10 Awesome Video Game Mechanics The Industry Abandoned

3. Improving From Failure - Fallen London

Shadow Of Mordor Nemesis System
Failbetter Games

Have you ever heard the saying "You learn more from failure, than you do from success"? Well, video games don't seem to agree. Lose a battle? Die. Win a battle? Gain experience. Fail to craft an item? Wasted your resources. Succeed in crafting? Get an item and improve your crafting skill rating.

Fallen London, a browser-based game from Failbetter Games, the developers behind Sunless Sea and its sequel, had a pretty nifty idea to the way it handled experience. Failing at a task netted you more experience than succeeding. Want to kick open a door? Kicking it off the hinges teaches you nothing you didn't already know, but kicking it in the wrong spot teaches where the wrong spots to kick are.

This is a feature that could be included, at least partially, in almost any RPG. From failing a cooking minigame in Genshin Impact to trying to shoot at a monster in a tactical game or even failing to pick someone's pocket in Elder Scrolls. Heck growing stronger from losing to a strong opponent, rather than winning, is a plot point in the Dragon Ball franchise, so how about in a fighting game? You learn more about fighting from getting hit in the face, than blocking.

Contributor
Contributor

Author of Escort (Eternal Press, 2015), co-founder of Nic3Ntertainment, and developer behind The Sickle Upon Sekigahara (2020). Currently freelancing as a game developer and history consultant. Also tends to travel the eastern U.S. doing courses on History, Writing, and Japanese Poetry. You can find his portfolio at www.richardcshaffer.com.