I Know Mortal Kombat/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A character learned how to do something simply by using a simulation of said activity.

  • Straight: Bob learns how to fight from a video game.
  • Exaggerated: Bob becomes the world's best fighter simply by playing Fighting Games.
  • Downplayed: Bob is able to accurately learn the rules of several sports by playing their videogame counterpart. He still isn't able to play them, though.
  • Justified: The game was designed as a martial arts training simulator.
    • Alternatively, Bob was trained to learn skills by closely watching and mimicking simulations.
  • Inverted: Bob mastered a fighting video game by becoming a black belt in a martial art.
  • Subverted: Bob enters a martial arts tournament after winning a Fighting Game tournament, and proceeds to get his ass handed to him.
  • Double Subverted: ...but turns his console back on, fights his favorite character against someone with the same fighting style as his opponent many times, and after much study figures out the weaknesses in his opponent's style, signs up for the next tournament and easily defeats that same opponent.
  • Parodied: Playing video games gives Bob the ability to shoot energy from his hands like a video game character.
    • The dojo where all the best fighters train is shown to be a row of video game consoles, and the fighters themselves are all stereotypical nerds.
  • Deconstructed: Players begin to die due to seemingly minor conflicts taken seriously by players, such as the Console Wars, suddenly turning deadly. The reason? Well, those large-scale Fighting Games that were just released taught many video gamers how to fight, and the Internet Backdraft suddenly left the Internet and spilled into the streets. Moral Guardians are campaigning for a total ban on the medium, and this time they may well get it...
  • Reconstructed: ...until the gamers learn from those first few high-profile combat deaths, and prove that yes, they are responsible enough to use something so dangerous. In fact, their game-related martial arts training helps them become more disciplined, more focused, and proves to be a net gain for gamers and society alike.
  • Zig Zagged: ???
  • Averted: Video gamers who play fighters or racers or whatever don't become any better at what they're doing.
  • Enforced: The parent company of the one making the show also ones a game development studio, and they want the kids at home to buy their newest video game. "Hey kids! This game makes you awesome!"
  • Lampshaded: "Really, Alice, I can beat Charlie. I know all of Ryu's moves!"
  • Invoked: While Training the Peaceful Villagers, Bob introduces them to the wonders of Street Fighter and The Legend of Zelda so that they can learn skills from the games.
  • Defied: Emperor Evulz bans combat-oriented video games from The Empire in an attempt to prevent some Kid Hero with skill at a game from being able to challenge his rule.
  • Discussed: "Wait, Bob! You're always on those flight sims. If anyone can land this plane, it's you!"
  • Conversed: "Bob shouldn't be able to do that!" "Why not? He's played enough video games."

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