Video Game Tropes

An article in this index will be about these things:


 * Gameplay mechanics--including mechanics borrowed from Tabletop Games.
 * Characterization and setting tropes specific to game characters and settings.
 * Setting tropes that aren't necessarily specific to games but are used in games to the degree they are pretty much stock elements, or without which many games would be unrecognizable/unplayable.

NOTE: Please do not add tropes to this index if they can instead be put in one of the sub-categories.

Tropes related to technical aspects of video games:
Categories:
 * Acceptable Breaks From Reality
 * Video Games/Awesome
 * Boss Battle
 * Error Index
 * Gameplay and Story Segregation
 * The Grand List of Console Role Playing Game Cliches
 * How Video Game Specs Work
 * Japanese Games
 * Not the Way It Is Meant To Be Played
 * Older Than the NES
 * Role Playing Game Tropes
 * Stock Video Game Puzzle
 * Strategy Game Tropes
 * Various Videogame Views
 * Video Game Characters
 * Videogame Culture
 * Video Game Difficulty Tropes
 * Videogame Effects and Spells
 * Video Game Genres
 * Video Game Interface Elements
 * Video Game Items and Inventory
 * Videogame Objectives
 * Video Game Physics
 * Video Game Rewards
 * Video Game Settings
 * Videogame Systems
 * Video Game Tactical Index

A sidescrolling platform game in a three-dimensional world. A method of portraying three dimensional space in a two-dimensional plane. Basically, it's a tilted bird's eye view perspective in which both the top and front of an object is seen at the same time, and the vertical axis indicates both height and depth. An asymmetric sprite will be perfectly mirrored--meaning it will "switch sides" depending on what side is visible. Once the golden standard for ported video games when the difference in processing power between arcade and home was substantial. If the game can't find a previous save file, it skips the usual choice of "New Game" / "Continue Game" and starts up a new game by default. Handheld game consoles can be lit in several ways. Quickly focusing the camera behind the player so you can see the same direction they are. When the camera switches between first and third person perspective, or vice versa, either manually or dynamically. A kind of rendering process that makes 3D models look like cartoons. A pair of combat roles players can select between based on their respective play-styles. A replica of the console a game is on (or another console by the same company) appears in the game. Repetition of levels/environments, either in part or whole. Dialogue which proceeds by selecting options from a list. When, at the end of a long set of text or dialogue tree, the person with whom you are speaking asks to start the entire conversation over. Your custom persona inside the game (and elsewhere in Cyberspace). Converting an existing or pre-made image into a sprite. Techniques used to hide Loads and Loads of Loading. Items and weapons will have a better look as they grow stronger. Dead enemies drop some intangible thing (usually spheres) that refill your health, magic, etc. Something that happens that triggers something else (possibly totally unrelated) to occur. As graphics technology improves, the appearance of the enemies changes so they are scarier, more detailed, and/or more and more lifelike. A way to simulate 3-D graphics by arranging 2D elements into a perspectivical picture. In First Person Shooter games, you can never see any part of your body other than perhaps your arms. The camera in a game shifts, but you can't control it. A continuous gameworld scrolls only in full-screen intervals, or is otherwise rendered as a series of "screens". The ability to switch from player control to camera control (when you can't have both), and simply observe all the gameworld's Scenery Porn from the character's perspective. Games which have either been created for free distribution, or are formerly commercial titles that have been released from their copyright obligations. When gender differences lead to one gender being more useful than the other. 3D games have a recognizable set of animations for each character which are repeated throughout the game. Video game characters have big heads in-game due to the low pixel count they take up. Same body, different head. Sprites which will not have an idle mode, thereby being animated as if moving when it should be standing still. A form of graphical projection that fakes a third dimension when only 2D graphics are available. When an older game gets played so far past expectations that it results in a Game Breaking Bug. Please wait, your trope description is loading. A game that takes fricking longer to load than to play GRAHHH Characters in Platform Games will always be holding their weapon, no matter what kind of crazy acrobatics they're engaged in. A short, usually wordless cutscene runs when you meet a new kind of mook. Any software program, particularly a Video Game, that is simultaneously developed and (usually) simultaneously released