1 | Storytelling tropes that are made possible by the nature of interactive media (VideoGames, VisualNovels, etc.). In other words, ways to tell stories that are unfeasible without a player actively shaping them. |
2 | |
3 | Contrast pure gameplay tropes like VariousVideogameViews, VideoGameDifficultyTropes, VideoGameInterfaceElements, etc. |
4 | |
5 | ---- |
6 | !Narrative branching |
7 | Mutually exclusive events occur in the story, depending on the player's actions. |
8 | |
9 | * '''StoryBranching'''\ |
10 | SuperTrope: The story changes depending on the player's actions. |
11 | * AlgorithmicStoryBranching\ |
12 | The game converts player decisions into numbers, crunches them, and branches the story based on the result. |
13 | * BigFirstChoice\ |
14 | An early decision has massive impact on the entire rest of the story. |
15 | * BranchAndBottleneckPlotStructure\ |
16 | The plot branches out, but all branches are merged back together into a linear section later. |
17 | * ChoiceAndConsequenceSystem\ |
18 | A sub-system that tracks the player's plot decisions and dynamically branches the plot when said decisions become relevant later on. |
19 | * EventFlag\ |
20 | The game records whether the player made a certain decision and alters later events accordingly. |
21 | * NeglectedSidequestConsequence\ |
22 | An optional mission secretly has a big impact on future events if it was incomplete, delayed, or done incompetently. |
23 | * MultipleGameOpenings\ |
24 | The prologue changes depending on the player's choices before starting the game. |
25 | * PromptlessBranchingPoint\ |
26 | When story branching occurs without explicit prompts, through gameplay alone. |
27 | * SchrodingersGun\ |
28 | The very premises of the story are changed depending on the player's actions. |
29 | * SchrodingersPlayerCharacter\ |
30 | Depending on who you choose as your PlayerCharacter, the story will wrap itself around that character and not the others. |
31 | * StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter\ |
32 | The key plot roles are always the same, but the player can assign different characters to play them. |
33 | |
34 | !Narrative trimming |
35 | How story branching is invalidated, either by later canon or by only seemingly offering it. |
36 | |
37 | * BlamedForBeingRailroaded\ |
38 | The player or their character is admonished for doing something heinous, even though this was the only choice the player was allowed to make. |
39 | * ButThouMust\ |
40 | Things that look like choices but actually enforce a certain direction. |
41 | * CuttingOffTheBranches\ |
42 | There are multiple endings but only one of them is canon in later installments. |
43 | * MergingTheBranches\ |
44 | A blend of several mutually exclusive story branches is declared canon by the sequels. |
45 | * NoCampaignForTheWicked\ |
46 | The game ''could'' give the player an option to be evil but doesn't. |
47 | * NoCanonForTheWicked\ |
48 | The player can choose to be evil but this path/ending is declared non-canon. |
49 | * {{Railroading}}\ |
50 | The game ''could'' offer the player different paths but doesn't. |
51 | * ThirdOptionAdaptation\ |
52 | A sequel or adaptation deals with multiple branches in the original by rejecting all of them and coming up with a new one. |
53 | |
54 | !Variable endings |
55 | The story shows different outcomes depending on the player's actions. |
56 | |
57 | * '''MultipleEndings'''\ |
58 | SuperTrope: The ending changes depending on the player's actions. |
59 | * AlignmentBasedEndings\ |
60 | Several endings based on a moral choice. |
61 | * EarnYourBadEnding\ |
62 | A bad ending that's harder to get than the normal ending. |
63 | * FactionSpecificEndings\ |
64 | Each major faction in the game gets an ending where it wins. |
65 | * GoldenEnding\ |
66 | The best ending among multiple available. |
67 | * LastSecondEndingChoice\ |
68 | The ending is determined entirely by a single choice near the end of the game. |
69 | * ModularEpilogue\ |
70 | Not a continuous ending cutscene, but a sequence of short scenes that show the consequences of your choices. |
71 | * OmegaEnding\ |
72 | The player must find all other endings to view this one. |
73 | * PhilosophicalChoiceEndings\ |
74 | The ending choice lets the player take a stand on a philosophical or ethical issue. |
75 | * PlayableEpilogue\ |
76 | The player is given a degree of control over the ending "cutscene". |
77 | |
78 | !Narrative rearranging/re-sequencing |
79 | Same events occur in the story but the player can decide on the order of their occurrence or presentation. |
80 | |
81 | * AnotherSideAnotherStory\ |
82 | Play the story [[RashomonStyle from the perspective]] of two or more {{player character}}s. |
83 | * ArbitrarilySerializedSimultaneousAdventures\ |
84 | The player decides in which order to experience simultaneous in-story events. |
85 | * GoldenPath\ |
86 | The most rewarding set of player choices throughout the game. |
87 | * GottaCatchThemAll\ |
