History GenreDeconstruction / VideoGames

* VideoGame/ChronoCross deconstructs time travel by going into detail about [[FridgeHorror what happens]] [[AFateWorseThanDeath to the people who live in erased timelines]], as a result of the actions of the characters from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' and Serge's death [[spoiler: or rather, survival. The alternate timeline is the one in which he lives, Home]].

** The first game juxtaposes typical US government posturing about freedom/democracy/"restoring stability to the region" with unsettling hints the Middle Eastern country was an oil-rich US puppet state, and contrasts [[{{Eagleland}} the macho, cowboy attitude of the American grunts]] with a [[MisaimedFandom US Army tank named after a famous anti-war song]], [[Music/BlackSabbath "War Pig"]], and levels named after anti-war movies like ApocalypseNow and DrStrangelove (which, like the American campaign, ends with [[spoiler: massive nuclear devastation]]). While you're playing, the United States seems like a good guy championing peace and stability (obviously due to your player character being on their side), but the implication that to the other side it's an imperialist bully who can only be defeated by nuclear weapons remains. By the end, any player not under the sway of ConfirmationBias is left feeling like the game world is just a bunch of political structures throwing propaganda at each other to cover up the void where the truth should be. [[TruthInTelevision Sort of like real life]].

** While the earlier games promised hard decisions with no easy answers, they mostly left [[TakeAThirdOption an easy way out in the major quests.]] But the additional ending in the Extended version manages to deconstruct that. After fan outcry for a way to resist taking a choice from a [[UnreliableExpositor possibly untrustworthy source]] that determines your ending, BioWare put just that in the ending. You can take a fourth option now. [[spoiler: If you do, TheBadGuyWins and [[KillEmAll kills all sapient life in the galaxy]]. At least everyone [[DoNotGoGentle went]] [[IDieFree down]] [[LastStand fighting]], and the next generation put the Reapers down for good; by taking one of the options you turned down.

* ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' has all of the standard RPG conventions; you recruit party members who follow you forevermore, an [[TheObiWan Obi-Wan]] equivalent who explains everything, and you gain XP, levels and new abilities through combat. [[spoiler: And then several important characters ''call you out on all of this,'' saying, "Have you ever stopped to ''think'' about how you get stronger by killing everything? Don't you ''wonder'' why these people follow you without question? Has it ''occurred'' to you that your [[TheObiWan Obi-Wan]] only knows so much about both us and the villains because she's ''worked for both?''" It turns out that these standard RPG conventions aren't GameplayAndStorySegregation at all, but rather, things that actually happen in the plot, caused by the plot's AwfulTruth. The standard aspects of the genre we as the player take for granted are seen by the people involved not because [[BreakingtheFourthWall they can see through the fourth wall,]] but because any sane person would look at this behavior and realize that it's not the way reality should work, even the reality of StarWars.]] Light or darksided, it says something about the Exile that s/he doesn't even notice it.

** Finally, it deconstructs Lucas's presentation of the Force, in that the BigBad, having sampled from both the Jedi and Sith wells, ultimately rejects both because they're completely opposed ''yet they both work''. Obviously the Force is far greater than they realized and the BigBad is hoping to destroy the Force itself using the PC, freeing life from its influence.
** Creator/ObsidianEntertainment then went and did much the same thing with ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', which deconstructs D&D and heroic fantasy in general. Only difference is, they took the DeconstructiveParody route this time.

* VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas features Caesar's Legion as one of the two main powers in the Mojave Wasteland. As the name suggests, they are essentially the Romans [[RecycledINSPACE placed into]] a post-apocalyptic setting. As the progenitor of modern Western civilization, the glory of Rome is often seen through an intense NostalgiaFilter. You get to see some of Roman culture up close in this game, and it is [[DeliberateValuesDissonance ugly]]. There are probably no more {{complete monster}}s in the Legion than most other factions, but the slavery, misogyny, and sheer brutality of the Caesar's Legion makes it the [[BlackAndGreyMorality black to the NCR's grey]].

* ''BaldursGate'' deconstructs the well known idea that most of the world's problems tend to occur just as TheHero arrives on the scene. [[spoiler:Due to CHARNAME's status as a Bhaalspawn, he/she is a ''literal'' DoomMagnet, so the fact that you seem to stumble upon a lot of trouble isn't coincidence, ''you are literally causing it through your own existence''. Furthermore you are not the ''only'' Bhaalspawn out there causing chaos through existance. It doesn't help things that your father is the God of ''Murder''.]]

