Violation of WeAreNotGameFAQs, is this really a trope?: Easy Level Trick

I'm not completely convinced Easy Level Trick is a real trope, in the sense of a building block of a work, and more a convenient trick that appears in certain games. It definitely exists, but is the sort of thing best left to strategy guides that I can see, and doesn't belong here.

But on the other hand, there's tropes like Sequence Breaking which this one may be a cousin to, and thus not worth cutting (or else, we need to consider the future of those other tropes). This one is quite new though, and nowhere near as entrenched as the others.

Is This Tropable

edited 8th Jun '11 12:59:15 PM by CaissasDeathAngel

Oh, but if it's a recurring feature of videogames, it doesn't need to be a trope. We already have lists of V Gs by their camera control.

Not that I'm happy with the situation... but this seems to be the current consensus.

If it's a recurring feature of any media, then it is by definition a trope. All those camera tropes are tropes.

It's just a collection of gameplay tips. I don't see how this is actually a part of a work in a way that doesn't violate We Are Not Game FA Qs

Well I don't see why "level has an alternative, easier way to solve it" wouldn't be ok as a trope. The fact that the examples are detailed shouldn't be a cause to call We Are Not Game FA Qs.

And none of the examples go into great detail. They're all a fairly readable length.

I tend to agree with Cassias here. Read through the examples. Alot (if not most( are not really specific design decisions but rather strategies, tips, exploits and what not.

The insanely natter-filled Sequence Breaking is full of that as well, incidentally. The question is where the line is that divides what's acceptable discussion of level-design related issues and what's just hints better suited to a more dedicated website. I'm not certain, but it looks suspect. Hence this thread.

I made this a while ago and almost forgot about it. Anyway, how is this not a trope if Sequence Breaking is?

Because Sequence Breaking actually specifically pertains to level design. Two further thoughts though - really, there's an obscene amount of natter and walkthrough mode stuff on Sequence Breaking and isn't Easy Level Trick essentially redundant to Sequence Breaking? It's a variant there-of at best, since it's effectively skipping the level anyway.

No, Easy Level Trick can still have you do everything you need to. You just do something that makes it easier.

Which is a gameplay tip, not a trope. Actually screwing with the game mechanics to do so would seem to me to be a trope, but this isn't.

I think the real trope here is something very different from what the description talks about. A level with a secret shortcut that lets you bypass the difficult stuff if you know about it does seem like an actual trope in game design, but it really shouldn't count if you're using some sort of unintentional bug or exploit.

Agree. Well, unless said exploit was deliberately left in, like the Portal example.

I agree that most of the "examples" on this page are not really specific design decisions but rather strategies, tips, exploits and what not.

There is a trope behind all that, but most of the examples would need to be cut, and I'm not sure that the end result is any different from Dungeon Bypass.

Agree with that, and that this is basically the video game version of Dungeon Bypass, for a non-literal interpretation of the word "dungeon".

Ah, seeing that trope, I'm ok with merging the good examples from this and either cutting the page and turning it into a redirect.

If we're going to merge these, we should redo the description of Dungeon Bypass to render the definition more clear than the current Example as a Thesis.

I think it is a completely different thing. Dungeon Bypass is a story trope, while Easy Level Trick is a gameplay trope. You can have a video game Dungeon Bypass that doesn't fall into Easy Level Trick and vice-versa.

Heck, Easy Level Trick don't even have to have the "bypass" part of Dungeon Bypass. It just need to make the level easier with a trick. This could involve bypassing the whole challenge, but it could just mean the challenge is made easier, but otherwise still need to be overcame.

edited 9th Jun '11 6:37:58 PM by Heatth

...like with Cutting the Knot?

I think Easy Level Trick is worth noting, but isn't quite a trope. It seems like more of a Trivia item.

I thought this was about a Easy Level Up Trick...

That would be 1-Up Sampo, IIRC.

I disagree that Dungeon Bypass is a story trope; it works quite well literally as a way to skip parts of the gameplay mechanically, too.

Nope, that's for infinite lives, not xp.

I think it's important not to be too literal about either word in Dungeon Bypass. It doesn't refer exclusively to dungeons, and bypass doesn't have to mean "skip entirely". You can bypass part of a level, i.e. the difficult/time consuming part.

Heath's definition of "trick the player came up with to make things a bit easier" does not refer to a trope as we use the term. As a gameplay trope, the existence and exploitation short cuts and loopholes in the mechanics (intentionally there or not) is either Sequence Breaking or Dungeon Bypass depending on the example in question.