Line #29 Film/TheGamers


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_gamers_film.jpg]]
2
3	Released in 2001, the original short film that started ''Franchise/TheGamers'' series follows a group of gamers playing a game (the name of the game is never actually mentioned, but it's ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'') as they are about to face the final villain in the campaign. The action switches between the players--who have to deal with things like an absent gamer, a girl in a nearby room who is trying to study, and dice rolls--and the characters--who have to deal with things like bandits, a dead party member, and whether or not they are unconscious.
4
5	It would later be followed with its sequel, ''Film/TheGamersDorknessRising'' in [[SequelGap 2008]].
6	----
7	!!The short film provides examples of following tropes:
8
9	* BackStab: With a $%#&ing siege weapon! Which also makes it a case of AintNoRule.
10	* BadBadActing: Hunk's line are delivered this way.
11	* BigNo: Rogar does one in a brief flashback to a previous session "at the battle of Black Fields, where Rogar's blood brother was killed".
12	* BigDamnHeroes: Mark, the player, shows up late to the game just as the bandit ambush starts going south for the player characters. His character, Mark The Red, single-handedly turns the tide in their favor.
13	* BigWhy: Nimble does one in another flashback in which his sister is murdered outside the temple in Westhaven.
14	* BreakingTheFourthWall: [[spoiler: The first movie ends with the characters breaking into the room and slaughtering their players. The second movie reveals at least one managed to survive by not being in the room at the time, but was severely traumatized by the event]].
15	* ChekhovsGun: The [[CoolSword Sword of Ogre Decapitation]].
16	* TheCoatsAreOff: Newmoon throws away his cape when being faced by three bandits at once.
17	* CreatorCameo: Writer/director Matt Vancil briefly appears as the mercenary brute Hunk.
18	* TheDanza: Happens in-universe, as Mark named his character after himself.
19	* DogPileOfDoom: How Rogar is taken out of fight by the bandits.
20	* EqualOpportunityEvil: Peasants, deserters, pirates, men and women, make up the Bandit King's gang.
21	* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: MAKE WAY FOR THE BANDIT KING! ALL HAIL THE [[MisterBig BANDIT KING]]! HAIL! HAIL!
22	* FakeShemp: The guy playing Rogar in the tavern scene is clearly not Matt Shimkus.
23	* {{Flynning}}: Newmoon fighting style when facing the bandits consists of the classic "tink-tink-tink" set of parries, finished with a dramatic lunge.
24	* GainaxEnding : After defeating the Shadow, the group ventures down a secret passage in his lair, and come across a door. They hear voices on the other side, burst in and find... [[spoiler: the real-life college roleplayers who've been playing as them, who the group then proceeds to slaughter.]]
25	* GargleBlaster: The dwarven ale knocks Rogar out for an entire scene.
26	* TheGMIsACheatingBastard: Nimble is allowed to break the rules at will; Newmoon isn't allowed to do anything but combat, and is denied the benefits of abilities his character legitimately has.
27	* GratuitousLatin: Magellan's spell on The Shadow is "Da mihi fermentum", latin for "Give me alcohol".
28	* GroinAttack: "Called shot to the nuts!"
29	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Rogar chops a bandit in half at the waist with his two-handed sword.
30	* HomingProjectile: The arrow Newmoon send after the Bandit King ends up taking turns and even ''stops to look where did he go'' when following him.
31	* InstantSoprano: The only possible outcome of the "[[ItMakesSenseInContext called shot to the nuts]]".
32	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Routinely, the game world freezes or the characters remain perfectly still whenever the players are making their plans, need to roll for something or try to retcon the situation. This even translates into unintentional MookChivalry, for they make their moves in the round order.
33	* LoopholeAbuse: Nimble convinces the GM to let him BackStab [[TheBrute a powerful enemy]] with, as the GM puts it "A fucking siege weapon!?"
34	* LudicrousGibs: What happens to Hunk after Nimble backstabs him with a balista.
35	* MadeOfIron: Rogar can shrug off a magical trap that was powerful enough to kill Nimble.
36	* TheMagnificent:
37	** His Majesty, king Orlando the Reasonable Just.
