Playing the Player: Difference between revisions

Line 39:

** [http://forums.ukcs.net/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=38035&start=0 OUR NEW OFFICE PASSTIME IS MESSIN' WITH THE GUY WHO PLAYS MAJESTIC]

* ''[[Heavy Rain]]'' does this to the player regarding the identity of the killer. {{spoiler|The killer is one of the player characters that you control and said character's thoughts do not directly allude to his deeds except in hindsight. You control the character under the assumption that his actions are to solve the mystery, when in reality he's trying to find his [[Jack the Ripoff]] and collect and destroy any remaining evidence.}}

* ''[[~~Nie R~~]]'' is arguably an example, at least on subsequent playthroughs. First time one plays through, its a typical [[Eastern RPG]]. Fight the monstrous Shades, save your daughter, defeat [[Big Bad|The Shadowlord]] and [[Happy Ending]] ensues. But then, you start your second playthrough {{spoiler|with the ability to understand the [[Black Speech]] of the Shades. Suddenly the entire tone of the game shifts. It turns out most of the Shades are innocent victims who are just trying to defend themselves, many of the game's antagonists are seriously provoked, and to them ''you'' are the monster. You're cutting them down, killing their children, invading their homes... you did this on your first playthrough too, but your limited perspective kept you from this.}}

* ''[[NieR]]'' is arguably an example, at least on subsequent playthroughs. First time one plays through, its a typical [[Eastern RPG]]. Fight the monstrous Shades, save your daughter, defeat [[Big Bad|The Shadowlord]] and [[Happy Ending]] ensues. But then, you start your second playthrough {{spoiler|with the ability to understand the [[Black Speech]] of the Shades. Suddenly the entire tone of the game shifts. It turns out most of the Shades are innocent victims who are just trying to defend themselves, many of the game's antagonists are seriously provoked, and to them ''you'' are the monster. You're cutting them down, killing their children, invading their homes... you did this on your first playthrough too, but your limited perspective kept you from this.}}

* ''[[Haze]]'' attempted to play this trope straight. The game has you as a trooper for [[Mega Corp|the Mantel Corporation]], jacked up on a performance-enhancing supplement called "Nectar" and fighting a guerrila-terrorist army led by a madman that wears human skin. Of course, Nectar is really an hallucinogenic mind-control [[Psycho Serum]] that blinds you to the fact that [[You Bastard|you're really a mass-murderer drug-junkie treating war as if it were a game of]] ''[[Halo]]''. This ''might'' have been a shocking twist and a highly effective deception of the player...if it ''weren't revealed on the back of the box and in all the game's publicity for months before release'', and if the supposed good guys weren't basically carrying around giant signs saying "hey, I'm a totally evil bastard, me" in flashing neon. Not a bad idea, but the execution was lacking, and it didn't help that the gameplay doesn't hold up terribly well.

* Many feel that the depth of ''[[Shadow of the Colossus]]'' deals with this trope. Players are used to being the good guy out to destroy the evil monsters. This seems to be the case at the start of the game, but as time goes on, the hero's appearance begins changing, becoming ragged and dark, and some of the monsters you defeat seem benign or even peaceful. One won't even attack you. The player must confront his or her own feelings of the morality of continuing to play the game.