Line #53 Main/DeconstructionGame


1	->''To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your government is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless.''
2	-->-- '''[[BreakingTheFourthWall Loading Screen]]''', ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''
3
4	A form of {{Deconstruction}} that specifically deconstructs VideoGames tropes including those relating to characters, storylines, genre or game mechanics.
5
6	At the minimum, it takes one aspect, and blows it up to such [[ExaggeratedTrope ridiculously exaggerated proportions]] that it simply becomes laughable, as if to make a point that "You can't make a game based just on this!" or with some, [[YouBastard "If you enjoy games because of this one reason then you are an idiot!"]]
7
8	In order to qualify, a single part of the game at the minimum must take at least one single trope, mechanic, or gimmick, and either explore it exhaustively to the possible point of MindScrew, or play it far too simple and flat to be taken seriously.
9
10	They often make use of UnexpectedGameplayChange and can range in length from short flash games that exist to make a short point about the trope involved, indie projects written and coded by one or a handful of people, all the way up to high quality blockbuster AAA titles that utilise their high budgets & technology to make statements within the context of mechanical similarity to the games they are deconstructing.
11
12	Compare and contrast this with ComedyVideoGames and ParodyVideoGames.
13
14	Compare and contrast with TricksterGame, which is a game that deceives the player on fundamental elements of the experience; deconstruction is one potential reason for a TricksterGame.
15	----
16	!Examples
17
18	[[foldercontrol]]
19
20	[[folder:Action-Adventures]]
21	* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'': {{Boss Battle}}s and {{Boss Game}}s. What little bit of plot the game has makes most players question whether they're really doing the right thing by killing the bosses.
22	[[/folder]]
23
24	[[folder:Action Games]]
25	* ''VideoGame/{{Harvester}}'': A deconstruction of EvilIsCool and VideoGameCrueltyPotential. However, it's not an anti-video game tract relying on heavy-handed moralizing, but actually a ''mockery'' of the accusation that video game violence causes real violence by making the violence cartoonishly bleak, unrealistic, and improbable to follow through on. Even the bad ending outright states that censorship of otherwise fictional violence is moronic.
26	* ''VideoGame/{{ICEY}}'': The narrator will not so subtly hint that your whole purpose in the game is to kill the "final" boss, and that you should ALWAYS follow the floating guide arrows, and NEVER stray from the path laid out before you. In actuality, disobeying the Narrator and breaking the game flow is the only way to [[TheComputerIsALyingBastard uncover the true ending... among other things.]]
27	* ''VideoGame/{{META}}'': Amateur adventure game design.
28	* ''VideoGame/FlowerSunAndRain'': Sidequests, convenient puzzles, event flags and adventure game mechanics in general. The game, [[NoFourthWall and often even the characters]], will deliberately waste your time while your actual mission is to stop a terrorist from blowing up a plane. No one's really clear on why you need to solve math puzzles at every turn, either, but they seem to accept it as normal. In the end, your reward is mostly [[ThisLoserIsYou mockery]].
29	* ''VideoGame/TakeshisChallenge'' was specifically designed to piss off the type of [[HundredPercentCompletion completionists]] and EasterEgg hunters who would beat a spectacularly bad game [[TheDeterminator just to see if they could]].
30	* ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable'' deconstructs linear games that {{Railroad\|ing}} the player while giving the illusion of a living, explorable world. The creator of the game explains, "You will make a choice that does not matter. You will follow a story that has no end. You will play a game you cannot win." The HD remake also deconstructs the line between author and narrator, narrators themselves, and binary morality ''and'' lose-lose morality plays.
31	* ''VideoGame/{{Pyst}}'' was meant to be a deconstruction of ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' by showing the game's world to have degenerated into a glorified tourist attraction, but [[BrokenAesop that didn't completely pan out]] due to it being more of a half-hearted ShallowParody.
32	* ''VideoGame/MadWorld'' deconstructs the very type of entertainment it displays. The people that enjoy watching it are shown to be cruel and almost outright amoral [[spoiler: (the closest thing to an exception is Lord Gesser, and it's only because Deathwatch has become a spectator sport for gambling, not because of the innocent people that die to set it up),]] and the cutscenes outside the plot keep reminding the player just how horrific the events that had to take place to set up Death Watch were and how terrible the people setting it up were.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Fighting Games]]
36	* ''VideoGame/BushidoBlade'' deconstructs the weaponized fighting game genre: there are ''no'' life bars, weapons are wielded realistically, attacks can cripple your opponent, and it only takes ''one'' good hit to win a fight. In other words, a realistic take on swords and other weapons in combat. And unsurprisingly, characters bringing ''guns'' to a sword fight will be the hardest to face.
37	* ''VideoGame/{{Divekick}}'' deconstructs the mechanics of a fighting game, by simplifying it to just two buttons: one to jump, and other to [[DivingKick divekick]].
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:First-Person Shooters]]
41	* ''VideoGame/CrueltySquad'' deconstructs power fantasy open-ended first person shooters. Instead of playing as an stoic, invincible super-badass who can shrug off gunfire like no problem and sneak through any heavily guarded compound, the main character of ''Cruelty Squad'' is a deeply flawed and depressed loner who dies in just a few hits. The main character murders hundreds of enemies and kills powerful people, not out of some grand quest or moral obligation, but because its his job and he treats it as such. Lastly, the world is a contrast to the inviting, intricate and detailed environments of triple-AAA gaming, instead taking place in an actively hostile and uncomfortable environment with [[AlienSky Alien Skies]], warped textures, and a horrific screeching soundscape. In essence, while those games seek to provide an accommodating and enticing experience, ''Cruelty Squad'' is all about breaking the player down and getting under their skin.
