History VideoGame / AmericanArcadia

* TheOtherDarrin: [[spoiler:At the end of the game, Walton Media evidently wanted Trevor to take the deal and host Escape from Arcadia, because once he [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere calls it quits with the whole thing]], their backup plan is Steve Just... with a Trevor moustache.]]

* DorkInASweater: Trevor wears a blue checkered sweater vest, which further adds to how much of an Everyman he is. Though, a {{Flashback}} at the beginning of the game the demo depicts him without it. [[spoiler:He loses it after his first car crash, but he gets it back after being captured by Arcadia's security.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Trevor manages to escape Arcadia with Angela's help, but both American Arcadia and Escape From Arcadia remain on the air and are now more popular than ever. Luckily, he and Angela reach a settlement with Vivian and use the money to create their own studio, releasing a documentary on the events that they believe Vivian will try sue them over.]]

* DorkInASweater: Trevor wears a blue checkered sweater vest, which further adds to how much of an Everyman he is. Though, some pre-release footage and a {{Flashback}} in the demo depict him without it.

** During the finale this is part of Vivian's rationale for her plan, [[spoiler: she was one of the first people to get out of Arcadia only to realize that people like her wouldn't be able to live on the outside due to it being a CrapsackWorld, not knowing anything about it and several other factors. Her "Escape from Arcadia" spinoff was meant to deal with the escapee problem ethically by making the unpopular characters celebrities and let them keep their lifestyle, thus providing them safety.]]

** [[spoiler: Inverted with the new "Escape from Arcadia" spinoff, since it is supposed to be an ethical way of dealing with people trying to escape, they're led to believe they'll be killed for being unpopular and their escape attempts are filmed to boost their ratings.]]

* KarmaHoudini: Ultimately Vivian and the company settle with Trevor and Angela out of court and are free to continue running "American Arcadia" and its new spinoff. [[spoiler: The fact that the whole ReleasedToElsewhere thing was a lie helped a lot with that.]]

* MeanCharacterNiceActor: [[spoiler: Marcus behaves like a ScaryBlackMan but drops the act when Angela shoots him with a taser gun, this, combined with the game cutting to him auditioning for the role, is actually one of the first clues that something is off.]]

* NiceCharacterMeanActor: Vivian Walton is a very pleasant in announcing the winners of the Edge Travel Grant on camera. Behind the scenes, she doesn't hesitate to insult Trevor when preparing to announce him as a winner and Angela can bring up how being an ass is typical behavior of her. [[spoiler: downplayed with her reveal of the "Escape from Arcadia" spinoff project and her motive for doing so (see GildedCage above), she's a manipulative sellout but not a murderer.]]

* ReleasedToElsewhere: You do not go to Fiji if you become an Edge Travel Grant winner. This is also how American Arcadia makes people within Arcadia not suspect anything is wrong when someone is never seen again, as they'll assume they're on vacation and not dead.[[spoiler: Except they really aren't dead and the network intentionally makes the unpopular characters think that as part of the "Escape from Arcadia" spinoff.]]

** [[spoiler: It turns out that the company isn't actually killing off unpopular characters, this is a lie to trick them into participating in their new "Escape from Arcadia" spinoff, that way the company can deal with unpopular characters ethically and still make money by making them popular.]]

* TrumanShowPlot: Everything that happens in Arcadia is part of the in-universe American Arcadia, which is a reality show. It focuses on several people within the metropolis who are constantly watched by an audience with the least popular characters getting {{killed off|ForReal}} from the show. [[spoiler: Then we learn that actually the network is only tricking the unpopular characters into believing that as part of the "Escape from Arcadia" spinoff, making it a [[RecursiveReality Truman show plot within a Truman show plot.]] ]]

* ImmoralRealityShow: The inhabitants of "American Arcadia" are filmed without their knowledge and the unpopular characters are ReleasedToElswhere.

* NiceCharacterMeanActor: Vivian Walton is a very pleasant in announcing the winners of the Edge Travel Grant on camera. Behind the scenes, she doesn't hesitate to insult Trevor when preparing to announce him as a winner and Angela can bring up how being an ass is typical behavior of her.

* ReleasedToElsewhere: You do not go to Fiji if you become an Edge Travel Grant winner. This is also how American Arcadia makes people within Arcadia not suspect anything is wrong when someone is never seen again, as they'll assume they're on vacation and not dead.

* TrumanShowPlot: Everything that happens in Arcadia is part of the in-universe American Arcadia, which is a reality show. It focuses on several people within the metropolis who are constantly watched by an audience with the least popular characters getting {{killed off|ForReal}} from the show.

