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1[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vcs_loading_8006.jpg]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games give you both a progress bar, and [[PrettyInMink pretty]] [[{{Sideboob}} pictures]].]]
3
4->''Come and take a peep at all these loading screens;\
5And tell me have you seen\
6All that the load can bring?\
7Just a little somethin' while the cartoon loads,\
8Watch a looping animation that you can behold!''
9-->-- '''[[https://youtu.be/v0xi4VPUkp0 Coach Z]]''', '''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'''
10
11In VideoGames, loading new data such as the next level takes time. Just throwing up a black screen during the process might cause players to think the game isn't working. In order to prevent this, the loading screen was born. It might be as simple as the word "Loading" on the black screen or might include colourful animation or progress bars to show that, "no really, the game ''is'' working on something right now..."
12
13As games have grown larger, more complex and more detailed, loading times have increased in many games. This began in earnest with [[Platform/PlayStation the original PlayStation]] thanks to the data having to be copied from the disc, which was much slower than the preceding cartridge-based systems. This resulted in the creation of loading screens to let the player know the level is being, well, loaded. Some of the possible features are:
14
15* The most basic of loading screens provide a meter showing progress, or a looping animation like a spinning disc. [[ShaggyDogStory Or maybe it's just a static screen with just the words "LOADING..." on it]]. Generally not in use nowadays.
16* Some kind of [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall in-game justification]] for the loading screen, like an {{RTS}} that has a loading screen purporting to be your command center connecting to the battle network.
17* A looping animation of something to disguise the fact that it's a loading screen. Loading screens for traveling from one area to another particularly like doing this, with a looping "travel animation" capped off with an "arrival animation" once the next area is loaded.
18* Some loading screens go beyond just a simple image or animation and have additional background information on the game world, such as biographical information on characters, a map of the level being loaded in, [[HintSystem weapon specifications or tips for gameplay]]. Similarly, some screens also provide plot summaries of recent events in case you've stopped playing for a while and have forgotten what's going on or what you need to do next.
19* In a few cases, loading times are so long that the loading screen includes some form of MiniGame to keep the player entertained while they wait. [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco]] technically [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope had a patent on this]] until 2015, discouraging most publishers from doing this, even though due to examples appearing far before the patent on the Platform/{{Commodore 64}} and Platform/ZXSpectrum, Namco likely would have had trouble defending it in court. Some only lean into this, such as being able to manipulate things on screen.
20* [[MoneyDearBoy Advertising]].
21* Games that include procedural generated levels may add humorous names to computational actions during generation such as "Corrupting the World" or "Creating an Over-arching Sense of Dread".
22
23Of course, improvements in technology have also helped reduce and even eliminate loading times, and therefore loading screens. Many games constantly [[DynamicLoading stream new content]] during play so that players can explore large levels with no loading screens interrupting play, albeit at the cost of a ''massive'' loading screen on startup. This doesn't work as well as it used to as players [[GenreSavvy quickly caught on to why they're there]], but they're functional nonetheless.
24
25Then, starting with MediaNotes/TheNinthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, Solid State Drives came as standard on the Platform/PlayStation5 and Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS. These enabled developers to reduce load times from two minutes to only a few seconds, meaning the loading screens appear for only an instant. This presented an interesting situation for games on both these and MediaNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, which ''do'' need loading screens. Usually the solution is to let them be, but some games get creative by making them opt-in. For example, ''[[VideoGame/SpiderManPS4 Spider-Man Remastered]]'' lets you keep the amusing [[UncomfortableElevatorMoment subway ride loading screens]] in the options menu, while ''VideoGame/HorizonForbiddenWest'' lets you enable a button prompt to manually confirm the return to gameplay, so you have time to read the tips at your leisure. [[https://www.pcgamer.com/devs-casually-expose-far-reaching-loading-bar-conspiracy-people-just-dont-trust-one-thats-too-quick/ Some game developers]] confessed to intentionally developing pauses or extending times in loading bars or screens because [[RealityIsUnrealistic players expressed dislike for ones that happen too quickly and smoothly]].
26
27Loading screens can also be found in [[WebAnimation Flash animations]]. If they go for ''too'' long, it results in LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading.
28----
29[[foldercontrol]]
30
31[[folder:Examples of in-game justification of Loading Screens]]
32* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'':
33** The Platform/PlayStation version of ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn Tiberian Dawn]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert Red Alert]]'' had messages such as "connecting to satellite" and "transfering funds", ending with "prepare for battle".
34** ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]'' had a loading screen with other messages, such as "analyzing combat zone topography" which meant loading the map and "creating theories on likely enemy plan" which meant initializing the computer AI.
35** The Loading Screen in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals Generals]]'' also doubled as the mission briefing screen.
36* ''[[VideoGame/WingCommanderTheKilrathiSaga Wing Commander III]]'' used the power-up sequence checklist for your fighter, when waiting for the mission information to load. For those playing on [=PCs=] of the time (1994), this was often a signal to go for a drink, or use the bathroom, while waiting for LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading to finish.
37* The ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series had pseudo-airlocks when leaving the city. The [[VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy first game]] had no loading whatsoever, except for a few extremely short, easily-missable pauses before cutscenes.
38* ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' has Ratchet's ship flying between planets.
39** Gets JustForFun/{{egregious}} when loading ''Tools of Destruction''. You see Ratchet's ship zoom through a wormhole [[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading ten to fifteen times.]]
40* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' had you control the character in mist trying to sync to your ancestor while loading. You could use this time to test out the controls, or just walk menacingly into the camera. During these mist sequences (either the interactive one, or the simpler Animus logo one), useful hints would be read out to you by the computer. The rest of the franchise has continued with this style of loading screen.
41* ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' has the elevators between test chambers. Though the animation of the elevator freezes and displays an actual loading message, due to an engine limitation.
42* Any time you switch the time of day in a town or Entrance Stage in the Xbox 360 version of ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', the loading screen to form the new area takes on the image of Sonic switching his current form. For the [=PS3=], it was turned into a medallion (same one as in the hourglasses) switching between its sun and moon sides.
43* ''VideoGame/HostileWatersAntaeusRising'' shows its pre-mission loading screens as the Antaeus' current position as it closes on another island in the chicane.
44* Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', when Link visits the fortune teller in Castle Town. As she looks into the crystal ball, she chants, "Elihwa sekat gnidaol... tiaw..." ("... wait... loading takes awhile" backwards).
45* The single-player campaign in ''VideoGame/TheConduit'' displayed a transcript of the current briefing with your VoiceWithAnInternetConnection before each stage, accompanied by a ViewerFriendlyInterface and wireframe fly-by of the next level.
