Game Face: Difference between revisions

[[File:NightbreedGameFace2.jpg|link=Nightbreed|frame|[[Glowing Eyes of Doom|Glowing]] [[Red Eyes, Take Warning|red eyes]], [[Power Tattoo|tattoos]], ''and'' a [[Horror Hunger]] fueled [[Death Glare]]? Boone has his bases covered.]]

Sometimes though, they just want to play with their food. They drop the facade and show their [[This Was His True Form|true form]], getting scary eyes, growing [[Fangs Are Evil]], horns, [[Pointy Ears]] and [[Femme Fatalons]] or even claws. The changes that result in their '''Game Face'' can range from the purely cosmetic to the practical. In video games or RPGs, this usually affords attack bonuses or new forms of attack altogether. In film, tv, or literature it usually means any [[Innocent Bystanders]] nearby just dropped a rung in the food chain.

== [[Anime]] &and [[Manga]] ==

* ''[[Dragon Ball (Manga)|Dragon Ball]] Z'' abused this trope from the Namek Saga onward.

* In ''[[Bleach (Manga)|Bleach]]'', the Vizards can put their Hollow masks on as a definite Game Face.

* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (Mangamanga)|Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]]'', after {{spoiler|Selim Bradley}} reveals his true identity as Pride, he's consistently drawn with sharper features and more menacing eyes instead of the almost chibi appearance he had before.

* ''[[Rosario to Vampire (Manga)|Rosario to+ Vampire]]'': Absolutely everywhere, given that all of the monsters in it can take a perfect human disguise form, and given that a Global [[Masquerade]] is firmly in effect. [[Horny Devils|Succubi]], [[An Ice Person|Yuki'onna]] and [[Taken for Granite|Gorgons]] are all good examples of slighter changes (hair turning to ice, lengthening nails and ears or hair turning to snakes) while a great many other monsters show much more drastic change to their true forms. Of course while they are seldom angered enough to do so, the main characters have all shown ability to pull some very scary game faces despite their good natures.

* ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]'': Light Yagami does this, having hidden his [[Stepford Smiler|true personality]] almost to the very end, he loses what's left of his sanity when he's exposed, and [[Evil Laugh|breaks down]] [[Motive Rant|and confesses]], as he'd just got done swearing he'd never do. The [[Red Oni, Blue Oni|scary red eyes]] are just for us, the audience - but the frightening facial contortions, dramatic gestures and visible madness? Yeah, they're free for all. What makes it a [[Game Face]] is that it liberates him to finally state his case in person. [[Shut UP, Hannibal|Not that it convinces anyone]].

* Lelouch of ''[[Code Geass (Anime)|Code Geass]]'' relies on his featureless mask to preserve his [[Villain Withwith Good Publicity]] status. Without the mask he's as persuasive as Light.

* In the ''[[Darker Than Black (Anime)|Darker Thanthan Black]]'' tie-in manga ''Shikoku no Hana'', Azusa shows Mioka hers while ''casually breaking his shin and asking him if he was showing his''.

{{quote| '''Azusa:''' Is that your game face?}}

* In ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei (Manga)-sensei|Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei]]'', Chiri Kitsu normally looks [http://mundonoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/chiri.jpg like this]{{Dead link}}. However, when she shows her [[Ax Crazy]] side, she looks like [http://lh3.ggpht.com/_o8ElMaP74s4/SeoDkl7GfcI/AAAAAAAAEEg/lTqtdATIMts/chirizetsubou110.jpg this].

* ''[[Panty and& Stocking With Garterbelt (Anime)|Panty and Stocking Withwith Garterbelt]]'' features Chuck, resident [[Chew Toy]] that even ''God himself'' abuses (granted those lightning bolts are to send messages to the protagonists, but still). Then Panty gives him permission to put on the Game Face, and {{spoiler|'''''he turns into a [[Nigh Invulnerable]] [[Oh Crap|giant regenerating hellhound]]'''''}}.

* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! (Animeanime)|Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'': Yugi Muto]] and Pharaoh {{spoiler|Atem}} dueling.

* Somewhat toned down in [[Les Legendaires (Comic Book)|Les Legendaires]], where villain Abyss, when revealing his true identity {{spoiler|after posing as Profesor Kallisto Vangelis}}, gets [[Red Eyes, Take Warning|Red Eyes]], [[Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette|pale skin]] and a [[Slasher Smile]], but otherwise remains quite human-like.

== [[Film]] ==

* The vampires in ''[[From Dusk Tilltill Dawn]]''.

