History UnbuiltTrope / VideoGames

** Second, "''the Walking Simulator with a few cheap jumpscares and time consuming puzzles''", isn't that much egregious in the most well known examples. Likewise, ''FNAF'' was a point-and-click focused on Survival, while ''Bendy'' focused more on the combat mechanic. ''Hello Neighbor,'' at first, focused on stealth, before it became the staple of unnecessary clusterfuck of puzzles. ''Duck Season'' was a shooting V.R game and ''Choo-Choo Charles'' had a more action vibe put into it. Meanwhile, ''[[VideoGame/SpookysJumpScareMansion Spooky's House]]'' had the cheap jumpscares because... well, ''[[Main/ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin that was the entire main concept, after all.]]''
* [[Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys Five Night's At Freddy's franchise]] popularized the idea of these games having some sort of [[Main/JigsawPuzzlePlot hidden lore put into it, leaving the player himself to put the pieces together. So it can be a shock for people to discover that the ''first game'' was very, ''very'' light on it's plot. (While there is a hidden backstory, it's presented via Easter Egg)

** Second, "the Walking Simulator with a few cheap jumpscares and time consuming puzzles", isn't that much
[[JustForFun/Egregious egregious]] in the most well known examples. Likewise, FNAF was a point-and-click focused on Survival, while Bendy focused on combat.Hello Neighbor, at first, focused on stealth, before it became the staple of unnecessary clusterfuck of puzzles. Duck Season was a shooting V.R game and Choo-Choo Charles had a more action vibe put into it. Spooky's House had the cheap jumpscares because... well, that was the entire main concept, after all.

[[JustForFun/Egregious egregious]]

* ''VideoGame/KillSwitch'' was [[TropeCodifier the first modern cover shooter]], codifying many of the gameplay mechanics found in games such as ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' of such games as well as the visual language of modern millitary shooters. Its plot, however, is distinctively unlike most of the military third-person shooters that followed. Rather than a standard action here or a straightforward military man, your player character is an empty shell for most of the story, puppeteered by a bloodthirsty PsychopathicManchild under the orders of a war profiteer, who has you murder innocent people just doing their job to [[WarForFunAndProfit precipitate tensions between the West and the old Soviet bloc so that he can sell his mind control technology to both sides of the conflict]]. Its themes of agency and YouBastard undertones (said psychopath sees his actions as a big dumb video game in-universe, even referring to his killing spree as a "high score") brings to mind self-styled deconstructive fare like ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' and reads like a reaction to games like ''VideoGame/ArmyOfTwo'' despite being released in 2003, before this style of shooter became common.

* ''VideoGame/KillSwitch'' was [[TropeCodifier the first modern cover shooter]], codifying many of the gameplay mechanics found in games such as ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' of such games as well as the visual language of modern millitary shooters. Its plot, however, is distinctively unlike most of the military third-person shooters that followed. Rather than a standard action here or a straightforward military man, your player character is an empty shell for most of the story, puppeteered by a bloodthirsty PsychopathicManchild under the orders of a war profiteer, who has you murder innocent people just doing their job to [[WarForFunAndProfit precipitate tensions between the West and the old Soviet bloc so that he can sell his mind control technology to both sides of the conflict]]. Its themes of agency and the relationship between video games and violence (said psychopath sees his actions as a big dumb video game in-universe, even referring to his killing spree as a "high score") brings to mind self-styled deconstructive fare like ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' more than the afor-mentioned ''Gears'' or the likes of ''VideoGame/ArmyOfTwo'' despite being released in 2003, before this style of shooter became common.

* ''VideoGame/KillSwitch'' was [[TropeCodifier the first modern cover shooter]], codifying many of the gameplay mechanics found in games such as ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' of such games as well as the visual language of modern millitary shooters. Its plot, however, is distinctively unlike most of the military third-person shooters that followed. Rather than a standard action here or a straightforward military man, your player character is an empty shell for most of the story, puppeteered by a bloodthirsty PsychopathicManchild under the orders of a war profiteer, who has you murder innocent people just doing their job to [[WarForFunAndProfit precipate tensions between the West and the old Soviet bloc so that he can sell his mind control technology to both sides of the conflict]]. Its themes of agency and the relationship between video games and violence (said psychopath sees his actions as a big dumb video game in-universe, even referring to his killing spree as a "high score") brings to mind self-styled deconstructive fare like ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' more than the afor-mentioned ''Gears'' or the likes of ''VideoGame/ArmyOfTwo'' despite being released in 2004, before this style of shooter became common.

