History Main / GuiltBasedGaming

It's a petty, [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative ploy]] that messes with the player's emotions without having to use the plot and writing to do so. It can be effective, acknowledging the player and making them into an integral part of the story...or it can be a cheap shot, making the player feel guilty for putting down the control pad to go and eat.

* The early ''NinjaGaiden'' arcade game's [[GameOver Game Over]] screen featured Ryu strapped to a table with a buzzsaw being lowered while presumably hungry demons eagerly watch. Even worse, you saw him look left and right, panic in his eyes, as he waited for you to put in more quarters.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xtEy951Dic This]]. [[spoiler:"[[TearJerker Thank You For Not Uninstalling]]."]]
** Link's broken. I'm assuming it directed to a certain {{Vocaloid}} PV?

* All of the Infinity Engine games (''[[BaldursGate Baldur's Gate]]'', ''Icewind Dale'', ''[[PlanescapeTorment Planescape: Torment]]'') delivers a prompt saying something discouraging if you try to exit them with Alt-F4. "Do you really want to quit? Boo will miss you..." from the second ''Baldur's Gate'' is probably the most famous of them.
* {{Sierra}}'s ''So You Want To Be A Hero'' would react to a quit attempt with "Quitting, huh? How about a slice of quiche?" (Which, admittedly, is nothing compared to what they say when you ''die''...)

** Not to mention that when food runs low (which happens a lot), the dog and the app will beg you for more food. Even if you don't have any.

* In-game characters complaining about your absence, [[TimeManagementGame mainly in games that run in real time]]

* As will Powerpets.

* ''{{Neopets}}'' seem to get hungry very quickly - you can stuff them until they're "bloated", then come back a day or two later to find them "starving" (complete with a picture of them crying). And it's a wonder that anyone puts their Neopet in the pound, given the ''massive'' guilt trip you're given if you try as your Neopet desperately pleads with you not to get rid of it. Even if you're just visiting the Pound's page, you have little pictures of your distressed pets above the button that asks if you want to get rid of them.
** Of course, if you leave it further, you'll find out that your pets won't die if you don't feed them and won't run away if otherwise neglected-meaning guilt is the only enticement to keep playing in the first place, really.
** Though last I checked, if you left them unhappy long enough, they would turn red, which was especially bad if you managed to paint them a rare colour. Also, a hungry Skeith, Grarrl, or Jetsam will eat ''any'' item in your inventory, ''especially'' the rare ones. Though, that's more frustrating than guilt-tripping.
*** Actually, if your pet is very sad, a random event will occasionally happen where your pet says it's feeling blue... and it becomes blue. Bye bye, Royal colours. Of course, you can prevent this by immediately using a toy on your pet the next time you're on.
*** Also, if you ever go back to Neopets, and see your old pets crying and upset, you can't log back in, so they'll starve for eternity. Have fun!

** A milder version for toddlers: Chirpy on a ''VTech Learning Time Cuckoo Clock'' (aka ''My First Clock'' in the UK) will get sick if you neglect feeding him for a few days. It will show a tearjerker low-res animation of Chirpy on an IVR drip with a hot water bottle on his forehead. It will also goes as far as disabling access to most of the games when that happens. However, being targeted for toddlers, Chirpy won't actually die no matter how long you neglect him, and [[IGotBetter gets well]] as soon as you feed him.

** A milder version for toddlers: Chirpy on a ''VTech Learning Time Cuckoo Clock'' (aka ''My First Clock'' in the UK) will get sick if you neglect feeding him for a few days. It also goes as far as disabling access to most of the games when that happens. However, being targeted for toddlers, Chirpy won't actually die if you neglect him too much, and [[IGotBetter gets well]] as soon as you feed him.

** A milder version for toddlers: Chirpy on a ''VTech Learning Time Cuckoo Clock'' (aka ''My First Clock'' in the UK) will get sick if you neglect feeding him for a few days (along with the announcement "Chirpy isn't feeling very well. Chirpy is hungry") played whenever the child tries to play a game, and the game disabled. However, being targeted for toddlers, Chirpy won't actually die if you neglect him too much, and gets well as soon as you feed him. And in case you're wondering, yes, the toy also has a real-time clock which is used by it's AntiPoopSocking and ChristmasMode functions, as well as a 8-slot alarm. Very sophisticated for a toy targeted at toddlers.

** Not to mention that when food runs low (which happens a lot), the dog and the app will beg you for more food. Even if you don't have any.
* A milder version for toddlers: Chirpy on a ''VTech Learning Time Cuckoo Clock'' (aka ''My First Clock'' in the UK) will get sick if you neglect feeding him for a few days (along with the announcement "Chirpy isn't feeling very well. Chirpy is hungry") played whenever the child tries to play a game, and the game disabled. However, being targeted for toddlers, Chirpy won't actually die if you neglect him too much, and gets well as soon as you feed him. And in case you're wondering, yes, the toy also has a real-time clock which is used by it's AntiPoopSocking and ChristmasMode functions, as well as a 8-slot alarm. Very sophisticated for a toy targeted at toddlers.

** Partially subverted in that it's avoidable in many of the titles using Alt-F4 (Windows) or Command-Q (MacOS) instead of quitting through the Quit button. This troper uses this workaround as a handy way to avoid hearing D.W. say [[BrownNote "The G-Word"]] when quitting Arthur's Reading Race and D.W. The Picky Eater.

** Subverted in that it's avoidable in some of the titles using Alt-F4 (Windows) or Command-Q (MacOS) instead of going through the Quit button.

* Everything and anything programmed by Living Books, ''narrated'' with proper emphasis.

* A milder version for toddlers: Chirpy on a ''VTech Learning Time Cuckoo Clock'' (aka ''My First Clock'' in the UK) will get sick if you neglect feeding him for a few days (along with the announcement "Chirpy isn't feeling very well. Chirpy is hungry") played whenever the child tries to play a game, and the game disabled. However, being targeted for toddlers, Chirpy won't actually die if you neglect him too much, and gets well as soon as you feed him. And in case you're wondering, yes, the toy also has a real-time clock, 8-slot alarm, AntiPoopSocking and ChristmasMode functions. Pretty sophisticated for a toy targeted at toddlers.

** A milder version for toddlers: Chirpy on a ''VTech Learning Time Cuckoo Clock'' (aka ''My First Clock'' in the UK) will get sick if you neglect feeding him for a few days (along with the announcement "Chirpy isn't feeling very well. Chirpy is hungry") played whenever the child tries to play a game, and the game disabled. However, being targeted for toddlers, Chirpy won't actually die if you neglect him too much, and gets well as soon as you feed him.

** A milder version for toddlers: Chirpy on a ''VTech Learning Time Cuckoo Clock'' (aka ''My First Clock'' in the UK) will get sick if you neglect feeding him for a few days (along with the announcement "Chirpy isn't feeling very well. Chirpy is hungry") played whenever the child tries to play a game, and the game disabled. However, being targeted for toddlers, Chirpy won't actually die if you neglect him too much, and gets well as soon as you feed him. The toy also includes an AntiPoopSocking feature that disables half of the games on it (the more fun ones to boot) once it's past 7PM right up until 8AM the next day.