46* ''VideoGame/KaneAndLynch2DogDays'' retains its digital camcorder-based StylisticSuck even while loading, replacing the traditional loading screen with the "Buffering" animation found in Website/YouTube videos. Both games in the series also include short snippets of dialogue to help advance the plot between missions.
47* Games of ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' series have a funny loading message after starting the game.
48-->Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please watch warmly until it is ready.
49* ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' has the New Mombasa Superintendent scanning through a map of the city.
50* ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' claims to be setting things up on its initial loading screen, like "Mapping the llama genome..." or the company in-joke "Reticulating splines..." The expansion packs include custom themed text, like "Remembering the good old days..." for ''Generations'' or "Running in slow motion..." for ''Island Paradise.''
51* ''VideoGame/HonkaiImpact3rd'': The loading screen is set from the FirstPersonPerspective of the player, who is in an elevator car that's rising through the decks of the flying battleship ''Hyperion''. Once you tap the screen to actually enter the game, there's a final shot of the elevator passing a bulkhead and stopping; the doors open, a "Captain on the bridge!" announcement is made, the player steps onto the bridge, and the Valkyrie who's assigned to the bridge turns around to face the player as the controls appear on screen.
52* In ''VideoGame/ShaunWhiteSkateboarding'', loading screens are treated as Ministry propaganda that encourage you to empty your mind, conform, and accept the de-influencer devices.
53[[/folder]]
54
55[[folder:Examples of disguised Loading Screens]]
56* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'' has various loading screens for several events. Starting up the game will feature either a [[ThisJustIn news report]] for information off the main story or a shot of Ann and Ayane with text giving gameplay advice. Using a [[WarpWhistle teleport spring]] or an elevator has a loading shot of it going to its destination before arriving. Lastly, traveling to any location shows Ann driving in her vehicle.
57* ''VideoGame/{{SSX}} 3'' generally streamed the levels, but when using one of the transport options the game would display a looping animation of your character chilling in the ski lift or helicopter while the game loads the new area.
58* The early ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games showed an animation of a door opening every time you entered a new room in order to disguise the loading time.
59** These doors eventually stuck -- when they made the remake for the Gamecube the developers were able to all but eliminate loading times, but playtesters reported that moving from room to room so seamlessly felt unnatural, and the "door opening" sequences were kept in to ''extend'' the (perceived) loading times. However, when a Door gets destroyed you can just go straight from one room into another.
60** With the DS port of the first game, those were just made optional.
61** Some games in the series also throw curveballs with their door opening scenes: on occasion, [[JumpScare zombies may come]] [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou shambling through the door]]!
62** ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' uses a similar trick. The game also adapts the length of the opening animation to the loading time required: a high-security door may spend some time scanning you and slowly unbolting, or it might open instantly if the level behind it is already loaded.
63** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' not only has loading screens at the beginning of each chapter, but for the sublevels within each chapter. They tell about various events in the history of the series.
64* When the player picks a stage in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' for Wii, the game shows an animation of Mario blasting off toward the stage.
65** However, this animation does ''not'' mask a loading screen - it plays before the "star select" screen, and the Gateway Galaxy doesn't have the animation playing. However, the transition between the Observatory and the Domes, and the short white screen when entering galaxies ''are'' masking loading. Thankfully, they're extremely short.
66* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare'' and later have a rather elegant way of disguising load screens by playing the mission briefing cutscene during these loads, though there is a small bar that fills up and the cutscene can be skipped once the load is complete.
67* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
68** ''VideoGame/SonicCD'' showed Sonic warping through time whenever he was travelling into the past or future, in order to hide the fact that the Sega CD was loading the appropriate time period of the current zone.
69** In the Platform/SegaDreamcast version of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', the cutscenes played while the next part loaded.
70** ''VideoGame/SonicColors'' shows stage intros not unlike those from the classic Sonic games, as well as ''[[VideoGame/SonicHeroes Heroes]]''. These are loading screens that appear to load the stage map, while in ''[[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed Unleashed]]'', the enemies and tidbits load while Sonic progresses through the stage.
71* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' sticks with the series staple of shooting doors to "de-energize" the locks on them. How much time passes between de-energization and when the door opens generally varies depending on how big the next room is (i.e. how much there is to load). The first ''Metroid Prime'' had many small corridors filled with enemies that are designed to slow you down so the next room can load by the time you reach the door. This gets annoying in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'' since it means that the timer during {{Timed Mission}}s ''still counts down during the loading sequence''. The elevators are also used to mask the loading times.
72* The first time you pop the ''Tony Hawk's Project 8'' disc in your [=PS3=], you're treated to a long intro movie you can't skip, while the game installs 230 megabytes of data to your hard disk.
73* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'''s loading screens were similar in intent to Call of Duty's, albeit in a much more "seamless" manner by shifting from realtime cutscenes to pre-rendered Bink videos whenever a level is loaded. And to make things even more seamless, the videos were encoded in 1080p, bloating the game's resource footprint even further.
74* Between levels, ''VideoGame/AdventRising'' treats you to in-game cutscenes that can only be skipped once the next level has finished loading. These cutscenes range from plot-moving action and conversation to long, pointless shots of gunfights and general destruction.
75* ''Tombi 2'' showed Tombi walking down a long tunnel.
76* In the Platform/{{Wii}} and Platform/PlayStation2 versions of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheForceUnleashed'', the loading screen for each level is a cockpit view through hyperspace, ostensibly what the characters see as they fly to their next destination.
77* The ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series: Run into a long stretch of land, a lengthy staircase, or a wall that has to be climbed? The next section loads as you cross the area. It is possible to hit a "Now Loading" message, but you have to be really fast, or have a defective [=PS2=].
78* ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' has elevators. Anybody who's played the game can tell you that there are a lot of elevators. Shepard goes through more elevators in a day than most people do in a month in the first game. The decontamination sequence upon boarding the ''Normandy'' also qualifies.
79** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' replaces the elevator sequences with ''loading videos'', which also include gameplay tips. Most are pretty straightforward, like control reminders, but one stands out: "There are no decent galactic dating services. If you want to find romance, you must talk to people." No matter how quickly the game actually loads, you're stuck staring at the loading screen until the video finishes playing.
80** Finally, ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' gave up and dispensed with the videos too, just using straight loading screens, which finally makes loading take exactly as it should instead of being artificially prolonged. Even the dreaded Citadel elevators are rendered as loading screens. However, both ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' still retain disguised loading screens in the form of closed doors; the spinning animation for the door security hologram actually plays while the area behind the door is loading, which is why it can take more or less time depending on performance.
81* ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon1998'' has the main character flying to the level almost seamlessly after moving between portals. The gems collected in the area are tallied up during the flight, as well.
82* In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', the character [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]] can transform into her disguised form, [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Sheik]], and the Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Trainer can switch his Pokémon. The game does not stop while loading the new character's model, but the loading is hidden by their transforming animation. During the animation, one can audibly hear the Wii loading data.
83* ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'' uses prerendered cut scenes not only to tell major parts of the story, but to disguise load times. This is very evident when loading a checkpoint--which uses the "give some in game information" trick below -- or when playing the PC version, which does neither.
84* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' series load the net areas from the real world areas using a flashy "jack in" animation. One of the games removed this loading screen in the North American version to make space for more text, and replaced it with a fade to white.
85* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'' loads the game as the door swings open when you open it. Aside from the door opening, the rest of the room becomes a static background.
86* Every ''Franchise/MegaMan'' game has a [[BossCorridor hallway just before the boss room]] of each stage. In cartridge-based or downloadable games, which can load boss data more or less instantaneously, this room is unnecessary and does nothing except build suspense. [[VideoGame/MegaMan1 The first game]] is unique in that its boss hallways are multiple screens long and full of enemies; it was originally envisioned as a Disk System title, so the purpose of this was to keep the player busy while the boss loaded. Although these hallways could have regained their original purpose once the games switched to disk-based media, for whatever reason they weren't -- an [[BossWarningSiren animated "WARNING" sign]] hides the loading instead.
87* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'''s loading screen takes the form of your squad's {{drop ship}}s flying through space or through clouds. You can even wiggle your craft to some extent and watch fellow squadmates wiggle theirs. There are also hints displayed in the corner of the screen.
88[[/folder]]
89
90[[folder:Examples of extra information in Loading Screens]]
91* Loading screens in most versions of ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheBeast'' showed little snippets about your eyes adjusting to the dim light, or returning to the overworld to find its air scorching hot, reaffirming your determination to etc. Simple, effective, bloody rare.
92** The original Amiga version had also loading screens with images depicting the present location and text descriptions scrolling below those images. While in the C64 version the loading screens were text-only, there were more of them with more text than in the Amiga version. However, the actual loading times were still shorter in the C64 version, which benefited greatly from being published on a C64 cartridge.[[note]]Early C64 cartridges had very small capacity compared to disks. Later cartridges had far larger capacity, much as on the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem, but few games came out on cartridge possibly for cost reasons.[[/note]] The Amiga version was on floppies with no direct hard drive support.
93* The loading screen for the Platform/ZXSpectrum version of ''VideoGame/ChuckieEgg'' (ask your granddad) included a list of the default keys used for playing the game, making this OlderThanTheNES. Another Platform/ZXSpectrum example was ''Quazatron'', which had text loading screens describing some of the concepts and backstory for the game.
94* ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}: Playground of Destruction'' displays biographical information on the main characters, factions and "Deck of 52" members, as well as weapon, vehicle and air strike information and gameplay tips.
95* Several ''VideoGame/{{Burnout}}'' games display "Have you seen..." messages on the loading screens, giving you a sneak peek at upcoming levels and cars. Of course, it keeps doing it regardless of whether you have seen it or not.
96** This is notably averted in ''VideoGame/BurnoutParadise'', due to the fact that it streams (except for when you restart races, in which case only the Paradise City/Big Surf Island logo on an asphalt road is seen).
97** ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHotPursuit'' also displays tips alongside information of the event/match such as players on the speedwall or starting line-up and teams they're on respectively.
98* ''VideoGame/StarWarsKnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' includes background information on the ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe and gameplay tips.
99* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' would explain some of the in-game notions or give hints about the use of the player's abilities.
100** It is to note that the information texts would often be direct extracts from the VTM Corebook, as well as somewhat "evolving", meaning that, while you were doing generic stuff while travelling the streets, you would get generic info during loading screens like background about the vampiric condition, but if you were e.g. about to encounter vampires of clans that you have not yet met, it would show information about the respective clan.
101* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' and ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' also display both background universe information and gameplay tips.
102* All games using the Infinity Engine (the ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' and ''VideoGame/IcewindDale'' series, as well as ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'') have gameplay tips on their loading screens.
103* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' displays gameplay tips on loading screens when starting the game and changing continents. There's also loading screens while going into instances.
104** ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' had a loading screen that, in story mode, displayed a general map placing the battlefield(and the location of previous missions, if they were on the same map), the number and name of the mission as well as information on the background of the mission; multiplayers maps didn't always use any of this to any real potential.
105* ''VideoGame/WorldInConflict'' goes further; the backstory of the missions are acted out in the load screens. Very professional.
106* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagicV'' explains the basic plot of the mission in the loading screen. In the latest expansion, voice-acting is also provided.
107* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' brings up your "Progress Record'' sheet, detailing your playtime and best efforts with each class, as well as a random tip during loading screens.
108* The ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' and ''VideoGame/RockBand'' series include either general jokes about the music industry, band stereotypes, or factoids about the band whose song you are about to play. However, when you try to play [[ThatOneBoss "Through the Fire and Flames"]] on expert in ''Guitar Hero III'', the only message the loading screen displays is ''[[ThisIsGonnaSuck "Good Luck."]]''
109** ''Rock Band 3'' covers up loading time with short cutscenes involving your band's characters. For instance, going into a song sometimes shows shots of people lining up to get in or the stage being set up, going to the music store shows a character digging through old records, and going to the character editor shows a character driving to a salon. Some situations still use a animated throbber though (particularly during online play or when loading a "music video" stage)
110* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' displays hints on the loading screen when starting a match. Overlaps with LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading.
111* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
112** The Xbox port of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' shows gameplay tips in the loading screens that would show up whenever you load a new or saved game, or when you use one of the {{Warp Whistle}}s in the game. Compare this to the PC version of the game, which simply shows creature art in its loading screens.
113** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' has this too and moreover, many "tips of the day" are deliberately ''false'', in accordance to the "[[UnreliableNarrator ambiguous history]]" doctrine that all in-game books follow: no event in Tamrielic lore is described uniformly across different sources.
114** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' also displays tips and bits of lore while loading, but also displays a relevant 3D model that can be rotated and zoomed.
115* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', Snake smokes for twenty minutes while it installs data onto your hard drive. It also has many messages, including one about how smoking will kill you. when it's done, Snakes acknowledges that he "Kept you waiting, huh?" Egregiously, the "loading" screen states that it's installing the current act (there are five), which makes sense. Until you restart the game, and it ''installs the first act again''. God help you if you have multiple games in multiple acts; it only stores one act at a time on the drive. The installing to the hard disk per act can be blamed on Sony, who at the time had a maximum allowed installation size. They've since lifted this restriction, and with the 2.00 update following the shutdown of this game's online component came the option to install all five acts to the drive, allowing for seamless transitions between them barely any longer than those between different areas of a single act.
116* ''VideoGame/JediKnightDarkForcesII'' had the mission's overall objective appear on the loading screen. On newer computers reading these is difficult as loading is very quick.
117* ''VideoGame/JediKnightIIJediOutcast'' would show you your stats for the level you had just finished, while ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'' would show you the objectives for the mission you're loading and what weapons you decided to take with you (for normal missions) or what ones you have on you (for the second and third parts of multi-part ones).
118* ''VideoGame/BioShock'':
119** ''VideoGame/BioShock1''[='=]s loading screens included a combination of ominous/interesting excerpts from the game's audio-diaries and gameplay tips.
120** In ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' it's even better, as during loading you can hear golden oldies being played.
121* ''VideoGame/MySims'' has to load not only when you start or continue a file, but anytime you enter or exit a building, or go to a different section of town. The load screen features a tessellation of wooden blocks, one of which has a spinning green crystal on it. The bottom has the usual notices about how loading may take a few moments, and telling you not to push Reset or the Power button. What puts them in ''this'' category is that it displays tips, such as telling you that holding B lets you place multiple copies of the same block without having to go get another one, or telling you that "I wish I had a pickaxe..." All of these hints will be things you've already seen after playing for about ten minutes, and quickly become [[AnnoyingVideoGameHelper sick of]].
122* When entering a town in the [=PS360=] version of ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', the display shows a map of the current town, including the location of the Entrance Stage, the World Map gate, Pickle's lab, and even shops.
123** When entering a stage, day or night, the game gives you a friendly reminder of the controls. It doesn't last long enough to remember everything though. Thankfully the game is easy to pick up.
124* ''Hostile Waters'' again; some of the pre-cutscene loading screens displayed information about the plot (made to look like a news bulletin) or about the pilots under your command.
125* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWarII'' displays hints when loading a multiplayer game. Some tongue-in-cheek, some really, really helpful. Single-player loading screens had informations about game concepts or characters. ''Dark Crusade'' uses loading screens for "special" missions (the ones that earn the commander unique assets and the enemy strongholds) to provide background information about the nature of the trophy he is about to fight for or to outline the enemy's disposition. And, of course, for the narrator to ham it up to infinity and beyond.
126* The second two ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' games as well as ''VideoGame/RogueGalaxy'' feature a "story up till now" screen when loading from a saved game.
127* ''VideoGame/NarutoUltimateNinjaStorm'' shows a few things during loading screens, such as Lee doing push-ups, Gamakichi hopping, and Tayuya playing a flute.
128* The Platform/NintendoSwitch remake of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' displays tips during its loading screens. [[spoiler:...except in the latter part of the Distant Future chapter. Then the spaceship's murderous AI replaces the tips with [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou calls for you to surrender]].]]
129* ''Toontown Online'' has a so-called "[=ToonTip=]" on each of its loading screens. Usually, the tip is related to the area you're in, such as a racing tip at Goofy Speedway or a general gameplay tip when entering the game (which itself is a longer loading screen that always pauses 2/3 of the way through after a constant rate of movement for the load bar, and then finishes loading, followed by ANOTHER load screen for the place you're going to.)
130* After hitting the X button to start loading a level in ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' (Story, Create Mode or otherwise), the screen shows information about the level on the "Pod Computer" screen. You can move the left stick to change windows between level information, items collected in the level, and popularity and tags (if an online level), with your Sackperson moving the Pod Computer (which is pretty much a [=PS3=] controller) controls the same way. Also part of the loading is the word "Loading..." slowly rotating around the level icon on the planet or moon, and a running, monochromatic Sackboy with two arrows circling him in the lower left-hand corner. Unlike in most games, the loading can be cancelled mid-load by pressing the Circle button. (Sackboy only touches the buttons to load a level or cancel a load. But he always moves the analog sticks in response to the player's controller.) When the loading is done, the level icon literally "unzips" around the edge and the camera goes into it, with a white light followed by Sackboy popping out of the Entrance in the level. Returning to the Pod from a level doesn't take as long to load, but the camera still does the white-light thing.
131** The "Loading Sackboy" animation sometimes is switched out for a spinning globe inside the arrows when transferring data to or from the online servers. Frequently appears while playing with other players online, even mid-level.
132** In the second game onwards, there will occasionally be a white screen before you get dropped into the level. This screen will have a randomized message and factoid, such as creating tips like [[NoWaterProofingInTheFuture "Sackbots are not waterproof!"]] In ''Karting'', there are three sets of messages: When you're loading a level to play, when you're returning to the Pod, and when you're loading Create Mode. Pressing X will cycle between the messages.
133* In ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime'', there will be story refreshers and trivia, plus a count of how many Zoni and Gold Bolts you have.
134* ''VideoGame/EmpireAtWar'' and its Expansion give information on whichever planet (or asteroid field in one case, planetary debris in another case in the expansion), including planetary bonus', advantages, some background info, a preview of the battlefield, the planetary conditions, and the name of the predominate species(s), with a picture if that planet has militia.
135* ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'', at least in the recent games, gives player tips while the screen is loading.
136** Until ''Madden 10'', which just advertises Snickers at you.
137* ''VideoGame/BackyardFootball'' put NFL trivia in the loading screen (probably as an attempt to spoof Madden).
138* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', when loading between levels, displays player statistics about the previous level. The loading screen for the first level, however, is a static [[FilmPosters film poster]].
139** The loading screen with player statistics also gives random tips to help players improve their skills. VS also includes tips for players controlling the special infected.
140* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' occasionally shows info about lore and gameplay on loading screens. Alternately, the on-screen text contains reminders about your current Main Quest, encapsulated in an expository synopsis touching on where you are, why you're there, personalities involved, and your possible objective(s).
141** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', the loading screens still occasionally offer a HowWeGotHere synopsis of the major plot of the current act, but more often they contain odd bits of lore. This actually gets a minor CallBack in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', in which you may encounter a quizmaster NPC who asks questions about ''Dragon Age'' lore; one of the answers is something you could ''only'' have learned from the second game's loading screens.
142* Starting with the third game, the loading screens in ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'' show what might be described as annotated schematics of the various creatures you can genetically engineer. They're the only in-game source for some information, like why Wingbolts never use the stingers they're equipped with.