* ''VideoGame/KillSwitch'' was [[TropeCodifier the first modern cover shooter]], codifying many of the gameplay mechanics found in games such as ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' of such games as well as the visual language of modern millitary shooters. Its plot, however, is distinctively unlike most of the military third-person shooters that followed. Rather than a standard action here or a straightforward military man, your player character is an empty shell for most of the story, puppeteered by a bloodthirsty PsychopathicManchild under the orders of a war profiteer, who has you murder innocent people just doing their job to [[WarForFunAndProfits precipate tensions between the West and the old Soviet bloc so that he can sell his mind control technology to both sides of the conflict]]. Its themes of agency and the relationship between video games and violence (said psychopath sees his actions as a big dumb video game in-universe, even referring to his killing spree as a "high score") brings to mind self-styled deconstructive fare like ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' more than the afore-mentioned ''Gears'' or the likes of ''VideoGame/ArmyOfTwo'' despite being released in 2004, long before this style of shooter became common.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' was the first video game with a modern "cinematic" aesthetic (rather than use of pre-ndered or [[LiveActionCutscene live-action]] cutscenes, which was reasonably common before) to really be a hit. It also has a somewhat fraught relationship with cinema, incorporating HomageShot after WholePlotReference, while at the same time driving home a theme that [[AntiEscapismAesop the fantasies of action cinema are horrible things to want]], and engaging in constant [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth-wall-breaking references]] and incorporating weird, funny mechanics that are intended to remind you that you are playing a video game rather than watching a movie. Most of the games it influenced missed the irony and just thought it was cool to run around in a [[Creator/JerryBruckheimer Bruckheimer]] kitchen-sink.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' was the first video game with a modern "cinematic" aesthetic (rather than use of FullMotionVideo sequences, which was reasonably common before) to really be a hit. It also has a somewhat fraught relationship with cinema, incorporating HomageShot after WholePlotReference, while at the same time driving home a theme that [[AntiEscapismAesop the fantasies of action cinema are horrible things to want]], and engaging in constant [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth-wall-breaking references]] and incorporating weird, funny mechanics that are intended to remind you that you are playing a video game rather than watching a movie. Most of the games it influenced missed the irony and just thought it was cool to run around in a [[Creator/JerryBruckheimer Bruckheimer]] kitchen-sink.

* ''VideoGame/MDK'' featured an early example of a SniperRifle mode as one of its most important mechanics. But, instead of being a badass weapon in a realistic military shooter, the Sniper mode is bizarre-looking and ridiculous (the player character attatches his main weapon to his face to use it). Furthermore, instead of being used to dispatch enemies without being caught, the rifle has to be used to solve puzzles, and the player's expected to be able to use it in full combat scenarios with no regard to stealth. It sounds like a TakeThat, but it's just because the programmers wanted to ''show off'' the feature - after all the trouble they went through to figure out how to put it in the game, they wanted players to use it as much as they could.

* ''VideoGame/DotFlow'' started the trend among VideoGame/YumeNikki fangames of using objects other than a bed to enter the DreamWorld, namely Sabutsuki's computer. However, due to the [[spoiler: DreamWithinADream nature of the GoldenEnding, Sabitsuki was sleeping in her bed all along, making it actually a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]].]]

