History VideoGame / Defcon

* FogOfWar: Radar units and planes reveal the fog of war.
** Forming an alliance also reveals everything your allies sees - including their assets (and ''vice versa'').

* ScoringPoints: Scoring kills against enemy population centers earns points. Whoever has the most points at the end of the time limit wins.

** The Steam version of the game has the achievement "Have you had enough?", which involves nuking a city whose population has been already reduced to 0.

* RiskStyleMap: The world is divided into [[CanadaEh North]] [[EagleLand America]], [[SouthOfTheBorder South]] [[LatinLand America]], [[UnitedEurope Europe]], [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Russia]], [[DarkestAfrica Africa]], [[ArabianNightsDays and]] [[EastIndies As]][[FarEast ia]]. [[LandDownunder Australia]] is non playable because [[TabletopGame/{{Risk}} that would be OP]], and no one seems to ever launch at Australia in almost all nuclear war media; in fact, many people during the Cold War believed that Australia and New Zealand would be a "safe zone" during a nuclear war, too far out of the way for anybody to care about. (The novel and later film ''Literature/OnTheBeach'' disabused this idea, with the Australians living their last days before the fallout clouds roll in.)

''[-"It's Global Thermonuclear War, and nobody wins. But maybe - just maybe - you can lose the least."-]''

* RiskStyleMap: The world is divided into [[CanadaEh North]] [[EagleLand America]], [[SouthOfTheBorder South]] [[LatinLand America]], [[UnitedEurope Europe]], [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Russia]], [[DarkestAfrica Africa]], [[ArabianNightsDays and]] [[EastIndies As]][[FarEast ia]]. [[LandDownunder Australia]] is non playable because [[TabletopGame/{{Risk}} that would be OP]], and no one seems to ever launch at Australia in almost all nuclear war media; in fact, many people during the Cold War believed that Australia and New Zealand would be a "safe zone" during a nuclear war, too far out of the way for anybody to care about. (The novel and later film ''Literature/OnTheBeach'' disabused this idea, with the Australians living their last days before the fallout cloud roll in.)

* AllNationsAreSuperpowers: North America, Russia, even a single Europe make sense. A united nuclear-armed Africa, less so.

* RiskStyleMap: The world is divided into [[CanadaEh North]] [[EagleLand America]], [[SouthOfTheBorder South]] [[LatinLand America]], [[UnitedEurope Europe]], [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Russia]], [[DarkestAfrica Africa]], [[ArabianNightsDays and]] [[EastIndies As]][[FarEast ia]]. [[LandDownunder Australia]] is non playable because [[TabletopGame/{{Risk}} that would be OP]], and no one seems to ever launch at Australia in almost all nuclear war media; in fact, many people during the Cold War believed that Australia and New Zealand would be a "safe zone" during a nuclear war, too far out of the way for anybody to care about. (The novel and later film ''Literature/OnTheBeach'' satirized this idea.)

* SpiritualAntithesis: To any of Creator/ParadoxInteractive's grand strategy games, particularly ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIron'', the closest to this game in terms of setting, technology, and scope. Both are RealTimeStrategy games that span the entire world, but while those titles take place over anywhere from decades to centuries depending on the game, are famous for their [[GuideDangIt incredibly complex gameplay]], and are designed to simulate the experience of [[TakeOverTheWorld conquering the world]], ''DEFCON'' has extremely simple gameplay, takes place over the course of [[TheShortWar a few hours]], and is designed to simulate the experience of ''[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroying]]'' the world. In short, while winning in a Paradox game makes you feel like [[WarIsGlorious a glorious conqueror]], [[PyrrhicVictory "winning"]] a game of ''DEFCON'' makes you feel like [[WarIsHell a monster]].

* SpiritualAdaptation: It's designed to simulate the experience of playing the global thermonuclear war simulation from ''Film/WarGames'' as closely as possible.

* TacticalRockPaperScissors: Fighters beats bombers, bombers beat battleship, battleship beats fighters. Parallel to that-- battleship beats carrier, carrier beats sub, sub beats battleship.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt : And you're the one orchestrating it all !

[[AC: This page is about a work. If you're looking for the trope, that's DefconFive.]]

[[quoteright:345:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/defcon_7078.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:340:[[Film/WarGames How about a nice game of chess?]]]]