143* Loading screens before multiplayer matches in ''VideoGame/TheConduit'' display a screen of the current match settings, along with information text and trivia about the game's various weapons.
144* In ''VideoGame/OverlordII'', Gnarl will provide either gameplay help of odd bits of advice (like "Don't bring a succubus home to meet your mother.")
145* The [[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading atrocious loading screens]] in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' usually provide a "helpful" map of the area that is loading (Soleanna and the nearby forest), or else remind you what buttons to press during gameplay to perform certain tasks (everywhere else).
146* ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' uses loading screens to show monologues from the lead character which further the plot.
147* ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament2004'' and onward would show hints and a picture of the upcoming map during loading screens. ''VideoGame/KillingFloor'', running on the same engine, does the same, though the hints are limited to info on what you're going to be killing for the next half hour or so.
148* ''VideoGame/ForzaMotorsport 3'' does this for most loading screens, displaying facts about cars and things relating to cars (Like "In 1898, the New York Police Department used bicycles to pursue speeding motorists") or in-game tips.
149* ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' has a brief summary on what happened in the story when you load a saved game. If the game is finished loading before the text scroll is done, you'll have the option of skipping the summary and get straight into the game.
150* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' has a series of screenshots with text reviewing recent events
151* Besides the epic "In the beginning" screen during the ProceduralGeneration of the world map (see below) ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} IV'' included a screen providing basic gameplay tips like "don't neglect your navy" and "Wonders provide many benefits" (as well as humorous ones like "[[Film/ThePrincessBride Never fight a land war in Asia]]") while loading up saved games.
152* ''VideoGame/Doom3'' gives a summary/description of the area being loaded.
153* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' has the initial loading screen displaying random tips relevant to the progress in the current save file. In between missions though, it's just a black screen with the auto-save icon animating. Thankfully short on most modern systems today in the case of the PC version.
154* ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' uses a simple chained key([[spoiler: belonging to Elizabeth Liddell's room]]) swinging like a clock pendulum while tips or other info are being listed.
155* ''VideoGame/SeriousSam'' shows the Netrisca screen while loading levels, where the AI in question shows you the stats for the level you just completed and tells you what you need to do on the next. It's also possible to look at the [[MonsterCompendium bestiary]] and weapon info screens while loading.
156* The earliest ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games usually showed something relevant to the mission being loaded at the start, typically a journal written by the player character hours before the mission, though the first game's British campaign particularly liked giving typed orders from SOE instead (sometimes with additions by the player character).
157* Multiplayer across the entire series would show the name of the map loading and the game-type being run. ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare2'' and later also show hints on how to use the various tools given to you, variously switching between obvious to anyone and truly helpful.
158* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'':
159** The loading screens showed occupied territories, the location of the next battle, the icons for any new and/or mission-critical units, and what kind of battle it would be through symbols and arrows. For instance, if you were defending a base as the Allies, it would show a blue shield with a red arrow pointing at it.
160** In skirmish and multiplayer for ''Red Alert 2'', a map of your selected country would be displayed, with information on that country's special unit or ability (such as USA's Paratroopers, Russia's Tesla Tank, Yuri's [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Yuri Prime]], etc).
161* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'' gives brief snippets of information about various characters and units. On a lot of modern [=PCs=], the loading process is a bit too quick to read everything.
162* ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' games typically show some sort of information about the battle you're going to join in its loading screens - ''Battlefield 2'' would show an overhead map of the area, for instance, showing the default placement of control posts. ''Bad Company 2'' goes a step further, where the loading screen has a clickable button asking if you'd like to automatically be assigned to a squad, and loading a new map from that server shows a scoreboard listing the experience and pins you've gained in the last round.
163* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' offers hints about enemy [[InNameOnly critical hit]] [[AttackItsWeakPoint spots]] and [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elemental weaknesses]], guns traits depending on their manufacturer, and basic gameplay strategies.
164* ''VideoGame/{{Magicka}}'': Loading screens feature amusing pictures along with helpful tips such as "The loading screen provides gameplay tips" and "If you find yourself dying too much, try to avoid taking damage."
165* The loading screens in ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' start out like any other with general tips and background. But as events go from bad to worse, they slowly subvert the trope with attacks that apply to the ''[[LeaningOnTheFourthWall player]]'' just as much as they do the main character.
166-->''Squad commands are unavailable when you're alone. No one can help you now.''\
167''Do you feel like a hero yet?''\
168''The US military does not condone the killing of unarmed combatants. But this isn't real, so why should you care?''
169* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has various pre-war advertisements and news headlines on its loading screens.
170* ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'''s loading screens have gameplay tips. Which are randomized, and sometimes spoil later weapon upgrades.
171* ''VideoGame/CounterStrike: Global Offensive'''s loading screen shows an overhead map of the level (complete with each team's spawn areas and the hostage/bombing/whatever locations when nearly finished), the rules of the game mode, and messages giving either tips on how to play or trivia on the various Counter-Terrorist factions in the game.
172* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV''[='=]s lengthy start-of-game loading screen includes game play tips, many of which are actually useful. Even better, the notes can be revisited in the game's "Brief" menu if you want to read them again (at least until you shut the game off and load it again). Otherwise, the game itself averts the trope by having no overt loading sequences.
173* ''VideoGame/CivilizationRevolution'': A random gameplay tip appears whenever there's a loading screen: After you select your civilization, whenever you go look at the gifts other nations send you, whenever you've sent a spaceship part into space, when it arrives at Alpha Centauri, and when you exit to the Main Menu.
174* ''VideoGame/{{RETRY}}'' parodies the "loading screen tips" trope, as its tips are typically nonsensical or at least unusual, e.g. "Remember to breathe", "If you think you can't, you can't", "[[ShapedLikeItself I am random tip]]" or "[[CaptainObvious It's good to look at the game while playing]]."
175* ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever''. Some hints are actually helpful, like informing you that a berserking Pigcop regains all its health, or that an Octobrain will [[CatchAndReturn throw explosives back at you]]. Others are CaptainObvious ("Take less damage to avoid being killed", "When being shot at, try to avoid bullets") or jokes ("If you died from falling off of a high ledge, it's probably your own fault", "Grabbing a turd in the toilet will not take [[CallAHitPointASmeerp Ego]] away even though we really wanted it to").
176* ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal Black'' advances the characters' plots with their loading screens, which take the form of the person narrating in text. This only applies in Story mode, natch.
177* ''VideoGame/JudgeDreddDreddVsDeath'': The loading screens explained the objective of the level or provided a read-out of the perpetrator's crimes and recommended sentence, especially in regards to the four Dark Judges who served as bosses. Also, their prisoner [=IDs=] all include some combination of [[NumberOfTheBeast 666]].
178* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': Unlike all previous 3D ''Zelda'' games, which simply faded to black or white whenever Link went to a new location or a cutscene would begin or end, this game features a traditional loading screen with tips provided to alleviate the wait. The enormous size of the world map makes such screens a necessity.
179* ''VideoGame/EverybodyEdits'':
180** In ''VideoGame/EverybodyEditsFlash'', there are three separate loading screens. The latter two were removed in ''Everybody Edits Offline'', as the lack of online play made the game much quicker to load.
181*** The first loading screen, which plays while loading the game. It has monochrome text that reads ''Everybody Edits'' made out of in-game blocks, being filled with color left-to-right like a bar until the game fully loads. In 2015, a percentage counter was added to the screen. In 2018, the blocky text was replaced with the game's logo.
182*** The second loading screen, which appears while loading the [[GameLobby lobby]]. It shows a screenshot of the game that updates around every month, along with a logo that [[SpecialEditionTitle appropriately updates for holidays]].
183*** The third loading screen, which is shown while loading a level. It shows the controls for the game, and text reminding the player to wait.
184** In ''VideoGame/EverybodyEditsUniverse'', the loading screen is more minimalist, just having a small text describing the content being loaded in the bottom left corner.
185* ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole'' features tips during the loading screens. Some of them are real gameplay and strategy tips, while others are jokes, such as the "tip" that [[ShapedLikeItself you can read tips during the loading screen]].
186** There are five possible loading screen on ''VideoGame/SouthParkPhoneDestroyer'' depicts the kids fighting in one of the five themes, as well as tips on the bottom giving tips on how certain game mechanics work and the benefits of certain classes and themes.
187* ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' and [[VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel its pre-sequel]], in addition to humorously-written tips ("Shoot skags in the mouth when they roar! It'll do extra damage and make the skag feel stupid."), has images of the game's various [[ColorCodedItemTiers guns]].
188* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games on Platform/NintendoSwitch:
189** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' has tips on its loading screen, from how supports with units work to how you can spend your time around the monastery. A small sprite of Byleth appears above the progress bar, and they will walk/run to the left or right depending on how the player tilts the controller.
190** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriorsThreeHopes'' will display a random selection of character profiles, game tips, or contents of books you've collected around the base camp.
191** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' shows tips at the top of its loading screens, and running sprites of the units you used in your most recent battle on the bottom.
192* ''VideoGame/{{Tropico}} 6'', in addition to the usual minor gameplay tips, also features trivia on real-world dictators, such as Saddam Hussein having used Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" as a campaign jingle, or Stalin having a secret department tasked with collecting and analyzing samples of world leaders' feces.
193* ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater'' ''[[VideoGameRemake 1+2]]'', in addition to showing off some of the unlockable deck art, has loading screen tips that run the gamut from genuinely helpful gameplay advice to general trivia, snark, developer in-jokes, and even a bit of NightmareFuel.
194-->''If you're reading this, you've been in a coma for almost 20 years now; we're trying a new technique. We don't know where this message will end up in your dream, but we're hoping we get through. Please wake up! We miss you.''
195* ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezGunslinger'' mostly has typical gameplay tips, but finishing the story will add level-specific tips that give extra plot details, such as Bob's activities at the time of the level or Silas' thought process as he tells the story in the present.
196[[/folder]]
197
198[[folder:Examples of mini-games included in Loading Screens]]
199* Namco had a patent on loading screen minigames until November 27th 2015.
200** ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' had a mini-game that was one level in ''VideoGame/{{Galaxian}}''. Shooting down all of the enemy ships unlocked a few bonus cars. Both PSP installments included ''VideoGame/RallyX'', ''Ridge Racer 6'' included ''VideoGame/PacMan'', and ''Ridge Racer 7'' included ''VideoGame/{{Xevious}}''.
201** ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' was made by Namco and thus used the '''actual''' ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}''; completing it with a perfect score unlocked a hidden character. Later games used different shooters; the 1991 on-rails shooter ''Starblade'' opens ''Tekken 5''.
202* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' let you practice your combos during the loading screens, providing a handy list of button combinations on the right side of the screen. By pressing select you can actually stay in training mode even after the game has finished loading.
203* The ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi'' series (a.k.a. ''Dragon Ball Z: Sparking!''), and by association ''VideoGame/DragonBallRagingBlast'', all have mini-games to play during the load screens. The mini game is even multi-player in VS modes! However, in ''Budokai Tenkaichi 3'', the mini-games were replaced with a much more simple button mashing game both players can participate in.
204* ''VideoGame/StrikeCommander'' lets you play a 1-player version of Pong as you wait for a mission to load. Woe to you if you let the immobile edges score against you, as it ends the mini-game.
205* ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII'': There's a loading screen that includes Pong as a feature, but it's time-based. You can only play it after playing 250 matches in a row.
206* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' has ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}'' as a minigame. But the conditions are.... [[GuideDangIt somewhat trivial]].
207* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' has two mini-games in its loading screen, which, if completed, grant you [[GlobalCurrencyException Demon Fangs]]. One of them involves pressing the X button in sync to the pawn prints appearing, and the other is just button mashing until the Demon Fang appears (though you need longer loading times to be successful). The Wii version removed these minigames.
208* Long before any of those was ''VideoGame/InvadeALoad'', the tape loader for several games published by {{Creator/Mastertronic}} for Platform/{{Commodore 64}} home computers. It was a clone of ''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders'' that could be played for five to ten minutes while the main game was loading from the C64's very slow cassette interface. ''Ghostbusters'' on C64 featured this. [[http://www.lemon64.com/games/list.php?type=publisher&name=Players+Software Players Software]], too, used this kind of loader at least in some of its games (such as [[http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=1377 Joe Blade]]. C64 loader games have even been trotted out on forums as prior art to potentially invalidate Namco's patent.
209* In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', when playing online, you get to a training screen after you choose character and stage where you can practice with your character on a simple stage against a sandbag. Not as much loading as waiting for the other players to choose, but still.
210* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'' has 2. When you first start the game (after picking your character) you get to control a little ball of light until the game loads. When you are going through a warp you can control the "Warp Rings."
211** In Episode 3, you get to play a little tune and change the background color while waiting (which isn't as fun as the little ball of light).
212* ''Onichanbara Bikini Samurai Squad'' has a mini-game where you control Aya and slash a bunch of crude zombies.
213* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', while you are presented with a black screen with a "Loading" in the corner, you could press buttons to attack the word, peppering it with bullet holes, slashing it, and even launching it into the air until you made it ''explode''.
