History Main / RuleofFun

* Here is how your average ''VideoGame/{{Payday2}}'' bank heist would go if Payday 2 had anywhere near realistic police response. Four clowns armed to the teeth arrive in a van at the local bank. They walk in through the front door. The security guards here beg for their lives, killing them would just be a waste of bullets. The security guard in the camera room sees what happens with the cameras, and calls the cops. The Payday crew grabs the Thermal Drill, and spend five minutes drilling through the vault door. A few beat cops arrive, but keep their distances as soon as they see you have hostages, calling for heavy backup. The vault door is drilled, then it's time to drill the inner vault gate, which takes four minutes. Then, the Payday crew saws open the safe deposit boxes, the ATMs and grab all the loose cash, and hightail it to their van, taking two hostages with them. The beat cops release and reassure the security guards and hostages. A few kilometers away from the bank, the Payday crew drops the hostages, untie them and drive off. '''Then''' the SWATTeam arrives at the bank, complaining about having wasted their time since the criminals already got away.The Payday Crew is a million dollars richer and makes the news. Body count: 0. But it wouldn't be nearly as fun as the nerve wracking infiltration and crowd control or the badass fight against a SWATTeam that is armed to the teeth and much more skilled than realistic Navy Seals while you control nearly immortal robbers, now would it?

A nonsensical premise, a bizarre story, weird gameplay mechanics -- all of these things have no choice but to bow their head if the game is fun. This is the RuleOfFun. See also the MST3KMantra, the RuleOfCool, and the RuleOfFunny (which, by the way, [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant is a quite different trope]]).

* A lot of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' is like this, especially the short distance between the major cities of the Holy Land. At some point having to ride across the vast landscapes would just get dull. The historical accuracy also tends to stop right around the point where the fun begins, such as Altair's signature spring-loaded hidden blade.
** In terms of real world logic the [[spoiler: Animus, which recovers crystal-clear genetic memories of ancestors to the point where Desmond-as-Altair can act in ways that Altair never did]] makes absolutely no sense at all, but it works for plot purposes, making the Animus an example of {{Phlebotinum}} as well.

** [[{{Deconstruction}} Taken completely seriously at face value]] by the ''VideoGame/RedAlert3Paradox'' GameMod, then stuffed into a blender with other game genres, creating 5 new factions and a rooster of minifactions. If you thought ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'' was crazy, then Paradox gives you the possibility to play an {{RPG}}, VideoGame/SimCity or a TowerDefense game (notably both the towers and the creeps as separate factions) in a RealTimeStrategy game. [[Franchise/RedAlert3ParadoxExpandedUniverse To top it off, the mod is growing in size due to its fanbase who try to think of ever newer factions]].

* For all intents and purposes, ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2 Final Fantasy X-2]]''.

** Because [[spoiler:the previous incarnations were defeated by the transcendent one in his fortress, who took the memories to prevent you to regain your mortality.]] In gameplay there is one place where dying means game over, because dying there will cost you your memories.
** This was explained in the novelization (yes, there was one). The Nameless One had made a deal with a Baatezu: "Save my village, and I will fight in the Blood War". So it did, but The Nameless One reneged on his deal. It took the Baatezu a few centuries to figure out how to make a potion from the River Styx (which normally wipes your memories if you drink it) that would PREVENT The Nameless One from losing his memories the next time he died; all part of the Baatezu's gambit to get The Nameless One to fulfill his end of the bargain.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros.'' is probably the distilled personification of this trope. Why are an [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} electrically charged rodent]], an [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Italian plumber]], a [[SonicTheHedgehog speedy blue hedgehog]] and an [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda elfish tunic-wearing hero]] duking it out with lightsabers on top of a spaceship? Because it's awesome!

* The ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series is about a hedgehog with superpowers who saved small woodland animals from being turned into killer robots/the world from being taken over by an evil fat man with a robot fetish. Said hedgehog, with the help of some GreenRocks, can also apparently go ''[[Manga/DragonBall Super Saiyan]]''. At its peak, this series matched the popularity of ''Mario'' and ''Zelda''.

** The game in general, really. It's not about how much damage you do, whether you defeat the enemies, or how powerful your character is. It's all about making the most fun out of your roleplaying adventure.

** A few things to keep in mind with the whole sense of scale thing. First of all, you have to remember the point of view you have in the game; right behind your spaceship, whereas even coming up to dock with the planet the view never shifts to within its atmosphere. Secondly, even if the planets are still fairly small compared to say Jupiter or Saturn, there's nothing wrong with that. Most of the planets seem to be uni-ecological which would in fact make more sense on a smaller planet than a larger one. Finally, if the designers had sized up the planets they would also have had to increase the distance between them to keep the whole thing proportional, it already takes ages to get from one place to another in that game without the possibility of having to circumnavigate a gas giant half way through a journey.

* 1998's ''Grand Prix Legends'' was a classic example of a spectacularly non-fun game. On paper the idea of a driving game set in the 'sixties, with the promise of classic F1 cars and tracks, was tantalizing as it had never been done before. Unfortunately, the game was such a rigorous simulation that it was staggeringly difficult (even if you had a real driver's license) and virtually impossible to play competitively without hours and hours of practice. It was so tough that the paltry driver aids that were provided actually made it worse, since the only way to control the car was to shift manually and double de-clutch like a pro. It was even argued that before force feedback controllers came along the game was actually harder (if not as scary and dangerous) than the real thing.
** However, for avid sim racers, keeping the cars under control is part of the fun.

