Perpetually Static: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

However, if any real control were given to the players, they would ruin the concept faster than a heckler at a play. As such, many rules end up being put in place to prevent that from happening. Also, due to the fact that there is very rarely any single overarching character trait (outside of being a "hero" or "adventurer" or what have you), the developers have to write all plots with that in mind. This leads to a perpetually static world. Rules for the world are as follows:

 

Exceptions to these rules are rare and usually gimmicky. See also [[An Adventurer Is You]], [[Heroic Mime]], and [[Status Quo Is God]]. This could be considered an [[Acceptable Break From Reality]], given that it's pretty much necessary for the genre. For non-MMORPG examples, compare [[Medieval Stasis]] and [[Modern Stasis]].

 

* ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' takes this to its logical extreme. While the Conquest system means that imbalance in the nationalities of [[Player Character]]s fighting in some regions can lead to those regions changing hands, and there have been attempts to add more spontaneity through Besieged and Campaign, all are still zero sum games in that no permanent changes happen regardless of their outcomes.

** Story Rule 2 is taken to extremes in ''Treasures of Aht Urghan''. It may be annoying that if an NPC there is at least ''somewhat'' competent, you'll be treated like a slab of muscle with the IQ of a turnip... but it's even more annoying when ''[[Idiot Ball|your character's actions actually reflect this]]''. Obviously the author had never heard of the saying, "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."

** An interesting consequence occurs from Story Rule 5 due to the extremely plot-heavy nature of ''FFXI'': All events over the course of the game (with the exception of the Crystal War, experienced only through time travel) are effectively contemporary to each other, with linearity only occurring along the course of specific sets of quests or missions. Short-term changes are allowed for the sake of plot development, with a return to a reasonable facsimilie of the status quo by the end. This can sometimes cause oddities not just for the player but for important NPCs, such as Minister Ajido-Marujido representing Windurst in national diplomacy {{spoiler|while under investigation for treason--or possibly even '''while being incarcerated for it'''}}.

* ''[[City of Heroes]]'' attempts to subvert this in places, but fails. They try to [[Lampshade]] why the Task Forces are repeatable with a vague "but that doesn't mean they won't try it again" type of sentence. It doesn't quite explain why if they're trying the same thing over again, you still have to play along as if you haven't foiled them before. Some mission sets try to progress the general story, but fail due to conflicts with either the game world or with other missions. One example is the Crey corporation, where {{spoiler|you eventually expose all their conspiracies and arrest the owner. That doesn't stop the operatives from swarming the streets or the fact that Manticore still acts like the Countess is a highly respected business owner when you start his task force}}. One Task Force even has you rescuing an NPC that you can still find standing around in the world. It has also tried to progress the game world itself over time, but this has had mixed results as well. One very clunky change was the 5th Column takeover by the Council, which itself has been criticized as a [[No Swastikas]] [[Retcon]]. One can read about it [http://cityofheroes.wikia.com/wiki/5th_Column_Controversy here]. More effectively subverted in a more recent update which makes the world change client-side to reflect the things the player character has done. For example, if the player shuts down a certain enemy group in one particular area, he/she will not encounter the enemies associated with that group there, however another player will, unless he/she has taken them out as well. The world ''also'' changes client-side when your character joins a team, based upon what the team leader has done.

* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' has advanced somewhat over the years from its origins, which played this trope completely straight.

** Static examples:

* Supposedly, ''[[Final Fantasy XIV]]'' is geared towards averting this somewhat. But since that game is a truly incomprehensible mess at this time, no one really knows for sure.

* ''[[Aion]]'' falls hard into this one, so much so that you wonder why they bothered to set it up that way. The overarching story is that the world of Atreia has been shattered into two halves by the Balaur, resulting in two factions constantly at war, the Elyos and the Asmodians, and both are at war with the Balaur, who only exist in the center of the shattered world. However, the breaking of the world means that the lifeblood of all three races, Aether, is disappearing, and the game goes so far as to state that the constant warfare is ''accelerating'' the loss of Aether, with cataclysmic consequences if the Aether gets too low. What effect does this have on gameplay? ''None at all'' (except for the PvPvE).

 

=== Non-video game examples ===

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

{{quote|'''Torg:''' "It felt like I was accomplishing something, stopping Luther. But I wasn't! He's still in the game drowning puppies. And if I'm not supposed to care about the quests, if I don't have any real impact on this world, what am I playing the dumb game for?"}}

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:CRPG Tropes]]