History Main / EasingIntoTheAdventure

This is so common in [=RPGs=], be they Western or Eastern, that they might as well patent it -- the "faffing about" part makes for great tutorial material.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* OlderThanRadio: In ''Kidnapped'' (1886) by Creator/RobertLouisStevenson and ''Literature/TheBlueSword'' by Creator/RobinMcKinley, the hero is kidnapped from his home. Most of [=McKinley's=] novels follow the same template, so one way or another, the misfit heroine gets dragged into the magical world against her will.

* The first minute or two of "Rose" in ''Series/DoctorWho'' is like this, but the other post-2005 companion introduction episodes more or less involve the Doctor straight away.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheDiamondCastle'' spends about 15 minutes showing the audience how Liana and Alexa live before they find [[SealedGoodInACan the magic mirror]] which leads to [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive their home getting destroyed]] and the rest of the plot.
* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieOfSwanLake'' has about 20 minutes before Odette is turned into a swan.

* Most of the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' games start out with Lan and Mega Man either a) performing an errand on the net or b) just playing there. This helps you get use to the way the net is set up.

* The first ''Literature/GrailQuest'', ''The Castle of Darkness'', introduces Pip as a farmboy (or possibly [[FeaturelessProtagonist farmgirl]]) having a fistfight with the local bully (to introduce the combat rules) before he or she meets with Myth/{{Merlin}}, gets starting spells & magic items, and is sent on an adventure.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes; there are those who [[JumpedAtTheCall Jump at the Call]], those who [[RefusalOfTheCall Refuse the Call]], and those who MissedTheCall. Whether reluctant or adventurous, stories with these heroes can start Easing into the Adventure by introducing the hero well before they get their [[WithThisHerring wooden sword]] and very first FetchQuest in their peaceful hometown; with a young Bob doing chores, playing with friends, having a heart to heart promise with Alice, fighting and losing to the JerkJock who teases them. The usual.

* ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' begins with the title character going through the motions of his dull, directionless life, with only tiny, sporadic hints of the coming ZombieApocalypse; passing a "crazy hobo" on the streets who's actually one of the first zombies, trying to change the channel on a TV without noticing that they're all showing coverage of the zombie outbreak, etc.
** The scene is actually played twice: first on a normal day, before Shaun goes to work; and then the next day it's recreated ''frame for frame'', only after the outbreak. Shaun, being hungover, [[CrossesTheLineTwice is oblivious to every sign that things have changed for the worse.]]

* OlderThanRadio: In ''Kidnapped'' (1886) by Creator/RobertLouisStevenson and ''Literature/TheBlueSword'' by Creator/RobinMcKinley, the hero is kidnapped from his home.
** Most of [=McKinley's=] novels follow the same template, so one way or another, the misfit heroine gets dragged into the magical world against her will.

** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' starts with the player character's birth. It continues showing the [=PC's=] life, introducing different gameplay mechanics. The game teaches you the basic controls and lets you choose the character's statistics. Then it cuts to 9 years later to show you how to shoot guns. It jumps again when the player character is 16 years old and you have to choose your tag skills. The final sequence of the "tutorial" is when the PC is 19 years old and escapes the vault.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

While we've seen it frequently already, [[TropesAreNotBad it's still a classic]].

* The first three chapters of the ''Tome of VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' each introduce facets of the gameplay: Pious' chapter introduces combat with its included targeting, Ellia's introduces the SanityMeter, and Anthony's introduces {{magick}}. Ellia and Karim's chapters also give you items which restore your health, since you won't have all three Ancients' runes to cast all the possible recovery spell variations until Max's chapter.

This helps us see the hero "before" and better appreciate CharacterDevelopment, provide exposition, and generally build up slowly rather than quickly to the story's actions. In video games, it can [[JustifiedTutorial Justify The Tutorial]]. It also makes their motivations for adventuring, returning home, and [[TooHappyToLive fear of losing]] (or pain at [[DoomedHometown having lost)]] their hometown all the more poignant.