for more than one system. The opposite type of Game System to the Class and Level System, you spend points to buy stats & skills. Common visual effects that are applied after the scene is rendered by the game engine. Scrolling controlled by the player but only operating one-way. The ability to affect gameplay while it's paused. Quests that can be repeated. When you die, there's a designated place your new body pops out. Events in video games which are programmed to unfold in the same way each time. A popular form of game distribution, especially during the 1990s. A video game perspective in which all objects are viewed strictly from the side, with little or no amount of their tops or bottoms visible. A graphical representation of the sky that "wraps around" a computer game-world, and is used to simulate the "sky" of a game-world. The ability to restart just the game, without having to reboot the system. A sound effect played when something is hit without taking damage. Fifth-generation systems often used fully 3D backgrounds with sprite characters, or static backgrounds with polygonal characters. A character's design must be constrained due to technical limitations. A game that has such high hardware requirements, it's almost like a tech demo for said hardware requirements. It can also refer to games that make an obvious push to show off power (such as a game for a video game console). A series of loosely connected games. A bird's eye view of the action. Any game that uses a vector graphics display. The consequences of making maps fit to a game instead of the other way around. They made it dark for atmosphere. Pity you can't see anything. A mechanic where the edges of the screen are hyperspatially connected: move past the left side, and you appear on the right. An out-of-story way to quickly get from one area to another, to minimize Back Tracking.
 * Two and A Half D
 * Three Quarters View
 * Ambidextrous Sprite
 * Arcade Perfect Port
 * Automatic New Game
 * Back That Light Up
 * Camera Centering
 * Camera Perspective Switch
 * Cel Shading
 * Combat and Support
 * Console Cameo
 * Cut and Paste Environments
 * Dialogue Tree
 * Shall I Repeat That
 * Digital Avatar
 * Digitized Sprites
 * Dynamic Loading
 * Elaborate Equals Effective
 * Essence Drop
 * Event Flag
 * Evolutionary Retcon
 * Faux First Person 3D
 * First Person Ghost
 * Fixed Camera
 * Flip Screen Scrolling
 * Freelook Button
 * Freeware Games
 * Game Favored Gender
 * Going Through the Motions
 * Graphics Induced Super Deformed
 * Head Swap
 * Hyperactive Sprite
 * Isometric Projection
 * Kill Screen
 * Loading Screen
 * Loads and Loads of Loading
 * Magnet Hands
 * Mook Debut Cutscene
 * Multi Platform
 * Point Build System
 * Post Processing Video Effects
 * Ratchet Scrolling
 * Real Time With Pause
 * Repeatable Quest
 * Respawn Point
 * Scripted Event
 * Shareware
 * Side View
 * Skybox
 * Soft Reset
 * Sound of No Damage
 * Sprite Polygon Mix
 * Suddenly Blonde
 * Tech Demo Game
 * Thematic Series
 * Top Down View
 * Vector Game
 * Video Game Geography
 * Who Forgot the Lights
 * Wrap Around
 * Zip Mode

Common gameplay tropes:
In games with Character Levels, the maximum level is far higher than necessary. In games with Character Levels, the maximum level will be attained long before the end of the game. The player must execute a command within a small window of time. Getting the game's factions to like or hate you. A video game that lets you decorate a room. NPC actions which are programmed but turn up in inappropriate ways or circumstances. The introduction a character has before a fighting game match. You just died... so why are those dudes still attacking your corpse? The most effective tactic against the enemy is the enemy's own tactics. Is the building being destroyed around you? There'll always be a fireproof/destructionproof pathway you can escape through! A common video game convention that is given a different name in an attempt at immersion. Focusing the camera on a target. Common video game mode where two teams try to capture each other's flag. And kill lots of them while they're at it, usually. Altering the statistics of your character in relation to the game the character is in. A point to which the player can return after play has been interrupted, especially by player character death. A severe lack of Check Points. Opposing sides in a strategy game can be told apart by their color. Identical PC's can be told apart by their color. A feature that provides assistance to losing players or players near elimination. Video games that allow you to control your character (somewhat) even while helpless. A corridor with a constant hazard you have to avoid by utilizing "safe zones". Jumping on an enemy's head and riding him, often across hazards. You can survive any amount of injury with no lasting effects -- unless it takes out your last Hit Point, in which case it's instant death. A character becomes more powerful as his Hit Points approach zero. When an enemy (usually a Boss) becomes more powerful as