Complexity Addiction: Difference between revisions

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[[Spanner in the Works|But it will.]] [[Mundane Solution|So why didn't they come up with a simpler plan?]]

There's a simple... um... explanation. This character has a Complexity Addiction. They are [[Genre Blind]] and addicted to trying [[Xanatos Gambit~~|Xanatos Gambits~~]]. They simply can't help but make [[No Kill Like Overkill|an overdone, overblown plan]].

There's a simple... um... explanation. This character has a Complexity Addiction. They are [[Genre Blind]] and addicted to trying [[Xanatos Gambit]]s. They simply can't help but make [[No Kill Like Overkill|an overdone, overblown plan]].

Maybe [[You're Insane!|they're insane]]. Maybe they're [[Ax Crazy]]. Maybe they're bored. Maybe they view it as being artistic. Maybe simple plans [[It Amused Me|aren't as amusing]] or [[For the Evulz|as evil]] or are [[Victory Is Boring|just too boring]] for them. Maybe they consider their enemies [[Worthy Opponent|worthy opponents]] and that only an equally worthy plan should be used to defeat them. Maybe they [[Hand Wave|don't even know]] the reason. [[Rule of Funny|It's Funny]], or [[Rule of Drama|it's Dramatic]], or [[Rule of Cool|it's Cool]]; that's all that matters.

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** It's actually starting to shape up that the entire arc was just him biding time and making damn sure he wasn't beaten before the [[MacGuffin]] fused with him.

** There is one other thing he got out of it- he sealed Yamamoto's powers with Wonderweiss. Arguably, the good guys suffer from this too. Rather than just have their two or three captains cut through the fodder to save time, they decided to do a Good version of [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]], just so that the lieutenants would get some screentime.

* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': In one episode [[The Dragon]] Baron Ashura captured [[The Hero]] Kouji and [[Humongous Mecha|Mazinger-Z]] and gave him the "join-us-or-die" choice. After the Kouji's predictable answer, Ashura sentenced him to death, and instead of shooting him, Ashura's [[Mook~~|Mooks~~]] started a bunch of giant power saws and drills to cut Mazinger-Z to pieces. To be fair, Kouji was inside Mazinger-Z and they could not get him out, so they could not just shoot him.

* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': In one episode [[The Dragon]] Baron Ashura captured [[The Hero]] Kouji and [[Humongous Mecha|Mazinger-Z]] and gave him the "join-us-or-die" choice. After the Kouji's predictable answer, Ashura sentenced him to death, and instead of shooting him, Ashura's [[Mook]]s started a bunch of giant power saws and drills to cut Mazinger-Z to pieces. To be fair, Kouji was inside Mazinger-Z and they could not get him out, so they could not just shoot him.

* Madara {{spoiler|or whoever he really is}} from ''[[Naruto]]'' also seems to have a pretty bad case. He can become intangible at will, warp people into a pocket dimension, and can teleport himself (or others) wherever he likes, but when it's time to capture the protagonist, he'd much rather delegate the task to less capable subordinates or start a ninja war than simply use his own powers to easily capture the protagonist when he's asleep or off-guard.

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** This kind of thing is parodied in ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' in the story "Torg Potter and the Giblets with Fiber". Millard Stoop (a parody of Voldemort) originally planned to curse the infant Torg Potter with a combination of curses that would make it into something small and forgetful that would constantly pee itself and spread the common cold to others. Yes, he was going to do this to a ''baby''. Also, the plot of the whole chapter is an elaborate [[Batman Gambit]] just like in the original (''Goblet of Fire'') to obtain some of Torg's blood... which ''starts'' with obtaining some of Torg's blood in order to enter him into the Try-Gizzard Tournament.

* This seems to be the generally accepted MO for the Yendi in novels set in ''[[Dragaera]]''.