** The ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' sub-series has a reputation for being the trilogy that started the wave of obviously-derivative Modern Military Shooters that acted as little more than jingoistic terrorist murder simulators, with heavy AmericaSavesTheDay overtones. It's often forgotten that the first game in the trilogy was actually a ''subversion'' of these sorts of games. The American hero does not, in fact, kill the main terrorist, and all of his actions in the Middle Eastern area of the campaign end in [[spoiler:complete nuclear destruction that ultimately accomplishes nothing other than getting thirty-thousand American soldiers killed, himself included]]. The game heavily implies that the Middle Eastern nation was an oil-rich U.S. puppet state, there are several things in their missions named after lines from anti-war movies (with a tank being called "[[Music/ParanoidAlbum War Pig]]" after a Music/BlackSabbath anti-war song, and the first level being named "[[Film/ApocalypseNow Charlie Don't Surf]]"), and in the end, it's not the U.S., but the British SAS that manage to defeat the main bad guys. In addition, the game has the player complicit in many morally questionable actions (such as murdering enemies in their sleep and picking them off from an AC-130), and overall paints them in a rather dubious light. To the opposing side, the West seems like little more than imperialistic bullies who can only be brought down by nuclear weapons. Quite a far cry from the overly patriotic and nationalistic tone that the later ''Modern Warfare'' games have.

** [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIIPlayableCharacters Cloud Strife]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIII Squall Leonhart]] from ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII VIII]]'' were two of the first 'cool'-type JRPG protagonists, abandoning more idealistic, fantastical character flaws in favour of dressing in punkish modern outfits and acting like [[EmoTeen modern edgy teens]] - something [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny shocking and innovative at the time]] and [[FollowTheLeader done to death ever since]]. However, both Cloud and Squall use their cool mannerisms as an affectation (Cloud is [[ADarkerMe presenting a false image]]; Squall is [[NeverBeHurtAgain desperately insecure and afraid of loss]] and spends most of the game teetering on the verge of stress-induced meltdown), and are presented as troubled, flawed individuals in need of therapy rather than as cool 'tough guys' to be admired and emulated. The romantic, aspirational "''[[EscapistCharacter chuuniyoubu]]'' character" approach associated with this character type was always a feature of MisaimedFandom, but only began to appear in actual works in TheNoughties (with an early example being both Cloud and Squall's cameos in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'').

** It is one of the first shooters on the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} console, and the {{Trope Maker|s}} for several first-person shooter cliches. However, both the games and their expanded universe are far more serious than you'd expect from a Sci-Fi FPS. Many of the aliens you fight are not actually malicious, but rather simply trying to [[PunchClockVillain not get in trouble with their Prophets]]. Nearly every game has a BittersweetEnding, with Master Chief losing his friends and allies. Similarly, in-game it is ''very'' common to play {{Big Damn Hero|es}} and return to the marines you saved only to find them all completely killed, bringing home the brutality of war. ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' even [[spoiler:ends with almost the entire team dead, including ''you'' -- the only one who survives (Jun) doing so by simply [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere getting the hell out of Dodge]] and leaving the planet entirely around the halfway point]]. The "good" guys are willing to kidnap children and forcefully make them {{Super Soldier}}s (and this was originally planned as their response to insurrections and civil wars, not an AlienInvasion), and the [[WarIsHell psychological effects]] of warfare are addressed. Most victories come from lucky flukes like [[EnemyCivilWar the Elites starting a rebellion against the Covenant]], and the ExpandedUniverse also shows that having a OneManArmy on your side is little consolation when your enemy can [[OrbitalBombardment glass planets]].

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is the franchise most associated with the idea of god-killing, which was at the forefront of the third installment. But in the first two games, whilst the end goal ''was'' to kill a god, the bulk of the quests in either instalment was ''finding the power to do so'', since whilst Kratos is an incredibly powerful demigod, he was still a mortal. In the first game, he needed to find [[ArtefactOfDoom Pandora's Box]] to slay Ares and when Zeus betrays him and tricks him into giving up his godly power, has to use the threads of the Sisters of Fate to travel back in time just to get it back. This trend actually exists in the spin-offs; ''Chains of Olympus'' had Kratos use the Gauntlet of Zeus to kill Persephone, ''Ghost of Sparda'' was during the time Kratos was still a god, and ''Ascension'' saw him attain the Eyes of Truth to counter the Fury's illusions, although they aren't technically gods. In shorthand, if Kratos wants a god dead, it may not be a question of "if?" but it will still be one of "how?".

** ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' and ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRow4 4]]'' got a lot of praise for putting gender on a slider the CharacterCustomizatin, allowing players to create characters with a gender identity outside thE male[=/=]female binary. ''VideoGame/UltimaIII'', which predate them by decades, gave gender options "Male", "Female" and "Other". It didn't affect the story or even character appearance (everyone is just a few pixels), but it's still an early RPG that allowed you to play as a non-binary character before the term "non-binary" had even entered common parlance.
** Similarly, the later ''Franchise/MassEffect', ''Franchise/DragonAge'' and ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' games trumpeted their wide range of romance options, allowing you to roleplay a character with any sexual orientation. Again, some of the Ultima games, although they did not have {{Love Interest}}s or plots devoted to relationships, allowed the Avatar to be played as gay or bisexual by giving players the option to visit male and female prostitutes.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is the franchise most associated with the idea of god-killing, which was at the forefront of the third installment. But in the first two games, whilst the end goal ''was'' to kill a god, the bulk of the quests in either instalment was ''finding the power to do so'', since whilst Kratos is an incredibly powerful demigod, he was still a mortal. In the first game, he needed to find [[ArtefactOfDoom Pandora's Box]] to slay Ares and when Zeus betrays him and tricks him into giving up his godly power, has to use the threads of the Sisters of Fate to travel back in time just to get it back. This trend actually exists in the spin-offs; ''Chains of Olympus'' had Kratos use the Gauntlet of Zeus to kill Persephone, ''Ghost of Sparda'' was during the time Kratos was still a god, and ''Ascension'' saw him attain the Eyes of Truth to counter the Fury's illusions, although they aren't technically gods. In shorthand, if Kratos wants a god dead, it's literally not a question of "if?" but "how?".

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is the franchise most associated with the idea of god-killing, which was at the forefront of the third installment. But in the first two games, whilst the end goal ''was'' to kill a god, the bulk of the quests in either instalment was ''finding the power to do so'', since whilst Kratos is an incredibly powerful demigod, he was still a mortal. In the first game, he needed to find [[ArtefactOfDoom Pandora's Box]] to slay Ares and when Zeus betrays him and tricks him into giving up his godly power, has to use the threads of the Sisters of Fate to travel back in time just to get it back. This trend actually exists in the spin-offs; ''Chains of Olympus'' had Kratos use the Gauntlet of Zeus to kill Persephone, ''Ghost of Sparda'' was during the time Kratos was still a god, and ''Ascension'' saw him attain the Eyes of Truth to counter the Fury's illusions, although they aren't technically gods.

* ''[[VideoGame/PennAndTellersSmokeAndMirrors Desert Bus]]'' viciously picks apart and deconstructs both the idea trying to make video games realistic and of [[DeconstructionGame taking video games so seriously]] long before either became trends, predating games like ''Spec Ops: The Line''; it points out how ignoring both AcceptableBreaksFromReality and the NecessaryWeasel just makes a boring and miserable game that the player probably won't waste their time on.

