Line #65 VideoGame/SpyParty


1	->''Banana Bread.''
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3	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spyparty_group3_all_1200x630.jpg]]
4	[[caption-width-right:350:Become the NPC.]]
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6	''[=SpyParty=]'' is an AsymmetricMultiplayer 1v1 SocialDeductionGame made by Chris Hecker (or "Checker"). One player plays as the Spy, the only human partygoer in a fancy cocktail party full of [=NPC's=]. The Spy has a limited amount of time to [[BlendingInStealthGameplay covertly]] accomplish a set of missions at the party. The other player is a Sniper with [[OneBulletLeft only one bullet]], who is watching the party and must identify the player from the many [=NPC's=] around them.
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8	The idea of the game is to act like an NPC would; with common metagame strategies being to walk robotically and nonsensically, to fool the Sniper. Part of the gimmick is for the Sniper to try and work out the player who is [[LostInACrowd pretending to be an NPC]] [[BlendingInStealthGameplay in a room filled with them]].
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10	The game has been in development since 2009, with a long time in open beta, which has now been graduated to UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} Early Access on the 12th of April 2018.
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12	!!This game provides examples of:
13	* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The game deliberately blends together a wide range of fashion and architectural styles from the early 20th century to the present day, with the goal of paying homage to all eras of SpyFiction while also giving each character a unique look. The technology used is also kept quite ambiguous: The Sniper's gun is fitted with a laser sight (the first example of which came about in 1979) and Mr. I uses a modern motorized wheelchair, but you'll rarely see anything high-tech in the environments the game takes place in, and the Spy's objectives include old-timey stuff like carrying microfilm rather than something like hacking computers. The way each character checks the time also ranges through the decades, from pulling out a pocket watch to checking a smartphone.
14	* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: The sniper's laser can be seen by the spy when it's close, yet nobody else at the party notices this. This is to make sure the spy has the best chance of blending in, and knows where the sniper is at all times. (The popular fan explanation is that the spy is wearing fancy contacts that lets them see outside the visible spectrum.)
15	* ArtShift: The game's art assets began as crude figures with basic animations for gameplay testing, but are slowly being replaced with beautiful "new art" characters and locations. Both new art and old art levels are in the game, leading to drastic art style shifts when changing between the two.
16	* AsymmetricMultiplayer: The Spy and the Sniper play completely differently, though players traditionally alternate roles from game to game.
17	* BlackTieInfiltration: The game's setting is that of an upper-class cocktail party, with each character dressed for the occasion.
18	* BlendingInStealthGameplay: One player is a spy at an upper-class party, who must carry out different tasks (planting bugs, stealing documents, talking to other agents, etc.) while the other is a sniper who must identify the spy and kill him. The twist is that all the other [=NPCs=] milling around make it hard to identify which one is the spy, and perform movements that look almost exactly like the spy's, so the sniper has to be very certain he doesn't pull a MurderByMistake. It's even possible to let the AI take over the spy's movements, so the latter WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing when the sniper shoots the wrong person.
19	* BloodlessCarnage: The Sniper's target simply falls down when shot, signaling the end of the game.
20	* BluffTheEavesdropper: The Spy can utter the code phrase "[[SpySpeak Banana Bread]]" even when not in a conversation with a DoubleAgent, hoping to throw the Sniper off their trail.
21	* ButtMonkey: Certain characters have a reputation for always being the Spy among communities, causing that character to be shot even when that character has done nothing suspicious.
22	** This often takes form in a phrase such as "Always shoot [[ColourfulThemeNaming orange dress]]" or "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e4kUmcj6PA It's Always The Monopoly Guy.]]"
23	* CastOfSnowflakes: The "new art" characters are wildly varied among many different axes, including age, ability, ethnicity, and religion. According to WordOfGod, the only axis the game does not explore is economic class, as all the characters must be a part of high society to fit the theme of the game.
24	* ColourfulThemeNaming: The [[FanNickname Fan Nicknames]] for the characters are often based on that character's clothing color or pattern, particularly for old art characters.
25	** Examples include [[ButtMonkey Orange Dress]], Blue Danger, and Plaid Jacket.
26	* ContextSensitiveButton: The Spy has two action buttons, where one performs a normal action (such as taking a drink from the waiter), and the other performs a special "Spy" action (such as taking a drink and simultaneously purloining the guest list).