A unique 2006 RealTimeStrategy from Introversion Software, the makers of ''VideoGame/{{Uplink}}'', ''{{VideoGame/Darwinia}}'', and ''Multiwinia''. You play a [[NonEntityGeneral general]] in control of your chosen side's [[AtomicHate nuclear arsenal]], and your goal is to exterminate the enemy's civilian populace while preserving your own. In order to win, you must strike against your enemy's population centers while at the same time crippling their ability to retaliate. Easier said than done since launching a strike reveals the locations of that strategic asset to everyone in the game. The game is inspired by the 1983 cult classic ''Film/WarGames'' and designed to simulate the paranoia and anxiety of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar.

* RiskStyleMap: The world is divided into [[CanadaEh North]] [[EagleLand America]], [[SouthOfTheBorder South]] [[LatinLand America]], [[UnitedEurope Europe]], [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Russia]], [[DarkestAfrica Africa]], [[ArabianNightsDays and]] [[EastIndies As]][[FarEast ia]]. [[LandDownunder Australia]] is non playable because [[TabletopGame/{{Risk}} that would be OP]], and no one seems to ever launch at Australia in almost all nuclear war media.

* AxCrazy: It's not a stretch to say that the player character is this.

* BombersOnTheScreen
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: There is no I in team, as in ''I'' win.
* CosmeticallyDifferentSides: Everyone starts with the same assets and the same population count. Population centers are spread out differently between the continents though.
** It's not entirely cosmetic, however, in that some continents are easier to defend than others due to city placement. Europe, for example, has all of its' population centers placed in a relatively tight group, so it's easy to cover them strongly with antimissile defenses. South America, on the other hand, is much more spread out, though sacrificing the smaller cities is a viable tactic.

* DefconFive: Done correctly.

* KillAllHumans: The goal of the game.
* MacrossMissileMassacre: [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill The more missiles you fire]], the more that can be expected to get through an enemies defences and hit their target.

* OneWorldOrder: The diplomacy game mode begins like this. And slowly breaks down as nations [[CherryTapping chip away]] at each others' population centers to reduce their scores.
* PainfullySlowProjectile: Justified in that missiles are slow in relation to the size of the earth, and the parabolic arc they follow is how they'd actually fly to their target[[labelnote:*]]although missiles launched against targets in the same hemisphere should really use great-circle routes over the pole, and the game makes no consideration for the ''actual'' curvature of the globe, as southern hemisphere launched missiles still arc as if they were launched from the northern hemisphere, and yes, that is a gameplay consideration[[/labelnote]]. However, it's still obnoxious watching your missiles get shot down as they slowly inch toward their targets.
* PowerGlows: Radiation from nuclear strikes is depicted by a SicklyGreenGlow (the colour can be changed.)
* PyrrhicVictory: "Winning" a game amounts to this, no matter how well you manage to ride out the nuclear holocaust. Unless you're playing as Europe and manage to take out the enemy subs before they can launch their payloads, then it becomes a one-sided affair.

* SoundtrackDissonance: There are soft, slow piano chords and OneWomanWail, with occasional sighs or sobbing to accompany the [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt end of humanity]].

* WarIsHell: As the game's tagline implies: Nobody can win nuclear war, you can only lose the least.

* YouBastard: Suffice to say, between the somber music, the unnerving sound effects, and the grim news reports, this game is ''not'' trying to make global thermonuclear war fun.

A unique RealTimeStrategy from Introversion Software, the makers of ''VideoGame/{{Uplink}}'', ''{{VideoGame/Darwinia}}'', and ''Multiwinia''. You play a [[NonEntityGeneral general]] in control of your chosen side's [[AtomicHate nuclear arsenal]], and your goal is to exterminate the enemy's civilian populace while preserving your own. In order to win, you must strike against your enemy's population centers while at the same time crippling their ability to retaliate. Easier said than done since launching a strike reveals the locations of that strategic asset to everyone in the game. The game is inspired by the 1983 cult classic ''Film/WarGames'' and designed to simulate the paranoia and anxiety of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar.

A unique RealTimeStrategy from Introversion Software, the makers of ''{{Uplink}}'', ''{{VideoGame/Darwinia}}'', and ''Multiwinia''. You play a [[NonEntityGeneral general]] in control of your chosen side's [[AtomicHate nuclear arsenal]], and your goal is to exterminate the enemy's civilian populace while preserving your own. In order to win, you must strike against your enemy's population centers while at the same time crippling their ability to retaliate. Easier said than done since launching a strike reveals the locations of that strategic asset to everyone in the game. The game is inspired by the 1983 cult classic ''Film/WarGames'' and designed to simulate the paranoia and anxiety of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar.