214* A few non-video game examples from ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'':
215** [[http://www.hrwiki.org/mirror/jumpinjacks2.html "A Jumping Jack Contest"]] has a Strong Bad Lib one can do.
216** [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/homestarloween.html "Homestarloween Party"]] and [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/halloween2001.html "The House That Gave Sucky Treats"]] each have two Strong Bad-focused minigames (pelting eggs at trick-or-treaters in the first game and slashing their bags and stealing their candy in the second).
217* In the 2002 remake of ''Test Drive'', the loading screen has Pong.
218* When Website/YouTube had a circular dot pattern as the video loaded, one could press the arrow keys to begin a snake game. It no longer works with the [=HTML5=] player.
219* ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' features a loading screen with a small landscape, where the player(s) can run around and goof off or practice moves. The player characters simply jog on their own unless a button is pressed.
220* While not the loading screen, per se, ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' has given players way to burn time while waiting for a match:
221** ''VideoGame/Splatoon1'' features a few {{Retraux}}-style minigames that you can play on the Platform/WiiU gamepad. Squid Jump, a simple game of jumping between platforms, is the only one available by default, while Squid Racer, Squidball, and Squid Beatz can be unlocked using Toys/{{amiibo}}.
222** ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'': Due to the Platform/NintendoSwitch's lack of a second screen, it was no longer possible to include minigames on the loading screen. However, this game does allow players to play with the background music, using different buttons to apply effects like changing the pitch or adding sound effects.
223** ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'' gives you access to a testing range, so you can play around and experiment with your weapon while waiting.
224* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', if you have the Switch in handheld mode or are using two joycons combined into one controller, you can tilt it to make a pixelated Byleth run across the screen, or press B to make Byleth jump.
225* The second loading screen for ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' (which plays when opening a new or saved game or travelling between worlds) is a PointAndClickGame depicting scenes from various expansion packs, challenging users to find certain items in the scene. Clicking on items will earn Lifetime Rewards Points for whichever household you're playing.
226[[/folder]]
227
228[[folder:Other Examples]]
229* In the 80's Platform/Commodore64 (along with many other computers from the same period) used cassette tapes as storage medium for both homebrew and commercial software. While the accessories of [=C64=] included also a disk drive and while disks were also quite common medium, many individual owners at least in Europe had only tape recorders. This resulted in LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading with commercial games. Eventually it became common for publishers to include loading screens and music for player to watch and listen while waiting for the loading to finish (while commercial games often used their own loading software to make loading faster, the increasing size of games meant that loading times were still notable). The tape releases of ''VideoGame/TheLastNinja'' and ''Last Ninja 2'' were notable for having individual loading themes for every single level [[note]]Disk release of the former had no music during loading. However, it had separate title screen, which played the loading themes of the tape release in the background for those who wanted to listen to them. While the disk release of the sequel did not play the music during loading, either, it did show the loading screen for the next level and played the respective loading theme of the tape release ''until'' player pressed fire and the disk version would actually start loading the level.[[/note]]. Other "gimmicks" include slowly drawing the picture during loading (often used by Ocean) and having scrolling text in one of the loading screens with additional information [[note]]Used also in the tape releases of The Last Ninja, Last Ninja 2 and Last Ninja Remix (later rerelease of Last Ninja 2 with new intro and entirely new soundtrack - unfortunately without separate loading themes).[[/note]].
230* The first ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' is remembered for its epic slideshow during world generation. When ''Civ IV'' came around they got Creator/LeonardNimoy to do it as a voice-over.
231-->In the beginning, the Earth was without form, and void.
232* ''VideoGame/LocoRoco'' features the locos in the currently selected type/color bouncing and playing on the loading screen. It's cute enough that you're almost sad when the game finishes loading.
233** ''[=LocoRoco=] 2'' has a [=MuiMui=] slowly digging a tunnel for treasure. It is ''not'' related to how much a stage or menu is loaded, though actually makes and keeps its own progress as the game is played and amounts to a CollectionSidequest, although there's a chance the treasure is a dud.
234* Loading a foreign ''Pokémon'' Platform/GameBoy game on ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium'' or ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Crystal]]'' in ''Pokémon Stadium 2'' showed a pic of the player's party in 3D.
235* One of the more pointless changes made to the English translation of the original ''VideoGame/Persona1'' was adding an unattractive loading screen to the North American version of the game. Even more irritatingly, it'd show up for the many, many brief load times in the game, so sometimes it'd flash up just long enough to be disruptive, without actually distracting from any meaningful load time.
236* The loading screen on ''VideoGame/TheThing2002'' showed a 'Thing' cell attacking, absorbing and imitating a regular animal cell, taken from [[Film/TheThing1982 the movie it's a sequel to]].
237* ''VideoGame/KatamariDamacy'' has the King's head spouting out fairly entertaining facts and nonsense. This ranged from complaints about [[LampshadeHanging loading times]] to information on the characters and levels.
238** In the sequels, you can actually move the King's head with the left analog stick, and control the direction he speaks (or rather fires out letters) in with the right. Not exactly a mini-game, but it can be amusing.
239* ''VideoGame/EternalFighterZero'' uses a large collection of fanart for its loading screens between fights.
240* When the player downloads something in the Wii's Shop Channel, the progress bar is shown as a stream of coins and three ? blocks. For each percent of the file that comes in, Mario gets a coin, either by grabbing it from the ground or by hitting a ? block. When it moves quickly (especially for smaller files like NES games), Mario never grabs 100 coins. More like thirty or forty. On the Platform/DSi shop channel it is Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad filling a box.
241* ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D's'' "Get Psyched!"
242* "Prepare for ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}''"
243* ''VideoGame/ScarfaceTheWorldIsYours'' says it has no loading for the building entrances. [[ExactWords Technically true]]. The game waits until you are ten feet inside before loading.
244* ''VideoGame/MickeyMania'' has a loading screen animation of Mickey checking his watch while the game decompresses data from the cartridge. And the game is entirely worth the waits. The Platform/SegaGenesis version doesn't use this, however, since it loads much faster.
245* The ''VideoGame/{{LEGO Adaptation Game}}s'' tend to have loading screens that are nods to their source material. For example, ''VideoGame/LEGOStarWars'' has story-recapping text scrolls, while ''VideoGame/LEGOIndianaJones'' imitates the red-line-moving-across-a-map transition.
246* It's unusual for a webcomic to get a mention on this page, but ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' has certainly earned its place with [[http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002037 the Sburb loading screen.]] Its Flash updates have loading screens too, but they're nothing special, usually. The last "flash" was actually hosted on Youtube, and so wouldn't need a loading screen, but they were considered so important that the video starts with a loading screen type animation.
