Game Over

A Game Over is a game mechanic that appears in Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong-Nou and Chu-Teng. A "Game Over" is a term used in video games where the player has died, run out of extra lives or chances, and has ultimately lost the game. As adventure games, Eastern Mind and Chu-Teng define this differently, courtesy of their unique design and the former's Reincarnation mechanic.

In Eastern Mind

The Immortality sequence.

In Eastern Mind, due to the Reincarnation mechanic, dying does not mean the player receives a Game Over should Rin or any of his reincarnations die. However, there is still one possible place to put the game in a Game Over state where the player has "lost" and cannot continue without either loading their save, or starting a New Game.

In the Room of Immortality Pu-ryao, should the player drink the Moon Water and not have the Sun Water to counter-act it, Rin will receive immortality. However, because he can no longer reincarnate, Rin can no longer acquire his Soul, and will be forced to live within a never ending time. The player cannot progress in this state, nor can they save the game after this sequence; like Pu-ryao suggests, the player must either open a prior save, or create a new save and "abandon all possessions".

Afterwards, the game screen turns into an endless collage of sprites and dialogue from various locations in the game, appearing at random positions on-screen. Occasionally, a screen transition will occur, wiping the screen before restarting the collage. The Furoshiki cannot be accessed from this screen.

Trivia

The strange room that appears to be an early incarnation of Non-fai.

• The data for the Immortality sequence is stored in a file called G_SSAVER. It's possible that it was planned to include a screensaver with the game that was the Immortality sequence.
• Both English and Japanese dialogue is featured in the Immortality sequence, even in the English version.
• The screenshots featured in the Immortality sequence feature many early renders of the various locations, including a Land of Dreaming Mon-chien with less shiny crystals, a Land of Life Ming-ken with a red sky, a Helix Power Luo-shang with a blue carpeted floor, and a Land of Time Shi-chieng with gray grass.
• Quite bafflingly, one screenshots features a scene from the ending, of Rin's glowing soul rising from the Central Mountain. There is no way for the player to see this sequence if the player obtains immortality, as it is past the point of no return; thusly, its inclusion seems to either be a misnomer, or a hold-over from when the sequence was intended to be a mere screensaver.
• In addition, one screenshot seems to be of a location that did not make it into the game, or is a placeholder; a room with a green, gravelly floor and walls, with two yellow pillars and three holes. The identity of this room is a mystery, but it's theorized it may either be an early version of Non-fai due to the general texture and presence of small objects on the walls, or an early version of Sha's chamber in Yui-wang as the three items on the wall loosely line up with where the instruments are placed in the final room.

In Chu-Teng

In Chu-Teng, because of the lack of Reincarnation, deaths are more directly harmful, and do indeed force the player to either load a prior save or start a New Game, much like more standard Adventure games. However, sources of Game Overs are very easily spotted, so it is unlikely the player will encounter them on accident.

Should the player get a Game Over, they get a brief cutscene of Rin flattening into nothing, before Nan-shu's eye floats by, revealing the text "GAME OVER". Much like in Eastern Mind, the player cannot save on this screen, nor can they open the Furoshiki.

Ways to encounter Game Over in Chu-Teng includes:

• Getting killed by Kui.
• Interact two times during the Meditation Screen.
• Getting killed during battling with Ru-hou or Chi-tou.