* A major aspect of the White Court of vampires in ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' is that they ''don't'' operate with simple, straightforward plans. In the White Court, approval and influence is based partially on the way one maneuvers against one's opponents, both within the Court and outside of it. A White Court vampire could simply have an enemy gunned down, but that would be met with serious disapproval and a loss of respect and grace, while taking that foe down in a [[Xanatos Gambit]] is viewed with admiration. So, it's ''institutional'' [[Complexity Addiction]].

* A major aspect of the White Court of vampires in ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' is that they ''don't'' operate with simple, straightforward plans. In the White Court, approval and influence is based partially on the way one maneuvers against one's opponents, both within the Court and outside of it. A White Court vampire could simply have an enemy gunned down, but that would be met with serious disapproval and a loss of respect and grace, while taking that foe down in a [[Xanatos Gambit]] is viewed with admiration. So, it's ''institutional'' Complexity Addiction.

** Oddly enough, there's a practical reason behind this, making it a (somewhat) justified trope. White Court Vampires do this to limit their accountability and culpability for their actions, which is important, since they work in and around human society far more than many other supernatural beings in the Dresdenverse. Hiring a gunman to shoot your rival can be easily traced back to you. Subtly goading another rival into a conflict with the first, so he hires the gunman insulates you from the consequences far better. White Court culture has grown up around this principle, with the most respected actions being those that "everyone knows" you were responsible for, but nobody can connect you to with any sort of actual evidence.

* In [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]]'s [[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves and Wooster]] stories, Jeeves has quite a habit of this and it almost never fails, being stuffed with the grey matter.

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** Although unlike most of the other characters here, he is [[Manipulative Bastard|sufficiently skilled]] that his plans usually work. This is helped by his [[Badass Crew|extremely skilled associates]].

** In a Season Four episode, Hardison proves himself vulnerable to this, failing to complete a con because the marks began to suspect that the rigamarole was too extensive. Nate explains that he's able to be addicted to complexity because he begins from Plan G, the "ugly plan" that'll probably end up working even when everything else doesn't and that the other Plans help advancing.

* Barney on ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' puts way too much thought and effort into just about everything. When he wants to see whether he or Ted is the better [[Casanova]], he plans to have them compete in a sexual decathalon in a neutral city with a panel of international judges. When he wants to get revenge on Marshall, he spends months developing an exploding meatball sub to prank him with and uses elaborate and expensive means to fake a terminal illness so that Marshall will eat the exploding sub in accordance with Barney's last wishes. And that's not even getting into the ridiculous [[Batman Gambit~~|Batman Gambits~~]] he uses to seduce women.

* Barney on ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' puts way too much thought and effort into just about everything. When he wants to see whether he or Ted is the better [[Casanova]], he plans to have them compete in a sexual decathalon in a neutral city with a panel of international judges. When he wants to get revenge on Marshall, he spends months developing an exploding meatball sub to prank him with and uses elaborate and expensive means to fake a terminal illness so that Marshall will eat the exploding sub in accordance with Barney's last wishes. And that's not even getting into the ridiculous [[Batman Gambit]]s he uses to seduce women.

** The entire episode "The Playbook" is the explanation of ''one long scam'' on Barney's part to pick up a woman he had not even met yet when it started. It involves, a scuba suit, website design, the Empire State building, seducing two other women along the way (one of whom he knew was a plant trying to scam ''him''), at least two false identities, and feigned emotional vulnerability.

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'': Tzeentch, being essentially a god of [[Magnificent Bastard~~|Magnificent Bastards~~]], acts almost exclusively through [[Gambit Roulette~~|Gambit Roulettes~~]], even when a more straightforward solution might be possible. Many of his plans appear to be in direct conflict with each other, and it's been suggested that he doesn't actually ''have'' an ultimate goal.

* ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'': Tzeentch, being essentially a god of [[Magnificent Bastard]]s, acts almost exclusively through [[Gambit Roulette]]s, even when a more straightforward solution might be possible. Many of his plans appear to be in direct conflict with each other, and it's been suggested that he doesn't actually ''have'' an ultimate goal.

