Needs Help: Game Breaking Injury

On the IP thread for Game Breaking Injury, it was pointed out that this trope has deeper problems than a poor image. The main issue seem to be its unclear name and description, which has led to widespread misunderstanding on what defines this trope (correctly, "injury sustained before an important battle shifts the odds to favour the uninjured party").

edited 3rd Jan '14 7:24:55 PM by nemui10pm

A genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker

I am not seeing a "poor name" there (that is exactly the definition I think of when I hear the name).

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

It's confusing when compared to Game-Breaking Bug and Game-Breaker, which are about game design and gameplay. GBI is about neither AFAICS.

My full support.

edited 4th Jan '14 12:52:34 AM by peccantis

If nothing else, the Example as a Thesis needs to be stripped out. It completely obscures the definition for me.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Maybe it's the old cramming study nerd part ofof me kicking in but the more I read the definition, the clearer it sounds to me.

Granted, the EAAT works best in my preferred style of learning definitions, but I agree that it should probably be removed as its too restricting for the usage context, it defines what is trying to define too specifically for such a broad term.

edited 18th Jan '14 9:16:59 PM by Paktra

Is the overlap with You Can Barely Stand a problem for anyone else? A lot of the examples seem to fall into that though it's more a side effect of the Game-Breaking Injury.

The distinction i see:

Game-Breaking Injury is about someone getting injured and thus unable to fight/play and has to bench-warm.
i.e. it's about the injury.

needs rename though, unrelated to Game-Breaker. more like Temporarily Crippling Injury, i.e. injury that makes it impossible to fight/play at the moment.

You Can Barely Stand is about someone who simply doesn't give up despite injuries.
i.e. it's about the character.

edited 5th Jan '14 3:18:42 AM by ShanghaiSlave

Is dast der Zerstorer? Odar die Schopfer?

• Game-Breaking Injury: An injury that shifts the tide of a battle. Usually kicks in only after some time.
• You Can Barely Stand: They keep on fighting despite the incapacitation.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

& see, with such concise definitions I don't really see what the confusion is.

If it's that simple, we should probably cut the EAAT out and make it clearer quicker. And maybe a rename but I don't see people confusing it with Game-Breaker or similarly named tropes.

edited 5th Jan '14 11:01:13 AM by treelo

We can do that?... Scrap such a nicely written introduction and just put a dictionary definition in its place.

It's been done before for troublesome tropes but it doesn't need to be as harsh as a one sentence Laconic version and the rest of the trope after. Just some creative rewriting to make the trope meaning more clearer quicker.

edited 5th Jan '14 11:49:04 AM by treelo

seems fair enough.

Ich setze eine drei Tage Uhr.^***  Setting three-day clock. I am so rusty at German.

"If you aren't him, then you apparently got your brain from the same discount retailer, so..." - Fighteer

Clock is set.

How's this?

EDIT: So, folders don't work here. I wanted to make it collapsible for easier navigation, but oh well.

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The Hero is about to get into a fight with the Big Bad, The Dragon or one of the Big Bad's lackeys. The fight is biased in The Hero's favor and the viewer sees one of the most one-sided fights the series has to offer. Pretty soon the villain is already down on one-knee and The Hero is ready to use their finishing strike. The Hero prepares the attack and it looks like victory is ensured.

But wait, what's this? Instead of performing the signature finishing blow, The Hero has doubled-over in pain, clutching their side! What gives?

Unfortunately, it looks like The Hero is suffering from a Game-Breaking Injury.

A Game-Breaking Injury like this develops from damage a character had taken on in an earlier encounter, whether it be from an everyday accident or received while fighting off a few Elite Mooks. The opponent will probably notice the character's weakened state and use this opportunity to turn the tide of battle. If they really want to ensure victory, then the opponent will take every chance to aggravate the injury even more by relentlessly attacking it. Unlike the Achilles' Heel, a Game-Breaking Injury is not an intrinsic weakness as it is acquired by accident or through the opponent's doing. Sometimes the enemy in question can recognize the difference in physical ability between themselves and The Hero and will first cripple them before using their normal battle strategies. Game-Breaking Injuries do not signify the impending victory or defeat of a character; however, their presence can significantly alter the fight's outcome.

Game-Breaking Injuries can be used either as a plot device or as a means of character development. With enough Heroic Resolve, The Hero might be able to push through the pain and continue fighting. If a member of The Team is involved in this trope and he or she is of greater skill than The Big Bad, they might suffer a Game-Breaking Injury to level the playing field. Sometimes this ally is a Retired Badass who has an old war injury. If this character is an Obi Wan, then you can bet for sure that this injury will be the cause of his undoing. Often a way to make it so You Can Barely Stand.

Truthin Television, of course, especially in the sports world, where severe injuries can bench players during critical moments not to mention end their careers and leave them crippled for life. A type of Drama-Preserving Handicap. A specific non-lethal type of Mortal Wound Reveal that only relates to the hero. If we didn't know about the injury until after the fight, that is Worf Had the Flu. This can become a Career-Ending Injury if the character never recovers. If a video game features Subsystem Damage in its gameplay, the player may be able to employ this tactic to make the Boss Battle easier. Not to be confused with a Game-Breaking Bug, which refers to broken game code, or a Game-Breaker, which usually has the opposite effect on those who possess one.

edited 14th Feb '14 11:24:35 PM by zero24

Silph Co.®: The Best Choice For When You Gotta Catch Them All.

That reads pretty well. I think I spotted one grammar error.

from me as well

Cut and mailed. Thread over. Continue? [ynq]

Silph Co.®: The Best Choice For When You Gotta Catch Them All.

am I missing something because of all three of those link to the same page.