his Hit Points dwindle. Crouching and/or lying on the ground has various effects for your character. In-game props which can be destroyed, sometimes resulting in a reward. It's a linear game, but not broken up by jumps between levels. Heroes and enemies will never drop their gun--until they die. Only the player can move and shoot at the same time; everyone else has to stop if they want to attack. Other players can join and leave any time they want. Gameplay techniques introduced by the idea of the player travelling between two worlds. Non-standard way to gain XP (experience/experience points). You Suck! Easy mode is for grandmothers and preschoolers. While frequently a military type, your Player Character's specific position rarely happens to be "Yet Another Grunt In This Trench". Then again, in most cases you would not want to play as one of these for long. Defeating the Final Boss returns you to your most recent save point, but with new bonus content added to the gameworld somewhere. A game that never ends; you just keep going to more and more levels. Blip! Blip! Blip... VRRRRP!? A game where you run a business of some sort. It's like as soon as you touch it, it crumbles into dust! A confined space in a video game where every object surrounding you is smashable, usually for collecting points. Take one step, and then again! Theoretically balanced gameplay elements that in practice, are not balanced When game designers create the illusion of a challenge through Luck Based Mission and other means, or when a game really is hard, but for the wrong reasons. Padding a game out to make it longer When the player finds alternative methods to beat the game than what developers intended to allow. Sometimes requires real skill to pull off. A gameplay element that requires you to take pictures of things. When it looks like you've lost the game, but the plot still continues. Every time an enemy gets hit, it blinks a different colour for a short time. Because being able to flush toilets that otherwise serve no function whatsoever is the cinematic interactive experience players are looking for! Ubiquitous, small, often shiny collectible items, usually in Platform Games. When a match just won't work... go for a flamethrower! When players need to get together and agree to play before an online game can start. When the game runs, or offers to run, parts of itself. Playing a different game inside a game. Where the terrain can affect battles, such as stats or effectiveness of elemental abilities. A huge cliff or vertical drop that acts as a "fence" keeping the player from passing it. Water with a tainted color that harms or kills the character upon contact. A body of water that heals bathers. A number attributed to your health that indicates how close to death you are. Where any projectile homes into its target--even things like arrows and boulders. Launching yourself out of a cannon is an useful form of transportation. Names for combo length or timing specific to a game. Equipped weapons and armor are not visibly reflected on your character sprites or models. Time passes, generally on a day/night cycle. NPCs can be seen moving about as the time passes. If Critical Existence Failure doesn't occur immediately upon zero HP, but waits for the owner to take one more hit. Single choice made near the end of the game determines your karma. Make your own levels--ridiculously easy or fiendishly difficult? You decide! The way to mark a definitive end to a video game level without a Boss Battle. As you level up, so do your enemies. Go up a level, and your HP fills back up to the max. A Floating Platforms that ascends, and as it does it passes through everything but the player character. You need a key to open the door. No, you can't just knock it down. Game mechanics that let you re-attempt chance based elements to get a better result. A vaguely described statistic used as a catch-all for various effects. We interrupt your regularly scheduled plot for an Unexpected Gameplay Change! Let's pause our quest to play craps! Toss a line and reel in the big one! Hacking into computer systems is for profit and fun! No need to call Freud -- these characters are in fact making out or having sex. The closing company credits double as their own Minigame. First one to the finish line wins! Where a character fights himself. A game is full of enemies to beat but doesn't have any real Boss Battle. Where you have to fight a seemingly endless stream of Mooks who slowly become tougher. Games where the background music is immediately affected by what happens on the screen. Way of starting a new game by accessing a previous finished game, allowing you to start with improved stats, new costumes or items won beforehand. In games with shops, buying items in bunches never saves you money. No enemies will try to attack you, or be capable of killing you, until you have the means to fight back. Lets face it, being neutral sucks in video games. Those goody-two-shoes and bastard villains get all the development. When a bullet goes through