History TheGuardsMustBeCrazy / VideoGames

** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidGroundZeroes'' if you shoot a camera a guard will investigate. When he finds the shot-out camera, he just shrugs and walks away as if ''nothing happened''. The fact that they don't post extra guards to compensate for it when there is obviously an intruder is pretty stupid though possibly justified as you hear on the radio a few times that they are short-handed and don't have the extra manpower, a fact which is [[LampshadeHanging often lampshaded]] by the poor guards who radioed for backup if you're close enough to overhear them.

** On the other side of the conflict, the Koopa guards in ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' are also pretty pathetic. If they catch Peach sneaking around the castle, they'll usually just escort her back to her room and go back to whatever they were doing beforehand without ever questioning how she keeps getting out. At one point, they decide not to take her back, because they're about to hold a quiz show and still need one more contestant. And when she wins that show, they hand her a magic umbrella that lets her shapeshift!

* In ''VideoGame/BlackSigil'', there's an instance where your party [[VideoGameStealing "acquires"]] some [[TheEmpire Empire]] soldiers' outfits to sneak onto an airship. As you're doing so, the guards stop [[TheChick Aurora]] and ask her a couple questions. They then have this following exchange after you've boarded the airship:

** The guards are equipped with heart monitors which will raise the alarm level if you use one of the game's few lethal weapons on them. However, whoever is watching the heart monitors doesn't seem too bothered by whatever signals are caused by an electric shock strong enough to knock the guard out cold for a couple of turns.

* ''VideoGame/CantrII'': What often can happen when sleepers (players who barely wake up, thus don't really know what's going on around them), new characters or [[AxCrazy new players]] get promoted to leadership roles. Special mention must go to the man who chased a boat... [[IdiotBall in a van]]. Needless to say, he didn't achieve very much, but became the butt of jokes for a long, long time.

** The Deku Palace guards in ''Majora's Mask'' are completely insane as well: Normally, the palace is only open to Deku Royalty, but you're allowed in because it's a special occasion ([[ItMakesSenseInContext the king is punishing the monkey he thinks kidnapped his daughter]]). You're explicitly told not to go anywhere except the throne room. If you get caught in the Palace Garden instead, you get thrown out... at which point, the guards will ''immediately allow you to re-enter with nothing more than a tounge-lashing.'' And they'll keep letting you in no matter how many times you prove your willingness to ignore their instructions.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', the Imp guards outside the main part of the [[DiscOneFinalDungeon Moon Cave]] dismiss Amaterasu as a normal wolf (perfectly reasonable though, in that only a few can see her [[FacialMarkings markings]]), but when she comes back wearing a ''[[PaperThinDisguise piece of paper over her face]]'', they immediately let Ammy through, telling her to "Get back to [her] post!"
** This is somewhat explained in ''VideoGame/{{Okamiden}}'', as [[spoiler:when the player goes to the demon market, an NPC says the Imps are dumb enough that they can't even remember three passwords, and these passwords are hidden around the market.]]

** For the same reason real-life cops don't wear vests capable of stopping rifle rounds...they're uncomfortable as hell to wear for any length of time.

* Downplayed and defied compared to most games- to the point of bordering on ArtificialBrilliance at times- but not completely averted in ''{{VideoGame/Dishonored}}''. On the "crazy" side, guards may notice if you take out one of their colleagues when they're not looking, but their only reaction will be to say something along the lines of, "Wasn't someone supposed to be patrolling here?", and if a sedated guard wakes up, he'll just return to his rounds as if nothing happened. [[note]]Though when there's a plague sweeping through the city it's probably not in your best interest to mention that you just woke up on a dirty mattress in a rat-infested storage closet...[[/note]] If more than a couple guards disappear, however, they start to get suspicious and may vary their patrol patterns, spend less time idling, and alert to your presence more quickly [[note]](which requires them to see you for an amount of time varying by distance and difficulty level)[[/note]]. In a few final touches straight from the EvilOverlordList, a single guard that becomes aware of your presence immediately runs while calling for backup ''and'' activates any nearby alarms ''before'' attempting to kill the teleporting guy in a metal skull mask by themselves, finding an unconscious or dead body is cause for a full blown site lockdown, and the overseers packing [[AntiMagic music boxes]] will start cranking away at the slightest hint of witchery.

