Trope Tales

Harken back to the days of your youth when you sat slack-jawed and starry-eyed in front of a CRT display for hours with an NES controller in hand. Recall the vainglorious days of yore when you triumphed over the first boss in epic fashion then never actually finished the game. Learn a lot of fun words along the way, too!

When I set out to make a game with RPG Maker, I was quick to realize that it was optimized for making a particular type of game: a classic 2-dimensional JRPG, the likes of Golden Sun, Breath of Fire, Final Fantasy, and Chrono Trigger. So I thought -- why not lean in? Let's make the most JRPG game EVER.

To help develop the story and characters, I turned to "TVTropes" - a repository of "tropes". A trope is defined by the Oxford English dictionary as "a significant or recurrent theme; a motif". Common examples include:

* Contrived Coincidence: an unlikely event happens but, despite the low changes, it's not acknowledged as it was necessary to move the plot
* Nobody Poops: Going to the bathroom simply doesn't happen in fiction
* Fantasy Gun Control: No matter how advanced society becomes, guns don't exist

From a hand-picked collection of hundreds of tropes and the general outline for the Hero's Journey (Campbell's version, circa 1949) this game was born:

Take on the role of Hero, a Silent Protagonist who is Conveniently an Orphan. One day Hero is summoned by the Quest Giver to find the Orbs of Ineffable Power. You must leave your home of Arcadia and travel via Global Airship on a World Tour. Acquire Villain-Beating Artifacts and put together a crack-shot team with party members such as: The Chick, The Smart Guy, and The Childhood Friend. Acquire Plot Armor along the way and learn to use Applied Phlebotinum.

Enjoy a somewhat comical take on classic JRPGs in this blast-from-the-past adventure.