its target and can continue to hit more targets. Any barrier that requires the heroes to solve some kind of puzzle or riddle in order to pass. Certain enemies are vulnerable to tactics that are bizarre or otherwise not intuitive at first glance. Your gun will overheat if you use it for too long, even if you have unlimited ammo. Conveniently located air bubbles to replenish your Oxygen Meter. High defensive and low offensive stats for both the player and enemies result in long, monotonous battles. Two sprites (characters, monsters etc.) that are identical except for their color scheme. The player must pass through a certain number of rings or other objects within a limited time period. Saving your progress through use of a password rather than game memory. When you are presented with multiple paths or options, you should always take the most difficult looking one. Fully interactivized main menu sequence. A type of video game mode in which the enemies are computer-generated AI, specifically when players can be fought as well outside this mode. A type of video game mode in which the enemies are other players of the game. Something which you should easily be able to pass through, given your abilities, but the plot decrees you can't. A place in the story where it becomes impossible to revisit earlier points. A sudden general knowledge quiz regarding obscure facts about the events, characters and monsters in the game universe. An auditory cue that a powerup is in play. A door that's powered by a floor plate that trips when stood upon. During a cinematic event, you are instructed to press a button to trigger events or dodge attacks etc. Character sex (where it can be chosen) makes no difference in player stats. In games where players can fight each other, classes must be balanced so one type of character is not overpowered. You can heal injuries just by being inactive, even without first aid. You have two health meters, only one of which regenerates. A usually hidden meter that measures the depth of your relationship to other characters. When a powerful character is given a plot-powered "level down" so he isn't statistically overpowered. To win a match held in a bounded area by throwing, forcing, or tricking the enemy into stepping out of bounds. High offensive stats and low defensive stats for both the player and enemies result in quick, unpredictable battles. Where a non-RPG is given some aspects of one (menu battles, equipment, levels). The only way to get equipment, skills and levels is to fight things. Modern games have characters run by default; walking is more difficult to do. An area of the game with special rules or restrictions. A specific spot where the player is allowed to save. Use this computer terminal to record your progress? (Yes/No) It's all about the points, baby! Rack up those zeroes! Games that award points in extremely ridonkulous amounts. You are never invincible - even enemies much weaker than you will still do 1 Hit Point of damage with their attacks. Games that offer some way to control, trick, or override enemies and make them attack other enemies. A sequence of optional sidequests reference/join up to each other to create a seperate story. A game option that raises the game to significantly elevated stupidity levels. How games simulate the passage of time. In order to break free of an enemy's grip or shake loose from a trap, you have to smash the buttons, frantically spin the analog stick, or a combo of both. When the player is tasked with using a long-range weapon to attack far-away targets. Your gun shoots bullets covering wider range. Video games are full of springboards and other bouncy things. The ability to switch to a new set of abilities or attack styles, designed to open up more strategies and combo opportunities. Even if you interact with the bad guy while chasing after him, you can't actually damage him until the Boss Battle officially begins. When individual body parts can be targeted or damaged, or when physical effects impede your character, such as limping or shaky aim. Sometimes you get many heroes in one. When a game forces you to move forward and backward separately from left and right. When a video game gives you awesome gameplay elements only to take them back immediately. Where you are given a strong character or ability early on, but lose it quickly. Your flashlight only lasts a few seconds. Stupid cheap Taiwanese knockoffs. A game mode where the game keeps track of how long you've been playing a level. In which you get somewhere by going through a tube. Whoa, my trusty steed! Forsooth, we must pause to do a Shoot Em Up level! An equivalent of a Character Level in Real Time Strategy games An occurrence that is not part of the game's typical gameplay/engine mechanics (e.g. monsters suddenly smashing down doors). A secret area of a video game that allows you to magically teleport to another level, possibly offering you a choice of levels. Application of the Genre Savvy concept that the goal is generally to the right of the starting point.
