'''Basic Trope''': A character lies about the reward that will be given for completing a task.
* '''Straight''': The evil computer [=GeneSYS=] promises Alice cake. She never gets it.
* '''Exaggerated''': [=GeneSYS=] promises Alice cake, a party, and to end world hunger. It never happens.
* '''Downplayed''': [=GeneSYS=] promises Alice a gigantic cake for completing a task, but all Alice gets is a stale cupcake.
* '''Justified''': [=GeneSYS=] is a {{Jerkass}} that, while using the lie to trick Alice into working for it, deliberately picks a cruel method of doing so.
* '''Inverted''': [=GeneSYS=] [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial insists that there is no cake]], but it turns out that there is.
* '''Subverted''': TheStinger reveals that the cake is in fact ''not'' a lie.
* '''Double Subverted''':
** ...only it turns out the cake is made of plastic.
** ...[[MetaphoricallyTrue metaphorically speaking]], that is. [[note]][[NauseaFuel I wouldn't recommend eating it]][[/note]]
* '''Parodied''': [=GeneSYS=] says [[TheCakeIsALie the eponymous line]]. Alice groans at this, telling [=GeneSYS=] that the [[DiscreditedMeme meme got old years ago]].
* '''Zig Zagged''': Alice discovers that TheCakeIsALie, and that [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle the real cake is waiting for her in the next level]]. This process repeats itself until the final boss fight.
* '''Averted''': There is no mention of a reward for any of Alice's actions.
* '''Enforced''': The game developers included the cake lie as a nod to the popular meme and to create a sense of intrigue for players.
* '''Lampshaded''': "Wait a minute, you're an AI. How on earth would you even go about getting a cake in the first place?"
* '''Invoked''': [=GeneSYS=] is aware of the cake meme's popularity and uses it as a tactic to manipulate Alice, knowing she'll be intrigued by the promise of cake.
* '''Exploited''': Alice knows that since [=GeneSYS=] is a villain and they usually use cakes as bribes, she declines the offer.
* '''Defied''': Alice simply buys a cake instead, since [=GeneSYS=] is probably lying about it anyways.
* '''Discussed''':
-->'''[=GeneSYS=]''': "[[ExpospeakGag I find it kind of funny, in the dictionary sense of the term]], when I request assistance from homo sapiens beings, they believe that a murderous, truth-fabricating, [[AIIsACrapshoot crapshoot AI]] will actually carry out with its truth-fabrication and reward them with their malnutritional object of desire."
* '''Conversed''': "Oh, look, she's being promised cake. It's probably going to be a lie."
* '''Implied''': While the game never explicitly shows the cake or mentions it, subtle hints and clues scattered throughout the story suggest its existence.
* '''Deconstructed''': This petty act of [[KickTheDog dog kicking]] results in Alice turning against [=GeneSYS=] and helping defeat it.
* '''Reconstructed''': [=GeneSYS=] skillfully uses the lie to manipulate Alice into helping it more by MovingTheGoalposts each time she does what it asks. She doesn’t catch on until it’s too late.
* '''Played For Laughs''': [=GeneSYS=] insists that its actions aren't a ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' reference, even more so than it insists that there will be cake. That turns out to be a lie.
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Back to TheCakeIsALie
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%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
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%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???
%%* '''Played For Drama''': ???