A World Half Full: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'' exemplifies this: just because the world is torn by nuclear fire dosendoesn't mean it can't be rebuilt, and just because violence can be used to oppress the weak doesn't mean you can't use it to protect the weak and and make the world a better place either.

* ''[[Code Geass]]'': A third of the world is ruled by an [[Omnicidal Maniac|insane]] [[Nietzsche Wannabe]]. Another third is ruled by the [[Evil Chancellor|corrupt advisorsadvisers]] of a pre-teen child empress. They are locked into a state of perpetual war, while we never see the other third. [[Black and Grey Morality|The hero is a cynical JerkAss who commits morally questionable acts with frightening regularity]], and the nicest and most idealistic character in the series is an self-deluded [[Knight Templar]] who is complicit in genocide. However, the ending does provide some measure of hope that things will get better, [[Earn Your Happy Ending|with most of the surviving characters shown to be relatively happy]], {{spoiler|although it's a [[Bittersweet Ending]] for all of the major protagonists.}}.

* ''[[Ghost in the Shell (manga)|Ghost in the Shell]]'' is a world half full for most of the main characters. They frequently expose corruption and conspiracies, and stop terrorists from killing more innocents, but at the end of the day, their actions don't do anything to change the corrupt and uncaring system of Japanese society. Still, they feel pretty good about what little good they can do.

* ''[[Gundam]]'':

** ''[[G Gundam]]'', once Domon finds out just how the Gundam Fights have destroyed Earth and {{spoiler|The Devil Gundam's true programingprogramming and Master Asia's intentions. He finds out that everyone he thought was a villain was really trying to restore Earth and protect it from the real bad guys.}}

* [[Cozy Catastrophe|Pleasant]] as it may seem, ''[[SoraSo noRa WotoNo Wo To]]'''s Earth is dying a slow death while the survivors fight for the last fertile lands rather than cooperate. Yet the girls of the [[Amazon Brigade|Helvetian 1121st Tank Platoon]] and their [[Heroic Bastard|bastard]] [[Royals Who Actually Do Something|princess]] friend will have none of that.

* The DC Universe and Marvel Universe (the mainstream ones anyway) arguably fit this description. Both of them are full of [[Complete Monster]]s, [[Eldritch Abomination|terrible beasts from beyond the veil]], [[Alien Invasion|ruthless alien conquerors]], [[Legions of Hell|cunning and vicious demons out for souls and blood]], [[Magnificent Bastard|charismatic and savvy villains who look cool even when they make life worse for everybody else]], [[Evil Sorcerer|masters of dark magic]], [[Mad Scientist|scientists with absolutely no regard for ethics or safety]], [[AIA.I. Is a Crapshoot|insane and insanely powerful machine gods]], [[The Syndicate|multiple crime syndicates with access to any combination of the above]], and plenty of good ol' fashioned [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|human evil]]. But even at their lowest points, the heroes of both universes ''[[The Determinator|never stop fighting evil]]'', the occasional [[Heroic BSOD]] aside. And despite the prevailing [[All of the Other Reindeer]] attitude the people of both universes (especially Marvel) display most of the time, plenty of people (not just humans) are [[Rousseau Was Right|decent enough to justify the heroes' efforts to defend them]]. A brief dialogue from ''[[The DCAU|Superman the Animated Series]]'' sums it up (paraphrased):

** Arguably, from the point of view of mutants if nothing else, the future the [[X-Men|X-Man]] Bishop came from would be a [[World Half Full]] contrasted against the [[Crapsack World]] future of [[Days of Future Past]]. Both look like post-apocalyptic upbanurban hellscapes whenever we see them, but Bishop's future features a mutant police force trying to put the world back together while Days of Future Past has mutants hunted almost to extinction.

* ''[[Nine9]]'' might be this [[Up to Eleven]]. Everyone in the planet is dead, except for some little robots and a giant war machine that killed all the people. {{spoiler|And in the end, life is back - in the form of bacteria, meaning that evolution might take a million years to evolve intelligence again}}.

* [[Robin Jarvis]]' ''[[The Deptford Mice]]'' resembles ata [[Crapsack World|Crapsack]] [[Mouse World]] at first, with [[God of Evil|evil gods easily overpowering good,]] [[Axe Crazy]] worshippersworshipers roaming the countryside to murder and devour anyone they see, [[Anyone Can Die|death on a massive scale,]] and a villain who resurrects himself into a god right after his first defeat. Even the few "good" societies are either extremely insular and intolerant or on the brink of extinction. However, despite all of this, good always endures, and ''The Final Reckoning'' [[Bittersweet Ending|ends on a bittersweet note.]]

