Line #21 WebVideo/ErrantSignal


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/signal.png]]
2
3	''[[https://www.youtube.com/user/Campster {Errant Signal}]]'' is an AnalysisChannel run by Chris "Campster" Franklin, dedicated to the analysis and essay-based discussion of the plot, central themes and conceits of various video games. His series, which can be found on Website/YouTube, covers game design and discussion of usage of gaming tropes, sometimes analyzing an aspect of game design through examination of a game and other times discussing a game design concept by itself. His show favors a cerebral style that tries to make game design concepts more accessible to the common gamer.
4
5	Franklin is also a regular on the LetsPlay group ''LetsPlay/SpoilerWarning'', which is dedicated to similar motifs from a let's player's perspective but in less depth.
6	----
7	!!Tropes found in ''{Errant Signal}'' include:
8	* AccentuateTheNegative: DiscussedTrope. He noted in his review of ''VideoGame/{{Bastion}}'' that this trope had effectively become the norm in video series about gaming, and described his review of ''Bastion'' as a spirited attempt to avert it.
9	* AffectionateParody: He describes ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'' as a light-hearted tribute to various pop culture kitsch in contrast to the vitriolic ShallowParody found in ''Videogame/GrandTheftAutoV''. [[invoked]]
10	* AllThereInTheStinger: Criticizes ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' and ''VideoGame/Prey2017'' for their use of this trope, though he does nonetheless consider the latter's version a good a wrap-up of the game's themes.
11	* {{Anvilicious}}: [[invoked]] One of his criticisms of ''A Hand with Many Fingers'', a game about investigating the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nugan_Hand_Bank Nugan Hand Bank]] and the CIA's involvement in it. At one point, the game shows a scribble in red ink that outright calls the CIA "the organized crime wing of the ruling class", which Errant Signal considers too direct and on-the-nose. He feels that since the course of the game's investigation alone makes a good case for the CIA indeed being a glorified organized crime wing, having the game spell out its {{Aesop}} directly is unnecessary.
12	* AngstWhatAngst: [[invoked]] One of his main criticisms of [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 Alyx Vance]] is that she doesn't seem to have any emotional baggage; for example, about the [[MissingMom implied death of her mother]], or resenting her father for unintentionally helping the Combine conquer Earth.
13	* AwesomeMcCoolName: He takes a brief aside in his video on ''VideoGame/Rage2'' to list the many instances of this trope he found in the game. After the credits end, he shows off even more examples.
14	* BerserkButton: {{Jerkass}} protagonists who aren't admitted to be as such by the narrative; his entire ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' video is a scathing indictment of Aiden Pearce and his reckless and selfish actions throughout the game, and apparent belief Creator/{{Ubisoft}} had he would be regarded as inherently cool.
15	* CluelessAesop: Frequently discussed. Many times, he finds games that are fully capable of delivering a message but are too reluctant to take a stance or games that merely feature something to discuss rather than actually discussing it. He notes that ImmersiveSim games with multiple choices and pathways tend to this since its focus is encouraging and ensuring a stable middle ground and that works only in a narrative where your options are extremes of one kind or another. He is especially critical of ''VideoGame/BioShock'' and ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' for this kind of storytelling, especially the latter game that makes the false equivalency between slaveowning white supremacists and a slave uprising.
16	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His old videos have a lot more jokes and gags and sometimes even full-on skits. There are parts where he's talking to a camera with his face shown, and the thumbnails have the name of the game discussed in text rather than including the game's logo. Franklin also used to have a bit of a CausticCritic streak. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU6XZkOXtFo His video]] on ''VideoGame/FarCry2'' perhaps best exemplflies his old style.
17	* EnvironmentalNarrativeGame: He's examined the genre on several occasions, including his review of ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbNDk7D0yG0 Gone Home]]'' or his videos examining [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgu76ql6FSo what constitutes a "real" video game]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBN3R0m31bA "The Debate That Never Took Place"]], which examines the artificial distinction between story and gameplay commonly seen in video game criticism (and on this wiki, in such tropes as StoryToGameplayRatio or StoryAndGameplaySegregation).
18	* ExcusePlot: Central to his reading of ''Videogame/HotlineMiami''. He discusses how he sees the game as attacking the idea of story as a justification for game, with the second character, who wants to get to the bottom of the mystery, being a stand-in for the kind of gamer who does want a meaning behind their actions.
19	* {{Filler}}: Argues that the middle part of ''VideoGame/Prey2017'' is essentially this, [[TropesAreTools not that he considers this a bad thing]]. He feels that while it doesn't advance the plot a whole lot or explore the game's themes much, the ImmersiveSim gameplay is still solid and engaging, and the parts that ''do'' explore the game's themes are interesting, if a bit undeveloped.
20	* FormulaBreakingEpisode:
21	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNYLCrR6LeE Riffin' On An Old Universal Promotional Video Because I Need A New Creative Outlet]] is, well, a [[AlternateDVDCommentary riff track]] of a short film advertising [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal's Islands of Adventure]]. There's not much in the way of critical analysis (and it's not trying to be one), and aside from a short quip about the ''Theatre/PoseidonsFury'' segment looking like a questionable ''Videogame/BioShock'' remaster, it's not even about video games.
22	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wZoVyxdFRg&t=1s TikTok: Life on the Algorithm]] is a deep-dive into Tik Tok as a creative platform, looking at both its pros and cons, styled as a Tik Tok video.
23	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRhjLKe1EkQ&t=12s The Company Intro Cinematic Universe is Bad]] is about the intro splash trend of film.