42	** The protagonist is a clear deconstruction of common video game main characters, especially the ones common in military-themed shooters, with a background with military training, a stoic, and subdued personality, able to equip themselves with all sorts of fun upgrades, who takes orders from a dispassionate MissionControl figure. Where the main character of ''Cruelty Squad'' differs from characters of this type is that these tropes are used to point out how much of a loser he is rather than build him up as a badass. His military training was in a death squad rather than the more noble soldier occupation, and he's using his advanced training to kill for whoever pays his company the best. His silent personality is the symptom of depression and apathy at his situation in life, while the upgrades he gets destroy his body and debase him as a human. His Mission Control is also rarely on any meds to begin with, and sends a death squad to his apartment to kill him by accident, only to apologize and laugh it off once the protagonist escapes.
43	** Many common game tropes such as ResurrectiveImmortality, UltraSuperDeathGoreFestChainsawer3000, and EquipmentUpgrade are canon to how the ''Cruelty Squad'' universe works, and their implementation is pretty horrific. The player character coming back after death with a cheap 500$ penalty? Everyone else in the world can do this too, which ultimately drives many people completely insane since they can never die. The extreme ultraviolence the game revels in is part-and-parcel of this world, since everyone is immortal anyways. While dying might be painful, it's no more of an inconvenience to your targets than paying a phone bill, and ultimately renders much of the carnage you cause to be pointless. Lastly, the implants you get are useful and fun, but are often underscored with some kind of horrific effect on your body. Speed implants replace your organs, stealth suits make you literally smell like shit, heavy armor suffocates your body, and so on. In choosing to enable video game upgrades on himself, the protagonist ruins his body and becomes a mutant. In summary, the ''Cruelty Squad'' world is a place where people can never truly die, are tortured endlessly by immortal and extremely powerful beings, and slowly have their bodies and spirits transformed by the suffering they endure.
44	** Most video games have their economies based around buying and selling items of fixed value. ''Cruelty Squad'' ties its economy to an extremely volatile stock market, where not only stock prices but the prices of organs and fish are prone to wild swings during and in-between missions. The stocks are also influenced by what happens in missions too. Get a mission to take out the CEO and heads of a company on the market? You better sell your investments in that company before going through with that mission, lest you lose your shirt when the stock plummets afterward.
45	* ''VideoGame/DutyCalls'' rather in-your-face deconstructs linear military shooters that center around AmericaSavesTheDay stories.
46	* ''VideoGame/{{Haze}}'' is a deconstruction of military shooters like ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' and ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'', along with sci-fi shooters, such as ''Franchise/{{Halo}}''. It was a failure, however, due to ExecutiveMeddling forcing them to rewrite the plot several times until the message was [[BrokenAesop completely gone]].
47	* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock\|1}}'' deconstructs several gameplay mechanics as part of a GenreDeconstruction of shooter/RPG hybrids like ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' and ''VideoGame/DeusEx''. MissionControl, NoticeThis and ButThouMust are a product of [[spoiler:being under TriggerPhrase-induced mind control]], and DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist because [[spoiler:you're the son of Andrew Ryan and the game's resurrection devices are keyed to your genetic code as a result -- thus making you the perfect puppet to carry out the whims of the BigBad]].
48	* ''VideoGame/Receiver2'' is a general deconstruction of gun tropes. Guns are finicky, capable of jamming in a number of ways, requiring manual reloads of the magazine bullet-by-bullet, discharging if handled inappropriately, and each gun is filled with its own little quirks. Their lethality also isn't understated: Two shots from most pistols kills you, one shot from a turret's rifle-calibre bullet or your Desert Eagle kills you. The tapes you find in game frequently call out standard tropes and give realistic gun advice, recommending looking up local laws, confirming your targets, and ensuring that proper de-escalation has been followed to avoid unnecessary deaths and potential prison time.
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Interactive Fiction]]
52	* ''[[http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=1z2lxiqua980sedk +=3]]'': Standard intfic assumptions, [[spoiler:specifically that your inventory is the sum total of items on your person that you can interact with.]][[labelnote:explanation]]You're in front of a troll who wants three objects before he'll let you pass. All you have on you is a fancy calculator that's completely useless. The solution is to [[spoiler: give him your shirt, shoes, and pants. After all, if you were naked it would have mentioned that to you!]][[/labelnote]]
53	* ''[[http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=qzftg3j8nh5f34i2 9:05]]'': Openings without backstory, in which the player infers one's role from one's surroundings. You wake up in a bedroom and you're late for work. [[spoiler:Except it's not ''your'' bedroom, it's the room of the guy you killed last night. His corpse is under the bed. If you leave the room without finding him, you go to work... and are promptly arrested for murder.]]
54	%%* ''[[http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=gjfpoi9klpbrfyoa In The End]]'': [[spoiler: UnwinnableByDesign]]
55	%%* ''[[http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=0stz0hr7a98bp9mp Rameses]]'': ButThouMust
56	%%* ''[[http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=22oqimzgf8snv002 Rematch]]'': TrialAndErrorGameplay
57	* ''VideoGame/SpiderAndWeb'': SecondPersonNarration and trusting the narrative given to you. First-time players will likely take everything their character does at face value even after the initial reveal of them being a spy. Figuring out [[spoiler:what the character has kept secret from the interrogator and by extension, the player,]] is the biggest challenge of the game.
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:Platform Games]]
61	* ''VideoGame/DLCQuest'': Overreliance on DownloadableContent.
62	* ''VideoGame/LevelUp'': Leveling up in games.
63	* ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}'': The classic SaveThePrincess story is followed to the letter, even being called out by name, until the last few levels, when [[spoiler: your motives become increasingly questioned, and the princess is revealed as fleeing you the whole game.]]
