I came to this idea while watching the incredibly funny recursive-translated hack/mod of Paper Mario called Book of Mario made by Fat Guy 703.
So, the first Paper Mario is as far as I am concerned a very classical RPG what may be a good starting Point for a deconstruction.
The Story of Paper Mario goes like this: The Antagonist abducts powerful entities and Steels their artifact, then he captures the protagonist's female friend and kicks him out, so the Protagonist faints. After his awakening, he is told to Rescue the entities and is found by a Person from a nearby Village. A tutorial which Shows you how to fight enemies in a turn-based Combat System, how to get experience Points and so on. Then your first Party member joins and gives you the ability to get Information About enemies. After a warm-up bossfight, you get to the main town which works as a hub Level to the chapters, each of them containing a boss who guards the plot-coupon-like entities.
I know that These exist, esspecially with Undertale. Undertale's main Point is deconstructing the Concept of Determination and the central idea that no enemy has to die.
This is a summary of the game's Basic plot and the Points I want to discuss are not that different from other games so the Player s will Play it like games they are familiar with:
Firstly, the Heroic Mime Protagonist. This is featured in Paper Mario and many other "classical" Videogames, some do it still today. Heroic Mimes often neither talk nor have they any characterization because they are meant to be represantation of the Players themselves. This usually isn't justified in-universe, but we as the Players are familiar with this so we won't Question this. They also do not ask About the Tasks NP Cs give to the, so they and the Player will do it because it seems and feels Right.
Then, I thought, what if our heroic mime actually isn't mute or obligated to only answer with Yes or No but actually has a real personality which is surpressed? The next step for me was then to think About who would do this supression and my answer is: The Player.
Because we Control the character and decide for her (I'll will use female pronouns for the characters because I thought About my hypothetical character as a female) we are the one who don't allow her to be herself. This would be a Major reveal in the Story.
The tutorial. Tutorials in games generally are supposed to explain and Show what the Player shall do in order to Progress through the game. Because I want to make the Player to think and Play like a regular RPG, the tutorial enemies should be beasts which inmediately attack the Player character in true pre-existing Encounter Fashion, so the Player is accustomed to also attack enemies on sight. After the battle they will get experience Points, and if the respective Meters are not full hearts for restoring hitpoints or a liquid which restores the Special attack/ mana Points. Firstly, the character can only use her fists to attack, later on, she will get Access to stronger and more violent weapons.
Enemies: Because the Protagonist grew to higher Level and now can carry more dangerous weapons she will be feared which also applies to the progressively more human enemies. During the midpoint of the game they will either idle or trying to avoid the character if they notice her. But the Player was told to attack enemies on sight and the General expectation that enemies later in a game are stronger they will still attack them.
Restoring: Did you wonder why hearts in Video games are often used as a healthbar and dropped by enemies to restore it? In this game, the reason for it is that you literally removed their heart by defeating them. Also why this works will get an in-universe Explanation, and, yes, the mana-restoring liquid enemies drop is their blood.
Equivalent to the powerful entities:
In my Story, their would allso be them and they also were captured in the past and the Player character is told to free them. Like in Paper Mario they are guarded by bosses. But, the first boss would be something like a total asshole, the following ones were more sympathetic and morally grey persons while the last Guardian you have to defeat is a genuinely nice character. Which leads to the Topic of choices or rather no choices.
I talked About mute protagonists because they do not talk so they can not object to what they are told to do which is important.
During the Major part of the game you are tol do go to places, then doing Tasks and so on. This is basical gamedesign and it relies on the fact that the Players want to progess in the game so they will also do what they are told.
The first Tasks and quests are by no means suspicious so the Players will think that they are on the Right way and taking part in a good cause. Then, as I have aleady said, the chapters become "greyer" the Player may Question this, what then leads to a finale which Shows the true Thing going on the whole time.