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' can be seen as doing this to the preceding games in the series and to other similar series (such as ''Halo'') in that the heroic character upon which everything revolves isn't invincible but is being psychologically worn down by the pressure s/he is under.
** And then there's the endings. So you're the OnlySaneMan hero gathered a RagtagBunchOfMisfits to fight against an AncientConspiracy who sweeps in and destroys all organic life for an apparently incomprehensible reason. What happens? [[spoiler: Did you really think overloading the mass relays wasn't going to have horrible consequences, even if you stop the Reapers?]]
** While the earlier games promised hard decisions with no easy answers, they mostly left [[TakeAThirdOption an easy way out in the major quests.]] But the additional ending in the Extended version manages to deconstruct that. After fan outcry for a way to resist taking a choice from a [[UnreliableExpositor possibly untrustworthy source]] that determines your ending, BioWare put just that in the ending. You can take a fourth option now. [[spoiler: If you do, TheBadGuyWins and [[KillEmAll kills all sapient life in the galaxy]]. At least everyone [[DoNotGoGentle went]] [[IDieFree down]] [[LastStand fighting]], and the next generation put the Reapers down for good; by taking one of the options YOU turned down. TakeThat player!]]

* ''Franchise/StarWars: [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic Knights of the Old Republic 2]]'' has all of the standard RPG conventions; you recruit party members who follow you forevermore, an [[TheObiWan Obi-Wan]] equivalent who explains everything, and you gain XP, levels and new abilities through combat. [[spoiler: And then several important characters ''call you out on all of this,'' saying, "Have you ever stopped to ''think'' about how you get stronger by killing everything? Don't you ''wonder'' why these people follow you without question? Has it ''occurred'' to you that your [[TheObiWan Obi-Wan]] only knows so much about both us and the villains because she's ''worked for both?''" It turns out that these standard RPG conventions aren't GameplayAndStorySegregation at all, but rather, things that actually happen in the plot, caused by the plot's AwfulTruth. The standard aspects of the genre we as the player take for granted are seen by the people involved not because [[BreakingtheFourthWall they can see through the fourth wall,]] but because any sane person would look at this behavior and realize that it's not the way reality should work, even the reality of StarWars.]] Light or darksided, it says something about the Exile that s/he doesn't even notice it.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' applied the same approach (if much less viciously than in [=MGS2=]) to [[SpyFiction spy]] films such as JamesBond and (to a lesser extent) action films like ''{{Rambo}}''. Most of the usual tropes are there -- beautiful BondGirl [[spoiler:[[DoubleAgent who is actually a spy for the enemy]]]], the FakeDefector, the Soviet scientist defecting to the U.S. and so on. Most are unexpected plot twists, all are horribly tragic, and all combine to make the protagonist into the biggest villain in the series.

** The third and final game in the trilogy was made after Infinity Ward's founders were fired, and as a result it takes on a much more generic AmericaSavesTheDay tone, but even then it doesn't betray the anti-nationalist attitude. [[spoiler: The United States never actually wins the war, nor is Russia treated as an irredeemable enemy. Moderates on both sides just get tired of conflict, and the end comes when American special forces rescue the Russian president from Russian extremist nationalists so he can order the military to stand down.]]

* The ''ModernWarfare'' trilogy, despite what the HateDumb and MisaimedFandom will tell you, is a deconstruction of jingoistic military shooters:
** The first game juxtaposes the typical American military posturing about freedom/democracy/"restoring stability to the region" with unsettling hints the Middle Eastern country was an oil-rich US puppet state, and also contrasts the macho, cowboy attitude of the American grunts with levels named after famous anti-war movies like DrStrangelove (which, like the American campaign, ends with [[spoiler: massive nuclear devastation]]) and ApocalypseNow. In the game, whether the United States is a good guy championing democracy or an imperialist bully who can only be defeated by nuclear weapons is left ambiguous, and by the end any player not under the sway of ConfirmationBias is left feeling like the game world is just a bunch of political structures throwing propaganda at each other to cover up the void where the truth should be. [[TruthInTelevision Sort of like real life]].

** The first game juxtaposes the typical macho military posturing about "restoring stability to the region" with levels named after famous anti-war movies like DrStrangelove and ApocalypseNow, and gives cryptic and unsettling suggestions the Middle Eastern country was a US puppet state before al-Assad took power. Whether the United States is a good guy championing democracy or an imperialist bully who can only be defeated by nuclear weapons is left ambiguous, and by the end any player not under the sway of ConfirmationBias is left feeling like the game world is just a bunch of political structures throwing propaganda at each other to cover up the ambiguous void where the truth should be. [[TruthInTelevision Sort of like real life]].