* [[Andrew Vachss]]'s ''Burke'' books. Beneath the veneer of civility citizens see is a veritable cesspit of crime, the system is at best apathetic and at worst actively malicious and Burke can't stamp out all crime or save everyone - in fact, each book's villain invariably has quite a few notches on his belt by the time Burke gets to him - but every scumbag he manages to put down means a few more innocents who won't have to be victims.

* For those who place the ultra-dark, ultra-depressing ''[[The Road]]'' on the idealistic end of the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]], the characters of the novel move the world to this category. The victories they win are small and moral in nature, and tend to be along the lines of "not eating people." But the strength of spirit in the two protagonists is enough to keep a spark of genuine humanity alive.

* ''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]/[[Serenity]]:'' The series starts with the protagonist powerless to prevent the destruction of his home world by a [[Lawful Stupid]] interplanetary bureaucracy and the final defeat of the Independents at Serenity Valley. His faith in humanity and God shattered, he abandons his cause and flees to the edge of colonized space, where begins life anew as an outlaw space pirate/mercenary. Over the course of the series, The heroes face many hardships, and even their few victories cost them dearly, but ultimately, they are able to find it in themselves to carry on. And when the dust clears, they're still flying. They may not be able to save the galaxy, but they can at least save themselves. And that's a start. By the end of the movie, they've actually unveiled and broken a government human-experiment conspiracy, unlocked River Tam's hidden Badass, inadvertently brought about the decimation of the Reavers, and given the tyrannical government two black eyes and a bloody nose. Dozens of their friends and two of their crew have died, and they're now on the run for their lives from the government's vengeance, but that wasn't much different from what they had before so it's all good. It is indicated that any government vengencevengeance may very well be passive at worst. From the Alliance point of view, the crew of Serenity has done all the damage they possibly could. Indeed, their (implied) victory over the Reavers' fleet could even let them spin this into a huge victory and come out in an even better position than before. It looks like they even helped repair Mal's ship, though that might have just been the {{spoiler|[[The Dragon|Operative]] using his unquestionable authority to pull strings.}} That's not to say they probably aren't still wanted criminals, with a number of enemies even amongstamong the outlaws, but they're still flying. Which is enough.

** The [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffyverse]], especially ''[[Angel]]'', tendtends to bounce back and forth on whether they live in a half full or half empty world. Angel himself expresses an existential take on the whole matter; striving for a living in-the-moment application of [[Good Feels Good]] despite the bleakness of the big picture.

* ''[[Deadlands]]''. The setting is an alternate history wild west. {{spoiler|After the Europeans settled the whole country, a large number of native americans decided to get revenge, by releasing some [[Sealed Evil in a Can]]. Needless to say, the evil is rather indiscriminate. Horrifying monsters lurk in the shadows spreading fear, and a new source of energy, Ghost Rock, has literally fueled a new technological dawn. Of course, it also has the side effect of driving those that work with it absolutely insane as demons haunt their mind.}} Still, the heroes can, if they so choose (Specifically, if they are heroes, and not merely protagonists), fight back, and make the world just a little bit of a better place, and less welcome for the antagonists.

* [[Old World of Darkness|Both]] [[New World of Darkness|versions]] of the ''World of Darkness'' tend to be just a [[Crapsack World]]. ''[[Hunter: The Vigil]]'', however, casts a ray of light, by allowing players to play perfectly normal humans fighting back against the monsters of the night. Likewise, any game where the DM allows the heroes to make positive changes to the world also qualifies.

** ''[[Old World of Darkness]]'' ''[[Mage: The Ascension]]'' was a [[World Half Full]] which could have a [[Bittersweet Ending]] in its canonical metaplot. Mages could and would often make notable progress. ''[[Changeling: The Dreaming]]'' offered an [[Earn Your Happy Ending]] for every [[Hope Spot]] and sign that the end was nigh. They were both dark settings, but unlike the relentless progression of evil in the other lines, there was something worth fighting for. ''[[Hunter: The Reckoning]]'' was unusually brutal, with only a few signs things might get better, by contrast to its successor game.

** ''Promethean'' took after ''[[Wraith: The Oblivion]]'': as a wraith, you're faced with [[Enemy Within|enemies within]] and without, the perpetual danger - and temptation - of falling to the dark side, or simply ceasing to exist altogether... but there is a way out. If you can hold on, if you can resolve everything anchoring you to the world, if you can come to terms with your inner darkness, then maybe you can [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence|Transcend]].

** ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]'': When the eponymous Apocalypse rolls around, [[Black and Grey Morality|the grey guys will probably lose to the black]]. But "probably" =/=is not the same as "definitely".

* Quite a few ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' settings:

** ''[[Ravenloft]]'', often thought of as ''the'' [[Crapsack World]] of the game line, turned out to be a [[World Half Full]]. Yes, it's a ''hellish'' place, but because it's explicitly stated to be [[Gothic Horror]], it is never "Evil triumphs." The game line ever since its 2nd Edition forms explicitly states evil is being punished and justice may be delayed, but it is not denied. Player characters are often the [[Spanner in the Works]] which can bring about that justice and make some small part of the world better. The 3rd Edition [[White Wolf]] version even digressed for a few pages about how in early [[Gothic Horror]] literature, evil may seem overwhelming, but there was always God or some cosmic force which saw it foiled and punished. Innocents would suffer, but the guilty were damned and would know it.

** ''[[Dark Sun]]'' is a [[Death World]] where the halflings will eat you, magic drains the world of its life, and having enough water to drink is a sign of power. Neutral characters are kind of the norm, but good characters frequently have the chance to affect some small change for the better. Players familiar with the ''[[Fallout]]'' series would understand.

** ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' in its earliest incarnations fit this trope. The world had been ruled and toyed with by one species of [[Eldritch Abomination]] after another, and there were whole empires of twisted races as well as cruel empires. However, there were places like Cormyr and the Dales which were the proverbial candles in the dark, the good gods schemed as hard as the evil ones, and most adventures featured chances to save something of value. 4th Edition made it a lot darker, possibly pushing it straight into [[Crapsack World]].

** ''[[Dragonlance]]'' has whole races and orders of evil knights. The [[Big Good]] has to die to stop the [[Big Bad]] and the gods remove their support from mortals for a while. It's still a [[High Fantasy]] world where some hero has always stepped up in the [[Darkest Hour]]. Latter adaptations written by other writers tended to miss this element.

** ''[[Planescape]]'' has seven independent hells, each infinite, and seven heavens all of which are rather terrifying in their own way. [[Good Is Not Nice|Good is downright terrifying]] when it isn't [[Good Is Dumb|pants-on-head stupid.]] The central [[City of Adventure]] is a dystopian blend of [[Charles Dickens]] and [[Dungeon Punk]]. Completely incompatible ideological groups have taken over vast aspects of public life and so are always a hair's breadth from civil war. Most of the planes are [[Death World]]s whose (mortal) inhabitants have come up with ways to survive the various demons and [[Eldritch Abomination]]s. Yet in just the published adventures, players can cripple the demons and devils forever, prevent the return of a massive [[Big Bad]] {{spoiler|(the trope-naming Orcus)}}, and help free Sigil from its unending strife all before 12th level.

* In the ''[[Wild ArmsARMs]]'' series a common theme is how the environment will only last a couple more years, [[Green Aesop|so obviously the main characters save it.]] Of course, if the [[All There in the Manual|manual]] is correct, and all the games take place on the same planet, there's an invasion/war/disaster scheduled for a century or two after they ''do'' save it, and it's going to set everything back to ruined square one... but a new bunch of heroes always end up fixing things a couple thousand years later. It isn't very fun for the people in the intervening years, but things ''do'' get fixed eventually each time.

* In ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', the world is a broken mess. Demons and undead are rampant and even the local wildlife requires trained warriors and magicians to kill. Irradiated monsters, oozes, corrupt nobles, more demons, rampant racism, magical addiction, eldritch abominations... ''But.'' You ''can'' make the world better. The monsters are generally killed off and the really nasty characters are decreasing more rapidly than they appear. Things get worse at the beginning of a new expansion, but generally end up slightly better than they were before whatever catastrophe started the expansion in the first place.

** The Burning Crusade introduces outlandOutland, which is a mess physically. It's the remains of a planet torn apart and the remaining pieces just stuck together at random. Things get better through player actions, though they can't fix the planet. Cataclysm will start with Azeroth undergoing the cataclysm in the title, thus getting worse before things get better.

*** ItsIt's already happening, to a degree. Yes, much of Azeroth was absolutely devastated in The Shattering. However, {{spoiler|Desolace is now once again full of plant life, the Plaguelands are slowly recovering from plague toxins due to the Cenarion Circle, Earthen Ring and Argent Crusade, and Duskwood is finally on the road to recovery due to the death of Morbent Fel and the Gilneans bringing the madness cure to the Nightbane worgen, among other recovery efforts}}

* ''[[Deus Ex]]'', depending on your personal beliefs, any of the endings can fall under this.

