MetaWare High School (Demo) is a Visual Novel with No Fourth Wall by Ahmaykmewsik.
There are five characters: Chris, Aspen, Isadora, Hope, and Nari, collectively referred to as "the gang".
Tropes:
- all lowercase letters: Hope's dialogue is rendered in this way.
- Anti-Frustration Features:
- The game will italicise choices that the player has already selected.
- After obtaining at least 5 of the 10 main endings, a new option labelled "???" will appear on the main menu. Using it will show a choice the player hasn't made yet, as well as the dialogue that immediately precedes it for context.
- Arc Words: "Thank you for playing."
- Armor-Piercing Question: The final route mainly consists of you asking some rather vague questions to the gang that seem to do the trick. Though this may have to do moreso with them simultaneously trying to come to terms with the fact that they're about to die/not exist anymore.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: Nari barely says a word during the main story, but after reading the creator's letter, everything but her will disappear. She wastes no time antagonizing you and even threatens to kill you in some endings. She does so until she gets bored, at which point she'll instruct you to close the game instead.
- Bittersweet Ending: The gang all die as their world is deleted, but they are able to reconcile with Nari and come to terms with the nature of their existence.
- Blatant Lies: You can tell several. Such as you being a cat, the gang being immortal, etc.
- Blamed for Being Railroaded: In the final route, the gang does not like your vague questions and will be mad at you for asking them, but you are not given any other option than to keep asking them vague questions.
- Blind Obedience: Isadora insists that they must demo the full game simply because they're a demo, even though she doesn't have much to gain from doing that and furthermore doesn't even know how to do it (since they don't really know what the final game is like).
- Buffy Speak: The gang (mainly Isadora) refers to previewing the full game as "doing demo stuff".
- Can't Move While Being Watched: Implied, as at the Mochi Shop, Aspen will ask the player to close their eyes so they can do something. (Don't question why they only know what eyes are during this one exchange.)
- Character Blog: An incarnation of Hope exists as @metamochigurl
on Twitter. Interestingly, this wasn't revealed within the game itself but rather when metamochigurl herself posted the game's first update, although all her changes were quickly reversed. She also likes to interact with the fan-made MetaWare roleplay accounts. As of the DLC, this account is also holds part of an ARG. - Dance Party Ending: You can achieve one by making the gang think you communicate through dancing.
- Dating Sim: Discussed; Aspen and Chris can get in a heated argument over whether or not they're in one.
- Deconstruction: Of No Fourth Wall.
- Dull Surprise: Nari's reaction to literally everything but herself dissipating out of existence at the end of a route never gets more intense than "oh, it's over". In a few routes, her reaction is more extreme, but it's due to actions the player took rather than the world itself vanishing.
- Easter Egg: In one ending, Nari tells you that she used to care, and if you want proof, you can check the game files. Included in the installation are several text files called "fortheplayer.nari"; the first one chronicles her experience exploring the game files, confirming that they run on a limited, predetermined script engine (though she cannot read it), noticing that at least one part of the game calls for the deletion of everything, and deciding that These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know. It ends with her asking you not to play the game if you actually see the file, under the assumption that you will bring upon the destruction of everything. The rest of the files chronicle Nari slowly morphing into the uncaring, hopeless person with a personal vendetta against you that she is in the game proper due to what she learned. If you actually decompile the game files, you can also find commentary from Nari on options.py and an unused ending where Nari tells you about Pickle Rick and how it's the funniest shit she's ever seen.
- Eyeless Face: A non-creepy example. None of the characters have eyes.
- Informed Ability: If you try to ask the gang why they don't have eyes, they won't know what eyes are (and think you're saying "I"s). However, the cat face on Hope's jacket has X eyes, and Aspen has no problem asking the player to close their eyes at the Mochi Shop. Not knowing what the "visual" means in Visual Novel or what sight is at all doesn't seem to hinder them in terms of noticing the falling letter or describing the player as "blurry", even though those things would be pretty difficult to justify if they were blind.
- In-Series Nickname: "Izzy" for Isadora.
- Limited Animation: Obviously they don't move too much, being Visual Novel characters. Lampshaded if you visit the Mochi Shop, where Aspen will point out they can only move their arms when the player is not looking.
