The idea for this comic went through several changes. Originally we were going to have Tim use my Credit Card to buy up actual medals to celebrate TiMii’s virtual medals in Wii Sports. I was excited to draw Tim wearing an unnecessary amount of medals around his neck in celebration of TiMii’s achievements. “I thought platinum medals were only in video games…”

Tim and I both felt that going for a comic void of text balloons would set the right tone.

Ah…sweet revenge. Honestly, I think that losing a saved game (or character) is one of the worst forms of punishment there is. When you’ve poured your time and energy into a game, investing in the story, only to see it all disappear, it really is heart-breaking. I remember once I was playing one of the million RPGs on the PS1 and my brother came in and started joking that he was going to turn the power off. Finally, he actually did hit power, but didn’t let go, holding my fate in the balance. So there I was, fighting two battles at once. On the one hand, I was slashing monsters in the enchanted forest while giving them ample time to return the favor (it was a turn-based RPG, mind you), and on the other hand I was screaming at my brother to not let go of the power button if he valued his life. Of course it was another 45 minutes before I could find a save point so it was one of the most emotionally draining gaming sessions of my life…and I don’t think I ever finished that game. Anyway, here’s a list of ways games have been reset, destroyed, or otherwise cut short that I’ve experienced:

1. Overheating - This happened with an Atari 7800 during a marathon session of Robotron 2084, Wave 256 (that’s level 256 if you’re not familiar with the game) if you can believe it. The system was so hot, we barely touched it and it froze. Where was the Nyko Intercooler when you needed it?

2. Cord Trippers - The culprit is usually an oblivious parent, but can also be a sister. This was common during the NES days. It was hard enough to get a cartridge to work (with all the blowing and cleaning and voodoo magic), so coupled with the jarring effect of someone tripping over a controller cord, the NES didn’t stand a chance. Plus, most games didn’t have a battery save feature, so if this happened while playing a game like Master Blaster or Batman…let’s just say it brings back bad memories.

3. The Angry Parent - Unlike the oblivious parent, the angry parent shut off your system intentionally. After telling them a hundred times that you just needed to get to the inn to save the game, they felt like you were trying to pull a fast one on them. I guess parents aren’t familiar with random battles. This was again common in the 8-bit and 16-bit days before the save-anywhere feature was common in RPGs.

4. User Error - This could be any number of things from saving over a game with a new one to erasing a save with the wrong push of a button. This is especially frustrating because you have no one to blame but yourself.

5. Blue Screen of Death - In the early days of Windows, there were many PC games I enjoyed. I played anything with the word ‘Quest’ in it from Sierra, Civilization, Hugo titles, Commander Keen, and countless others. Unfortunately, computer crashes were more common back then too and you’d always use ‘Bill Gates’ as a curse word when an untimely crash erased hours of progress.

6. A Brother - Like the comic above, a brother or other enemy, might exact revenge on you by deleting a character or save file you really treasure. While I can’t recall a specific instance of revenge taken this way, I’m sure I’ve just blocked it from my memory in order to preserve peace within my family.

7. Save-Anywhere Bugs - That handy little save-anywhere feature may save you from the angry parent shutting off your game, but it sometimes caused other problems. For example, when you save just before a huge boulder crushes your skull. Sure, you can restore your game only to relive that painful death over and over again. You may try to duck, jump, or otherwise avoid impending doom, but after a couple hundred attempts, you give up. Game over.

I’m sure there are more examples, but that’s all I can think of for now. Anyone else have any?

I would like to mention that I don’t normally look this evil in real life.

Tim does, though.

Everyday.

(9 votes, average: 3.44 out of 5)

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