* ''VideoGame/CantrII'': What often can happen when sleepers (players who barely wake up, thus don't really know what's going on around them), new characters or [[AxeCrazy new players]] get promoted to leadership roles. Special mention must go to the man who chased a boat ... [[WhatAnIdiot in a van]]. Needless to say, he didn't achieve very much, but became the butt of jokes for a long, long time.

** There's a reason why the developers wanted to upgrade guard A.I for the latest (2016) game. In the game, the guards now escort 47 outside if he is detected on a restricted area, but still get angry if he doesn't follow. In addition, if a gunshot is heard, they will investigate and will frisk 47 if he is near the origin of the sound, but if 47 has already ditched the gun, they leave him alone.

** The Deku Palace guards in the same game are completely insane as well: Normally, the palace is only open to Deku Royalty, but you're allowed in because it's a special occasion ([[ItMakesSenseInContext the king is punishing the monkey he thinks kidnapped his daughter]]). You're explicitly told not to go anywhere except the throne room. If you get caught in the Palace Garden instead, you get thrown out... at which point, the guards will ''immediately allow you to re-enter with nothing more than a tounge-lashing.'' And they'll keep letting you in no matter how many times you prove your willingness to ignore their instructions.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Riven}}'', a Rivenese guard nicknamed "[[FanNickname Cho]]" was assigned by Gehn to guard the Linking spot for the titular Age. Upon seeing you, he does a very poor job of asking you to give him one of your items, before just stealing it from you. Moments later, someone shoots him with a tranquilizer dart, drags him off-screen, and lets you out of the cage. This wasn't the first time, either, as the same thing happened when [[spoiler:Catherine]] arrived earlier.

* In ''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'', the guards everywhere are very nice about only attacking you one at a time and not noticing what's going on around them.

* In ''VideoGame/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'', the guards everywhere are very nice about only attacking you one at a time and not noticing what's going on around them.

** On the other side of the conflict, the Koopa guards in ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' are also pretty pathetic. If they catch Peach sneaking around the castle, they'll usually just escort her back to her room and go back to whatever they were doing beforehand without ever questioning how she keeps getting out. At one point, they decide not to take her back, because they're about to hold a quiz show and still need one more contestant. And when she wins that show, they hand her a magic umbrella that lets her shapeshift. Just escorting her back to the room makes sense since the castle she's being held captive in is effectively ''in orbit''. Where's she gonna go? They could probably at least tell Bowser that Peach keeps getting out of her room, but then again Bowser is also kind of an idiot in the RPG games.

** If you don't break yourself out, you get a (very funny) mission where two companions try to rescue. In their case, it gets zigzagged. Some companions can successfully bluff their way past checkpoints, others cannot. Oghren and Sten can't even get past the first checkpoint. You can pair anyone with Dog, and ''let Dog do the "talking"'' and it'll work, presumably because [[HeroesLoveDogs Fereldans love Mabair hounds]]. Perhaps most glaring however, is that at one point you can ''fire a ballista'' indoors to distract the guards. The guards leaving their posts to examine the damage caused by this can be excused, that no one seems to notice you fired it cannot. In any case, eventually you get to a point where you cannot fool or bluff anyone, and will have to fight your way in.

** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', Your character is imprisoned some time into the game. At first glance, you would think this was averted. However, press Y and open your equipment menu... This results in a few funny instances, such as guards bossing someone in full plate armor and carrying a sword that shoots fire.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Dubloon}}'', a map important to finding a sea serpent is on an island tightly guarded by the Navi, so what does the player's crew do? Why, send in their TeamPet that guards don't even suspect for ''anything''. One of them even ''tells'' him the location of where the key to the house is hidden.

** One of the worst situations is in the [[spoiler: [=MJ12=] facility underneath [=UNACTO=]. You are stripped of your entire inventory, but your captors don't even think about taking away your key ring or your ''ammo''. Granted, the cell you were in would have been escape proof, if it wasn't for Daedalus.]]