* BrownNote: "The Jingle". [[spoiler:It's a system of control buried in every Arcadian citizen to keep them from leaving the dome, forcing their bodies to shut down unless they turn away from the transmitters broadcasting the signal. Trevor is in agony every time he's forced to endure the Jingle; it takes Angela remotely controlling a rental car for him to get out.]]

* SwitchingPOV: Trevor's gameplay is down in third-person TwoAndAHalfD; Angela's gameplay, whether she's looking through security cameras or doing something phycial, is in first-person.
* TakeThat: Walton Media is a big one to Creator/{{Disney}}, with the Arcadia Dome itself being treated as the world's own Ride/DisneyThemeParks. Tourists are allowed to visit, with lots of steps being taken to ensure they maintain the setting's {{kayfabe}} (no anachronistic fashions or devices are allowed inside); travel to and from their hotel via a monorail system; and are given an [=AccessBadge=][[note]][=MagicBand=][[/note]] to enter and exit. There's also line skipping available akin to [=FastPass=]

* PosthumousCharacter: Elijah Walton was the architect of Arcadia, but he died of a heart failure before it could be completed his brother, Donald, took over to finish Elijah's work.

* GratuitousSpanish: Angela tends to lapse into this occasionally. [[ForeignLanguageTirade Expect her to use it whenever she's frustrated]].

* CompanyCrossReferences: One of the film posters Angela can find at the Arcadia entry checkpoint is a poster for Call of the Sea, which was the previous game Out of the Blue developed. The poster even has a depiction of Norah and Harry Everhart done in the ''American Arcadia'''s art style.

* GildedCage: Arcadia looks like the most pleasant place to live in, but the fact that it's encased in a giant dome (that nobody except the people outside it are aware of) that its residents can't leave and not being popular among the viewers of a show centered around the place leads to death doesn't make the place sound any better. A few characters even describe Arcadia as a Gilded Cage.

* TheMenInBlack: The security of American Arcadia work like this. The travel agents are dressed and somewhat act like Men in Black, but Interceptors resemble sci-fi police officers and are never seen by the general public and most of American Arcadia's staff. The two have similar roles as they both deal with people within Arcadia, albeit differently. The Chief of Security is dressed like a typical Men in Black, only he wears a longcoat in place of a suit and his tie and pants are red and blue, respectively.

* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Being one of American Arcadia's stage, Angela serves as this to Trevor in order to help him escape as not only is she verbally giving Trevor directions on what to do, but she's also able to control the show's "set".
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Trevor is 28, but his choice of clothing and large mustache makes him look like someone in their 40s. Even Angela gets thrown off when she compliments Trevor for handling the physical stress "despite his age".

One citizen in question is Trevor Hills, an {{Everyman}} who has a simple and mundane life as an office worker and is perfectly content with it, which doesn't make him popular with the show's viewers and sets him up to be the next character to be killed off. Luckily for him, one of the stage technicians of the show, Angela Solano, wants to get him out of Arcadia alive and will do everything she can to make that happen.

* GildedCage: Arcadia looks like the most pleasant place to live in, but the fact that it's encased in a giant dome (that nobody except the people outside it are aware of) that its residents can't leave and not being popular among the viewers of a show centered around the place leads to death doesn't make the place sound any better. One graffitied billboard seen in gameplay footage even describes Arcadia as one.

* HowWeGotHere: The demo opens up with Trevor recounting the story to someone interviewing him.

* TheMenInBlack: Interceptors, while not dressed like them and resemble sci-fi police officers instead, fit the role of the Men in Black. They serve as the people who deal with people who happen to be an issue for American Arcadia, specifically people who try to escape Arcadia and people who try to help them escape. There is one Interceptor who is dressed more like a typical Men in Black, only he wears a longcoat in place of a suit and his tie and pants are red and blue, respectively.

* {{Roofhopping}}: Trevor is reluctant to do this when escaping the INAC building in the demo, as he asks Angela what to do once he's confronted with a gap between buildings. He's forced to make up his mind when Interceptors start chasing him,

* TwoAndAHalfD: Sections where you play as Trevor are from a 2D perspective, though he can interact with objects in the background. This also applies to the Interceptors, as they can use the background as a means of catching/cornering Trevor.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Trevor is 28, but his choice of clothing and large mustache makes him look like someone in their 40s.

''American Arcadia'' is an upcoming platforming and puzzle game developed by Spanish studio Out of the Blue and published by Creator/RawFury.

A demo of the game was released on October 10, 2023, with the full game being set to release on November 15, 2023 on PC through UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}.

One citizen in question is Trevor Hills, an {{Everyman}} who has a simple and mundane life as an office worker and is perfectly contempt with it, which doesn't make him popular with the show's viewers and sets him up to be the next character to be killed off. Luckily for him, one of the stage technicians of the show, Angela Solano, wants to get him out of Arcadia alive and will do everything she can to make that happen.