History Main / LoadingScreen

* In a few cases, loading times are so long that the loading screen includes some form of MiniGame to keep the player entertained while they wait. [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco]] technically [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope had a patent on this]] until 2015, discouraging most publishers from doing this, even though due to examples appearing far before the patent on the UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}} and UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, Namco likely would have had trouble defending it in court. Some only lean into this, such as being able to manipulate things on screen.

Then, starting with UsefulNotes/TheNinthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, Solid State Drives came as standard on the Platform/PlayStation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS. These enabled developers to reduce load times from two minutes to only a few seconds, meaning the loading screens appear for only an instant. This presented an interesting situation for games on both these and UsefulNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, which ''do'' need loading screens. Usually the solution is to let them be, but some games get creative by making them opt-in. For example, ''[[VideoGame/SpiderManPS4 Spider-Man Remastered]]'' lets you keep the amusing [[UncomfortableElevatorMoment subway ride loading screens]] in the options menu, while ''VideoGame/HorizonForbiddenWest'' lets you enable a button prompt to manually confirm the return to gameplay, so you have time to read the tips at your leisure. [[https://www.pcgamer.com/devs-casually-expose-far-reaching-loading-bar-conspiracy-people-just-dont-trust-one-thats-too-quick/ Some game developers]] confessed to intentionally developing pauses or extending times in loading bars or screens because [[RealityIsUnrealistic players expressed dislike for ones that happen too quickly and smoothly]].

** In the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast version of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', the cutscenes played while the next part loaded.

* In the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} and Platform/PlayStation2 versions of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheForceUnleashed'', the loading screen for each level is a cockpit view through hyperspace, ostensibly what the characters see as they fly to their next destination.

** The original Amiga version had also loading screens with images depicting the present location and text descriptions scrolling below those images. While in the C64 version the loading screens were text-only, there were more of them with more text than in the Amiga version. However, the actual loading times were still shorter in the C64 version, which benefited greatly from being published on a C64 cartridge.[[note]]Early C64 cartridges had very small capacity compared to disks. Later cartridges had far larger capacity, much as on the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem, but few games came out on cartridge possibly for cost reasons.[[/note]] The Amiga version was on floppies with no direct hard drive support.
* The loading screen for the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum version of ''VideoGame/ChuckieEgg'' (ask your granddad) included a list of the default keys used for playing the game, making this OlderThanTheNES. Another UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum example was ''Quazatron'', which had text loading screens describing some of the concepts and backstory for the game.

* The UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch remake of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' displays tips during its loading screens. [[spoiler:...except in the latter part of the Distant Future chapter. Then the spaceship's murderous AI replaces the tips with [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou calls for you to surrender]].]]

* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games on UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch:

* Long before any of those was ''VideoGame/InvadeALoad'', the tape loader for several games published by {{Creator/Mastertronic}} for UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}} home computers. It was a clone of ''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders'' that could be played for five to ten minutes while the main game was loading from the C64's very slow cassette interface. ''Ghostbusters'' on C64 featured this. [[http://www.lemon64.com/games/list.php?type=publisher&name=Players+Software Players Software]], too, used this kind of loader at least in some of its games (such as [[http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=1377 Joe Blade]]. C64 loader games have even been trotted out on forums as prior art to potentially invalidate Namco's patent.

** ''VideoGame/Splatoon1'' features a few {{Retraux}}-style minigames that you can play on the UsefulNotes/WiiU gamepad. Squid Jump, a simple game of jumping between platforms, is the only one available by default, while Squid Racer, Squidball, and Squid Beatz can be unlocked using Toys/{{amiibo}}.
** ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'': Due to the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch's lack of a second screen, it was no longer possible to include minigames on the loading screen. However, this game does allow players to play with the background music, using different buttons to apply effects like changing the pitch or adding sound effects.

* In the 80's UsefulNotes/Commodore64 (along with many other computers from the same period) used cassette tapes as storage medium for both homebrew and commercial software. While the accessories of [=C64=] included also a disk drive and while disks were also quite common medium, many individual owners at least in Europe had only tape recorders. This resulted in LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading with commercial games. Eventually it became common for publishers to include loading screens and music for player to watch and listen while waiting for the loading to finish (while commercial games often used their own loading software to make loading faster, the increasing size of games meant that loading times were still notable). The tape releases of ''VideoGame/TheLastNinja'' and ''Last Ninja 2'' were notable for having individual loading themes for every single level [[note]]Disk release of the former had no music during loading. However, it had separate title screen, which played the loading themes of the tape release in the background for those who wanted to listen to them. While the disk release of the sequel did not play the music during loading, either, it did show the loading screen for the next level and played the respective loading theme of the tape release ''until'' player pressed fire and the disk version would actually start loading the level.[[/note]]. Other "gimmicks" include slowly drawing the picture during loading (often used by Ocean) and having scrolling text in one of the loading screens with additional information [[note]]Used also in the tape releases of The Last Ninja, Last Ninja 2 and Last Ninja Remix (later rerelease of Last Ninja 2 with new intro and entirely new soundtrack - unfortunately without separate loading themes).[[/note]].

* Loading a foreign ''Pokémon'' UsefulNotes/GameBoy game on ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium'' or ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Crystal]]'' in ''Pokémon Stadium 2'' showed a pic of the player's party in 3D.