* In ''[[The DevilsDevil's Advocate]]'', several characters associated with [[Lou Cypher|John Milton's]] law firm torment Mary Ann Lomax by revealing their [[Nightmare Face|true faces]].

* ''[[The Lost Boys]]'': A seemingly-innocuous character {{spoiler|(Edward Herrmann)}} turns out to be the Big Bad and we don't know it until he gets his [[Game Face]] -- butFace—but the effect may seem doubly disconcerting since the original actor was ''chosen'' to look especially nonthreatening. {{spoiler|James Spader}} in ''Wolf'' is similar.

* ''[[Beetlejuice (Film)|Beetlejuice]]'': If you ever meet Beetlejuice, be sure to ask him "Can you be scary?"

* ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'': "Remember me, Eddie? When I killed your brother, I talked [[Punctuated! forFor! Emphasis!|Just.]] LIKE. THIIIIIIS!"

* Nonvillain example: In ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (Filmanimation)|How to Train Your Dragon]]'', Toothless got his name because {{spoiler|his teeth are retractable, and he only shows them when he's eating or snarling at something}}.

* Played for laughs in ''[[Galaxy Quest (Film)|Galaxy Quest]]'', where the crew encounters some weird baby-looking aliens on a desert planet. One of the cute aliens gets hurt, and the others crowd around it as if to help it get water... only to reveal demonic faces with terrifyingly sharp teeth and devour the thing alive.

* ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]''

** White Court Vampires look beautiful and pale and when they go [[Game Face]], it's the same, but with a distinctly inhuman bent to it.

** Denarians, Nicodemus aside, each have a personal [[Game Face]].

* ''[[Discworld]]''

** Speaking of Death, Mort and Susan have a version of this (Mort while he was playing Death's role and Susan on a permanent basis on account of being Death's [[Lamarck Was Right|granddaughter]]. This involves switching from normal speech to doing {{smallcapssmall-caps|The Voice}} and {{smallcapssmall-caps|talking like this}} and something frightening happens with their face (probably their skull shows through). It tends to scare most people.

* Subverted in ''[[The Laundry Series|The Jennifer Morgue]]'' by [[Charles Stross]]. The protagonist is working with a [[Horny Devils|succubus]] covered by a level-three glamour that makes her look like a gorgeous woman. Eventually despite her warnings he insists that she reveal her real face -- insteadface—instead of the hideous demon he expects, she turns out she's a [[Half-Human Hybrid]] that he actually finds rather attractive.

** Vampires have a human face, and a demonic face. The demonic face has bumps along their foreheads, yellow eyes, and of course, fangs. Some vampires were [[Shapeshifter Mode Lock|Shapeshifter Mode Locked]]ed into their demon face, such as The Master and Kakistos, presumably because of their extreme age (the Master being identified as the oldest known vampire at the time of his introduction).<br /><br />It's implied that their demon face is stronger, given Xander told Angel to put his [[Game Face]] on during the Season One Finale (quoting the Trope name directly), and it's confirmed in the spin-off (see below).

** On the flip side, there was [[Dracula]], who had only a human face -- butface—but had perpetual fangs. Spike said it was due to gypsy magic, which was the [[Hand Wave]] used to explain all the ways Dracula differed from other Buffyverse vampires

* ''[[Angel (TV)|Angel]]''

** The vampires. Angel even kept it [[Hilarity Ensues|when turned into a muppet]]. One episode states that he gets stronger with his [[Game Face]], but his bloodlust also increases.<br /><br />Vampires' demonic faces become much worse (and the advantages and drawbacks both get amped up) in the dimension of Pylea. Angel changes his face during a fight, and turns into a ferocious demon with green skin, red eyes, and horns. His strength and durability massively increased, but he could barely control his bloodlust in this form and nearly kills all his friends, and when he finally changes back to his human form, he's horrified.

* Vampires in ''[[Being Human (TVUK)|Being Human]]'' normally look completely human, but when about to bite people or otherwise get violent, their eyes turn solid black and their fangs come out. They're also able to consciously activate this when they aren't being violent, but still want to scare people.

* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'': Demons possessing a person's body look exactly the same as a regular human, except when their eyes go [[Black Eyes of Evil|solid black]]. Used quite often as a [[The Reveal|dramatic reveal]] on the show.

* In the episodes "The Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit" of ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'', a person who has been taken over by the alien of the week will have red eyes (red eyes only for the Ood) and mysterious writing tattooed on their skin [[Incredibly Lame Pun|(including their faces)]] as well as an I-will-hurt-you expression in general, complete with narrowed eyes and a mischievous grin.