** The ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' sub-series has a reputation for being the trilogy that started the wave of obviously-derivative Modern Military Shooters that acted as little more than jingoistic terrorist murder simulators, with heavy AmericaSavesTheDay overtones. It's often forgotten that the first game in the trilogy was actually a ''subversion'' of these sorts of games. The American hero does not, in fact, kill the main terrorist, and all of his actions in the Middle Eastern area of the campaign end in [[spoiler:complete nuclear destruction that ultimately accomplishes nothing other than getting thirty-thousand American soldiers killed, himself included]]. Not to mention that the game heavily implies that the Middle Eastern nation was an oil-rich U.S. puppet state, there are several things in their missions named after lines from anti-war movies (with a tank being called "[[Music/ParanoidAlbum War Pig]]" after a Music/BlackSabbath anti-war song, and the first level being named "[[Film/ApocalypseNow Charlie Don't Surf]]"), and in the end, it's not the U.S., but the British SAS that manage to defeat the main bad guys. In addition, the game has the player complicit in many morally questionable actions (such as murdering enemies in their sleep and picking them off from an AC-130), and overall paints them in a rather dubious light. To the opposing side, the West seems like little more than imperialistic bullies who can only be brought down by nuclear weapons. Quite a far cry from the overly patriotic and nationalistic tone that the later ''Modern Warfare'' games have.
** One huge critique of the Modern Military Shooter genre is that it acts as essentially little more than a power fantasy for Western gamers to enact vengeance on caricatures of Middle-Eastern terrorists, when UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror is far more complicated than a black and white situation, and portrays the player character as always being in the right, despite the many questionable actions they could be partaking in. Imagine, then, a game meant to deconstruct the genre. This game would have the player character complicit in the murder of innocent civilians, with said action not only being condemned by the game itself, but also end up as the catalyst for even worse situations in the story. America would find itself having its famous monuments and areas desecrated; [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything essentially being the ones who must suffer under an invasion being portrayed by the opposing force as "righteous vengeance"]]. [[SarcasmMode Better still]], the main villain would be an American general who allowed all this to happen to drum up patriotism, with the theme being that PatrioticFervor is ultimately a tool used to manipulate the masses, and killing in the name of it leads to countless suffering that may not have been justified. Indeed, the game would be filled with many quotes speaking out against such ultra-nationalist viewpoints. Such a game exists, even being made before ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' was released, ''and it's none other than Modern Warfare 2, the very game that [[TropeCodifier popularized the genre]] even moreso than its predecessor.''

** It also codified the PressXToNotDie trope into mainstream video game media. However, what people didn't realize that the whole point of it being included in the first place was to keep the player on edge; to have it so even in the cutscenes, the player remained tense from the constant threat of death instead of the cutscenes providing a moment for the player to breathe and set down their controller. Basically, the trope played into the game's SurvivalHorror nature, instead of being included just for the heck of it.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': Rosa codifies the Staff Chick role in ''Final Fantasy'', yet she was the first main character that was a mage and female and the first canonical female WhiteMage. Prior to ''FFIV'', almost all the prominent mages were men, with the exception of Unei and arguably Aria. As such, while harder to appreciate today, Rosa - and by extension Rydia - can be read as a response to ''Final Fantasy'' limiting powerful magic to men. Nowadays, this is lost because ''FF'' tends to go the other way and associate women with magic.

*** Cloud wasn't [[TropeMakers the first]] stereotypical spiky-haired angsty JRPG hero, but he is most certainly [[TropeCodifier the first one people think of]]. However, viewed backwards, Cloud is a deconstruction of that exact stereotype. While his serious issues are treated sympathetically, Cloud's attitude is supposed to come off as adolescent and irritating, and the other characters view it as an annoyance or a big joke if they buy into it at all. The sheer absurdity of his {{BFS}} and AnimeHair comes across as parody, especially in his {{Character Tic}}s using them. While his AngstComa is dramatic, it's played for slight BlackComedy, and results in him spasming in a wheelchair rather than any sort of prettier or more romantic visual. Then there's the main twist: [[spoiler:Cloud's not even ''supposed'' to be TheHero; that guy (Zack) got killed, and now Cloud is trying to take his place. He's [[ThisLoserIsYou literally role-playing a hero to escape from his own self-loathing]]]].

*** Similarly, Cloud is credited with kicking off the tendency for JRPG leads to be {{amnesiac hero}}es and/or {{phlebotinum rebel}}s, but he actually reads like a deconstruction of how those tropes usually go down. [[spoiler:His [[FakeMemories memories are screwed up]], but when the truth comes out, rather than turning out to be some sort of plot-relevant badass, he was a {{mook|s}} before the plot went down. He got experimented on which gave him the SuperSoldier augmentations that allow him to wield his [[{{BFS}} preferred weapon type]] properly, but also fed into his delusion that he was the experienced badass he presented himself as instead of the common nobody grunt he actually was. Cloud also isn't some sort of [[TheChosenOne Chosen One]] or a unique subject for experimentation - it's shown that hundreds of other people got the same experimentation that Cloud did, some of them far more effective and/or more intense. The cost of the augmentations is deteriorating mental health that later becomes outright insanity because of the psycho-emotional trauma he endured, and the ability to be mind controlled by Sephiroth.]] Contrast with [[BadassNormal Tifa, Cid, or Yuffie]] - none of them were augmented at all, and can more than match the augmented SOLDIER members, and it just seems that the cost for the abilities Cloud wanted for years simply wasn't worth the suffering he had to go through in the first place. [[spoiler:And his amnesia? His memories weren't rewritten by the BigBad at all. He did it to himself as a coping mechanism for all the trauma he had to endure for four years, capped with the death of his best friend before either could reach Midgar.]] To say that Cloud is a mess is an understatement.