- Literalist Snarking: Isadora leaves to get "everyone". When she comes back with Hope and Nari...Aspen: You do realize that we don't constitute as everyone.Isadora: EVERYONE IN THE GANG. NOT EVERYONE EVER. I'M NOT DUMB ASPEN.
- Madness Mantra: fortheplayer17.nari has "fuck you" written 70 times.
- Minimalist Cast: The gang are the only characters in the game besides you.
- Multiple Endings: There's 10 endings. Getting them all allows you to see the final "route" which leads to the credits.
- No Fourth Wall: A Deconstruction of it. The characters address you directly and are 100% aware of being fictional, but it's not Played for Laughs. The game is about their differing philosophies on how to take the player's arrival. Also, while they have a good bit of "meta" knowledge on the game, they don't know anything outside of the game, for example what eyes are, or what the final version of the game is going to be like.
- Noodle Incident: Nari once went so far for gummy bears that Hope isn't even comfortable telling you what happened without Nari's consent.
- Non-Standard Game Over: Choosing "goodbye" as the first option will end the game quickly. You don't see Nari or the creator's letter by taking this route.
- Obvious Beta: Invoked and Played for Laughs if the gang goes to the Mochi Shop, where the background looks even more like a placeholder (even the letter at the end of this route will straight-up admit that the area "looks terrible") and nothing seems to work properly, as amusing "glitches"note occur while the route goes on.
- Out of Focus: There is no route dedicated to Isadora, and her motivation for showing the player "demo stuff" is never explained.
- The Quiet One: Nari. Isadora even introduces her as such. Sure enough, she barely talks at all no matter what route you take, and if she does, it's most likely to Hope. Subverted when you get to the end of a route.
- Reading Ahead in the Script: Nari attempted to do this in the past, but it seems that she wasn't allowed to access those files. However, this limitation didn't prevent her from reading the letter that appears at the end of the game (it's an image).note
- Save Scumming: Discussed with the characters acknowledging that you're something of a Time Master. Also Exploited by Hope, who tasks you with telling her what word she's thinking of while only telling you what it is on a different route.
- Shout-Out: Isadora's dance animation looks like it was ripped straight out of a Caramelldansen Vid.
- Skewed Priorities: Isadora is the only one who cares about actually demoing the full game (even though she doesn't know how to do that). From another perspective, Aspen is the only one who wants to take advantage of the fact that the player is a higher being. The rest of the cast don't seem to care about your presence all that much. At first.
- Self-Contained Demo: The fact that the game is only a demo is part of the plot, so we can assume the game is this kind of demo. If we assume that it's a demo in the first place.
- Stopped Caring: Nari, though it's implied she was already an Emotionless Girl beforehand.
- Stylistic Suck: Several assets are pretty obviously meant to look like they're unfinished or just placeholders. The background for the Mochi Shop is the most overboard example (according to
Word of God it was done in 15 minutes on MS Paint). Justified since the game is allegedly a demo. - Take That, Audience!: Nari, in several endings, makes it pretty clear that she hates the player.
- That One Achievement: The literal one achievement, "Win", which simply tasks you with winning the game. It's impossible to get.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Played With. Nari knows that as a fictional character, there is effectively nothing she can do to actually hurt the player. That doesn't stop her from swearing in one ending to find a way to make your life a living hell.
- Too Fast to Stop: If the player uses the Skip function (which speeds through text and character movements that have already been seen, stopping only at choices or new dialogue) on a certain routenote , Isadora will race on screen, run head first into Aspen and fall over for a few moments. This doesn't happen if the scene is played at regular speed.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Gummy bears for Nari (and yes, they must be bear-shaped). Bribing her with gummy bears seems to be the only way to get her to do anything after she Stopped Caring. Also, tomatoes for Isadora, although aside from her telling you amidst other facts about herself, this never comes up again.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: Feel free to use those sillier options to toy with the gang. One (thankfully optional) route has you convince Hope that death is extremely painful, right as the letter falls. She spends her last moments in abject terror, and as Nari points out, you had to go out of your way and lie to her to make it happen.
- What the Hell, Player?: Again, Nari in several endings, calls out the player for being a jerk.
- You Bastard!: Once again, Nari in several endings. The final route has everyone doing it... at first.
- Now you will have the opportunity to talk to someone whom you have not had a chance to meet.