24	* GameMod: Does an episode about these expressing mixed opinions. He appreciates that players can tweak the game design to suit their preference but also feels its hard to review a game when most play it modded and that in some cases, players undermine good design decisions.
25	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: He used to like to use the proper term ''ludonarrative dissonance'', and he generally prefers games where the gameplay reinforces the story or the gameplay justifies itself. While he still believes in this idea of gameplay and story acting on the same note, he's shied away from using the word ''ludonarrative dissonance'' itself as he feels it feeds into the false dichotomy of the ''ludology vs narratology'' non-debate as he explains [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBN3R0m31bA here.]]
26	* GreyAndGreyMorality: Praises ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs2012'' for its take on this trope, particularly how it asks the player to wrestle with the duality of being a cop who stops crimes and a criminal who causes it rather than making the player choose between the two.
27	* MoodWhiplash: He notes that one of the biggest problems with ''Videogame/ValiantHearts'' is how it's trying to tell two stories of conflicting tone: Emile and Karl's story of how [[WarIsHell war destroys families]] and Freddie and Anna's action-packed story of vengeance against a cartoonish villain.
28	* NeverTrustATrailer: The subject of his "Adventures In Advertising" video, which touches on the ad campaigns for ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'', ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'', and, especially, ''VideoGame/DeadIsland'', among others that exhibit this trope. Interestingly, he takes a balanced, sort of TropesAreTools stance regarding this trope. After all, while these trailers might not accurately represent the game at all, they're not bad ads in their own right; they tell a memorable, compelling story that has something valuable to say, and, most importantly of all in the realm of advertising, makes people keenly interested in the product. He argues this trope occurs because unlike in advertising, the medium's various systems don't prioritize having artistic merit in a game. While advertisers get actively rewarded for making meaningful ads, even if they're rather deceptive, game developers are expected to just make a game that looks good and plays without issue, with having meaningful themes or a compelling narrative being an afterthought.
29	* NothingIsScarier: Criticizes the use of the ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'' Duct Tape mod [[note]] ''Doom 3'' normally forces you to choose between having a weapon ready and having a flashlight where most of the game is set in darkness. The Duct Tape mod makes the player able to use both at the same time. [[/note]]. He feels that having to switch to darkness to fire your weapon adds to the tension and atmosphere of the game.
30	* OldShame: [[invoked]] He's frequently noted his extreme embarrassment at many of his earlier videos, and uploaded a video in which he offered a running commentary on his video about the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series, cringing all the while.
31	* ThePointsMeanNothing: Believes this to be the key to ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''[='=]s mainstream success versus other {{Battle Royale Game}}s. In practice, going for the Victory Royale is just one of many ways to play and have fun, with various sidequests and challenges encouraging players to goof off and rewarding them for doing so. As a result, compared to other multiplayer shooters that involve a lot of serious gameplay and demand that players [[EarnYourFun earn their fun]], ''Fortnite'' is highly accessible for newcomers and a perfect game to put on when one just wants to chill out (even if it comes at the cost of being seen as a "kiddie game"), with a feel more comparable to a block party than a competitive shooter.
32	* RealIsBrown: Praised ''Videogame/{{Bastion}}'' for averting this trope.
33	* RealityIsUnrealistic: He claims that Baron Von Dorf had skulls on his uniform to make him look more cartoonishly evil than he already was, until someone pointed out that [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopf Totenkpfs]] were a common military symbol for the Germans.
34	* SelfDeprecation: Tends to be self-effacing and apologetic about perceived failed attempts at humor and, sometimes, the highbrow terminology he likes to use. According to him [[https://twitter.com/Campster/status/418548130171191297 here]], he uses it as a coping mechanism for dealing with stress or anxiety that he picked up years ago.
35	** The ''VideoGame/TheBeginnersGuide'' review went heavily into this, ending with a rant about his inability to read the game's theme without a MortonsFork [[spoiler:which references Narrator!Davey's meltdown during the climax of said game]].
36	** In his video on ''VideoGame/{{Oxenfree}}'', when he describes the game's scare factor as coming in somewhere between ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' and ''Film/{{Scream 1996}}'', he notes in a subtitle on the video that he's probably revealing just how old he actually is.
37	** In the fifth ''Blips'' Video, he notes that the game ''Dujanah'''s five openings that explicitly tell the player what the game's about is a direct TakeThat to a prospective audience of "Bad" youtube analysis of the game...while the Errant Signal title card is lightly superimposed over it.
38	* SpiritualAntithesis: Argues that ''In the Kingdom'' is one to ''VideoGame/SilentHills''. While ''Silent Hills'' creates horror in part through graphics of unprecedented high fidelity and photorealism, ''In the Kingdom'' does it with graphics that are deliberately low-fidelity and almost unrecognizable, so as to invoke NothingIsScarier.
39	* ThemeNaming: Radio transmissions. Besides his channel name being "Errant Signal", there's "Blips", an on-going series of videos where he reviews a small selection of various indie titles. A similar experiment into randomly-picked games was called "Signal to Noise", and some of his shorter, older videos analyzing one particular theme in one particular game are titled "Short Wave Transmission" (SWT).
40	* WholePlotReference: Franklin considers ''[[VideoGame/MaxPayne Max Payne 3]]'' this to the 2004 Tony Scott film ''Film/ManOnFire''. He drove this point home by simultaneously summarizing the narratives of both works with matching footage.

Context WebVideo / ErrantSignal