Extra Credits: Difference between revisions
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* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: [[The Stinger]] for "Our Oscars":
{{quote|''"Big [[E3]] Developments. New Sony handheld. New HD Nintendo console. And apparently, sports stars don't count as celebrities. I didn't know that."''}}
* [[Berserk Button]]: Poorly-made propaganda games. Well-made propaganda games don't always set their world on fire either, but ''poorly''-made propaganda games inspire [https://web.archive.org/web/20131027010738/http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/call-of-juarez-the-cartel epic rants like these].
* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Given the idealistic tone of the series, they rarely criticize games unless they have a really good reason. However, there are a few episodes where they simply tear a game apart, such as the one about ''[[Call of Juarez]]: The Cartel'', which uses lots of heavy-handed language; Daniel flat-out calls it despicable and horrid, due to its lazy design and dishonor of the subject matter.
* [[Brain Bleach]]: In the first "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131002041051/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/western-japanese-rpgs-part-1 Western & Japanese RPGs]" episode, Allison does a search for "[[Eroge]] [[Visual Novel|visual novels]]" while working on the episode, only to start scrubbing her eyes out with bleach on viewing the results. She's now the page picture for the trope.
* [[Captain Obvious]]: [[Invoked Trope|Mentioned by name]] in the Amnesia episode, [[Visual Pun|complete with a Captain America like drawing.]]
* [[Catgirl]]: Allison, more or less. When she gets angry, she gains [[Fangs Are Evil|fangs]] and [[Femme Fatalons|claws]].
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{{quote|"[[Oh Crap|Uh oh,]] Allison, put the eraser down, I'm almost done!"}}
** Erin too.
* [[Foil]]: Near the begining of the "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131002054209/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/microtransactions Microtransactions]" episode, Daniel says that EC is always trying to be the calmer voice, while a crude picture of [[Zero Punctuation|Yahtzee]] shows up, angrily saying, "What are you getting at?"
* [[Mood Dissonance]]: In the "Open Letter to EA Marketing" video, Daniel reads out-loud the original mission statement for Electronic Arts, a highly idealistic vision for the evolution of video games as an art form. While he's reading this, he shows clips of EA's various cynical ad campaigns that embrace the worst of gaming stereotypes and do little to advance the medium as an art.
* [[Our Monsters Are Weird]]: Allison is ''really'' good at that. Often borders on [[Nightmare Fuel]].
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=== Tropes that are discussed by ''Extra Credits'': ===
* [[Boring but Practical]] / [[Difficult but Awesome]]: Discussed in the "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131002053330/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/playing-like-a-designer-pt.-2 How to Play Like a Designer, Part 2]" episode in which they explain that "First Order Optimal Strategies" (which require little player effort but give good results such as the "[[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare|noob tube]]" or "[[Street Fighter (video game)|hundred hand slap]]") are necessary to allow new players to have a competitive edge and allow them to gain enough confidence and experience to start using more difficult but ultimately even more effective strategies necessary for more difficult levels or matches. He cautions though that any such thing needs to be carefully developed and thought through, as it can create unintentional [[Game Breaker|Game Breakers]] which might flatten an otherwise expertly plotted difficulty curve.
* [[Bribing Your Way to Victory]]: Warned against in the [https://web.archive.org/web/20131002054209/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/microtransactions "Microtransactions"] episode, with a crossed-out picture of Jareth from [[Labyrinth]].
{{quote|'''Daniel:''' [[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!|Never. Sell. Power.]] This is seriously micro-trans 101, but we still seem to have this temptation to squeeze the maximum amount of money out of our players by selling them things that [[Game Breaker|alter the balance of gameplay.]]}}
* [[Character Derailment]]: They argue that this happened to [https://web.archive.org/web/20131002045811/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/no-redeeming-value Kratos] in the ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]'' sequels.
* [[Critical Research Failure]]: [[In-Universe]], they really lay into ''Call of Juarez: The Cartel'' for making extremely basic errors in its portrayal of the terrible Mexican drug wars and indirectly encouraging the grossly racist "they are stealing our women" stereotype -- even though, in reality, the reverse is much closer to the truth.
* [[Criticism Tropes]]: Discussed in the "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131004085040/http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/game-reviews Game Reviews]" episode. Analysis focuses specifically on the differences between the informational content of typical movie reviews and the informational content of typical game reviews. The former tends toward more contextual information as to how the film compares to other films, while the later tends toward more descriptive information as to what is in the product. While they concede that the descriptive information is essential, if that is all a video game review is, all reviews end up looking alike and it becomes difficult for a reader to glean perspective.
** [[Four Point Scale]]: Also briefly touches on this, mentioning that to someone who comes into the hobby from outside of it and is more familiar with rating systems for other works such as movies, game reviews would often seem quite misleading when giving numbers.
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: Discussed in the episode "[https://web.archive.org/web/20141002044637/http://extra-credits.net/episodes/hard-boiled/ Hard Boiled]". They explain why [[Darker and Edgier]] tends to happen with video game franchises, taking ''[[Max Payne 3]]'' which they had just played as an example. Some of the reasons cited are misplaced ideals that Darker and Edgier makes something seem more [[Serious Business]], assumptions about what a young audience wants to buy, and the game industry's [[Egregious]] tendency to [[Follow the Leader]].