* ''VideoGame/ProgressQuest'' is very likely the first IdleGame, predating the TropeCodifier ''VideoGame/CookieClicker'' by about a decade. However, it instead reads as a vicious satire of the genre -- a game where you literally do ''absolutely nothing'' except watch your money tick up, as the game showers you in rewards and accolades that don't actually matter and there is no ending or story aside from "keep your browser open and let the number rise." Normal idle games still have ''some'' minimal gameplay consisting of occasionally buying upgrades or clicking a button to manually collect resources, so a game that lacks even ''that'' would be seen as a deconstructive exaggeration of the genre if it was made today. It was actually mocking {{MMORPG}}s in its time, but the parody has only gotten more dead-on.

* ''Videogame/SimCity'' is arguably the TropeCodifier for ConstructionAndManagementGames. However, much of the lasting appeal of the classic 1989 title, as well as the sequels, comes from the disaster scenarios, and the ability [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential to unleash disasters upon a thriving city]]. Most later titles in the genre (at least not city-builders) play the concept straight, and neither have disasters, nor the humor of ''[=SimCity=]''. ''[=SimCity=]'' is, literally and figuratively, a GenreDeconstruction made by the first widespread game of the genre. Even the 2015 SpiritualSuccessor of the series, ''VideoGame/CitiesSkylines'', had no disasters in the core game; players took effort to find methods to destroy cities, until a dedicated ''Natural Disasters'' expansion was added. ''[=SimCity=]'' also averts the CommandAndConquerEconomy of nearly all management games which come later, and while you do need to designate specific zones for things like residential districts, once you do they'll build up on their own.

* In the ending of ''VideoGame/TakeshisChallenge'', Creator/TakeshiKitano basically takes a jab at people who dedicate so much of their time just to finish a video game and find all of its secrets no matter how bad the game is, this being before the time of players that play to find every hidden EasterEgg and developers making their games catering to that exact type of behavior.
* ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'' popularized the {{Dating Sim}} genre, but unlike most of its successors, it's a bit more involved than just Otaku WishFulfillment. Most dating sims only require you to choose the correct dialogue choices in order to get hitched with the girl of your choosing; in ''Tokimeki'' while choosing the correct dialogue choice when dating a girl increases a girl's affection, you also have to do a lot more in order to get a girl to like you. Before you can start meeting girls you can date, you have to increase your social stats to a certain point, and you have to manage your stats in order to get a happy ending with her. Also, girls you've met can "bomb" you, or decrease your reputation if they feel like they've been getting ignored, and getting bombed too many times will make it so that you won't end up with any girls. The fact that Shiori Fujisaki, whose route leads to the game's semi-GoldenEnding, doesn't want to be seen with you at the start of the game due to your low reputation, and that her route requires you to have high stats and high reputation while also increasing her affection at the same time, shows that anyone expecting that they can just pick any girl and expect to win her affections simply by choosing the correct dialogue choices will experience a major wake up call. Essentially, ''Tokimeki Memorial'' is a DeconstructionGame of a genre ''it popularized''.

** The game allows and encourages [[ClassChangeLevelReset class changes]] and it is possible to gain [[EliteTweak proficiency in all weapons, armor, and all mage and cleric spells]]. But each class change takes ''five years out of your life'' due to the training required. And yes, there are penalties due to age if your character is old enough, one of which is (naturally) ''dying of old age''.