** In fact, a popular fan theory is that Tzeentch has a LITERAL complexity addiction. If he ever wins, that is to say becomes the utterly dominant Chaos power and overruns reality, then there will be no more schemes for him to enact. Which will mean he ceases to exist at the very instant of his victory. That's why so many of his goals are in opposition to each other - he cannot afford to ever actually win, but nor can he cease trying to.

*** Well, Tzeentch ''is'' the god of ambition. Actually winning, and thus having nothing more to strive for, would if anything be more devastating than [[Failure Is the Only Option]].

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'''Phineas:''' Hmm, yeahhh, I don't think so.

'''Ferb:''' If it's all the same with you, Father, we're going to build the machine. }}

** For Phineas and Ferb, it's ''literally'' an ~~addiction--Phineas~~ goes into [[Heroic BSOD|withdrawal]] when they're forced to climb a mountain the normal way, with no inventions. [[The Stoic|Ferb holds up a little better, but that doesn't mean he likes it.]]

** For Phineas and Ferb, it's ''literally'' an addiction—Phineas goes into [[Heroic BSOD|withdrawal]] when they're forced to climb a mountain the normal way, with no inventions. [[The Stoic|Ferb holds up a little better, but that doesn't mean he likes it.]]

{{quote|'''Ferb:''' {{spoiler|If we hadn't been able to invent something soon, I was going to ''scream.}}''}}

* Most ''[[Scooby Doo]]'' villains succumb to this, and [[Once an Episode|every episode]] ends with either them or the members of Mystery Inc. giving detailed explanations of how they were pulling off what they were doing, and why.

** The best example of this is probably the ''[[Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated|Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated]]'' episode "Mystery Solvers Club State Finals": the villain (revealed to be '' {{spoiler|[[The Funky Phantom]]}}'', of all people), goes into ''excruciating'' detail about how he carried out his plot, which turns out to be an overly-complicated way of {{spoiler|getting rid of his team so he can stop being a sidekick}}. This ''could'' be justified by the fact that the whole episode is [[All Just a Dream|just a fever dream Scooby's having]], but still...

** Strike ~~that -- the~~ best example is from the following episode, where the [[Villain of the Week]]'s plan is even more complicated, and even more pointless. The Gang lampshades this.

** Strike that—the best example is from the following episode, where the [[Villain of the Week]]'s plan is even more complicated, and even more pointless. The Gang lampshades this.

** Note that the reason why is generally something along the lines of "scare everyone else away so I can do what I want in the area," often involving treasure. Simply buying them off would work just as well, and would not attract people with an interest in ghosts.

* Dr. Drakken from ''[[Kim Possible]]'' suffers from this. His sidekick, [[Only Sane Woman]] Shego, lampshades this repeatedly.

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**** So we could say that their strategical overthinking resulted in their navy's... [[A Worldwide Punomenon|oversinking]].

* Most [[Conspiracy Theorist]]s refuse to state any comprehensive theory in full, since they are almost inevitably laughably complex and likely to fail. [http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=911_morons Take this summary of the most common 9/11 myths]. Please note that since that was posted, the Truthers' theories have actually gotten somewhat '''more''' complex.

** It's been theorized that there's a psychological reason for the conspiracies. The human mind does not like to accept the fact that large scale atrocities can be achieved by simple means. For example, there's no way the president of the United States could have possibly been killed by ''just'' a guy with a rifle on the the roof of a ~~building--never~~ mind that the President is still just...a guy...

** It's been theorized that there's a psychological reason for the conspiracies. The human mind does not like to accept the fact that large scale atrocities can be achieved by simple means. For example, there's no way the president of the United States could have possibly been killed by ''just'' a guy with a rifle on the the roof of a building—never mind that the President is still just...a guy...