64	* ''VideoGame/GettingOverItWithBennettFoddy'': CheckpointStarvation and SomeDexterityRequired. Made by the same person as ''VideoGame/{{QWOP}}''.
65	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXu75Gytj58 OmoChao Edition]]'': AnnoyingVideoGameHelper (This game actually has added challenge -- you have to avoid everything that triggers Omochao's comments as much as possible for RankInflation, and for SpeedRun enthusiasts, there's the fact that the timer won't freeze whenever Omochao speaks.)
66	* While not otherwise a deconstruction, ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooieNutsAndBolts'' opens with a [[GottaCatchEmAll collectable-collecting sequence]] played ludicrously simple.
67	* ''VideoGame/DefaultDan'' takes every convention of the genre, and flips them around. Coins, cute enemies, cupcakes and other power-ups are bad, pits, spikes, and other normally lethal things are good, the princess kidnaps the hero's monster friend instead of the other way around... However, it's all PlayedForLaughs.
68	* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsGame'': The CrapsackWorld nature of living inside a video game, as well as older games becoming obsolete as newer games from the same franchise or license are made. Worth noting this game does not opt for YouBastard, with the Simpsons family pinning the blame squarely on [[Creator/MattGroening the creator]] instead of the player, with the semifinal level being a RageAgainstTheAuthor.
69	* ''VideoGame/YouHaveToBurnTheRope'': The PuzzleBoss. You can only defeat the Grinning Colossus if you know the secret move. The move [[OpenSecret is not secret]]. Even if you miss the SpoilerTitle, the approach to the boss has a SignpostTutorial with explicit instructions. Only CaptainOblivious could find the game challenging.
70	* ''VideoGame/YouOnlyLiveOnce'': Platformers in the vein of Mario. True to the game's name, [[spoiler: if the protagonist or the antagonist dies, their death is permanent, and the other one of the two gets arrested depending on which of the two dies.]]
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Point and Clicks]]
74	* ''VideoGame/TheHex'' posits a question regarding something very common in HauntedTechnology stories, "meta" horror games and Creepypasta especially: [[spoiler:Why would a video game character want to kill a real human, much less their own creator? As it turns out, the video game characters are alive and their human creator ruined their lives by doing things they couldn't comprehend, such as causing their franchise to bomb by selling the property to a company that makes bad ports and remakes, or by placing them in a game series that takes a toll on their sanity with how bloodily vicious it is, or causing them to lose their job and fade into obscurity by deleting and burying all traces of their game having ever existed.]]
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Puzzle Games]]
78	* ''VideoGame/TheIllogicalJourneyOfTheZambonis'': TrialAndErrorGameplay. The Zambonis are faced with danger with no way to know what will lead to safety and what will lead to death. The narration hammers in how horrifying it would be to be faced with unpredictable death. [[spoiler:And no matter what choices you make, a set number of Zambonis are guaranteed to die on each screen, so the choices you make don't matter at all.]]
79	* ''VideoGame/TheLooker'' directly references ''VideoGame/TheWitness'' at various points, with the intent to make fun of its FauxlosophicNarration and "artistic" puzzles; at one point, the player is literally asked to solve a maze from a restaurant's kids menu in order to make progress.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Raising Sim]]
83	* ''VideoGame/NeedyStreamerOverload'' is this for the idol RaisingSim. Whereas the typical idol sim will glamorize the industry, this game extensively shows [[CelebrityIsOverrated how harmful stardom can be]] to one's mental health and safety.
84	** [=Ame/KAngel=], the titular streamer, is a very unstable girl who only seeks fame as a substitute for a genuine human connection that [[spoiler:her parents [[ParentalNeglect never gave her]]]], and to keep away her thoughts of self-hatred. But she also gains a lot of haters, trolls, and cyberbullies who criticize her every facet in addition to fans, some of whom are equally toxic. In one ending where she reveals she has hooked up with a fellow streamer, most comments spew hatred and express betrayal for her violating her ContractualPurity, as has happened to many real life idols and streamers. In another end, she gets doxxed. And many endings have her undergo a CreatorBreakdown[[invoked]] of varying severities because of the stress of trying to please her fanbase.
85	** Another thing tackled here is the relationship between the idol and their producer PlayerCharacter, which is usually shown in a purely positive light- here, P-chan and Ame's relationship is dysfunctional and outright mutually abusive in some routes, with P-chan pushing Ame's Stress and Mental Darkness to dangerous levels while Ame can use P-chan as a tool to get fame only to blame them for anything that goes wrong and abandon them if she no longer needs them. Also, [[spoiler:P-chan is actually an ImaginaryFriend created by Ame because she is ''that'' lonely]].
86	** The idea of the player holding a person's life in their hands is literal here -- if you are not careful, you can accidentally lead Ame to any number of bad ends. In fact, [[spoiler:most of the endings do not end well for Ame, and the good endings are the ones where she either takes a break or quits streaming altogether]].
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Role-Playing Game]]
90	* The Modron dungeon in ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'': Dungeon crawlers in general. Complete with enemies who don't know their motivation and leave items like, "A goody!" The game at large is a very thorough deconstruction of ProtagonistWithoutAPast and DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist. Instead of being simple gameplay mechanics, these things are the wheels that drive all character development.
91	** As a whole the game serves a large-scale deconstruction of RPG tropes. Among others, the point of the game is to ''die'', you get your name at the ''end'' of the game, there are no elves, dwarves, or swords but you do get to equip eyeballs and your own intestines, the nicest people you get to meet are undead, and so forth.