* Henry Fitzroy in ''[[Blood Ties (TV)|Blood Ties]]'' extends fangs, and his eyes go black. The eyes also go black during hypnosis.

* Vampires in [[Sanctuary]] gain slanted black eyes, long talons on their fingers, a full mouth full of fangs and deeper voices when they shift into vampire mode. Tesla's skin also became grey on the first occassion he shifted, but this was largely ignored during later transformations.

* ''[[Charmed (TV)|Charmed]]'' has half demon-half human hybrids able to do this. Cole has a human form but has to embrace his demon self fully if he wants to tap into his powers. The demon self comes complete with red skin and black tribal markings.

* The Irish folk hero Cuchulain had his "warp spasm," which is lovingly and nauseatingly described in ''[[TainTáin BoBó Cuailnge (Literature)|Tain Bo CuailngeCúailnge]]''. You can read the relevant part [http://benedante.blogspot.com/2011/02/who-or-what-is-cuchulainn.html here.]

** In the ''[[Old World of Darkness (Tabletop Game)|OldNew World of Darkness]]'':

* ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons|Dungeons & Dragons 3.5th Edition]]'' had Pale Night, an ancient demon/EldritchAbomination. She's apparently so evil that ''reality itself has to shield itself from her.'' Evil enough that her strongest attack is to show her face, instantly killing all but the strongest-willed, and even those that survive do so by not comprehending her true form.

* The... the ''[[Crapsack World|everything]]'' in ''[[KULTKult]]''. [[Justified Trope]], reality is a lie and literally everything isn't what they seem to be.

* Lahmian- and Von Carstein-clan Vampires in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy]]'' are often said to be extremely beautiful and/or handsome. You would never tell this by the models, because they're always sculpted with their Game Faces on.

* ''[[Blaz BlueBlazBlue]]'': The main villain in once his identity is revealed. {{spoiler|With [[Compressed Hair]]!}}

* Mimi from ''[[Super Paper Mario (Video Game)|Super Paper Mario]]'' is a [[Shapeshifting|shapeshifter]], but usually just looks like a cute green-skinned girl with pigtails and an [[Unlimited Wardrobe]]. That is, until you [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DxHeXQWAdk#t=3m20s actually fight her] and she transforms into a monstrosity akin to ''[[The Thing (Filmfilm)|The Thing]]''.

* {{spoiler|Matt Engarde}}, the killer in the last case from ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]: Justice For All'', looks nice enough... but when he drops the act, he flips his hair, revealing the scars over his left eye, and his expression becomes a perpetual sneer.

* Members of the Berserker class in ''[[Fate/stay Stay Nightnight]]'' have a [[Game Face]] applied as part of their Mad Enhancement. Case in point: [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111103162904/typemoon/images/7/71/MadEnhancement.jpg fourth Grail War Berserker (spoilers)].

* ''[[Looking for Group (Webcomic)|Looking for Group]]'': "And Maikos?...[http://lfgcomic.com/page/253 This is no time for masks.]"

* ''[[Hanna Is Not a BoysBoy's Name]]'': Casimiro turns into some kind of bleach-white skeletal bat-person thing [http://hanna.aftertorque.com/?p=571 when he's threatening Hanna], which may be on purpose to intimidate him or just because the guy's a [[Mood Swinger]].

* In ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court (Webcomic)|Gunnerkrigg Court]]'', Jeanne's ghost, despite superficially resembling her living self most of the time, has a rather terrifying visage while she's in killing mode. She's been down there so long that her ''ghost'' has started to rot.

* At least some vampires in ''[[Sluggy Freelance (Webcomic)|Sluggy Freelance]]'' can switch between normal human and pale, pointy-eared, glow-eyed appearances. Hell Mouth and Vrykolakas vampires seem to look unusual all the time, but at least Lysinda Circle vampires have this power.

* An excellent juxtaposition between [[Game Face]] (predation front) and play face (social front) can be seen [http://www.ted.com/talks/stuart_brown_says_play_is_more_than_fun_it_s_vital.html seen at TED] during Stuart Brown's lecture on ''Serious Play'' in the interactions between a polar bear and a wolf. The scenario is at 00:01:27.

* Considered to be a big reason why Armadillos are known as "Texas Speedbumps". They have poor eye-sighteyesight, so when they suddenly realize an automobile is bearing down on them, they rise up on their hind legs to be more intimidating. [[Suicidal Overconfidence|Which makes them just as tall as the car's bumper.]]