38	** Mark the Red.
39	* MeaningfulName: Hunk, the mercenary the party left behind somewhere in the past, is over seven feet tall and quite buff.
40	* NoodleIncident: The party had a few of incidents and adventures in the past, including leaving Hunk behind to his death and [[BurnTheOrphanage burning an orphanage]], that are only mentioned in a passing.
41	* OffWithHisHead: It's not called the Sword of Ogre Decapitation for nothing.
42	* OnlySixFaces: While there is an impressive number of extras in costumes to play the bandits, they all still keep returning time and again. Like every other technical limitation of the film, it's PlayedForLaughs.
43	* OverlyLongGag: Quite a few gags depend entirely on their length, especially when Nimble gets involved.
44	* PlugNPlayFriends: After Ambrose dies and the suspiciously similar Magellan shows up, the party ignores the DM insisting that this should be treated as meeting a new character and fits him right back into the same slot.
45	* PokeInTheThirdEye: When Magellan attempts scrying on the dungeon the party is about to enter, he instead gets a massive head-ache, sensing way too many dangerous things ahead.
46	* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: Ambrose ends up getting punched ''[[MegatonPunch sky-high]]'' by Rogar in an ill-thought attempt to knock him unconscious. It takes [[OverlyLongGag half a minute]] for him to finally hit the ground.
47	* {{Railroading}}: It's not a particularly complex or branched scenario by itself, but the GM still reinforces certain situations, no matter how much the players protest.
48	-->'''GM:''' Yeah, right. Ok, well, you can't attack until I say so.
49	* ReactionShot: Once Mark the Red goes into his berserker rage, the camera focuses on his enraged face, as he's mowing down the bandits. By the end of the scene, it pans away to show a pile of dead bodies and Mark standing in the middle of them.
50	* {{Retcon}}: Nimble manages to retcon his own ''death''. '''Three times'''.
51	-->'''Nimble:''' "Did I say walk down the corridor? I meant ''sneak'' down the corridor."
52	-->'''Nimble:''' "Did I say ''sneak'' down the corridor? ...I ''crawl'' down the corridor. Inch by inch. Looking for traps."
53	-->'''Nimble:''' ''[To Rogar, the party tank]'' "OK, actually, you go first."
54	* RulesLawyer: Both the players and the GM consistently invoke various rules or deliberately misinterpret them in their favour.
55	* RunningGag:
56	** Mark the Red standing still in the background, with a vacant stare, for his player isn't present.
57	** Rogar failing checks in any situation he should in theory ace.
58	** "The Shadow!" "The Shadow?" "The Shadow."
59	* SkywardScream: Both Rogar and Nimble do this as the players attempt to recap the previous gaming session, Rogar's is of the BigNo variety while Nimble's is of the BigWhy variety.
60	* StylisticSuck: Unlike the rest of the franchise, the first movie fully embraces being an amateur production filmed without any meaningful budget on a cheap cam-coder. To the point that it deliberately never got a HD re-release (unlike [[Film/TheGamersDorknessRising the second film]]).
61	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Magellan is a second Ambrose in everything, but name.
62	* TalkingIsAFreeAction: The GM insists on allowing the bandit king to finish his speech before Newmoon can shoot him, even though it technically allows the moment of surprise to lapse.
63	* TapOnTheHead: If you need to be knocked out, ''don't let the freakin' barbarian do it.''
64	-->'''Ambrose:''' 19 points... ''I'm DEAD!''\
65	'''Rogar:''' Whoops...
66	* VocalDissonance: As a RunningGag, the GM consistently talks in a dispassionate voice, no matter how dramatic the scene or the message he has to convey. Including Mark's BattleCry.
67	* WineIsClassy: Invoked by Nimble, while also making fun out of unconscious drunk Rogar. Later, the Bandit King is standing in the middle of the battle with a glass of wine, to further separate him from the rank-and-file under his command.
68	* WrestlerInAllOfUs: Rogar drops a wrestling elbow on a downed bandit.
69	* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: A ''really'' different castle--[[spoiler:the dorm where the game is being played.]]

Context Film / TheGamers