The tank in any FPS ever. EVER. Or whatever the best vehicle is. Or best gun. Or best piece of armor. Or best shield. Or best hat.
...We need a trope for that, possibly.
Anyways, back on topic, definitely needs a rename. Only people who play Final Fantasy XI would know what it is.
...off-topic again: Why can't we widen this trope? I mean, "Something everyone would kill to get, to the point it's not worth trying to get" seems to be the most important part. Everything else is just decoration.
"The fact that your food can be made into makeshift bombs alarms the Hell out of me, Scrye." - CharlatanFurthermore, I don't think this is solely a game trope (or it has a companion trope in fiction). I'm thinking of the Deep Space Nine episode "The Sword of Khales", where two Klingon protagonists, Worf and Kang (?), nearly kill each other over who should be the bearer of the titular sword - in the end, they beam it into space, realizing that the same would happen to the Klingon Empire should word get out. And I know I've seen other examples. Do We Have This One?
Well, if we were to split it into a Fiction and Game example (because a lot of this is relying on the PLAYERS going nuts for something, which can be different from characters in the game going nuts for something.)
Actually, this is pretty much what was proposed as Rare Drop, except with random restrictions.
"The fact that your food can be made into makeshift bombs alarms the Hell out of me, Scrye." - CharlatanI play Final Fantasy XI, so yeah. I'll stay out of this one.
Creed of the Happy Pessimist:Always expect the worst. Then, when it happens, it was only what you expected. All else is a happy surprise.Apple of Discord, Elle, Apple of Discord.
Anyway, gameplay techniques and Pv P interactions are just something that only games have and which are nothing like in-universe actions. They are a completely different realm of the player's experience.
Ah, Eris...of course - though specifically I meant Artifact of Attraction.
....Drat, I was half-hoping knowing that would help me come up with name inspiration.
Isn't there a story out there about someone killing their friend for something they want? We could use that, if we're keeping the "people kill for it" thing, as long as it makes sense and is clear from the trope name.
"The fact that your food can be made into makeshift bombs alarms the Hell out of me, Scrye." - CharlatanThe Eve Online examples are a bit wierd - they're not conflicted so much in the acquiring of them, the "prize" is being the player(s) to get one on a PVP kill mail. The current description works for just "ultra-rare items" as a trope but needs tweaking for "ultra rare items that are contoversial and generate conflict".
^ http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Golden_Wrench
^^ I think it's currently written as one, in that the rarity of the item makes it an Artifact of Attraction. That goes away if the trope is just "ultra-rare items in a game".
Yeah the trope seems to be about an item in a multiplayer game that players would usually fight others (in games where killing the other player isn't the main goal) over the rights to obtain. We're talking full on Green Eyed Monster of Jealousy taking over an otherwise nice and kind player in order to get their hands on it.
If Apple of Discord is this for non-gaming examples, then that's fine. It seems to be limited only to MMO examples on the page.
For some reason my train of thought is stuck on the name Golden Apple Of Warcraft. Or Golden Wrench Of Dischord.
I like both of those.
But soft! What rock through yonder window breaks? It is a brick! And Juliet is out cold.I like Golden Apple Of Warcraft, but I don't think it's a very good title, in that it's a combo of two references, getting the meaning from that title requires you to be familiar with both the Golden Apple of Discord and World Of Warcraft. Granted these are both fairly well known references, but the point remains that we're supposed to avoid names that rely on a reference if we can, and a name that relies on two references only compounds that ("A golden apple of war?" "The Golden Apple causing a war?" "A golden apple inside World Of Warcraft?" for various states of knowing/not knowing parts of the references)
Some more brainstorming: Fighting Over Rare Pixels, Virtually Rare, Rarely Uncontroversial
And WOW should at least be recognizable by Average Joe as a computer game, it's the Golden Apple reference that requires the smarts.
edited 16th Oct '10 4:52:31 PM by Elle
I like Fighting Over Rare Pixels. It fits the idea the best.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick^^ Indeed, as the people who engage in this sort of thing are often in serious need of a lesson on the MST3K Mantra.
Crown Description:

This came up in the Rename One Up Sampo
thread. Anyone up for Guess That Trope? Answer It's named for an obscure item in Final Fantasy XI, and only has 18 wicks and 174 inbound links. It Needs A Redirect at the bare minimum, preferably a new name.