Line #83 VisualNovel/SC2VN


1	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1514068302_preview_steamsc2vn.png]]
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3	''[=SC2VN=]'' is a MediaNotes/RenPy-based [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin visual novel about]] ''VideoGame/StarCraftII''. You play as Mach, an aspiring [[UsefulNotes/ProfessionalGaming pro-gamer]] living in UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}, UsefulNotes/{{South Korea}} in the early days of ''[[VideoGame/StarcraftII Starcraft 2]]'' (circa 2011). The game follows his (or [[CharacterCustomization her]]) journey as you try to impress pro players, join a team, and make the Esports dream come true.
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5	''[=SC2VN=]'' is unique in that it uses in-game screenshots and sound effects from ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' for the protagonist's games. Players can follow along as Mach plans build orders, executes timing attacks, and loses to cheese. Some liberties are taken for the sake of narrative, but it's pretty close to what one might find in an actual game on ladder. [[Creator/BlizzardEntertainment Blizzard]] has wholeheartedly endorsed the project, in part because it is completely [[FreewareGames free]].
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7	A prequel, ''Don't Forget Our eSports Dream'', focusing on Jett and Bolt's respective careers back in the [[VideoGame/StarcraftI Brood War]] days, was released on November 20, 2018.
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9	The original VN can be found [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/404480/SC2VN__The_eSports_Visual_Novel/ here]], and the Kickstarter campaign page for ''eSports Dream'' can be found [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vogue/dont-forget-our-esports-dream-a-starcraft-visual-n here]].
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11	----
12	!!''[=SC2VN=]'' provides examples of:
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14	* AllUpToYou: [[spoiler:Mach has to win a showmatch to prove that s/he's a worthy progamer and save his/her new team's sponsorship.]]
15	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: A player in Master league is in the top ~2% of players, but Mach still refers to them as 'casual' and easily beats them. Mach, in turn, is in Grandmaster league (top 200 ladder players in the region), but still gets stomped by actual pros.
16	* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:Mach manages to prove their worth and secure a sponsorship, but it's made clear that things are only beginning for the team]].
17	* AudibleSharpness: Used during ''Starcraft'' games to depict protoss attacks [[note]]Protoss units use wrist-mounted energy blades.[[/note]] Outside of ''Starcraft'', it's used to depict sudden anger, usually for comedic effect, and usually involving [[FieryRedhead Jett]].
18	* AudienceMurmurs: During the games at the VSTL studio.
19	* BadBoss: Accel has to put up with one- the coach for team Crash lets Accel do all of the actual coaching and then blames Accel whenever anything goes wrong. It doesn't help that the coach has probably never played a game of ''Starcraft'' in his life.
20	* BeingPersonalIsntProfessional: Jett believes that being friends with teammates is bad business. You can agree or disagree with her.
21	%%* BigGame: [[spoiler:The climax, naturally]]
22	* BilingualBackfire: Mach speaks and understands Korean perfectly well. Most people you meet are momentarily surprised by this.
23	* BilingualBonus: The game occasionally uses Korean titles and slang in dialogue.
24	* BrainBleach: Mach's reaction after seeing a fangirl sniff a player's jacket.
25	* ButThouMust: Like most visual novels, player choice is minimal and is mostly just for flavor.
26	* TheCameo: Website/{{DayNine}} voices himself for the tutorial.
27	* CausticCritic: The internet fandom is full of these. Definitely [[TruthInTelevision truth in television]].
28	* ChekhovsSkill: [[spoiler:Stunt complains about Terran's advantage in base trades during VSTL. Mach's last match is a base trade]]
29	* CombatCommentator: The VSTL casters. [[TruthInTelevision Truth in television]] - professional video game commentating is a thing, especially in South Korea.
30	* ConfusionFu: Mind games are a big part of a game where players have incomplete information. Pros will try to read into everything to gain an advantage, and that can easily be used against them. It wins several games.
31	* CultureClash: Western fans and sponsors care more about entertainers and less about whether a player is actually good. Jett finds this appalling.
32	* CurbStompBattle: You're a semi-pro foreigner playing against top-tier Koreans, so this happens a lot.
33	* DeathOrGloryAttack: Any time a player goes all-in, particularly early game. [[spoiler:Happens a couple of times in the final series. Stunt's play is nothing but this.]]
