Indeed, a Trickster Game's subversion of expected video game tropes is one potential means of making a Deconstruction Game.Ī somewhat-related concept is the Player Punch, in which the game uses the player's investment in a character (or other object of attachment) to make a narrative element more impactful and/or motivating. Contrast Deconstruction Game, which is a game that makes a point of examining one or more video-game tropes. Compare also with The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard, in which the computer cheats at the game. May involve leading the player away from an Offscreen Start Bonus.Ĭompare The Computer Is a Lying Bastard, in which the game provides information, but isn't very good at it. One simple manifestation of this is for the game to claim that the traditional When All Else Fails, Go Right in effect, when in fact it isn't. It can make for quite an unnerving experience. Suddenly interaction becomes more uncertain old familiar truisms of gaming may no longer apply. Maybe the game messes with the interface to prevent the player from choosing something.Īnd when this happens, it can pull the foundation of the player's experience out from under them. Maybe the tutorial lies to the player about mechanics. Maybe the game tells the player to go only go left, when going right is the only path to the Golden Ending. And that is this trope: those games that use the player's trust in the game itself to trick them. After all, how could one play games if they couldn't be trusted to bring the player into the experience? However, this also means that players are susceptible to that trust being subverted. Thus they naturally rely on the game to help them along: to teach them the rules of this new "reality", and to support their efforts to interact with it. As a result, the foundational "rules" of how they interact with that context are undetermined: How do they do anything? Should they go left or right? What are they supposed to be doing? And so on. ![]() There are things that players can, in general, rely upon: The tutorial will give accurate information on how to play on-screen instructions aid the player all mechanics required to win will be made apparent.Īnd this makes sense: When the player begins a new game, they're engaging with a new and unfamiliar context. The wise old mentor turning out to be the villain all along is not this trope.įor the most part, video games are remarkably trustworthy. It's not just " Tomato in the Mirror, but in a video game". It's not simply about plot twists, or about characters being deceptive. A quick note for clarity: This trope is about the game itself tricking the player, specifically.
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