Edited by Mysterium on Apr 17th 2020 at 9:23:13 PM
I came to this idea while watching the incredibly funny recursive-translated hack/mod of Paper Mario called Book of Mario made by Fat Guy 703. So, the first Paper Mario is as far as I am concerned a very classical RPG what may be a good starting Point for a deconstruction. The Story of Paper Mario goes like this: The Antagonist abducts powerful entities and Steels their artifact, then he captures the protagonist's female friend and kicks him out, so the Protagonist faints. After his awakening, he is told to Rescue the entities and is found by a Person from a nearby Village. A tutorial which Shows you how to fight enemies in a turn-based Combat System, how to get experience Points and so on. Then your first Party member joins and gives you the ability to get Information About enemies. After a warm-up bossfight, you get to the main town which works as a hub Level to the chapters, each of them containing a boss who guards the plot-coupon-like entities.
I know that These exist, esspecially with Undertale. Undertale's main Point is deconstructing the Concept of Determination and the central idea that no enemy has to die. This is a summary of the game's Basic plot and the Points I want to discuss are not that different from other games so the Player s will Play it like games they are familiar with:
Firstly, the Heroic Mime Protagonist. This is featured in Paper Mario and many other "classical" Videogames, some do it still today. Heroic Mimes often neither talk nor have they any characterization because they are meant to be represantation of the Players themselves. This usually isn't justified in-universe, but we as the Players are familiar with this so we won't Question this. They also do not ask About the Tasks NP Cs give to the, so they and the Player will do it because it seems and feels Right. Then, I thought, what if our heroic mime actually isn't mute or obligated to only answer with Yes or No but actually has a real personality which is surpressed? The next step for me was then to think About who would do this supression and my answer is: The Player. Because we Control the character and decide for her (I'll will use female pronouns for the characters because I thought About my hypothetical character as a female) we are the one who don't allow her to be herself. This would be a Major reveal in the Story. The tutorial. Tutorials in games generally are supposed to explain and Show what the Player shall do in order to Progress through the game. Because I want to make the Player to think and Play like a regular RPG, the tutorial enemies should be beasts which inmediately attack the Player character in true pre-existing Encounter Fashion, so the Player is accustomed to also attack enemies on sight. After the battle they will get experience Points, and if the respective Meters are not full hearts for restoring hitpoints or a liquid which restores the Special attack/ mana Points. Firstly, the character can only use her fists to attack, later on, she will get Access to stronger and more violent weapons. Enemies: Because the Protagonist grew to higher Level and now can carry more dangerous weapons she will be feared which also applies to the progressively more human enemies. During the midpoint of the game they will either idle or trying to avoid the character if they notice her. But the Player was told to attack enemies on sight and the General expectation that enemies later in a game are stronger they will still attack them.
Restoring: Did you wonder why hearts in Video games are often used as a healthbar and dropped by enemies to restore it? In this game, the reason for it is that you literally removed their heart by defeating them. Also why this works will get an in-universe Explanation, and, yes, the mana-restoring liquid enemies drop is their blood.
Equivalent to the powerful entities: In my Story, their would allso be them and they also were captured in the past and the Player character is told to free them. Like in Paper Mario they are guarded by bosses. But, the first boss would be something like a total asshole, the following ones were more sympathetic and morally grey persons while the last Guardian you have to defeat is a genuinely nice character. Which leads to the Topic of choices or rather no choices.
I talked About mute protagonists because they do not talk so they can not object to what they are told to do which is important. During the Major part of the game you are tol do go to places, then doing Tasks and so on. This is basical gamedesign and it relies on the fact that the Players want to progess in the game so they will also do what they are told. The first Tasks and quests are by no means suspicious so the Players will think that they are on the Right way and taking part in a good cause. Then, as I have aleady said, the chapters become "greyer" the Player may Question this, what then leads to a finale which Shows the true Thing going on the whole time.
Edited by Mysterium on Apr 17th 2020 at 9:23:13 PM