* The first episode of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' begins with Optimus and his crew of Space Bridge repair bots work on an asteroid in the middle of nowhere. The adventure only begins when the bridge their working on begins to spark and malfunction...

* VideoGame/{{Grandia}}'':

* Franchise/{{Grandia}}'':

* The first ''VideoGame/{{Grandia}}'' game plays it completely straight, right down to the childhood friend and the JerkJock.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes; there are those who [[JumpedAtTheCall Jump at the Call]], those who [[RefusalOfTheCall Refuse the Call]], and those who MissedTheCall. Whether reluctant or adventurous, stories with these heroes can start Easing Into The Adventure by introducing the hero well before they get their [[WithThisHerring wooden sword]] and very first FetchQuest in their peaceful hometown; with a young Bob doing chores, playing with friends, having a heart to heart promise with Alice, fighting and losing to the JerkJock who teases them. The usual.

* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', Ezio's story starts with his birth. It then cuts to 17 years later with Ezio getting in a minor scuffle with his family's rivals, doing errands for his parents, racing his older brother around Florence, finding eagle feathers, and having sex with a girl he fancies.

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' starts out about John Egbert in his house, doing mundane stuff. It then proceeds to grow very strange when the reality-altering video games come into the plot. According to the author's Formspring, this is one hundred percent intentional. The rest of the first act, even though it is the shortest real act you'll see in the entire comic, is about a kid messing with inventory systems and a video game's mechanics [[spoiler:until a meteor comes and almost pulverizes his house]].

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' starts out about John Egbert in his house, doing mundane stuff. It then proceeds to [[GrowingTheBeard grow a]] [[MindScrew very, very strange]] [[GrowingTheBeard beard]] when the reality-altering video games come into the plot. According to the author's Formspring, this is one hundred percent intentional. The rest of the first act, even though it is the shortest real act you'll see in the entire comic, is about a kid messing with inventory systems and a video game's mechanics [[spoiler:until a meteor comes and almost pulverizes his house]].

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' starts out about a kid in his house. It then proceeds to [[GrowingTheBeard grow a]] [[MindScrew very, very strange]] [[GrowingTheBeard beard]] when the reality-altering video games come into the plot. According to the author's Formspring, this is one hundred percent intentional. The rest of the first act, even though it is the shortest real act you'll see in the entire comic, is about a kid messing with inventory systems and a video game's mechanics [[spoiler:until a meteor comes and almost pulverizes his house]].

[[folder:Webcomic]]

* In ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'', you start with a pleasant monorail ride into work and a few chats with your workmates, before things [[GoneHorriblyWrong Go Horribly Wrong]].

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes; there are those who [[JumpedAtTheCall Jump at the Call]] and those who [[RefusalOfTheCall Refuse the Call]]. Whether reluctant or adventurous, stories with these heroes can start Easing Into The Adventure by introducing the hero well before they get their [[WithThisHerring wooden sword]] and very first FetchQuest in their peaceful hometown; with a young Bob doing chores, playing with friends, having a heart to heart promise with Alice, fighting and losing to the JerkJock who teases them. The usual.

** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' starts with the player character's birth. It continues showing the [=PC's=] life, introducing different gameplay mechanics. The game teaches you the basic controls and lets you choose the character's statistics. Then it cuts to 9 years later to show you how to shoot guns. It jumps again when the player character is 16 years old and you have to choose your skills. The final sequence of the "tutorial" is when the PC is 19 years old and escapes the vault.

It does raise the danger of losing fans who would like the actual story and attracting (briefly) fans who will not, because the opening is not indicative of the story.

* In ''LittleBigAdventure 2'', you could potter around your hometown indefinitely (if you were easily amused). It was only once you'd completed the first mission and found something for the Weather Wizard so he could dispel the storm that aliens would land and the plot started.

* The first ''GuildWars'' campaign begins as "the last day dawns over the [[DoomedHometown kingdom of Ascalon]]." Players have found ways of getting to the [[{{Cap}} maximum level]] without leaving this special area. This is even encouraged, within reason, by the existence of the [[BraggingRightsReward "Legendary Defender of Ascalon" title]].