34	* DesperationAttack: A player who's unable to fight his opponent's army head on may attempt a base trade instead, trying to destroy his opponent's base before the opponent destroys his. [[spoiler:Happens in the final game]]
35	* DrinkingGame: The team goes out drinking after they find their last player and coach.
36	* DrivingQuestion: Why do you want to become a progamer?
37	* DudeWheresMyRespect: What drives [[spoiler:Accel to leave his team]]
38	* DuelsDecideEverything: 1v1 ''Starcraft'' matches decide (almost) everything.
39	* EurekaMoment: Stunt is the team's only protoss, and his macro isn't good enough to provide good practice. What to do? Have Reva and Stunt control the same side, with Reva handling the macro. Also serves as advertisement for Archon Mode in the upcoming [[VideoGame/StarcraftIILegacyOfTheVoid Legacy of the Void]].
40	* FakeWeakness: Used to lure the attacker into a trap in a protoss vs protoss match.
41	* FantasticRacism: ''Starcraft'' players choose from one of three races. Rivalry among races is very common.
42	* FantasyForbiddingFather: Mach's parents don't think much of their child's going abroad to play video games, but are willing to let Mach make their own mistakes.
43	* FlatWhat: Mach's response to being [[spoiler:tricked into a bet match.]]
44	* FromRoommatesToRomance: [[spoiler:Reva]] sleeps at your place after a long night of practice. Your coach warns you that inter-team relationships are a bad idea.
45	* FusionDance: Reva and Stunt playing a game as one. Stunt [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it.
46	* GameOver: Make the wrong decision in a game, and you'll be told:
47	--> [[AC:the dream is dead]]
48	* GenderEqualEnsemble: Aside from Mach, [[spoiler:the final team ends up with two guys and two girls.]] Very unusual in eSports, which is lampshaded.
49	* GenderFlip: Mach can be either female or male.
50	* GoodGuyBar: A PC bang (internet cafe) called Golden Zonefire functions as this for Mach's team.
51	* HeroicBSOD: You start the game in one of these. [[spoiler:Jett and Mr. Yeon snap you out of the second one.]]
52	* HollywoodTactics: Charging a high-tech enemy army with lowly worker units goes about as well as you'd expect.
53	* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Mach thinks s/he's on the verge of victory, only to get ambushed and destroyed by hidden enemy units.]]
54	* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Professional teams give their players team jackets. Jett, Accel, and Bolt are always wearing theirs. [[spoiler:You get yours at the end of the game]]
55	* InterfaceScrew: An in-game prompt gets interrupted when it turns out your opponent is surprise attacking you early.
56	* LawyerFriendlyCameo: The in-game KPGA is a barely-disguised version of the real-life KESPA (Korean Esports Association). VSL and VSTL are the game's versions of GSL and GSTL, the premier ''Starcraft 2'' leagues in Korea.
57	* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: Expected in any match between progamers. [[spoiler:Reva will refuse to join your team if you break this.]]
58	* [[LetsPlay Let's Play]]: LetsPlay/{{Rythian}} has done a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOqSZZIByKc complete]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScXae6soWGE playthrough]] on the LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}} Twitch channel.
59	* TheLoad: Mach has to prove that he isn't this. It's an uphill battle.
60	* LoopholeAbuse: [[spoiler:Accel can't join a new team while he's still under contract, but he can still become the new team's coach.]]
61	* MysteriousBacker: Stunt is wary of joining a new team because he thinks the sponsor will be this.
62	* NightmarishFactory: Teamhouses are described as this, particularly low level ones. You never visit one, though.
63	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: None of the characters are directly based on real-life progamers, but certain characteristics definitely are. [[spoiler:A beta champion who is blunt on stage, vocal in criticisms, despises coin flips, and has a reputation for having the worst fans? You won't be first to think Greg 'Idra' Fields. Amusingly, the character in question is a [[FieryRedhead Fiery Redhead]] {{Tsundere}} ]]
64	* NoNameGiven: All of the characters are referred to by their [[OnlineAlias online handle]]. The one time that their real names come up, it's [[HandWave handwaved]] without revealing them to the player.
65	* NostalgiaLevel: The whole game. It's set in the early days of [[VideoGame/StarCraftIIWingsOfLiberty Wings of Liberty]], and even uses music from [[VideoGame/StarcraftI the first Starcraft]]. The game is still young, ''Starcraft 2'' is ''the'' rising Esport, and the scene is full of hopefuls looking to make a name for themselves.
66	* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in-universe when [[spoiler:Accel decides to publicly burn bridges with his former team. Accel thinks the publicity is fine, but Jett is worried that it will discourage sponsors.]]
67	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. It's made clear that you don't go into progaming for the money.
68	* PinkMeansFeminine: Jett was asked to do a photoshoot with a pink keyboard, [[ImpossiblyLowNeckline lowered shirt]], and no team jacket. She was not amused.
69	* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: [[JustifiedTrope Justified.]] Finding pro-level free agents for a new team would be next to impossible, so [[spoiler:Jett]] has to look for talented upcomers instead
70	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: You get one from both [[spoiler:Bolt]] and [[spoiler:Jett]].
71	* RepurposedPopSong: The VSTL intro music is part of Koreans' "weird fascination with alt rock"
72	* SceneryPorn: The background depicts in vivid detail various locations in Seoul, South Korea.
73	* SecretTest: [[spoiler:Jett invites Mach to a practice session, but it's actually to try out for Jett's new team.]]
74	* SelfImposedChallenge: Invoked. First, [[spoiler:Bolt]] offers replays of his past games to taunt [[spoiler:Mach]]. Then, [[spoiler:Mach]] refuses them. Accel approves.
75	* SeriousBusiness: [[TruthInTelevision Truth in television]]. For a progamer, video games are very serious business.
76	* ShoutOut: Tons of them to the eSports scene. The protoss player [=JangL=] is [=JangBi=]. Shock T1 is SK Telecom T1. The English casting duo are longtime GSL casters Artosis and Tasteless. The layout of the community site that shows the drama news is identical to that of Team Liquid and even has the same topics. Female Mach gets a message on a website that looks an awful lot like Platform/{{Twitch}}.
77	* ShownTheirWork: The developers are all familiar with the ''Starcraft'' pro scene. Most locations are based off of actual places in Korea, and the trials Mach goes through will be very familiar to anyone who's followed ''Starcraft''.
78	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: The game doesn't try to hide that being a low-level pro gamer mostly sucks, but still manages to be optimistic.
79	* StealthInsult: Bolt and Mach exchange these before their match, with the
80	* TellMeHowYouFight: Logical Reva favors Mech in-game, which is slow and methodical. Brash young Stunt plays aggressively and always tries to end early. Hypercritical Jett plays a reactionary style designed to exploit weaknesses. Foreigner Mach specializes in dropship play.
81	* ThemeNaming: Mach, Jett, Accel, and to a lesser degree Bolt and Stunt all have names more-or-less themed around speed.
82	* ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet: Why everyone assumes that [[spoiler:Reva is male.]]
83	* TrainingFromHell: Progamers are expected to train hard. Even their relaxation time is regimented.
84	%%* TrueCompanions: The team eventually becomes this.
85	* TwoGirlsToATeam: If Mach is male, he's one of three guys- him, Accel and Stunt- while Reva and Jett are the girls.
86	* UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay: One of the aims of the game is to show the less glamourous side of progaming. Topics explored in the game include sexism, xenophobia, squalid living conditions, bad management, unreliable sponsors, unsupportive family, online harassment and trolls, and constant self-doubt.* VastBureaucracy: KPGA acts as this for the Brood War scene. At the time the novel's set in, they haven't moved to ''Starcraft 2'' yet.
87	* VersusCharacterSplash: The final match has one between [[spoiler:Bolt and Mach.]] [[RuleOfCool And it's awesome.]]
88	* ViewersAreGeniuses: There's an in-game glossary for ''Starcraft'' and eSports terms, but a lot still goes unexplained. Lampshaded in the commentary, where they try to cover a few more, like 'dishwasher' [[note]]Roughly translates as 'B-teamer,' a low-level player in a team house. Dishwashing is part of their duties.[[/note]]
89	* WeHaveReserves: The team whose score is ahead in Team League is able to sacrifice players to scout weaknesses and wear the other team down. [[spoiler:This leads to Accel's downfall.]]

Context VisualNovel / SC2VN