92	* ''VideoGame/RecettearAnItemShopsTale'': Is primarily all about running the item shop in an RPG. You can still accompany adventurers to the dungeons though, which ends up bypassing the deconstruction potential in the FridgeLogic of tropes like ShopFodder, by having both sides of the game feed into each other in a way that dodges the question and wouldn't be true for the average shop.
93	* ''VideoGame/ProgressQuest'': {{RPG}}s that assign players randomly generated quests and don't require any real strategy. After creating a character (which has no bearing on the game itself), the game automates grinding and fetch quests which is all the game is.
94	* ''VideoGame/GinormoSword'': Arguably, grinding and the emphasis on weapon upgrades.
95	* ''VideoGame/YumeNikki'': Exploration and sandbox gameplay. The entire game is a BeautifulVoid and there is no plot to speak of, which has prompted elaborate {{Fanon}} and WildMassGuessing on behalf of the players, in an attempt to invest the game with externalised meaning.
96	* ''VideoGame/SuperPressSpaceToWinActionRPG2009'': [=RPG=]s in general, and overly linear QuickTimeEvent-heavy action [=RPGs=] in particular. As the title suggests, all the player has to do is hit space over and over to win. (The credits specify that the game was "[[TakeThat inspired by]] ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''".)
97	--> '''"[[WebAnimation/DotDotDot THIS GAME IS SO ESEY!]]"'''
98	* ''VideoGame/{{Parameters}}'' is all about distilling an RPG to its purest bare-bones form: all the enemies and quests are represented by simple boxes and numbers and all you need to do is to click repeatedly on them. [[AffectionateParody It manages to be pretty enjoyable nonetheless.]]
99	* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' is a deconstruction of the entire ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise, especially the traditional [[BlackAndWhiteMorality Light/Dark dichotomy]], as well as a variety of RPG concepts.
100	** ''Creator/ChrisAvellone'' is known to deconstruct aspects that he sees as flaws in franchises he works on or in the RPG genre in general. He often creates an AuthorAvatar that will play a major role in these works specifically for this purpose, such as [[spoiler: Kreia]] in Knights of the Old Republic and Ulysses in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''
101	* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' deconstructs LevelGrinding, OneHundredPercentCompletion, and [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption RPG combat]]. Experience points, leveling up, saving, and loading are all ''powers'' that your character possesses and highly relevant to the plot rather than just being gameplay mechanics. Most of the monsters you fight are [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain harmless buffoons and normal people fighting for misguided reasons]], and the Genocide Route where [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential you kill them all anyways]] will not only [[spoiler:irrevocably taint any subsequent playthroughs,]] but earn you frequent [[WhatTheHellPlayer nasty reminders]] that you are going out of your way to murder everyone you come across, just to see what will happen - or even worse, [[YouBastard just because you]] ''[[VillainProtagonist can.]]''
102	--> '''[[spoiler:Sans]]''': [[ReasonYouSuckSpeech You'll never give up, even if there's, uh... absolutely NO benefit to persevering whatsoever. No matter what, you'll just keep going. Not out of any desire for good or evil... but just because you think you can. And because you "can"... you "have to".]]
103	** The No Mercy route also can be seen as a deconstruction of playing a VillainProtagonist, especially in games with {{Karma Meter}}s and/or MultipleEndings. Plenty of games that have the option of being "evil" often try to play it off for RuleOfCool, RuleOfFunny, or still have you in a [[BlackAndGreyMorality "lesser of two evils" situation]]. Not ''Undertale''. To do a No Mercy run, you need to go out of your way to hunt down and kill absolutely everything in each area you can until a specific message pops up, and the game will make you feel horrible for it. The quirky humor of the game vanishes, replaced by a dark and dreary ambiance. The [=NPCs=] will either disappear because they're running from you in terror or treat you like the despicable scum you are. All the encounters are either [[AntiClimaxBoss pathetically easy]] or [[ThatOneBoss hair-pullingly hard]] so that you never get to actually enjoy yourself in battle. Your sympathies throughout the whole thing will lie with the victims. All of the game's puzzles are automatically solved (because [[BigBad Flowey]] is [[BigBadDuumvirate helping you]]), and all non-essential areas are warded off by force fields, so you can't do anything except fight. And most importantly, if despite all that you still go through with it until the very end, you can never "reset" your way out of the consequences - short of tampering with your computer, your sins will remain with you forever.
104	** Firstly, the game completely plays with your perception of LevelGrinding. Play through the game like it's a normal RPG, fighting enemies and bosses, earning exp and leveling up? Well, at the end of the game you're told that [[spoiler: [[ExperiencePoints EXP]] stands for '''Ex'''ecution '''P'''oints, and is a measurement unit for [[YouBastard how much pain you've inflicted on others,]] while [[CharacterLevel LV,]] or [[FunWithAcronyms LOVE]] as it's otherwise called in ''Undertale,'' is '''L'''evel '''o'''f '''V'''iolenc'''e''', and acts as a measurement unit of [[ItGetsEasier how desensitized you've]] [[GainingTheWillToKill become to killing.]] Playing this way puts you on track for the worst ending, which reveals that ''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou YOU]]'', the player, are the real villain of the story, and every boss you mercilessly cut down was a HeroAntagonist out to stop you (with the exceptions of Toriel and Papyrus, as Toriel didn't realise your evil and Papyrus [[AllLovingHero believed you can still be a good person]]). It also invokes BeingEvilSucks by making every fight an AntiClimaxBoss that goes down in one hit, and the ''two'' that don't are designed to be [[ThatOneBoss as frustrating as possible]].]] TakeAThirdOption by sparing the sympathetic characters and [[WhatMeasureIsAMook only killing minor enemies]]? [[spoiler:You're told that every monster you killed could have had friends and family, the general populace and one of those main characters, the previously mentioned Flowey, will still remember you as a mass murderer, and you get called out for being a hypocrite.]] The only way to achieve the best ending is through a PacifistRun.