* The Milky Way in ''[[Mass Effect]]'' is a dangerous and brutal place to live. Filled with monstrous aliens, pirate fleets, amoral mercenaries and cruel slavers, with the largest civilized government hamstrung by red tape and millennia of tradition and unwillingness to budge, an entire species has been driven from their homeworld and is locked in a 300 year long [[Hopeless War]] with their mechanical creations, and {{spoiler|every 50,000-odd years, all technologically advanced sapient life is purged and consumed by [[Eldritch Abomination]]s.}} Yet in spite of this, ''[[The Messiah|one person]]'' can make an incredible difference, galactic peace can be attained, pirates can be brought to justice, slaves can be freed, the forementionedaforementioned [[Hopeless War]] between the exiled species and their creations can be negotiated to a possible reconciliation, and you ''can'' [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|punch out Cthulhu]].

* Arguably, the Light Side path of [[Knights ofOf theThe Old Republic 2]] 2 is this. Either that, or the Exile is merely an [[Unwitting Pawn]]. It can be both for a Light Side Exile. Despite how, in the main plot, {{spoiler|Kreia}} is pretty much manipulating everyone all the time, the Exile's actions throughout the Galaxy can drastically improve life for both invididualsindividuals and for entire planets (though, this being an Obsidian Game, a lot of the 'good' decisions can end up having sizable downsides as well).

* ''[[City of Heroes]]'', heavily inspired by both [[Marvel]] and [[DCDetective Comics]], sets out its world like this. The world is filled with criminals, monsters and [[Super Villain|Supervillains]] of every imaginable kind, is recovering from an [[Alien Invasion]] that's not quite over, and looking at [[The Multiverse]], this is one of the ''best'' options. So what stands in the way of evil? [[Superhero]]es. ''[[MMORPG|Lots and lots]]'' of superheroes. (and even the [[City of Villains|villains]] [[Noble Demon|can help out a bit]])

* ''[[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers|Galaxy Rangers]]'': The Crown Empire may be crumbling, but it's still powerful. The [[God Save Us From the Queen|Queen]] herself is a bloodthirsty, genocidal megalomaniac. The jail system is about as good as [[Batman|Arkham Asylum]]. Tortuna is a [[Wretched Hive]], and some other planets aren't much better. Earth's politicians are often [[Obstructive Bureaucrat|questionable]] or [[Corrupt Bureaucrat|worse]], as are the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|business-beings]]. One of the Rangers is ''essentially a slave.'' A quarter of the episodes are [[Bittersweet Ending|BittersweetEndings]]s. A few are [[Downer Ending|DownerEndings]]s. Oh, and Eliza is never rescued. Still, sometimes the "villains" are merely misguided. There are also [[Rousseau Was Right|GOOD Corporate executives]], [[For Science!|benevolent scientists]], [[Reasonable Authority Figure|competent military personnel]], [[I Come in Peace|friendly alien factions]], and sometimes the townsfolk have a change of heart and [[Heroic Bystander|show up to help]].

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'': War, genocide, death, a cast of [[Child Soldier]]s on both sides...but that just makes any success by the Gaang all the sweeter.

** It gets even more better. Space technology appears to be stagnating. However, commercial space travel is starting to boom(check out [[The New Tens]] for more on that). Likewise environmental protection laws are starting to have an effect as numerous species are being reported as recovering nicely. Also while resources are depleting, certain resources aren't as scarce as you may think. And many people and companies are working hard towards clean energy and sustainability and making great progessprogress. Yes there are problems, but we are doing well towards finding solutions.

** We are increasingly [https://web.archive.org/web/20131030061355/http://www.ted.com/talks/stewart_brand_on_squatter_cities.html specialized], [https://web.archive.org/web/20140227025311/http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_ridley_when_ideas_have_sex.html interconnected] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20110622085502/http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html tolerant]. We are indeed earning our collective happy endings. Together.

* Of course, while this situation seems all fine and dandy, ressourcesresources becomes scarcer by the day and won't fulfill the needs of an always growing population anytime soon; space technology is stagnating, meaning the solution to this problem could be not found in time; pollution and deforestation are ruining more than ever the environment and biodiversity. How long will it last before Earth becomes a [[World Half Empty]] [[Double Subversion|once again?]]