* [[Digital Piracy Is Evil]]: Discussed in the "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131002041047/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/piracy Piracy]" episode. Daniel and James' viewpoint in a nutshell: if [[No Export for You|it's not available in your country]] or has been [[Abandonware|lost in the sands of time]], then [[Keep Circulating the Tapes|pirate away]]. Otherwise, if you like something, just pay for it, and don't be a dick. They also address companies that release their games with annoying [[DRM]], saying that pirated games already have the advantage of being free, and giving them the additional advantage of being unrestricted and less buggy is not going to help in the long run.
* [[Downloadable Content]]: They touch upon the process behind the creation of this, particularly the reason for Day-1 DLC, in their [[Mass Effect 3]] DLC video. They do acknowledge that publishers and developers can abuse this, but state the reasons that sometimes DLC should be necessary to not only keep up the value of the product, but increase the available content in the game, especially in shorter games.
* [[Gameplay and Story Integration]]: Touched upon briefly in "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131002030549/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/amnesia-and-story-structure Amnesia and Story Structure]" but taken to its logical extreme in "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131002035013/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/narrative-mechanics Narrative Mechanics]" where they cite ''[[Missile Command]]'' as a case-study in how a game can tell a story using ''only'' its game mechanics.
* [[Gender and Sexuality Tropes]]: Discussed in a few episodes.
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130915235136/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/sexual-diversity Diversity]" hints at the several episodes to come.
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131002062014/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/sex-in-games Sex in Games]" introduces the topic, exploring why developers might wish to include sexuality as part of theme or characterization, citing games like ''[[Ico]]'' as an exploration of intimacy even without sexuality.
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130915235136/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/sexual-diversity Sexual Diversity]" uses ''[[Persona 4]]'' as a case-study in how including some [[Queer As Tropes|diversity of sexual orientations]] can greatly add to characterization in games.
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131002045335/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/true-female-characters True Female Characters"] discusses how to write female chacters. It also cements a theme through these episodes that writing a character like this requires thinking about what expectations that character's society places on them, and what aspects of [[Not a Subversion|those expectations they choose to embrace]] and [[Averted Trope|what they choose to reject]], saying that someone who rejects every social expectation placed on them is just as sterotypical as someone who embraces every expectation.
* [[GIFT]]: Not by name, but the episode "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131113021402/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/harassment Harassment]" lays out some ideas on how these people can be expunged from the gaming community.
* [[In Medias Res]]: Discussed in the Amnesia episode (see Three Act Structure below).
* [[Nostalgia Filter]]: The topic is touched upon in "Videogame Music". Daniel ponders why gamers are more fond of the old NES themes, despite the better resources available to video game composers these days. Like most topics, he [[Take a Third Option|chooses the middle road,]] stating that there's still great soundtracks being made today, while encouraging composers to stay grounded in their roots and create a strong melody that will endure for years after the fact.
* [[The Power of Trust]]: Discussed as its importance between the consumers and the producers of any technology that requires users to share personal information for the sake of functionality during the "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131002033530/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/not-a-security-episode NOT a Security Episode]" episode.
* [[Race Tropes]]: Touched upon in the episode "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131002045749/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/race-in-games Race in Games]". In particular, they look at how the context of race-relations can inform the player about a character, using ''[[L.A. Noire]]'' as an example. They elected to go for that perspective rather than a "how to write racial minorities" bent because they were concerned that would only lead to stereotypes. They went on to say that many of their suggestions about how to handle [[Gender and Sexuality Tropes]] apply to [[Race Tropes]] as well.
* [[Stealth Parody]]: Discussed briefly at the end of the "[https://web.archive.org/web/20141002044637/http://extra-credits.net/episodes/hard-boiled/ Hard Boiled]" episode, where they suggest that the ''[[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare|Modern Warfare]]'' series has become self-aware of how over the top they have gotten through [[Serial Escalation]], and the end text of the episode recommends playing ''Modern Warfare 3'' with the mentality that it is a send-up of modern shooters.
* [[The Problem with Licensed Games]]: Did an episode on this trope https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7lD97BxMN0 .
* [[Three Act Structure]]: Discussed in the Amnesia episode, particularly with video games and their habit of [[In Medias Res|starting in Act 2]].
* [[The Thing That Would Not Leave]]: Depicts Charles the XII a little like this in Extra History.
* [[Token Minority]]: Mentioned in the diversity episode as a bad solution to accusations that there aren't enough female, black, or other minority groups.
* [[Uncanny Valley]]: Discussed [[In-Universe]] in one of the pre-Escapist episodes; [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKTAJBQSm10 "Video Games and the Uncanny Valley"].
** Brought up again in the Halloween Episode, [https://web.archive.org/web/20131002052538/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/symbolism-101 "Symbolism 101"].
* [[Unfortunate Implications]]: [[In-Universe]]They note how poorly thought-out game mechanics can accidentally send very dangerous messages if designers aren't careful and responsible. As an example, they cite the convention of making certain races and groups the enemy in recent mainstream shooters, which risks dehumanizing them in the minds of players who are required to slaughter them in droves without question. They single out ''[[Call of Juarez]]: The Cartel'' as an example of a game that does this, devoting an entire episode to ripping apart the [[Unfortunate Implications]] within it.
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