27	* CrosshairAware: The spy sees the sniper's laser sight, giving them an idea of the general area where they might be looking. ([[AcceptableBreaksFromReality In reality]], snipers don't use visible lasers specifically to avert this trope.)
28	* DisproportionateRetribution: Because of how the game's mechanics work, a sniper might put a bullet through someone's head for actions that would be completely innocuous in real life, like taking a long time to read a book, mentioning a particular food item, coughing, or even standing around doing nothing.
29	* DistinctiveAppearances: The new art characters are designed to be easily distinguishable from each other, with different silhouettes, clothing colors, and heights. Every character even has ''entirely custom animations!''
30	* DoubleAgent: One of the AI characters is the double agent, and additional characters may be marked as suspected double angents to the Sniper. One of the possible missions for the Spy is to utter the code phrase "Banana Bread" while in a conversation with the double agent.
31	* DrinkBasedCharacterisation: Every character has a unique drink that they order from the bar or waiter, referencing their cultures (Mr. K, a Sikh character, drinks water, while Ms. T, hailing from India, drinks [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikanjvi shikanjvi]]) or personalities (Mr. G, a military general, gets a big mug of beer),
32	* EvilDetectingDog: [[FanNickname The Queen]] has a dog in her purse. To prevent the Sniper from being able to shoot the dog, Checker made the dog hide in the purse whenever the Sniper's [[LaserSight laser]] comes near.
33	* {{Expy}}:
34	** Arnold Woods-Nicklaus for golfer Arnold Palmer
35	** Brimsworth Buckswaggle III for Rich Uncle Pennybags from {{TabletopGame/Monopoly}}
36	** The Danger Brothers for [[Film/{{Shaft}} John Shaft]]
37	** Jim Bondo and Mr. A for Franchise/JamesBond
38	** Mr. D for {{Creator/Morgan Freeman}}
39	** John Revolta for {{Creator/John Travolta}}
40	** Ms. J for Queen Elizabeth II
41	** Mr. C for President William Howard Taft
42	* TheGeneralissimo: The old art character Generalissimo Ritzini is about as stereotypical an example as you can get. His new art replacement, Mr. G, avoids this by being based on a US military general instead.
43	* GenreBusting: [=SpyParty=] is a game about trying to pass off as an AI and trying to differentiate the player from the AI.
44	* GuideDangIt: Originally, the game came with a manual that was required reading to play the game, as the game is relatively complex. Even then, many missions could be very confusing when starting out. There is now an in-game tutorial, partially averting this trope, although it is nowhere near comprehensive.
45	* HiddenInPlainSight: The Spy must complete all their missions under the ever-watchful eye of the Sniper, hidden only by the fact that they are among five to twenty other possible suspects and the Spy's actions are very similar to AI actions unless observed very carefully.
46	* IdenticalTwinIDTag: Two of the new art characters, Dr. M and Dr. N, are twins who's only visible difference is that N wears jewelry (earrings, a tie clip and a ring) while M doesn't. Though even with those, it's seen as better if one is high/lowlighted to avoid having to look for details whenever one of them does something, even if there's no reason to mark one of them.
47	* ImminentDangerClue: The Spy's death is always preceded by the [[LaserSight Sniper's laser]] [[OhCrap coming to rest over their head or body]].
48	* IncrediblyObviousBug: The bug for the "Bug the Ambassador" mission is invisible, but the animation the Spy must complete to plant the bug can be very noticeable when viewed from the right angle.
49	* InfractionDistraction: The Spy can engineer a distraction to occupy the Sniper's attention as the Spy completes a hard tell mission. This frequently takes the form of uttering the code phrase "Banana Bread" and immediately afterwards swapping a statue or purloining the guest list.
50	* InstantWinCondition: The game ends immediately when the Sniper takes their shot. If the Spy is shot, the Sniper wins. If a civilian is shot, the Spy wins.
51	* LaserSight: The Sniper emits a visible laser in the center of their view, allowing the Spy to know what parts of the map the Sniper may be focusing on.
52	* MetaGame: High-level [=SpyParty=] play has a great deal of metagaming, where each player knows the other's player's tendencies in each role and tries to take advantage of those tendencies. Of course, each player knows that the other player knows their tendencies and tries to subvert the other's player's expectations.