* When the player downloads something in the Wii's Shop Channel, the progress bar is shown as a stream of coins and three ? blocks. For each percent of the file that comes in, Mario gets a coin, either by grabbing it from the ground or by hitting a ? block. When it moves quickly (especially for smaller files like NES games), Mario never grabs 100 coins. More like thirty or forty. On the UsefulNotes/DSi shop channel it is Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad filling a box.

* ''VideoGame/MickeyMania'' has a loading screen animation of Mickey checking his watch while the game decompresses data from the cartridge. And the game is entirely worth the waits. The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis version doesn't use this, however, since it loads much faster.

* ''Video Chess'' for the UsefulNotes/Atari2600 is a contender for the amount of loading in raw time; chess is an inherently much more processor-heavy game than most in TheSeventies, so the relatively low-powered 2600 needed a lot of time to think of its next move in order to compensate, with loading times on real hardware of [[ExaggeratedTrope up to ten hours]] being reported on the highest difficulty setting. To let you know it's still thinking, the entire screen flashes different colors for the entire period so that 1. displaying the sprites of the pieces and board wouldn't get in the way and make the wait times even longer, and 2. the image wouldn't burn into the player's TV screen. As a consequence, [[SensoryAbuse this game is not for epileptics]].

As games have grown larger, more complex and more detailed, loading times have increased in many games. This began in earnest with [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation1 the original PlayStation]] thanks to the data having to be copied from the disc, which was much slower than the preceding cartridge-based systems. This resulted in the creation of loading screens to let the player know the level is being, well, loaded. Some of the possible features are:

Then, starting with UsefulNotes/TheNinthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, Solid State Drives came as standard on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS. These enabled developers to reduce load times from two minutes to only a few seconds, meaning the loading screens appear for only an instant. This presented an interesting situation for games on both these and UsefulNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, which ''do'' need loading screens. Usually the solution is to let them be, but some games get creative by making them opt-in. For example, ''[[VideoGame/SpiderManPS4 Spider-Man Remastered]]'' lets you keep the amusing [[UncomfortableElevatorMoment subway ride loading screens]] in the options menu, while ''VideoGame/HorizonForbiddenWest'' lets you enable a button prompt to manually confirm the return to gameplay, so you have time to read the tips at your leisure. [[https://www.pcgamer.com/devs-casually-expose-far-reaching-loading-bar-conspiracy-people-just-dont-trust-one-thats-too-quick/ Some game developers]] confessed to intentionally developing pauses or extending times in loading bars or screens because [[RealityIsUnrealistic players expressed dislike for ones that happen too quickly and smoothly]].

** The UsefulNotes/PlayStation version of ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn Tiberian Dawn]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert Red Alert]]'' had messages such as "connecting to satellite" and "transfering funds", ending with "prepare for battle".

* In the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} and UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 versions of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheForceUnleashed'', the loading screen for each level is a cockpit view through hyperspace, ostensibly what the characters see as they fly to their next destination.

* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankRiftApart'' is an interesting case: being a UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 exclusive title, it can easily load in the next world in less than a second (and certain levels turn this into a gameplay mechanic). Despite this, it still has a shot of Ratchet's / Rivet's ship arriving at their destination from space, likely because [[GrandfatherClause the series has done that with every previous game]].

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' has tips on its loading screen, from how supports with units work to how you can spend your time around the monastery.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tropico}} 6'', in addition to the usual minor gameplay tips, also features trivia on real world dictators, such as Saddam Hussein having used Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" as a campaign jingle, or Stalin having a secret department tasked with collecting and analyzing samples of world leaders' feces.

* ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'': Loading screens are pure black except for a dancing Shantae in the bottom right corner.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' series load the net areas from the real world areas using a flashy "jack in" animation. One of the games removed this loading screen in the US region to make space for more text, and replaced it with a fade to white.

* One of the more pointless changes made to the English translation of the original ''VideoGame/Persona1'' was adding an unattractive loading screen to the US version of the game. Even more irritatingly, it'd show up for the many, many brief load times in the game, so sometimes it'd flash up just long enough to be disruptive, without actually distracting from any meaningful load time.

* One of the more pointless changes made to the English translation of the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'' was adding an unattractive loading screen to the US version of the game. Even more irritatingly, it'd show up for the many, many brief load times in the game, so sometimes it'd flash up just long enough to be disruptive, without actually distracting from any meaningful load time.

* ''VideoGame/WingCommanderIII'' used the power-up sequence checklist for your fighter, when waiting for the mission information to load. For those playing on [=PCs=] of the time (1994), this was often a signal to go for a drink, or use the bathroom, while waiting for LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading to finish.

Then, starting with UsefulNotes/TheNinthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, Solid State Drives came as standard on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS. These enabled developers to reduce load times from two minutes to only a few seconds, meaning the loading screens appear for only an instant. This presented an interesting situation for games on both these and UsefulNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, which ''do'' need loading screens. Usually the solution is to let them be, but some games get creative by making them opt-in. For example, ''[[VideoGame/SpiderManPS4 Spider-Man Remastered]]'' lets you keep the amusing [[UncomfortableElevatorMoment subway ride loading screens]] in the options menu, while ''VideoGame/HorizonForbiddenWest'' lets you enable a button prompt to manually confirm the return to gameplay, so you have time to read the tips at your leisure.