 * Absurdly High Level Cap
 * Absurdly Low Level Cap
 * Action Commands
 * Alliance Meter
 * An Interior Designer Is You
 * Artificial Atmospheric Actions
 * Battle Intro
 * Beating a Dead Player
 * Beat Them At Their Own Game
 * Big Damn Fire Exit
 * Call a Hit Point A Smeerp
 * Camera Lock On
 * Capture the Flag
 * Character Customization
 * Check Point
 * Check Point Starvation
 * Color Coded Armies
 * Color Coded Multiplayer
 * Comeback Mechanic
 * Controllable Helplessness
 * Corridor Cubbyhole Run
 * Cranium Ride
 * Critical Existence Failure
 * Critical Status Buff
 * Turns Red
 * Crouch and Prone
 * Die Chair Die
 * Direct Continuous Levels
 * Do Not Drop Your Weapon
 * Do Not Run With a Gun
 * Drop in Drop Out Multiplayer
 * Dual World Gameplay
 * Easy Exp
 * Easy Mode Mockery
 * Elites Are More Glamorous
 * Endgame Plus
 * Endless Game
 * Enemy Detecting Radar
 * An Entrepreneur Is You
 * Everything Breaks
 * Everything Is Smashable Area
 * Extra Turn
 * Fake Balance
 * Fake Difficulty
 * Fake Longevity
 * Fake Skill
 * First Person Snapshooter
 * Fission Mailed
 * Flash of Pain
 * Flushing Edge Interactivity
 * Follow the Money
 * For Massive Damage
 * Game Lobby
 * Gameplay Automation
 * Game Within a Game
 * Geo Effects
 * Gravity Barrier
 * Grimy Water
 * Healing Spring
 * Hit Points
 * Homing Boulders
 * Human Cannonball
 * Idiosyncratic Combo Levels
 * Informed Equipment
 * In Universe Game Clock
 * NPC Scheduling
 * Last Chance Hit Point
 * Last Second Karma Choice
 * Level Editor
 * Level Goal
 * Level Scaling
 * Level Up Fill Up
 * Lift of Doom
 * Locked Door
 * Luck Manipulation Mechanic
 * Luck Stat
 * Mini Game
 * Betting Minigame
 * Fishing Minigame
 * Hacking Minigame
 * Hot Coffee Minigame
 * Mini Game Credits
 * Racing Mini Game
 * Mirror Match
 * Mooks but No Bosses
 * Multi Mook Melee
 * Musical Gameplay
 * New Game Plus
 * No Bulk Discounts
 * Non Combatant Immunity
 * No Points for Neutrality
 * One Hit Polykill
 * Only Smart People May Pass
 * Outside the Box Tactic
 * Overheating
 * Oxygenated Underwater Bubbles
 * Padded Sumo Gameplay
 * Palette Swap
 * Pass Through the Rings
 * Password Save
 * Path of Most Resistance
 * Playable Menu
 * Player Versus Environment
 * Player Versus Player
 * Plot Lock
 * Point of No Return
 * Pop Quiz
 * Power Up Motif
 * Pressure Plate
 * Press X to Not Die
 * Purely Aesthetic Gender
 * PVP Balanced
 * Regenerating Health
 * Regenerating Shield Static Health
 * Relationship Values
 * Restart At Level One
 * Ring Out
 * Rocket Tag Gameplay
 * RPG Elements
 * RP Gs Equal Combat
 * Run Don't Walk
 * Rules of the Game
 * Save Point
 * Justified Save Point
 * Scoring Points
 * Pinball Scoring
 * Scratch Damage
 * Set a Mook To Kill A Mook
 * Sidequest Sidestory
 * Silliness Switch
 * Sliding Scale of Turn Realism
 * Smashing Survival
 * Sniping Mission
 * Spread Shot
 * Springs Springs Everywhere
 * Stance System
 * Story Driven Invulnerability
 * Subsystem Damage
 * Swiss Army Hero
 * Tank Controls
 * Teased With Awesome
 * A Taste of Power
 * Ten Second Flashlight
 * Time Trial
 * Tube Travel
 * Unexpected Shmup Level
 * Veteran Unit
 * Videogame Set Piece
 * Warp Zone
 * When All Else Fails Go Right

Common non-gameplay-related tropes:
Offering the game free for a limited time so that new players can try it out. Once you enter your name, the game brings it back later as part of the plot or gameplay. Four specific monsters (variations are rare) are often used to represent an element. Another character in the story has already accomplished one of your objectives. How did those NPCs get through the dungeon ahead of you without being required to Solve the Soup Cans like you were? After getting used to one hero, you suddenly find yourself controlling a different character. Announcers in video games can be funny, but also annoying. After beating the game, you get to play a parallel storyline with another character or plotline. The story begins with the enemy about to kill off the players, then you have to fight back. Having to return to an area you've already been to. The game starts with exploration of a small part of the setting while getting a tour of the level. The camera in a 3D game can be more of a hindrance than a help. A character which is named by the player is given a "real" name in subsequent adaptations. One a Time Bomb is set, the whole area starts joining in. Even before the boom. Instead of thing exploding with BOOM, it goes "pow pow pow pow pow" etc.! Important characters in some RPGs may have pictures of them display during dialogue. 