53	* MistakenForSpies: Occurs whenever the Sniper shoots a civilian thinking that character was the Spy. A common tactic at high levels of play is to cause a particular civilian to seem suspicious, hoping to prompt a bad shot.
54	* MrAltDisney: Mr. A seems to be heavily inspired by early-20th century moguls, Walt Disney included.
55	* MurderByMistake: One of two ways the sniper can lose.
56	* NervesOfSteel: Both Sniper and Spy play requires a great deal of focus under stress.
57	* ObstructiveForeground: Many maps feature certain obstructions that prevent the Sniper from getting a clear view of the whole map at once. "Aquarium" features a shark that periodically swims in front of the Sniper, which the Spy can exploit to hide their actions; simultaneously a Spy that hides behind the shark a bit too often is only drawing extra suspicion to themselves.
58	* OneLetterName: The official names of the "new art" characters are some variation on "Mr. A" and "Ms. H." Checker did this on purpose so that the community would generate [[FanNickname Fan Nicknames]], which will eventually be incorporated into the game itself.
59	* OnlySixFaces: The "old art" characters are mostly [[PaletteSwap Palette Swaps]] of a small number of character models. Averted entirely with the [[CastOfSnowflakes new art characters]].
60	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The code phrase to contact the double agent is "Banana Bread" because the game developer was eating banana bread when he was trying to think of a code phrase to use.
61	* RedHerringMole: The Spy can try to make one of the other partygoers seem to be the Spy, hoping to induce a bad shot by the Sniper.
62	* RefugeInAudacity: This can be an effective tactic; many Snipers spend so much time looking for tiny details that they don't notice the Spy transferring microfilm or bugging the ambassador ''while looking directly at the Sniper.''
63	** The Spy can give themselves more time to complete missions by walking up to a window (facing the Sniper head-on) and checking their watch. This is often interpreted as taunting the Sniper.
64	** The Gallery map has a rather narrow and deep layout, with most of the action happening in the back part of the room. This causes many snipers to zoom in to see the activity there better. Some spies take advantage of this tendency by doing blatantly obvious actions on the sidewalk right in front of the sniper.
65	* SpotTheImposter: The premise of the game is that the Sniper must identify the Spy, who on the surface looks like any other partygoer.
66	* SpySpeak: To complete the "Contact Double Agent" mission, the Spy must utter the code phrase "Banana Bread" while in a conversation with the DoubleAgent. The in-game meaning of "Banana Bread" is anyone's guess, although the game's developer says in the tutorial that he chose it [[RealLifeWritesThePlot because he was eating banana bread when he was trying to think of what code phrase to use]].
67	* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: The "old art" characters look particularly nondescript, but one of them is the Spy and must be identified before they finish their missions.
68	* TimedMission: The Spy has a limited amount of time to complete the required number of missions. If time runs out, the Sniper automatically wins.
69	** However, if the Spy completes their missions, the Sniper gets ten seconds to identify and shoot the Spy. If the Sniper does not shoot the Spy in that time, then the Spy wins. Not only that, but ''the Sniper gets no indication that this ten-second timer has begun.''
70	* TreeCover: The Sniper on the map "Panopticon" appears to be hidden inside a giant tree in the center of the map.
71	* {{Twincest}}: When the "Seduce Target" Mission is active, one of the partygoers is a "Seduction Target" who the Spy must flirt with multiple times throughout the party. Two of the new art characters are identical twins, and one can be the Spy and the other the seduction target.
72	* VocalDissonance: The "Banana Bread" codeword will always be spoken in a deep, male voice regardless of who the spy actually is.
73	* WeNeedADistraction: The Spy can use one mission to cover up another, like uttering the code phrase "Banana Bread" just before purloining the guest list.
74	* WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing: One common strategy is for the Spy to lay low for a while by remaining idle in a conversation or remaining in a part of the map where they cannot complete missions, hoping to shed suspicion.
75	** This was used to great effect in the [[https://youtu.be/uIGYrJ7tT0g?t=27m56s Omegathon Finals at Pax Prime 2013]], where the Spy ''did not even take control of his character for the entire round.''
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77	->''[[CriticalFailure "Banana Bread" "cough"]]''

Context VideoGame / SpyParty