** If you don't break yourself out, you get a (very funny) mission where two companions try to rescue. In their case, it gets zigzagged. Some companions can successfully bluff their way past checkpoints, others cannot. Oghren and Sten can't even get past the first checkpoint. You can pair anyone with Dog, and ''let Dog do the "talking"'' and it'll work, presumably because [[HeroesLoveDogs Ferledens love Mabair hounds]]. Perhaps most glaring however, is that at one point you can ''fire a ballista'' indoors to distract the guards. The guards leaving their posts to examine the damage caused by this can be excused, that no one seems to notice you fired it cannot. In any case, eventually you get to a point where you cannot fool or bluff anyone, and will have to fight your way in.

** Somewhat averted in later installments of the series, especially ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', where some elite guards work in teams to cover each other while performing a through and efficient sweep against possible threats. However, it's still played straight with regular mooks, as you can take down a guard walking right behind another guard without alerting the other.

* ''VideoGame/{{Gloomwood}}: The huntsmen in the demo totally fail to notice or react to missing huntsmen and moved objects, not realizing that anything at all is amiss when they turn around to find their friend gone without a trace and the door wide open. A developer stated that they are actually programmed to take notice of these things but it was disabled for the demo because voice acting wasn't completed by the time the demo was released, meaning players often wouldn't understand ''why'' the guards were becoming suspicious and get frustrated.

* ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter''
** The [[XtremeKoolLetterz Krimzon Guard]] in ''[[DarkerAndEdgier Jak II: Renegade]]'' will forget about the ''Guard-slaughtering PhlebotinumRebel the city's supreme ruler considers Public Enemy Number One'' if you enter a safehouse for two seconds. You can also walk down the street with gun raised, distinctive haircut and TeamPet sitting on your shoulder (almost impossible to fake, not that anyone wants to try), and they won't give a piece of crap. RuleOfFun applies, because being gunned down by KG every time you step out of a safe house would produce an [[NintendoHard even more frustrating]] game.
** It's implied that many of the actual guards (as opposed to their commanders) are lazy and corrupt, so they probably just didn't care (and didn't want to get killed). Daxter {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this in the second mission after the first act, the heat from [[spoiler: their direct assault on the palace]] dies off after one mission and he says in a shocked tone; "How hard is it to get noticed in this town?!"
** Even ''commander'' doesn't care, as when he ''personally'' meets you in the city ... he just talks down to you and challenges you to a race, instead of apprehending and/or killing you. Justified, however, since by that time he explicitly states that it will be much more fun to kill Jak during Class I Championship and squash rebellion's hope right there before the eyes of entire city.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':

** Also, no-one in the ''Pokémon'' universe ever has any sort of weapon or armament except for a team of Pokémon. You can blatantly walk around the suspiciously Mafia-like organization's lair, and all the guards will do is challenge you to a trainer battle. Once your Pokémon beat theirs, they just kind of go "aw, shucks, well, the leader will beat you for sure" and then ''let you go on your way.'' Not only that, but the random guards usually have completely awful Pokémon. Whatever Mafia don decided it would be good security to give their patrol guards standard-issue Magikarp ''deserves'' to have his entire syndicate taken down by a single ten-year-old. At least this was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Diamond/Pearl]]'', where the grunts complain about how useless their issued Pokémon are after being beaten and before letting you continue.
** To be fair, they don't use anything as blatantly useless as Magikarp. Though throwing Ratatta and Zubat at stuff like Charizard and Alakazam doesn't exactly accomplish much more than a Magikarp could.
** The infamous Rocket Member who has the key to the elevator. After you beat him, he drops the key and makes no attempt to retrieve it.

* Zigzagged in the earlier ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' installments, especially ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAlliedAssault''. In that game, despite the protagonist, [[OneManArmy Lt. Mike Powell]], doing things like using unsilenced weapons BehindEnemyLines, the Germans don't bother to alert the entire base until it's too late. On the other hand, however, they have made certain precautions against saboteurs, like having alarm systems installed throughout facilities located BehindEnemyLines, and sentries and high-ranking officers often requesting for identity papers in different parts of a base.

* ''VideoGame/{{Gloomwood}}: The huntsmen in the demo totally fail to notice or react to missing huntsmen and moved objects, not realizing that anything at all is amiss when they turn around to find their friend gone without a trace and the door wide open. A developer stated that they are actually programmed to take notice of these things but it was disabled for the demo because voice acting wasn't completed by the time the demo was released, meaning players often wouldn't understand ''why'' the guards were becoming suspicious and get frustrated, making this an {{Enforced}} trope.