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[Tohsaka]

x0 for sure.

 

[MaverickHunterAsh]

x0 for sure. x1 and then Game Over always bugged me.

 

[toddhunter]

So 1 heart left or 0 hearts?

Should be 1 so....

 

[The Real Abed]

Zero. One makes me think I still have one in reserve. The number should just represent reserve lives to keep things easy to understand.

Though in the case of the original SMB it displayed the number only before a level. So it made sense that it would display 1 there just before you play. But if it's on screen while you play it should be zero-based.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

x0, that way there's no possible confusion.

.

 

[Calabi]

X1

Because you cant have nothing, if you have nothing you should be dead. X0 would totally confuse me.

 

[mclem]

X0.

X1 always makes me worry if I have another try left or not, but there's no confusion with X0.

Except you won't get to x0 without going through x1 on the way, so you'll still get that confusion...

I think I'd lean towards x0. More to the point, though, I think it's a lot clearer if you visibly decrement the counter when the player spawns. DKC works well because it ties the notion of 'respawning' to an object with a visual representation, a balloon.

 

[CyanideFuse]

x0. If it says x1 I end up thinking I have an extra life than I might have. x0 says it all.

 

[KnockOneOff]

i HATE games that have X1 and then the game over titles roll

to be honest though these days dieing is a thing of the past, devs seem to want you to finish within an easy sitting

 

[Baron Aloha]

x0 - you x1 people are just trying to stir the pot. We know you really like x0.

 

[Tesseract]

this thread will never end.

 

[ArjanN]

x0

Ha, it's funny how nowadays you normally don't see a Game Over screen in a Mario game.

x0 is better.

Yeah, in modern Mario games it's generally more like x398.

 

[MaulerX]

x0

That number represents how many lives you have left. Not the one you're currently using.

 

[jroc74]

Never thought about it before....so I could say doesnt matter.

But...I'm used to seeing that x1 with Mario. Again...never paid any attention to it. This might be the equivalent of something I cant unsee now...

Thanks alot.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

"0" for sure. That is how many lives Remain. None. If it says "1", then I still have a life left after I die.

Anyone confusing the two should be dealt with, possibly hung, drawn and quartered to prevent such pollution entering video games again.

 

[S¡mon]

x0 since you got none left.

x1, because you're on your last and single life left.

 

[stump sock]

x0. none left in the reserves.

 

[MoxManiac]

x0

Your life counter doesn't or shouldn't count your current life.

 

[Steroyd]

x0

If I'm running aroud alive in the game it means I'm using that life.

 

[Tabby]

Don't care, I always end the game with full lives.

Spoiler

I kid . x0

 

[Striek]

x1. Its a life counter, not a spare life counter. I've never once before heard it referred to as a spare life counter.

 

[Astery]

x1

x1, because you're on your last and single life left.

.

 

[UrbanRats]

x0, that way there's no possible confusion.

This, for this very reason.

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

X0. No mistake where you stand.

 

[Damian.]

x0 because it says you have no lives left. Why is this even a question?

 

[MikeE21286]

x1

edit: ahh x0 makes more sense

 

[Enco]

If you see it as extra lives, x0

If you see it as remaining lives, x1

No clear answer. It doesn't bother me. Not that I play many games that use that system.

 

[BGBW]

All I know is that if Mario says it's x1 then that is the correct method.

 

[Dezzy]

x0, it removes all doubt.

 

[tsab]

x1 because is better than x0

serious answer: x0 confuses me, my take on the counter is how many times you have before seeing gameover. Not how many times *excluding this one* you have left.

 

[Nyx]

x0 ofcourse

With x1 I would think I have one last life after the current one.

 

[KojiKnight]

x0, that way there's no possible confusion.

This, always drove me crazy when the counter said I had one life left and I died and it was game over.

x1. Its a life counter, not a spare life counter. I've never once before heard it referred to as a spare life counter.

To be fair, I've never heard it ever called a life counter before... I've always heard it referred to as "how many lives you have left."

 

[Nemmy]

X0.

X1 always makes me worry if I have another try left or not, but there's no confusion with X0.

This.

 

[DuncanR2N]

0x I view it as how many tries I have left after the current game in play if I screw up.

 

[Manu]

#TeamX0

 

[JesseDeya]

It's very simple.

A cat has nine lives, I'm sure we can meow all agree on that simple fact.

If we were to display how many lives an unscathed cat has, it would have to be x9. To say x10 would be disingenuous, as we all know a cat has but 9 lives.

9) So at the start a cat has Lives x9
8) If he loses a life, the cat has Lives x8
7) If he loses another life, the cat has Lives x7
6) If he loses another life, the cat has Lives x6
5) If he loses another life, the cat has Lives x5
4) If he loses another life, the cat has Lives x4
3) If he loses another life, the cat has Lives x3
2) If he loses another life, the cat has Lives x2
1)) If he loses another life, the cat has Lives x1

I need to point out how many lives the cat has lost meow. If you count back, he has meow lost 8 lives, but as we have already established, the cat has 9 lives to give.
If he loses one more life, he'll finally be dead.

0) The cat loses his final life, meow the cat has Lives x0.

Right meow, it's game over for the cat. but as we can see, whist on his last life the count was clearly x1.

Therefore, due to indisputable feline logic, x1 is the correct display when you are meow on your last life.

 

[sixteen-bit]

zero

 

[Marvel]

Team x1.

 

[chaobreaker]

X0

This should be a poll thread, if possible. There's people on both sides so it could be interesting.

Can a mod add in a poll or...?

EDIT: Yes they can!

 

[Aostia]

I prefer x0
otherwise I'll be confused

 

[EBreda]

x0 for [no]life!!

 

[BriareosGAF]

Except you won't get to x0 without going through x1 on the way, so you'll still get that confusion...

This is the most important point. The lower bound is irrelevant, the most salient piece of information is how that number is annotated.

 

[The Albatross]

I think zero, because there's always that ambiguity of whether 1 or 0 is the last life. If the game displays 1, then you're not quite sure... "is this my last life, or will this tick down to zero?" In my knowledge, there has NEVER been a game to display -1, so ... zero seems more convenience.

Also, you can ask the question, what does the life counter mean?

You have X lives left. Does this include your current chance? Arguably, from the way it's asked, "this many lives left" it would not. So, to say, "I am playing this life, but I have 1 life left," would suggest a complete life from birth until death. So, I think zero seems most appropriate here.

Zero.

 

[Jeronimo Jones]

I prefer x0 because it's clear that there are zero lives left.

 

[Warewolf]

x0 That was always the first test in a new platformer as a kid. "Is zero a life?"

 

[Hammer24]

x0 I want to feel the pressure.

 

[emb]

0. That way I'm sure. Half the time when I'm at one life, I spend more mental effort just trying to remember if the game uses 1 or 0 for the last try than I do playing.

I also think of the life count as 'extra lives' rather than 'lives', so 0 makes more sense there.

 

[Herne]

I can't say I care very much either way.

 

[Snuggles]

X0. That Mario comic comes to mind where each time he dies, a new clone is dropped in. X1 would indicate that there's one additional clone remaining. Once you're on X0, there are no more, you're on your last dude. It's pretty simple.

I can't say I care very much either way.

Thanks for stopping by to let us know that you don't care.

 

[Lombax]

x0