It's very rarely that I say a video game really moved me. Too often, I see many games either obsessed with trying to be like movies and totally missing the impact of player agency in lieu of "highly cinematic" moments (and the fact that player agency is the defining trait of video games), or just not making any real unity between the moments of agency and more traditional storytelling. Maybe this stems from the fact that many developers, and programmers, and visual artists may know less about storytelling than they think, and that they feel content piggy-backing on the exact models of other mediums. Rarely, I see something that really tries to use the mechanics of the gameplay to both characterize the characters and tell the story, instead opting to have the "story section" and "gameplay section". That's not to say these individuals aren't talented, but perhaps a bit misguided on the applications of those ideas.
Every now and then, though, we get something truly special. Something that takes every single aspect of it and uses it to really push the medium forward or even just is very competent. Toby Fox's "Undertale" serves as a shining example of this. Its story isn't, initially, a very complicated one. Your character, a small child, falls into a hole and finds him in an underground civilization of monsters that were forced down by humans in a war that occurred some time ago. So, obviously, your goal is to leave and return to the surface. At first glance, it certainly doesn't seem like much, what with it's chiptune soundtrack and SNES-era graphics (they happen to be absurdly charming and expressive, though), and even gameplay that seems (at first) to be like most other role playing games from that era. The brilliance is just under the surface, though, for the real gold lies in how Fox makes use of the player's agency. In most games, you engage in combat with enemies (either through ambush or voluntarily), but combat often seems to be the main means of advancing things. "Undertale" gives you a new path. Here is a game that gives you the opportunity to be a total pacifist, something immensely rare in video games. Even more, choosing to engage or not engage in battles has a direct influence on how the story of the game plays out. This unique mechanic ultimately can create some wildly different experiences, and, speaking for myself, may lead to a tear or two.
Each battle has your stereotypical RPG elements: counters that measure health, menus to go through to select what action you will take next, and a turn-based system. The major difference lies, again, in the leaning towards pacifism. It's here that I find it hard not to gush and end up "spoiling" certain aspects of the game, but suffice to say, if one were to choose the non-violent route they would find each monster they encounter responding in very interesting ways. This is even more interestingly reflected with the boss battles. For example, I chose to buy a certain item early in the game. Later on, I had to defend myself against a monster that represented those folk selling the items. At one point, after resisting attacking for nearly a dozen turns, the monster receives a phone call that says that there was a huge misunderstanding, and that there was no reason to attack you. So, by not fighting this monster, I gained an ally. That's so incredibly important to note, as your actions steadily shape how all the characters around you see you. Even your “lv” (level) and “exp) experience tie into this in a very important way. Essentially, the whole of this game is spent both embracing much of the foundation of role playing games, while also subverting so much of what has come to be expected from them. It’s an act of looking forward by looking back.
With “Undertale” we have something truly special, something that is the perfect rebuttal to the idea that a video game’s emotional effect is increased with graphical fidelity. Instead, “Undertale” shows that the real key to making games into “empathy machines” (a term that Rodger Ebert used to describe movies) while also maintaining their uniqueness is through a good understanding of how to unite story and player agency. The mechanics of the game are used as a metaphor for your communication with the citizens of the Underground. Story is told not only through the surface text, but through the subtext of the very battles themselves. It’s something that blows me away every time I think about it. This is a treasure, folks.
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