105	** Even that contains a bit of this: the BigBad actually hints you towards the GoldenEnding because he ''knows'' that you'll want to go for it as a completionist, and through this [[spoiler: uses you to get everyone you befriended into one place so he can absorb their souls.]] The game also plays with your notions of OneHundredPercentCompletion: the game itself ''begs'' you not to reset after achieving the GoldenEnding, because you'd be taking all that happiness away from all the characters. And getting the worst ending even ''once'' permenantly taints any future GoldenEnding you achieve. In other words, exploring every route the game has to offer is a ''very'' bad thing, some paths are better off never being taken.
106	** The game also plays with the concept of saving by exploring one simple question: ''what does saving and resetting look like to the characters within a game?'' One character is a genius and strong, but doesn't actually use his powers simply due to being aware of the player's save/reload powers: he knows the world is being continually reset, so he doesn't see the point of caring about anything anymore, and [[LetsGetDangerous only steps in to save the world]] at the climax of the No Mercy route. Other characters are aware of what you did in earlier files, some bosses are ''aware of how many times you've died to them'' and as said above, resetting a GoldenEnding file is seen as undoing everyone's happy ending. The few characters who are fully aware of the resetting treat the player as some kind of horrifying RealityWarper who torments them out of boredom. Oh, and [[spoiler: the FinalBoss ''can SAVE too''.]]
107	** Contrastly, the [[AlternateUniverse kinda-sequel]] ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' deconstructs ButThouMust, [[DialogueTree Dialogue Trees]], and StrictlyFormula [=RPGs=], showing how suffocating and bleak it would be to live in a world where choices are superfluous at most and [[AnthropicPrinciple nothing changes until a random person fulfills specific conditions]]. You are told straight-up that none of your choices matter and many of said choices get rescinded immediately after they were offered, starting with [[CharacterSelectForcing your customized character being thrown out to force you to play as Kris]]. After awhile the {{Railroading}} gets so pushy that it almost feels abusive, like the game creepily insisting that [[BlatantLies you accept everything that happens]] or [[RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic Kris using their tone of voice to take control of their dialogue back from you regardless of the dialogue options you pick]].
108	* ''VideoGame/MoonRemixRPGAdventure'', which has been cited as a major influence on ''Undertale'', is about a young boy who is pulled into the world of a FictionalVideoGame. There, he has to undo the damage done by the Hero recklessly doing stereotypical RPG character stuff like [[KleptomaniacHero looting people's houses for adventuring supplies]] and LevelGrinding by needlessly killing innocent creatures. In essense, the "Hero" is by all means portrayed as a tabletop murder hobo, before the phrase was popular, with the boy coming in later to witness the consequences of his actions and attempting to solve the problems they have caused. In fact, the way to get the best ending is [[spoiler:to [[KnowWhenToFoldEm refuse to keep fighting the Hero anymore]] after losing a HopelessBossFight]].
109	* Creator/YokoTaro's ''Drakengard/[=NieR=]'' series is, in many ways, his critique of the {{JRPG}} genre, particularly the first games in the respective sub-series:
110	** ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' deconstructs a variation of LevelGrinding showing us just [[SociopathicHero what]] [[BloodKnight kind]] [[AxeCrazy of]] [[VillainProtagonist person]] would slaughter armies of enemies in order to strengthen his weapons.
111	** ''VideoGame/NieR'', in addition to [[DeconstructorFleet deconstructing several aspects of JRPG's and "save the world" plotlines in games]], also deconstructs the concept of a "dungeon" and lampshades the concept of arbitrary challenges and rules placed at certain segments in games by having the characters point out how ridiculous the "rules" of the temple they're in are. These challenges are also deliberately unfun and tedious to get through; they are, after all, traps meant to ''keep people out'', not toys for plucky adventurers to play with.
112	** ''VideoGame/NieRAutomata'' deconstructs many aspects of [=RPGs=] by [[SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration showing they only really make sense if nearly all of the cast are robots]]; stat-boosting equipment comes in the form of software upgrades, you respawn after dying because your mind just downloads to a new body, status effects come from being hacked by enemies or infected by computer viruses, and much more. The typical RPG SavingTheWorld plot is also deconstructed, as [[spoiler:the war you spend most of the game fighting is a lie; [[AfterTheEnd humanity was already wiped out long before the story even began]], and you and your enemies are nothing more than proxy agents in an experiment by your leaders to try and [[HumanityEnsues become human]].]]
113	* ''VideoGame/BlackGeyserCouriersOfDarkness'' deconstructs moral choices where EvilPaysBetter. The entire kingdom has been cursed so everyone is a materialistic jerkass. Even if you try to do the right thing it might end up backfiring, the developers even give an example: giving money to a church, if you didn't weaken the curse enough the priest will embezzle your donation and make things worse.
114	* SoulsLikeRPG seems to be deconstructing modern conveniences of modern videogame features. Autosaves? DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist? The games uses those features against the player instead to help the player, by having valuable ExperiencePoints dropped upon death, and if failed to be collected, it will lost. Not to mention that after death, the player character enter a weakened state that must be restored with a cost... Multiplayer? The multiplayer feature is tailored so the player, through notes function, could write either helpful or deceptive tactics, and while players can potentially help each other, "invasion" of other player's session is possible and often encouraged.
