The Linear Game
is a brief, side-scrolling
Environmental Narrative Game made in
RPG Maker. Your goal is simple: starting at Point A, walk all the way to Point B. Along the way, you can save your game by talking to NPCs, all of which are
very excited that someone's finally playing the game the intended way...though it's very much possible that you
won't.
Tropes:
- All There in the Manual: The protagonist is named "The Explorer" in save files, but is never actually addressed in-game due to all of the NPCs acknowledging the player themself.
- And I Must Scream: According to the first two NPCs, not only has there been over 3000 previous players, but they've been anxiously waiting for at least one to finally reach point B.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: The game's NPCs are fully aware that there's a player and that they're trapped in a game.
- Excuse Plot: The only reason you're walking from Point A to Point B is because it's what the game asks you to do.
- Invisible Wall: Attempting to go left on the first screen has The Explorer run into one of these, after which the NPC will ask if you're satisfied with your curiosity. Trying to go left after this conversation has the wall disappear.
- Minus World: Successfully heading left at the first screen leads the the background becoming progressively more glitchy and distorted, leading to an outright "crash" upon reaching your destination.
- Multiple Endings: The game, despite appearing to be linear, has three possible endings:
- Press Right: The Game. Keep walking right until you've gone all the way from point A to point B. The Explorer vanished in white light and you are applauded with a single ending screen.
- illustrate your objective. Attempt to walk left, hit an invisible wall, talk to the NPC again to make it disappear, then walk left until you reach point B from the wrong side. You will end up in a Minus World area until the game glitches out completely and shuts down.
- You had ONE job. Leave the first screen the intended way, then backtrack all the way to the A. The first NPC gets so mad at your refusal to do your job that they give you an alternate ending consisting of one screen with Sarcastic Clapping.
- Sarcastic Clapping: The You had ONE job. ending has audio of this playing, since, well, you've explicitly done the ONE thing the game kept telling you not to do.
- Symbol Swearing: The NPC in the first area will start swearing in this manner if you return to it after leaving the intended way, followed shortly by cueing the You had ONE job. ending.