88 | The player must collect all PlotCoupons but can decide in which order. |
89 | * RecollectionSidequest\ |
90 | When an AmnesiacHero's backstory is uncovered piece by piece, usually in no particular order. |
91 | |
92 | !Narrative filigree |
93 | Some events only occur in the story if the player takes specific actions and are non-essential to overall plot. |
94 | |
95 | * CompanionSpecificSidequest\ |
96 | Depending on which companions the player has recruited, they may or may not receive this side-quest. |
97 | * MatchMakerQuest\ |
98 | A sidequest that involves the player playing matchmaker. |
99 | * OptionalCharacterScene\ |
100 | Depending on the player's choice of companions, this scene may or may not occur. |
101 | * OptionalPartyMember\ |
102 | It's up to you whether they join the group or not. |
103 | * OptionalSexualEncounter\ |
104 | Depending on the player's actions, this explicit scene may or may not occur. |
105 | * PlotTunnel\ |
106 | All non-essential plot activities are temporarily suspended during mandatory plot advancement. |
107 | * RomanceSidequest\ |
108 | Optionally being able to date another character. |
109 | * SecretCharacter\ |
110 | Most players have no idea this character even exists in the game, because finding them takes so much effort. |
111 | * {{Sidequest}}\ |
112 | Depending on the player's choices, this episode may or may not occur. See also its subtropes. |
113 | * SidequestSidestory\ |
114 | Depending on the player's choices, this story arc may or may not occur. |
115 | * StoryBreadcrumbs\ |
116 | Entirely optional texts scattered around levels reveal the larger context of the gameplay--if the player reads them. |
117 | |
118 | !Interactive dialogue |
119 | Ways to make dialogue between in-game characters both interactive and natural-sounding. |
120 | |
121 | * DialogDuringGameplay\ |
122 | Audio-only dialogue runs in parallel with the player's actions. |
123 | * DialogueTree\ |
124 | The player can decide what and in which order to say in dialogues with [=NPCs=]. |
125 | * EnemyChatter\ |
126 | Mooks can talk with each other, as long as the player doesn't disturb them. |
127 | * KeywordsConversation\ |
128 | A dialogue mode where the player inputs keywords to elicit a response from the NPC. |
129 | * SchrodingersQuestion\ |
130 | An in-game decision is disguised as a quiz. |
131 | |
132 | !Gameplay and story symbiosis |
133 | How narrative tropes and gameplay tropes co-exist in the same game. |
134 | |
135 | * BossAlteringConsequence\ |
136 | A boss's difficulty, moveset, or other aesthetics can be altered by the story choices made by the player or the objectives completed before or during the battle. |
137 | * EmergentNarrative\ |
138 | A plot that emerges procedurally from gameplay mechanics and player actions. |
139 | * ExpositoryGameplayLimitation\ |
140 | The player's gameplay abilities are temporarily restricted to focus their attention on the narration. |
141 | + GameplayAndStorySegregation\ |
142 | A SuperTrope of cases in which a game's narrative does not reflect its gameplay and vice versa. See also its subtropes. |
143 | * InjuredPlayerCharacterStage\ |
144 | A player character gets injured in a game's storyline, which impacts their abilities in the subsequent gameplay sequence. |
145 | * NPCScheduling\ |
146 | Non-player characters are characterized by having lives beyond only reacting to the player's actions. |
147 | * SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration\ |
148 | A SuperTrope of various ways of reinforcing the story through gameplay and vice versa. |
149 | * VideoGamesAndFate\ |
150 | The strict linearity of a game's storyline is not used solely as a gameplay contrivance, but representative of the game's themes of fate and predestination. |
151 | |
152 | !Meta-tropes |
153 | |
154 | * DevelopersDesiredDate\ |
155 | A game allows you to romance numerous potential options, but shills one or more of them at the expense of others. |
156 | * EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame\ |
157 | A game which features both story and gameplay, but the gameplay is largely overlooked by players in favour of the story. |
158 | * PlayTheGameSkipTheStory\ |
159 | A game which features both story and gameplay, but the story is completely ignored by the players who concentrate on the gameplay. |
160 | * ScriptBreaking\ |
161 | The player somehow breaks the predetermined story event sequence, introducing non-linearity where there possibly wasn't any before. |
162 | * StoryBranchFavoritism\ |
163 | The creators put a lot more effort into some branches at the expense of the others--but they are all equally canon. |
164 | * StoryDifficultySetting\ |
165 | When a game features a difficulty setting specifically catering to players who just want to experience the game's story. |
166 | * StoryToGameplayRatio\ |
167 | How much time the player spends on pressing buttons vs. following the plot. |
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