115	* ''VideoGame/TormentTidesOfNumenera'': CharacterCustomization, AltItis, and the general concept of [[PlayerCharacter Player Characters]]. Your PC is the abandoned avatar of an immortal wizard who keeps himself alive and "roleplays" new lives by periodically [[BodySurf Body Surfing]] to a new body, leaving the previous one to its own devices. The world is littered with castoff avatars like yourself, who've formed their own subculture and often face prejudice, while also clashing endlessly over whether they should serve or rebel against their creator. [[spoiler:They are also [[HumanoidAbomination inherently unnatural and destructive beings]] whose instinctual exploiting of the BackgroundMagicField damages people's minds and prods them into conflict, hence why so many people you meet have problems only you can solve and why [[AnthropicPrinciple parts of the plot only seem to truly progress when you're around]]. The BigBad is actually a sentient, {{Precursor}}-created weapon designed to destroy avatars like yourself and prevent further corruption of the Tides.]]
116	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' deconstructs elements of a VideoGameRemake, as it involves [[spoiler:an underlying meta-narrative where [[{{Railroading}} the cast is forced to follow the plot of]] ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' at the behest of supernatural forces designed to ensure the Planet's safety. Character potentially SparedByTheAdaptation? Said forces will try to get them killed. Character DeathByAdaptation? Said forces will bring them back to life. It gets to the point where "destiny" becomes a major theme in the last hours of the game, and the cast's ([[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulu successful]]) attempt at [[ScrewDestiny literally punching destiny in the face]] results in them [[MeaningfulName "remaking"]] [[CosmicRetcon the story itself]], but doing so may have unforseeable consequences for all parties involved.]]
117	* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'' is considered one of the most difficult games in the franchise, deconstructing the plot of the first game, where prince in exile Marth retakes his country from TheEmpire. ''Thracia'' pulls no punches showing what kind of hurdles Prince Leif has to overcome. His army is constantly on the run, they started with no money and have to steal weapons from the enemy, and they don't have enough manpower or resources to hold land for a significant amount of time.
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Shoot 'em Ups]]
121	* ''VideoGame/{{DonPachi}}'' takes apart the concept of the OneManArmy commonly present in single-player video games, showing that in order to be able to take on enemy forces by themselves, prospective recruits have to [[spoiler:slaughter their own military forces as training exercises]]. Only after seven years of this training is the player character finally fit to enter the elite [=DonPachi=] Squadron.
122	* ''Videogame/{{Tyrian}}'' also deconstruct the concept of OneManArmy by having the supposed "good guys" (actually the enemy of a MegaCorp the protagonist ran away from), knowing how the protagonist can singlehandedly take down enemy fleets, decide to use the protagonist to cut costs as well as perpetuating the war that even the protagonist are getting sick of.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Simulation Games]]
126	* ''Desert Bus'' from ''VideoGame/PennAndTellersSmokeAndMirrors'' deconstructs MisaimedRealism. The game's mechanics are so "realistic" that the game is somehow ''less fun'' than it would be to actually drive a bus through a desert. Part of the point is making fun of how MoralGuardians claim video games to be ultra-realistic gore fantasies - a video game always takes some liberties with real life, or you get ''Desert Bus''.
127	* ''VideoGame/CartLife'' is a deconstruction of [[AnEntrepreneurIsYou business simulators]]. You play the role of a small business owner attempting to start and maintain a retail business in a city. However, just like in real life, you don't get an [[VideoGameObjectives objective menu]], and there are no directions on where you need to go and what you need to do. Most importantly, it completely averts the expectation that you can pause the game by bringing up the menu screen. Just like in real life, there is absolutely no way for the player to pause the flow of time even when you are trying to read the description on a product or chat with a customer. And that is before even getting into the actual business part, in which you need to doing everything from getting the products from a supermarket to getting a permit yourself, all the while trying to balance and maintain the basic needs and addition of your character. In other words, the game demonstrates just how not fun and difficult it is to run a small business (and being a new immigrant/single mother) is in real life.
128	* ''VideoGame/{{Oiligarchy}}'' does this to the notion of the GoldenEnding. As per WordOfGod, [[https://www.molleindustria.org/oiligarchy-postmortem/ playing optimally, like a hardcore gamer would, gets you the worst ending]], Mutually Assured Destruction, since you are the VillainProtagonist after all. The happy ending has the world transition to a cleaner, more sustainable society, but that's your losing condition where you are rendered obsolete and are forced to retire. The other endings are getting fired for not expanding oil production enough, and an unintentional case of EarnYourBadEnding where the Western nations' economy collapses.
129	* ''VideoGame/VisceraCleanupDetail'' may itself be a cleaning simulator, but it deconstructs ego-shooters like ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' as so ridiculously bloody and brutal that it would indeed be a different, but also difficult task to clean up after such a whirlwind of carnage.
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Stealth-Based Games]]
133	* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'': Sequels with [[SamePlotSequel suspiciously similar premises to the original]], linearity and the illusion of choice in video games, and the concept of video games [[IJustWantToBeBadass as a power fantasy]], among [[DeconstructorFleet many other things]].
134	* The original ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' deconstructs and satirizes the conventional relationship between the player and the player character in violent video games. The protagonist James Earl Cash is being controlled from the outset by Starkweather, a weird, creepy guy sitting in a dark room in front of a computer screen, who watches him through cameras and urges him to commit unspeakably horrific acts. It's pretty obvious [[ThisLoserIsYou who Starkweather is meant to represent]]. And why does Starkweather urge Cash to carry out these shockingly violent murders? Because he's making a SnuffFilm to sate the sick desires of people who find brutal violence entertaining (not to mention sexually arousing) -- a camp that, going by his own creepy comments over the course of the game, he himself is part of.
