You Died

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About

You Died is an in-game notification in FromSoftware-developed video games Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and its sequels, and Bloodborne. Online, the notification screen has been used in video edits, usually as a punchline in FAIL videos.

Origin

On February 5th, 2009, action role-playing video game Demon's Souls, developed by FromSoftware, was released for PlayStation 3. ^[1] The game featured unconventional death mechanics, with the player being respawned at the beginning of the level with all non-boss enemies respawned, and multiple deaths happening during a single playthrough considered a normal part of the gameplay. Upon the event of death, a notification message "YOU DIED" would appear on screen, paired with a special sound effect.

The notification also appeared in other games released by FromSoftware, including the Dark Souls series and Bloodborne (shown below).

Spread

"You Died" screen gained widespread notoriety online following the release of Dark Souls in September 2011.^[2] On August 24th, 2012, Youtube channel miracleofsound released a video titled "DARK SOULS SONG – YOU DIED!" which gained over 2.7 million views in seven years.^[3]

On May 13th, 2013, NexusMods user BeakieHelmet submitted a mod replacing "YOU DIED" message with the phrase "THANKS OBAMA". ^[4] On August 14th, 2013, Redditor akira586 posted a screenshot of the modded screen to /r/gaming subreddit, gaining over 2,500 upvotes in six months.^[5] On May 13th, 2013, BeakieHelmet uploaded a demonstration of the mod to YouTube.

On May 14th, 2015, YouTube user Callum Lenton uploaded the first known meme based on "You Died" screen to the platform, clarifying that the video was discovered someplace else.^[6] The video gained over 249,000 views in four years.

On October 4th, 2017, YouTube user The Central Scrutinizer uploaded a video titled "Dark Souls Baby Eating Camera Meme",^[7] based on a popular "Baby VS GoPro" video.^[8] The video gained over 261,000 views in two years, with one reuploaded version gaining over 500,000 views.^[9]

In the following years, the "You Died" screen saw extensive use in video edits on YouTube and Instagram, often featured in various compilations along with Minecraft Death Remixes. ^[10]