247* ''VideoGame/AceCombat''
248** ''VideoGame/{{Ace Combat 5|TheUnsungWar}}'' and ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar Zero]]'' would typically quote poetry during loading screens. ''5'' would show excerpts from a poem made for the game, the legend of the game's Demon of Razgriz, while ''Zero'' showed real-world poetry that dealt with existence itself.
249** ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'', when it didn't have a short text blurb reminding you of your objective (typically scoring a certain number of points in a certain amount of time), had the quote "Amidst the blue skies, a link from past to future. The sheltering wings of the protector..." over a black screen in the same manner as the later two games above.
250* ''VideoGame/ThreeDDotGameHeroes'' has loading screens that are renderings of classic 8-bit and 16-bit era game covers. And they're [[GottaCatchThemAll collectible]] as well.
251* ''VideoGame/{{Hardwar}}'' has a fairly common progress bar with game screenshots in the background. However, if you press CTRL while it's doing its thing, the text changes from "Loading" to "Testing patience".
252* The arcade versions of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' and ''VideoGame/TwinBee'' had the bubble memory warmup sequence when turned on, with its catchy music.
253* ''Franchise/{{Halo}} [[VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved 1]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Halo 2}} 2]]'' had a spotlight panning over the word "Loading" or the title, and ''[[VideoGame/{{Halo 3}} 3]]'' showed a Halo ring being constructed.
254* ''VideoGame/DeBlob'' has comics during the loading screens and a cursor you can use to draw around if you haven't finished the comic. (You can even change the color of the cursor.)
255* The Sega CD version of ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'' shows the eponymous character [[VisualPun "Loading"]] boxes onto the back of a truck inbetween sections of a level.
256* ''VideoGame/TotalAnnihilationKingdoms'', being a MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting, has a loading screen which takes the form of a stained-glass window with the panes going from grey to coloured as the game loads.
257* The Chinese Children's browser online game ''VideoGame/AolaStar'' [[http://aola.100bt.com/?from=aola_homepage]] has interactable loading screens. Its first loading screen has its mascot HELLO follow and licks the user's cursor in the form of a lollipop until the cursor moves quick enough that it falls off. Starting in the summer of 2012, it is replaced by loading screens that vary by season.
258* The Wii U and 3DS both have ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}''-themed progress screens for system data transfers, both involving Pikmin transporting pieces representing data from one location to another. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDDARCooJhE The Wii to Wii U version]] has the Pikmin carrying one's Wii save data through various locales in order to reach a rocket that takes them to the Wii U (a similar animation occurs on the Wii U) while messages about what is being transferred currently appear at the top of the screen and the actual progress bar (represented by the timer from the games) on the bottom of the screen.
259* Roleplay/{{Crystal Rave}}: In the second story Mineral Caper, faux loading screens are peppered through the story. This makes sense as it originated on the MSPA forums, where many of the stories copied homestuck and it's antics.
260* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' lets you play with the loading text, making it swirl and spin all over, or see if you can get it perfectly still before the game finishes loading.
261* The music video for Alexia's "The Music I Like" begins with "Loading..." blinking on screen for a few seconds before cutting to the video proper, which consists holograms of musicians being played from a computer.
262* The Xbox Live Indie Game ''Baby Maker Extreme'' (as seen in ''WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay''!) has its initial loading screen go through the following messages:
263-->Fertilizing...\
264Gestating...\
265Breaking water...\
266Finding overnight bag...\
267Driving to hospital...\
268Getting stuck in traffic...
269* Subverted in ''[[http://www.rrrrthats5rs.com/games/get-to-the-finish/ Get to the Finish]]''. [[spoiler:The "loading screen" is actually the whole "game".]]
270* In ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen 4/5/6'', the loading screen that appears before every level shows an animation of Keen folding his fingers one by one until he makes a thumbs-up gesture, along with a message [[TomSwifty making a humorous pun on the level's name or nature]] (e.g. "Keen mucks along the Isle of Tar".)
271* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''
272** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' has most loading screens show mock-up blog posts for the different characters, with at least two different posts per world. Most of them are portrayed as Sora's blog, but Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, Ienzo, Pence, and all have their own blogs as well. The game also starts with (and will occasionally repeat) a post from [[MyNameIsQuestionMarks an unknown blog]] showcasing the series' "[[ThePowerOfFriendship My friends are my power!]]" moments. [[spoiler:The same blog has another post that starts after the first round of events at the Keyblade Graveyard, proclaiming that "[[BackFromTheBrink The game isn't over until it's over.]]"]]
273** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory'' takes its gameplay cues, but not its visuals, from ''VideoGame/TheatrhythmFinalFantasy''. The loading screens display the playable parties in chibified forms that match the ''Theatrhythm'' artstyle.
274* ''VideoGame/MarchenForestMylneAndTheForestGift'': Has them when changing locations and when loading a save.
275* A few of the transitions in ''Animation/HappyHeroes'' are made to look like loading screens, having a percent number that quickly increases for a few seconds before reaching 100%.
276* ''Video Chess'' for the Platform/Atari2600 is a contender for the amount of loading in raw time; chess is an inherently much more processor-heavy game than most in TheSeventies, so the relatively low-powered 2600 needed a lot of time to think of its next move in order to compensate, with loading times on real hardware of [[ExaggeratedTrope up to ten hours]] being reported on the highest difficulty setting. To let you know it's still thinking, the entire screen flashes different colors for the entire period so that 1. displaying the sprites of the pieces and board wouldn't get in the way and make the wait times even longer, and 2. the image wouldn't burn into the player's TV screen. As a consequence, [[SensoryAbuse this game is not for epileptics]].
277* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankRiftApart'' is an interesting case: being a Platform/PlayStation5 exclusive title, it can easily load in the next world in less than a second (and certain levels turn this into a gameplay mechanic). Despite this, it still has a shot of Ratchet's / Rivet's ship arriving at their destination from space, likely because [[GrandfatherClause the series has done that with every previous game]].
278* ''VideoGame/RemiLoreLostGirlInTheLandsOfLore'': Has this, with the main animation being a running Remi. If it goes on long enough, she gets inverted hashtag-type WingdingEyes, presumably because of the exertion.
279* ''VideoGame/RiverCityGirls'': "LOADING" under an animation of Kyoko and Misako punching each other in the face in turns at the right bottom corner of a black screen.
280* The ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'' series: ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'' and ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'': Loading screens are pure black except for a dancing Shantae in the bottom right corner.
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