Now, this is a genuine question - why do you like Game Over screens? How do they enrich the gameplay experience?
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You are mistaking Game Over screens with Game Ending - which might be called by many the "Bad Ending" in this case.
Game Overs are usually premature, [...] some of which may result in your immediate death, and are not part of the true endings the game offers if you survive the situation.
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I am not advocating against Bad Endings, but against Game Over screens. The MC can "lose" in both, but one is premature and the other finishes out the story.
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but if it is an actual ending that ends at the "same time" as all the other endings, then yeah - be my guest.
First of all: Thanks for clarifying.
It is hard for me to really get a grip on my thoughts about it, but I think your differentiation of "game over"-ending and "bad"-ending is unneccessary or rather a blurred separation and you might miss something good if you insist on it.
You are using the "premature"-property to contrast a "game over" ending against a "bad"-ending. And I am hearing a frustration about the game-overs - a can relate to that, but...
Let's make up an explainatory example: If LustfulVoyage would pick up this very funny and really hot NTR-idea:
The "Black Pearl" enters in a collision with MC's ship and Sparrow take over the girls (NTR)
The Black Pearl enters and the MC is at deck. You have three options:
1. Shoot all cannons (even the rusty ones)
2. Shoot only the good ones
3. Flee
So, here comes the smallest Game-Over that I think is ok, but not very funny either:
If you chose 1, the ship explodes, Game over. If roll back is enabled here, I just say "damn" and have a grin on my face. I agree with you, if rollback is disabled and you forgot to save, this can suck. But I really like to feel an impact of my choices and loosing can be a part of a game. Like attacking a too strong Ork in the beginning of Gothic and getting killed. It transports the game-feeling. I would not like this in sex scenes - for obvious reasons
- but in the "game"-parts, I find it ok.
It would even create a stronger consequences-feeling if the game-over-decision was made a little before:
Scene at the habour before sailing off and meeting the Black pearl:
1. Fuck Pamela
2. Repair the rusty cannons.
After that some more gameplay (but not hours, please) and then, when you meet the Black pear, you will only be presented with 2 options:
1. Shoot the cannons (Game Over if you did not repair the rusty cannons before)
2. Flee
Yes, this Game-Over would feel even more as a chore or even punishment if this mechanic occured for the first time in the game. But, if well done, it would get you into really thinking as a captain and not only with your dick. You would think more carefully in the next habour, if a salesman would give you an hour with his daughter for selling him all your cannonballs. "Can I really go for it, or will Jack attack soon? Is he even Jacks spy?"
THIS "real" consequence is what I mean. And if you don't have to grind through all the game to repair a wrong decision, I really like it. This feeling of choices that matter would not (easily) be possible to archive without Game-Overs.
Would you agree?
But let us also look about your liking that every "regular" (non-game-over) playthrough should have almost exactly the same size. I think this is also a little boring. Yes, this is what is done by most of the creators, because they do not want to really split their development that much. But if they had some spare time and ideas, it could be used well.
Let's get back to our example, the Black Pearl and two options:
1. Shoot the cannons (Game Over if you did not repair the rusty cannons before)
2. Flee
If you shoot your cannons, the ship get's entered and Sparrow takes away all your girls (maybe by force, maybe seeming to make peace with you, but stealing your girl time after time). Let's say you serve him some time as a slave, havbe some adventures at the isles as slave where you can only submit to free ladies and pirates, be their sex toy for example and then, there is nothing much to tell in your like, you die as a bitter, old slave in chains (or get killed by Sparrow).
If you fled, you keep the girls, try to get the old captain's treasure, conquer many other isles and so on. There is much more to tell. The slave-route will be good for 4 updates, but the staying-captain-route can be spun oder 8 updates. Why not?
In contrast, I always find it a little boring, if all decisions lead to the same result. If done well, it is ok, but having two independent paths feels better in my opinion. The only downsides: It would take a lot of thinking and two good plot-ideas instead of one - and if you only like one of the paths, you might only be able to play the shorter one.
What do you think?
Sorry for the wall of text, but I could not get it shorter in an understandable way, I am afraid.