50 light guys, 2 heavy guys. Certain guys seem to psychically know when you are trying to steal something and immediately appear from wherever they were to stop you. The monster (in monster battlers) or card (in card battlers) for beginners, which quickly becomes useless. The game wants you to kick a puppy. You don't want to kick it. Then the puppy starts laughing at you and telling you what a loser you are. Now you want to punt the little bastard into the next time zone. After you defeat a boss, a cutscene shows you delivering the final blow. Crates are everywhere in video games and serve all kinds of different purposes. Hey, you! Yeah, you!!! Kick this puppy! What's that, you say? You say that'd be mean? That you're not evil? Well, ''that's too fucking bad!!! Now kick that puppy!!!!!!!!'' Non-interactive sequences inserted into the action of a game. When a character is killed, they give off a dying scream, which is repeated (getting fainter) like an echo. Once you defeat a character, you can then play as said character. Projectiles can be taken out by hitting them with an attack. The character you control has conversations with other characters as you're walking around, instead of during a cutscene. What do you mean this room really is empty? Random or scripted lines which enemy soldiers or Mooks speak amongst themselves. Wait, didn't I have a rocket launcher at the end of the last level? A bare-bones plot that's only there as a justification for the gameplay. A break in the gameplay to provide you with Exposition. A scale that measures how close First Person Shooter games are to real-world shooting and combat. Games which allow you to predict when enemies will appear based on the room or visuals you're seeing. Because the character knows things the player doesn't, sometimes the character gets amnesia to excuse the explanation to the player. A game that allows the character to pursue romantic ties with a same-sex character. The only "real" ending; the rest just tell you how you screwed up. The exact combination of choices that will make the best (usually with the most content) playing experience. In an RPG, the main character always uses a sword. In violent video games, there will be no children at all anywhere in the game, or they will be impervious to harm. Since bullets travel really fast, they really travel instantly to their destination in a straight line, right? Main characters will talk to themselves about the items they have if the player tries to examine one, or use them in an invalid manner. Characters refuse to do or "can't" do something that is clearly within their means. Whoever or whatever the local law-enforcement may be, attempting to fight it is futile. They're either downright invulnerable, or endlessly respawn. Run Away! You can't enter the desert without some item. Whenever you are given information, it is always correct. A full-length novel which can be read inside the game. An actual TV show which the player can watch inside a game. The characters are forced by a suddenly falling pile of rock, to continue their journey alone. An important object that's already been used and hence irrelevant is still prevented from being destroyed or lost by the game. It's the main character's job to do absolutely every task of any significance. After the end of a game, one character goes off on his own to wander the world. A character who comes to the party too late in the game for the player to want to go through the effort of using him. The main character arrives after something horrible has happened, and while he escapes or investigates, he inevitably learns the whole story. Ridiculously overemphasized blood and gore. The practice of recording lines with blanks in it, which can be filled in later. Selling additional game content for real-world money. An element of the gameplay that is supposed to make the game realistic, but eventually makes it laughably unrealistic. Going from point A to point B is like carving your way through a thick jungle of flesh. Let's see, there's the Bad End, the Good End, the Sort Of Better Than The Bad End But Still Not That Great End... A change in background music is an early indication that something is about to happen. Mythological monsters get beefed up over their original descriptions. You are given a glimpse of a new world, but can't do anything there yet. In games with two large forces, you can only play as the "good guys" in single-player mode. The "good ending" is always the canonical one. A level or piece of the plot where you've been stripped of your weapons and/or equipment. You can't use certain or any items in certain situations. Forsaking any plot or character development so that the game is purely about the gameplay itself. OK, I saved my place three months ago and I'm picking the