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:Survival Horrors]]
138	* The climax of infamous [[ExploitationFilm Exploitation Game]] ''Demonophobia'' deconstructs the idea of resetting the game after death. [[spoiler:Imagine you had to spend days in excruciating pain as your body was rebuilt. Imagine that you had to regularly have your mind wiped to avoid [[GoMadFromTheRevelation going mad from the revelation]]. Imagine that whoever was doing this ''didn't'' have your best interests in mind]].
139	* ''VideoGame/NanashiNoGame'' uses the cursed, nameless game to deconstruct [=RPG=]s. There's no battles to win, levels to grind or heroics to engage in -- you just walk around, talk to people and [[spoiler: collect hidden items that must be found to reach the good ending]].
140	[[/folder]]
141
142	[[folder:Third-Person Shooters]]
143	* Both of the ''VideoGame/KaneAndLynch'' games are surprisingly subtle deconstructions of crime-themed action games. Both deliberately avoid glorifying violence, and instead goes out of its way to portray realistic consequences of it, such as the firefights being messy with civilians very frequently being caught in the crossfire. The two main protagonists are also portrayed as desperate, selfish and destructive, as to show how morally bankrupt one would have to be to commit the actions of the anti-heroic protagonists found in titles like Grand Theft Auto as well as how horrible they would actually be.
144	* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' is a far more successful deconstruction of military shooters compared with the aforementioned ''Haze'', stating that, for all their pretense of gritty realism, they are still escapist, dehumanizing, unrealistic power fantasies. One sequence in particular becomes exponentially more horrifying if you've played the similar, yet more throwaway "Death From Above" level in ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare''. While it's at it, it also deconstructs playing shooters as a PowerFantasy, "moral choice" systems and the AmericaSavesTheDay trope. It can lose some of the impact of the above as it still contains a typical achievement system, that [[ButThouMust forces]] you to complete the game repeatedly, including the railroaded dehumanising incidents.
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
148	* ''VisualNovel/AirPressure'': A romance visual novel where the male protagonist can improve his relationship with a cute girl -- except that said relationship is toxic and the best ending comes from the protagonist realizing this and breaking up with her.
149	* ''[[http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/07/08/i-hate-you-japans-anime-style-mobile-romance-game-starring-girls-who-will-never-ever-love-you/ I Hate You]]'': Dating sims. ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, as no matter what you do or how hard you try, none of the girls in the game will ever see you as anything more than an obsessed loser.
150	* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' doesn't seem to start off this way (though there is foreshadowing that it is) but the final chapter decides to deconstruct the entire ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' franchise and everything that it stands for (Hope vs Despair, hope always winning, etc).
151	* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'': [[DatingSim Dating sims]], [[HaremGenre harem games]], the nature of [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]], and [[BreakingTheFourthWall the divide between the player and their character]]. [[spoiler:One of the non-romanceable side characters is self-aware and [[GoMadFromTheRevelation steadily going insane from the knowledge that she's a video game character]], eventually becoming an obsessive {{Yandere}} towards the player (not the PC, ''[[AddressingThePlayer the player themselves]]'') who [[InterfaceScrew screws with the game's files on your computer]] to try and force you into romancing her, which in turn causes the rest of the girls to start going mad and killing themselves as their flaws and personal issues get [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] to their LogicalExtreme.]]
152	* ''[[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1997680/REFLEXIA_Prototype_ver/ REFLEXIA]]'' on Steam is a minimalistic half-parody DatingSim, similar to ''Doki Doki Literature Club'' in that [[spoiler:it has a self-aware heroine]] and deconstructs dating sims and harem games too. However, its satire is much more scathing, mocking visual novels as cheap manipulative affairs using basic tricks to make players feel for one-dimensional characters, reducing complex emotions to illusionary choices and game achievements, and the players themselves for getting attached to "waifu" archetypes that in the end are not much more than masturbation fodder. It can be argued that it deconstructs [[spoiler:horror meta-games]] like ''DDLC'' as well, given that [[spoiler:some of the heroine's self-aware and InterfaceScrew abilities are played for horror]] but, since [[spoiler:she repeatedly states she's just an image and some scripted lines]], it's clear she can't be taken seriously in her [[spoiler:fourth wall breaking]]. The final part however becomes somewhat of a reconstruction in that [[spoiler:the heroine learns how to love herself in the face of being a meaningless game character who exists only for someone's pleasure]], but for the same reasons above it rings somewhat hollow almost to the point of being a BrokenAesop.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Web Games]]
156	* ''VideoGame/AchievementUnlocked'': Achievements.
157	* ''VideoGame/UpgradeComplete'': Upgrades.
158	** [[http://armorgames.com/play/11028/upgrade-completer The sequel]] addresses some things they forgot the first time around. You can now upgrade the part limit on your ship, among other things (including [[spoiler:[[JumpScare your heart rate]]]]).
159	* ''[[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/467574 :the game:]]'' and ''[[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/522607 REPLAYING :the game:]]'': CutAndPasteEnvironments.
160	** Also, ''VideoGame/ThisIsTheOnlyLevel''.
161	** Averted in [[http://armorgames.com/play/11498/reimagine-the-game the threequel]].
162	* VideoGame/HelpTheHero: GridInventory
163	* ''Videogame/SteamshovelHarry'': {{Forced Tutorial}}s. [[spoiler:There is no game. The earth will be destroyed in fifteen minutes-- and the tutorials take far longer!]]
164	* ''[[http://venbrux.com/work/226 Execution]]'' by Jesse Venbrux can be seen as a deconstruction of Flash "assassin" games. The only way to "win" is to quit. [[spoiler:Restarting after you've killed your target results in an "it's already too late" message and shows you the failure screen, ''even if you delete and reinstall the game''. This is because the game records your loss in your computer's registry.]]