** The sequel goes even farther. It starts with a US task force performing [[TheWarOnTerror three separate acts of unilateral action]], but things sour when the Russian army invades the United States over a botched CIA operation that resulted in Russian civilians dead and an American soldier's finger on the trigger. But to the American grunts fending off the invasion, it's unquestionable their country isn't the victim. The two sides, inflamed by nationalism, fight with PatrioticFervor [[spoiler: unaware that that's exactly why a ranking American general purposefully botched the CIA op. In the game, the war is treated as a power fantasy between nationalists wearing the mask of righteousness. The human beings on the front lines, actually fighting for their country, are treated as disposable pawns by their leader.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Far Cry 3}}'' attempts to do this for many tropes that are StrictlyFormula in WideOpenSandbox action games. Elements meant to invoke CatharsisFactor in sandbox titles including the EscapistCharacter protagonist, the requisite CrapsackWorld setting, and the use of RPGElements to mark your progression from ActionSurvivor to ActionHero, are taken to their logical conclusion here. The protagonist's transformation into a BloodKnight in an environment so uncannily tailored for him to do so is constantly discussed in the game, often to draw a disturbing parallel between his motivations and [[YouBastard the motivations of player]].

* PhantomBrave viciously deconstructs AllOfTheOtherReindeer. The power of a Chroma (which is what Marona is) is, for all intents and purposes, necromancy, and as such it is widely regarded as a dark, unholy power, and people react accordingly to her. This isn't simply general disdain or mocking of her, this is real, genuine fear and hatred. Hell, listen to that woman who scolds her son for wanting to be friends with Marona in the opening chapter. You can literally feel the pure, unbridled barely contained ''rage'' she has at the mere ''mention'' of her name.

---> '''Snake, [[spoiler: in the ending where Meryl dies]]:''' I'm a loser. I'm not the hero you thought I was! I'm nothing!

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' deconstructs its own series. Rather than glamourizing crime and criminals like its predecessors, most characters you meet in the game are broke, greedy and psychopathic and the toll it takes on people. In addition, the [[DownerEnding end of the game]] where [[spoiler: your cousin or your love interest is murdered, you get revenge but it feels hollow, and you spend the rest of the game alone and driving around.]]

* It is quite plausible to read ''HalfLife'' as a deconstruction of the [[TropeCodifier archetypal]] FirstPersonShooter ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''. The basic premise is essentially the same; an experiment into teleportation technology [[GoneHorriblyWrong goes horribly wrong]] and creates a dimensional rift through which monstrosities invade our world. Additionally, there is very little plot exposition (just like the original ''Doom''!). But whereas ''Doom'' played this incident as [[IJustWantToBeBadass a wonderful way to demonstrate one's masculine virility by filling demons full of lead]], ''HalfLife'' shows you exactly how frightening this kind of situation would be in the real world. You must scramble to stay alive, think and ''not'' act like a stereotypical SpaceMarine in order to remain breathing. Additionally, while ''Doom'' had almost no plot exposition whatsoever, ''HalfLife'' frustrates the player with its ''lack'' of explicit exposition, demonstrating just how terrifying it would be to be stuck in a life-threatening situation with absolutely no information about it.

* ''VideoGame/VirtualOn'', a mecha fighting game with characters that serve as nothing more than controlled mechas, is ultimately a deconstruction to the fighting games with characters who have personalities and backgrounds.

** ObsidianEntertainment then went and did much the same thing with ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', which deconstructs D&D and heroic fantasy in general. Only difference is, they took the DeconstructiveParody route this time.

** While the earlier games promised hard decisions with no easy answers, they mostly left [[TakeAThirdOption an easy way out in the major quests.]] But the additional ending in the Extended version manages to deconstruct that. After fan outcry for a way to resist taking a choice from a [[UnreliableExpositor possibly untrustworthy source]] that determines your ending, BioWare put just that in the ending. You can take a fourth option now. [[spoiler: If you do, TheBadGuyWins and [[KillEmAll kills all sapient life in the galaxy]]. At least everyone [[DoNotGoGentle went]] [[IDieFree down]] [[LastStand fighting]], and the next generation put the Reapers down for good.]]

** While the earlier games promised hard decisions with no easy answers, they mostly left [[TakeAThirdOption an easy way out in the major quests.]] But the additional ending in the Extended version manages to deconstruct that. After fan outcry for a way to resist taking a choice from a [[UnreliableExpositor possibly untrustworthy source]] that determines your ending, BioWare put just that in the ending. You can take a fourth option now. [[spoiler: If you do, TheBadGuyWins and [[KillEmAll kills all sapient life in the galaxy]]. At least everyone [[DoNotGoGentle went]] [[IDieFree down]] [[LastStand fighting]]!]]

* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' deconstructs the more cerebral, RPGElements-gifted and EmergentGameplay style of FirstPersonShooter games (such as ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' and ''VideoGame/SystemShock'') by showing you exactly how much choice you actually have. [[spoiler:None. During the entire game you are essentially on the leash of MissionControl and the ButThouMust demands it makes of you, and all the choices you can make (ammo types, plasmid loadout, etc) are (with one specific exemption) basically meaningless in terms of the game's plot.]] It's especially heavy on deconstructing the idea of how players blindly follow the orders they're given, even by someone they've never met, without considering the consequences. In addition, [[DeconstructedTrope several other tropes unrelated to the genre are deconstructed as well]], most famously the concept of "Galt's Gulch" from Creator/AynRand's novel ''AtlasShrugged''.

** While the earlier games promised hard decisions with no easy answers, they mostly left [[TakeAThirdOption an easy way out in the major quests.]] But the additional ending in the Extended version manages to deconstruct that. After fan outcry for a way to resist taking a choice from a [[UnreliableExpositor possibly untrustworthy source]] that determines your ending, BioWare put just that in the ending. You can take a fourth option now. [[spoiler: If you do, TheBadGuyWins and [[KillEmAll kills all sapient life in the galaxy]], but at least everyone [[DoNotGoGentle went]] [[IDieFree down]] [[LastStand fighting]].]]

** While the earlier games promised hard decisions with no easy answers, they mostly left [[TakeAThirdOption an easy way out in the major quests.]] But the additional ending in the Extended version manages to deconstruct that. After fan outcry for a way to resist taking a choice from a [[UnreliableExpositor possibly untrustworthy source]] that determines your ending, BioWare put just that in the ending. You can take a fourth option now. [[spoiler: And doing so results in [[KillEmAll all sentient life in the galaxy dying]] because you're too full of yourself to face a situation with no unambiguously happy results.]]
* FinalFantasyVII is a deconstruction of Eastern [=RPGs=]. [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny However, because this game introduced many people into [=RPGs=], it was lost in some people]].

* ''VirtualOn'', a mecha fighting game with characters that serve as nothing more than controlled mechas, is ultimately a deconstruction to the fighting games with characters who have personalities and backgrounds.

* If Metal Gear Solid and later games in the series dealt with action and spy movies, then {{Policenauts}} tackled fiction that involved space travel and space colonization such as Franchise/{{Gundam}}. It is shown, said, or suggested in the game that there are issues with overcrowding, assorted denizens are on medications that are of dubious legality, said denizens need to be careful when it comes to their calcium intake, and that humans born and raised on Beyond Coast are taught to act differently from earth born humans to the point there are accents for both of them. And there's even more than all of that, such as how living in a space colony affects sex working. Ultimately, the {{Big Bad}} basically says in the {{Motive Rant}} that humanity in the universe of Policenauts was not ready to leave Earth, especially seeing as how the Earth's problems still hadn't been properly dealt with, and the player might very well agree with that. As an article on {{Hardcore Gaming 101}} [[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/policenauts/policenauts.htm puts it]]:

** The aforementioned MisaimedFandom [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor got precisely what it wanted]] with ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'', which deconstructed the way people related to the first game. So, [[IJustWantToBeBadass you want to be just like Solid Snake, huh?]] You get to play as a [[ThisLoserIsYou player proxy character]] that, like Snake, is an emotionally crippled BadAss with buckets of blood on his hands and [[BloodKnight a killer instinct]]. Unfortunately, your girlfriend is an [[NeverLiveItDown exceedingly whiny bitch that calls you in the middle of your mission to discuss your lack of emotional warmth]], the only way you could've acquired these oh-so-BadAss skills is TrainingFromHell that you have repressed the memory of, and indeed your desire to be just like Snake is going to be granted [[spoiler: via a mind-control experiment that the entire game's sequence of events is]].

* If Metal Gear Solid and later games in the series dealt with action and spy movies, then {{Policenauts}} tackled fiction that involved space travel and space colonization such as {{Gundam}}. It is shown, said, or suggested in the game that there are issues with overcrowding, assorted denizens are on medications that are of dubious legality, said denizens need to be careful when it comes to their calcium intake, and that humans born and raised on Beyond Coast are taught to act differently from earth born humans to the point there are accents for both of them. And there's even more than all of that, such as how living in a space colony affects sex working. Ultimately, the {{Big Bad}} basically says in the {{Motive Rant}} that humanity in the universe of Policenauts was not ready to leave Earth, especially seeing as how the Earth's problems still hadn't been properly dealt with, and the player might very well agree with that. As an article on {{Hardcore Gaming 101}} [[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/policenauts/policenauts.htm puts it]]: