NaN is a short Puzzle Game by The Paper Pilot released in 2016 for the 3rd Annual Chillenium at Texas A&M University. It's a story about NaN, a hero who used to slay dragons, but as their population dwindled, he had to start helping people with non-life threatening issues. Unfortunately, those people get fussy and ungrateful, which really makes his continued work less worth it...
The game can be downloaded for free here
and it's recommended to do so before reading the trope list as it is rather short.
This game provides examples of:
- And the Adventure Continues: In the end, NaN decides to leave everyone and set off on his own journey.
- Broken Ace: NaN was the strongest, fastest, and most powerful adventurer in the whole realm, but it led to him feeling useless later and he also loses his strength.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: To NaN, killing dragons just became routine cleaning until their population dwindled.
- Cat Up a Tree: The second scene has NaN throw a vase to save an old lady's cat who's stuck up a tree.
- One-Hit Kill: The first scene has NaN kill a dragon with one sword throw. It deals 999,999,999,999,999,999 damage.
- Stepford Smiler: NaN tried to put up a friendly face, even if the people's rudeness was taking a toll on him.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Deconstructed. None of the citizens are thankful for NaN's work, which puts a toll on his mental and physical health, until he eventually leaves them.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: NaN can pick people up and toss them around, and even set them on fire.
- Video Game Remake: The game was remade in 2023 in the Godot programming language, with a few minor tweaks like an actual physics engine.