game up again... so where was I supposed to go? Games that let you be not good nor evil but to take on everybody. The game assumes you've never played it before, and requires you to "find out" about things you may already know. A scene is only triggered if you have a certain character in your party. Look at those pixels go at it! When one character is "interrupted" by another, sometimes there is a pause before the second character actually starts talking. Erm... it's an epilogue... but you can play it. Are you talking to your character, or are you your character? Where the game kills or hurts someone or something that the player has come to feel emotion for. A story that the company obviously spent a lot of time and effort on, but which ends up being annoying and silly and gamers just want to get to the gameplay already! Where the standard relationship between the game and the player is played with to make the player feel uncomfortable. In a sequel, the Player Character from a previous game in the series shows up. Where the game's camera pans across the correct route in a puzzle before you begin. Melee attacks caused by pressing a button, rather than switching to a melee weapon. Usually seen in shooter games. Things that can happen, but where, when, or if they will happen are determined purely by chance. The tendency of video games to rank phlebotinum power on a oversimplified, seemingly random/arbitray scale. Games that try to be more "realistic" often seem to paint everything in shades of brown or gray. An item, character, monster etc. that appears in several games which are otherwise disconnected. A weapon used in the right hand, but which seems to be designed for left-hand use. Typical early video game plot. Typical modern video game plot. As you walk along a bridge or walkway, it creates itself, allowing you to continue. Where several story possibilities exist, but the one that will actually happen depends on the player's actions and choices. You determine reality by answering a question whose answer you don't know. Stealing from a shop can be hazardous to your health. It can be a good idea to go the wrong way. Certain events cause a song in video games to speed up. Rooms always have to have stuff in them, or twist or turn or generally make you spend more time in them than necessary. In sci-fi First Person Shooters, starring a member of the military, you will be a mute Space Marine. A language, generally for NPCs, made up of nonsense sounds strung together like actual words. Inanimate cones of limestone can see players coming and fall appropriately. On one side, Hotel Dusk. On the other, Tetris. In most games, if the Big Bad has a sibling, it will be even stronger than the Big Bad itself. Sometimes the plot makes the main character do stupid things, even if the player knows not to do them. Some games do not have any subtitles for fully voiced scenes. No matter how much stronger you are than the enemy, they will always attack you. Whenever a video game character uses his Limit Break, a portrait of him or close-up of his face is flashed on the screen just before he proceeds to beat the crap out of his enemy. The hero must achieve three goals to advance the plot. Stock Phrase spoken just before the battle with the Final Boss. When the Title Screen theme for a game is played in a certain context within the game itself. The running background music has parallel parts that fade in and out with the rising and falling action level, rather than a set track. YATTA! In a Fighting Game, the winner gives a Badass quote to the loser. The practice of misrepresenting facts in a historical setting, even when it would make no change to gameplay to be true to history. A part of the story where you get to control the villain. Where the game allows you to do something that would be really stupid in the real world. ... ... ...! Games that either have audible "beeps" while text is scrolling, or short voice clips rather than full voice acting. Games that make you walk around a lot just so you'll fight a lot of battles. It's a war game, but it stars cute, colorful characters and there's no blood. Stage of a game where the enemies begin to come out in huge droves, usually near the climax. This is the best music ev--HEY! Where'd it go? NPCs just stand and stare blankly into the distance when you're not talking to them. When the player does something weird or cruel, another character will call him out on it. An ending sequence that's little more than a single line and a pixelly picture. Once you receive a particular item that lets you enter a previously inaccessible area, you will need it all over the place to simply continue on your journey.
