so, just navigate for about 20 turns, then return to Rebecca's freezer for another meat slab, then wait again for it to rot, then drug it before feeding it to the vultures.]]

** If you didn't solidify the rainbow using the scepter, then you are going to be stuck if you go down the river to retrieve the scarab and emerald. And you cannot bring the scepter on the raft, as it will puncture the raft. [[spoiler:Actually, it is safe to PUT (a sharp object) in the raft while outside of it. This could be a bug or a feature. It's only dangerous to board the raft with a sharp object in your inventory or drop a sharp object while you're in the raft. And you CAN get back to the living room by going west from the buoy location to land the raft on White Cliffs Beach. You may have an inventory limit challenge though.]]

** If you push the wrong button and fill up the maintenance room at the dam with water, you can't retrieve the wrench and screwdriver, thus preventing you from getting the treasure chest, trident, emerald, or diamond. [[spoiler:Actually, you can still get the trident and the emerald if you rub or touch the mirror to teleport north of the reservoir to get the trident and the air pump. But yes, you are still blocked from getting the treasure chest and the diamond, and your victory is still blocked.]]

* Infocom's ''VideoGame/{{Suspended}}'' can be made unwinnable before the first move. Setting "Impossible" difficulty makes the player's Sun go nova a few minutes into the game, so there's not much point trying to find the right-length wire to fix the complex's systems, is there? Infocom was the best.

** If you didn't solidify the rainbow using the scepter, then you are going to be stuck if you go down the river to retrieve the scarab and emerald. And you cannot bring the scepter on the raft, as it will puncture the raft. [[spoiler:Actually, it is safe to PUT (a sharp object) in the raft while outside of it. It's only dangerous to board the raft with a sharp object in your inventory or drop a sharp object while you're in the raft. This could be a bug or a feature. And you CAN get back to the living room by going west from the buoy location to land the raft on White Cliffs Beach. You may have an inventory limit challenge though.]]

** If you push the wrong button and fill up the maintenance room at the dam with water, you can't retrieve the wrench and screwdriver, thus preventing you from getting the treasure chest, trident, emerald, or diamond.

** If you eat both the leftover fish and bread found in the Guild Hall, you can't [[spoiler:get the Liskon spell scroll in the bottle in the Flathead Ocean. And you certainly can't get the "light" cube on the Flathead Ocean floor later in the game. This puzzle's "don't" clue is similar to the ''Zork I'' garlic-bat puzzle, which is even more unfair, because eating and drinking WERE required in Enchanter, the previous game!]]

** If you didn't solidify the rainbow using the scepter, then you are going to be stuck if you go down the river to retrieve the scarab and emerald. And you cannot bring the scepter on the raft, as it will puncture the raft. [[spoiler:Actually, it is safe to PUT (a sharp object) in the raft while outside of it. It's only dangerous to board the raft with a sharp object in your inventory or drop a sharp object while you're in the raft. This could be a bug or a feature.]]

** If you drink the tea without showing up at the screening door with both the tea and no tea, you can't get into Marvin's pantry.

** One more: When Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz has you strapped down and is reciting Vogon poetry to you, you have to ''enjoy'' the poetry before he completes the first verse, which makes him continue on to the second verse. You must hear that verse to get the password to open a display case containing a PlotCoupon which you may not need until hours later. And you can't use a guide for this, because not only does the case not always ask for the same word, the second verse itself is usually randomized and changes with every game. And don't think you can restore and keep guessing, [[DevelopersForesight the game knows you don't know it]], and will fatally tell you you are wrong with an explosion. And oh, said verb is one of those commands that is only relevant in this part of the game and nowhere else, and by the time you get the hint ("You don't look like you enjoyed that at all.") it's too late and you need to restore. Trying to smile or laugh DOES result in the game telling you "If you want to enjoy the poetry, just say so.", but you aren't going to do that either unless you've already figured out the puzzle, and if you believe what you've read up till that point, you will think [[TheComputerIsALyingBastard Vogon poetry is impossible to enjoy]].

** In ''Zork III'', the slot in the puzzle room is a trap.[[spoiler: Putting the lore book in the slot is the "easy way" out of the puzzle room. Neither ''Zork III'' nor the Dungeon Master tells you you cheated your way out of the puzzle room by putting the book in the slot instead of pushing many sandstone walls until a ladder is beside the hole through which you entered the puzzle room.]]

** If you try to force the jeweled egg open, you will destroy it instead--with no way to restore it. Game unwinnable, because all treasures are required to win. Trying to just open the egg informs you you that "You have neither the tools nor the expertise." This is the hint for the true solution.

* Infocom's ''VideoGame/{{Suspended}}'' can be made unwinnable before the first normal command (not counting system commands like save/restore). Setting "Impossible" difficulty does just that -- now the player's Sun is due to go nova in a few minutes, so there's not much point trying to find the right-length wire to fix the complex's systems, is there? Infocom was the best.

** If you eat both the leftover fish and bread found in the Guild Hall, you can't [[spoiler:get the Liskon spell scroll in the bottle in the Flathead Ocean. And you certainly can't get the "light" cube on the Flathead Ocean floor later in the game. This puzzle's "don't" clue is similar to the ''Zork I'' garlic-bat puzzle, which is even more unfair, because eating and drinking WERE required in Enchanter, the previous game!]].

** Leaked design notes for the unfinished ''Hitchhiker's Guide 2'' game suggested including a puzzle whose solution causes the game to become essentially Unwinnable (ignoring a one-in-a-million random chance). Only by ''not'' solving the puzzle and ''[[ViolationOfCommonSense losing the points]]'' could the player have won the game. This is just how the people at Infocom used to think.

* Earlier Zork games were no different. In ''Zork I'', any number of actions could render the game unwinnable (by either destroying or preventing you from getting any of the treasures, all of which are necessary to win). The game stubbornly refuses to alert you to when you've put it in an unwinnable state and many are very difficult to predict. Some highlights:

** If you try to force the jeweled egg open, you will destroy it instead--with no way to restore it. Trying to just open the egg informs you you that "You have neither the tools nor the expertise." This is the hint for the true solution.

** If you eat both the leftover fish and bread found in the Guild Hall, you can't [[spoiler:get the Liskon spell scroll in the bottle in the Flathead Ocean. And you certainly can't get the "light" cube on the Flathead Ocean floor later in the game. This puzzle's "don't" clue is similar to the ''Zork I'' garlic-bat puzzle]].

** The large drill bit in the vending machine is a trap. [[spoiler:If you buy it then you can't get the timer. You must let Floyd help you get the medium drill bit in the Robot Room instead.]]