165	* ''[[http://www.rrrrthats5rs.com/games/dont-shoot-the-puppy/ Don't Shoot the Puppy]]'': PressXToDie.
166	* ''[[http://tinysubversions.com/videogamemoralityplay/ Video Game Morality Play]]'' is a deconstructive mockery of ''other'' deconstructive games, aimed at those such as ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' which overuse the YouBastard trope to the point of pretentiousness, and whose attempts to make you feel bad depend on [[BlamedForBeingRailroaded railroading you into the same immoral choices the game will condemn you for]]. It shows off how pointless the YouBastard critique is by subjecting the player to [[ButThouMust inconsequential choices that lead to the same outcome]], then putting words in the player's mouth, finding fault with everything the player does, and leading to a pretentious, "[[TrueArtIsAngsty deep]]" ending if you choose the "Not in real life..." response to the accusation that you enjoy killing. If the player chooses the "[[AtLeastIAdmitIt FUCK YEAH OBVIOUSLY]]" response instead, the game proceeds to drop all pretenses and point out that you ''still have a life outside playing violent video games'', too.
167	** [[http://tinysubversions.com/game/ywhtwt/ You Were Hallucinating The Whole Time]] is an even bigger deconstructionist mockery by adding meaningless [[AssPull shocking swerves]] to classic video games and pointing out that [[YouBastard criticizing people for unrealistic entertainment is stupid.]]
168	* ''VideoGame/{{Qwop}}'': SomeDexterityRequired.
169	** ''VideoGame/SurgeonSimulator2013'': Ditto.
170	** ''VideoGame/FiftyKRacewalker'': Subverted. It looks like a SomeDexterityRequired game, but after about a minute you realize it's deconstructing FakeLongevity instead.
171	* ''Cow Clicker'' deconstructed the idea of social games like Farmville, by distilling it to just the simple mechanics. You had a cow, and you can click on it after set intervals. You could click on it more often by paying real world money. And you could post it on your Facebook feed and invite friends. Despite the simple ideas the game still included a feature set that created a MetaGame with factions and meta strategy. Eventually the creator [[SpringtimeForHitler became disturbed by how popular it became]], and believed that it was stealing when people actually ''did'' spend money on the game, leading to a "Cowpocalypse" end of the game.
172	* ''[[http://jordan-wilson.com/host/sidequest/ Side Quest]]'': {{Side\|Quest}} [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Quests]]
173	* ''VideoGame/FrogFractions'' parodies {{Edutainment Game}}s that are more "game" than "edutainment" by presenting a game about fractions that not only does very little to teach you how fractions work, [[spoiler: but quickly [[GenreRoulette goes wildly and hilariously off the rails]].]]
174	* ''[[http://www.kongregate.com/games/SeemPoint/dont-kill-the-cow Don’t Kill the Cow]]'': In order to win [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin don't kill the cow]], [[spoiler:but your wife will starve to death as result.]]
175	* ''[[http://www.kongregate.com/games/KaMiZoTo_Creator/there-is-no-game There Is No Game]]'': [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial No, really. There is no game.]]
176	* ''VideoGame/LittleInferno'': "Clicker games" like ''VideoGame/FarmVille''. As one character puts it, the game is about burning your stuff which drops more money to buy more stuff and then the cycle just repeats itself. The dev team said in an interview the idea came from a "7 second loop of a flaming log. And [they] thought 'man, that's like a super boring game that some awful company will totally make for the Wii or smartphones.'" Furthermore, there are constant parallels in game between the game and reality. The friend sending you letters brings up the fact that you can't turn away from the Entertainment Fireplace, as though your character were addicted to it like a game, and she brings up how burning things is basically like burning time. They also mention how the fireplace is basically an escape from the cold, harsh reality outside, among other things.
177	* ''VideoGame/WeBecomeWhatWeBehold'': MemeticMutation and FlameWar. The game demonstrates how our media's tendency to [[IfItBleedsItLeads only cover things that spark outrage]] and the public's tendency to hold ignorant beliefs based on little evidence is very dangerous. [[spoiler:Through the players actions, the society descends into a [[FantasticRacism brutal race war]] where squares and circles kill each other in a horrifying cycle of violence. [[HopeSpringsEternal The square/circle couple who advocated peace and tolerance survive though]].]]
178	[[/folder]]
179
180	[[folder:Wide Open Sandbox]]
181	* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'': [[WideOpenSandbox Wide Open Sandboxes]] and AntiHero video game protagonists. You have a big beachside city to explore, but it's a crappy, rundown DyingTown with an [[LowerClassLout ever-dwindling menial population]]; there's not much of anything to really ''do'', and even less that your PlayerCharacter can affect in a meaningful way. Said PC is a massive LoserProtagonist with an [[SmallNameBigEgo overinflated ego]]. He wastes his life away on pointless [[BossBattle boss battles]], mini-games take the form of boring menial jobs he has to work to support his wannabe action hero lifestyle, his [[PlayerHeadquarters base]] is the crappy motel room he lives in, his CoolSword is an AwesomeButImpractical laser blade that looks like a cosplay prop, and he gets upgrades and collectibles by rooting through garbage because he can't afford most of them and has to make do with whatever junk he finds.
182	[[/folder]]
183
184	[[folder:Non-Game Examples]]
185	* ''Fanfic/PokemonStrangledRed'' discusses an eponymous hacked game within a DeconstructionFic, with the plot kicked off by the implications of being able to store living creatures as data (specifically, ''what if those systems fail?'') and what would happen if the glitch Pokemon and their GoodBadBugs were real entities that could be called upon by anyone with the right knowledge. [[spoiler:As one would expect, it comes at a [[SanitySlippage very heavy cost]]]].
186	[[/folder]]

Context Main / DeconstructionGame