A unique RealTimeStrategy from Introversion Software, the makers of ''{{Uplink}}'', ''{{VideoGame/Darwinia}}'', and ''Multiwinia''. You play a [[NonEntityGeneral general]] in control of your chosen side's [[AtomicHate nuclear arsenal]], and your goal is to exterminate the enemy's civilian populace while preserving your own. In order to win, you must strike against your enemy's population centers while at the same time crippling their ability to retaliate. Easier said than done since launching a strike reveals the locations of that strategic asset to everyone in the game. The game is inspired by the 1983 cult classic ''WarGames'' and designed to simulate the paranoia and anxiety of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar.

* {{Homage}}: DEFCON takes inspiration from ''WarGames''. A number of {{shout out}}s are included in the main menu.

* ShoutOut: The menu has a terminal readout that displays random information, from a staff roll, the effects of radiation exposure and symptoms, to listing "Civilian [[Film/DoctorStrangelove Targets in Megadeaths]]", and [[WarGames asking if you'd rather play a nice game of chess instead]].

* VillainProtagonist: The whole point of the game is based around being a GeneralRipper and ensuring them commies/capitalists/whatevers '''die in a nuclear fire.'''

* Defcon "COCKED PISTOL" 1: Conflict goes nuclear. The end.

* LostForever: If you haven't placed your buildings by Defcon 4, or your fleets by Defcon 3, then you'll just have to do without.

* RiskStyleMap: The world is divided into [[CanadaEh North]] [[EagleLand America]], [[SouthOfTheBorder South]] [[LatinLand America]], [[UnitedEurope Europe]], [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Russia]], [[DarkestAfrica Africa]], [[ArabianNightsDays and]] [[EastIndies As]][[FarEast ia]]. [[LandDownunder Australia]] is non playable because [[{{Risk}} that would be OP]], and no one seems to ever launch at Australia in almost all nuclear war media.

* TheBigBoard: The entire game takes place on a strategic layout screen.

* ShoutOut: The menu has a terminal readout that displays random information, from a staff roll, the effects of radiation exposure and symptoms, to listing "Civilian [[DoctorStrangelove Targets in Megadeaths]]", and [[WarGames asking if you'd rather play a nice game of chess instead]].

* PainfullySlowProjectile: Justified in that missiles are slow in relation to the size of the earth, and the parabolic arc they follow is how they'd actually fly to their target[[labelnote:*]]although the game makes no consideration for the ''actual'' curvature of the globe, as southern hemisphere launched missiles still arc as if they were launched from the northern hemisphere, and yes, that is a gameplay consideration[[/labelnote]]. However, it's still obnoxious watching your missiles get shot down as they slowly inch toward their targets.

* Defcon "ROUND HOUSE" 3: Can no longer place units: air and naval conflict permitted.
* Defcon "FAST PACE" 2: No change from Defcon 3
* Defcon "COCKED PISTOL" 1: Nuclear attacks permitted.

** It's a reference to the ''Protect and Survive'' pamphlets that were planed to be handed out in the UK (along with the tv and radio broadcasts) around the height of the UsefulNotes/{{Cold War}}.

** It's not entirely cosmetic, however, in that some continents are easier to defend than others due to city placement. Europe, for example, has all of its' population centers placed in a relatively tight group, so it's easy to cover them strongly with antimissile defenses. South America, on the other hand, is much more spread out.

* PyrrhicVictory: "Winning" a game amounts to this, no matter how well you manage to ride out the nuclear holocaust.
* RiskStyleMap: The world is divided into [[CanadaEh North]] [[EagleLand America]], [[SouthOfTheBorder South]] [[LatinLand America]], [[UnitedEurope Europe]], [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Russia]], [[DarkestAfrica Africa]], [[ArabianNightsDays and]] [[EastIndies As]][[FarEast ia]]. [[LandDownunder Australia]] is non playable because [[{{Risk}} that would be OP]].

* WeHaveReserves: Since fighters respawn and everything else doesn't, sending in waves of fighters to draw AA fire from bombers or missiles is one way to try and ensure they make it through, albeit limited by the fighters' short range.

* AxCrazy: It's not a stretch to say that the player character is this.