 * Thirty Day Free Trial
 * Addressing the Player
 * Alchemic Elementals
 * Already Done for You
 * Already Undone for You
 * And Now for Someone Completely Different
 * Announcer Chatter
 * Another Side Another Story
 * Back From the Brink
 * Back Tracking
 * Black Mesa Commute
 * Camera Screw
 * Canon Name
 * Catastrophic Countdown
 * Chain Reaction Destruction
 * Character Portrait
 * Character Roster Global Warming
 * Clairvoyant Security Force
 * Com Mons
 * The Computer Shall Taunt You
 * Coup De Grace Cutscene
 * Crate Expectations
 * Cruelty Is the Only Option
 * Cutscene
 * Death Cry Echo
 * Defeat Means Playable
 * Destructible Projectiles
 * Dialog During Gameplay
 * Empty Room Psych
 * Enemy Chatter
 * Equipment Reset Button
 * Excuse Plot
 * Exposition Break
 * Fackler Scale of FPS Realism
 * Foreboding Architecture
 * Gameplay Guided Amnesia
 * Gay Option
 * Golden Ending
 * Golden Path
 * Heroes Prefer Swords
 * Hide Your Children
 * Hit Scan
 * I Can't Use These Things Together
 * I Can't Reach It
 * I Fought the Law And The Law Won
 * Impassable Desert
 * Infallible Babble
 * In Game Novel
 * In Game TV
 * Involuntary Group Split
 * Irrelevant Importance
 * Its Up to You
 * Journey to Find Oneself
 * Late Character Syndrome
 * Late to The Party
 * Ludicrous Gibs
 * Mad Libs Dialogue
 * Microtransactions
 * Misaimed Realism
 * Monsters Everywhere
 * Multiple Endings
 * Musical Spoiler
 * Mythology Upgrade
 * New World Tease
 * No Campaign for The Wicked
 * No Canon for The Wicked
 * No Gear Level
 * No Item Use for You
 * No Plot No Problem
 * Now Where Was I Going Again
 * Omnicidal Neutral
 * Only Idiots May Pass
 * Optional Character Scene
 * Optional Sexual Encounter
 * Paused Interrupt
 * Playable Epilogue
 * Player and Protagonist Integration
 * Player Punch
 * Play the Game Skip The Story
 * Playing the Player
 * Previous Player Character Cameo
 * Puzzle Pan
 * Quick Melee
 * Random Event
 * Random Power Ranking
 * Real Is Brown
 * Recurring Element
 * Right Handed Left Handed Guns
 * Save the Princess
 * Saving the World
 * Scenery As You Go
 * Schrodingers Gun
 * Schrodingers Question
 * Shoplift and Die
 * Sidetrack Bonus
 * Songs in The Key of Panic
 * Space Filling Path
 * A Space Marine Is You
 * Speaking Simlish
 * Stalactite Spite
 * Story to Gameplay Ratio
 * Stronger Sibling
 * Stupidity Is the Only Option
 * Subtitles Are Superfluous
 * Suicidal Overconfidence
 * Super Move Portrait Attack
 * The Three Trials
 * This Is the Final Battle
 * Title Theme Drop
 * Variable Mix
 * Victory Pose
 * Victory Quote
 * Video Game Historical Revisionism
 * Villain Shoes
 * Violation of Common Sense
 * Visible Silence
 * Voice Grunting
 * The Wandering You
 * War Has Never Been So Much Fun
 * The War Sequence
 * Wasted Song
 * What Are You Looking At
 * What the Hell Player
 * A Winner Is You
 * You Must Be This Tall to Enter