Fair failure
Also said as Fair death, Earned failure
Failing in a way the player accepts as their own doing: they saw it coming, they know what went wrong, and they know what to try next. Whether a death feels fair matters more than how often it happens.
Players blame themselves for deaths that seem fair and the game for those that do not. It is why very hard games can have devoted followings, while easy ones with cheap shots get refunds.
Say it
“Nothing can kill the player unless it has been visible on screen for at least a second. Replace the off-screen spike drops with ones that shake first.”
Where you’ve seen it
Super Meat Boy kills you constantly and shows every attempt at once when you finish a level, a swarm of your own earlier selves. You can see that each death was yours.
Not to be confused with easy
Fair does not mean gentle. A game can kill you a thousand times and be fair each time, as long as each death has a cause you can name.