* This very wiki. Why do we have stuff like SugarWiki, DarthWiki, JustForFun/TropeTan, the Pantheon/TropePantheons, or JustForFun/MadeOfWin? Why are our articles so casually-written in comparison to Wiki/ThatOtherWiki? Hell, why dedicate an entire site to tropes some people don't even notice in the first place? Because it's '''''fun''''', dammit!

A nonsensical premise, a bizarre story, weird gameplay mechanics -- all of these things have no choice but to bow their head if the game is fun. This is the RuleOfFun. See also the MST3KMantra, the RuleOfCool, and the RuleOfFunny (which, by the way, [[IThoughtItMeant is a quite different trope]]).

* This very wiki. Why do we have stuff like SugarWiki, DarthWiki, JustForFun/TropeTan, the TropePantheons, or JustForFun/MadeOfWin? Why are our articles so casually-written in comparison to Wiki/ThatOtherWiki? Hell, why dedicate an entire site to tropes some people don't even notice in the first place? Because it's '''''fun''''', dammit!

** [[{{Deconstruction}} Taken completely seriously at face value]] by the ''VideoGame/RedAlert3Paradox'' GameMod, then stuffed into a blender with other game genres, creating 5 new factions and a rooster of minifactions. If you thought RedAlert3 was crazy, then Paradox gives you the possibility to play an {{RPG}}, VideoGame/SimCity or a TowerDefense game (notably both the towers and the creeps as separate factions) in a RealTimeStrategy game. [[Franchise/RedAlert3ParadoxExpandedUniverse To top it off, the mod is growing in size due to its fanbase who try to think of ever newer factions]].

** And yes, you can indeed [[PennyArcade do a karate kick on a helicopter.]]

* This very wiki. Why do we have stuff like SugarWiki, DarthWiki, JustForFun/TropeTan, the TropePantheons, or MadeOfWin? Why are our articles so casually-written in comparison to Wiki/ThatOtherWiki? Hell, why dedicate an entire site to tropes some people don't even notice in the first place? Because it's '''''fun''''', dammit!

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' mainly runs off of RuleOfCool and RefugeInAudacity, but the overall effect follows the example of RuleOfFun quite a bit, too. How can a Tyranid that big pop up behind enemy lines without warning? How can those ImperialFists scouts move unseen through sparse foliage wearing neon yellow power armour? Why are there (optional) rules for using a [[TankGoodness Baneblade]] in smaller-than-Apocalypse games? Because it's cool and fun, that's why.

* The ''[[SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' series is essentially based off this trope. The original concept was that of a carpenter named Jumpman saving a beautiful lady from Film/KingKong, no, [[CaptainErsatz Donkey Kong]] by jumping over barrels. This was evidently decided to be too unrealistic, so the designers decided the carpenter would actually be a plumber called Mario, the [[DistressedDamsel beautiful lady]] would be a princess [[SaveThePrincess kidnapped by a giant fire-breathing turtle]], and the plumber would become larger by eating mushrooms, shoot fireballs by collecting flowers, and harness the power of those famed aeronauts, tanuki, to fly. The later games in the series (particularly the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' subseries) have mercilessly [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] the series's bizarre origins.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros.'' is probably the distilled personification of this trope. Why are an [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} electrically charged rodent]], an [[SuperMarioBros Italian plumber]], a [[SonicTheHedgehog speedy blue hedgehog]] and an [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda elfish tunic-wearing hero]] duking it out with lightsabers on top of a spaceship? Because it's awesome!

* The ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series is about a hedgehog with superpowers who saved small woodland animals from being turned into killer robots/the world from being taken over by an evil fat man with a robot fetish. Said hedgehog, with the help of some GreenRocks, can also apparently go ''[[Manga/DragonBall Super Saiyan]]''. At its peak, this series matched the popularity of ''{{Mario}}'' and ''Zelda''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' has some pretty noticeable moments of bizarre physics, such as leaping forward and suddenly doing a flying kick/cannonball at a target in the opposite direction, thrown objects like cars that have even but a very limited degree of homing capability, having an extreme disparity in damage potential between a simple fall and a bullet-dive drop both from say seven stories high, running horizontally on the CONVEX side of a vertical plane, the loooooong hang time of doing a max air combo... the list goes on. But it's fun. Especially the [[AwesomeYetPractical cannonball]].

* ''BackyardSports''. A baseball/soccer/football/whatever game with zany powerups, not to mention that you can play as a kid in a wheelchair, kids who wear glasses while playing, and a '''robot'''. How fun is ''that''?

* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: Just play it.

* ''{{Freelancer}}''. Just ignore the grossly warped scale (entire planets only a few times bigger than a little starfighter!), enjoy the exquisite artwork and the {{Old School Dogfight}}ing.

** ''{{Beatmania}}'' and ''Beatmania IIDX'', despite their descriptions, are nothing like real DJ'ing. But who gives a crap? And then there's ''Pop'n Music'', which doesn't even simulate an instrument at all.

* WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic: Pinkie Pie. Almost everything she does is motivated by a desire to make her friends smile. When she isn't amusing her friends, [[ItAmusedMe she's amusing herself]].[[note]]Sometimes, as in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E14FilliVanilli "Filli Vanilli"]], amusing herself has unfortunate consequences.[[/note]]

* This very wiki. Why do we have stuff like SugarWiki, DarthWiki, JustForFun/TropeTan, the TropePantheons, or MadeOfWin? Why are our articles so casually-written in comparison to ThatOtherWiki? Hell, why dedicate an entire site to tropes some people don't even notice in the first place? Because it's '''''fun''''', dammit!