History Main / PlayingWithWiki

* Please make sure you've studied and memorized the trope definition and are 100% sure that it is what you think it is. Nothing ruins a PlayingWith page faster than shoehorning SquarePegRoundTrope examples into places the basic trope doesn't support.

** "SquarePegRoundTrope" examples (They have their own page; only ''the genuine trope'' and variants thereof should be listed on Playing With pages.)

** "{{Averted|Trope}}" vs. "{{Subverted|Trope}}": An Aversion is NotASubversion. Tropes are Averted when they are ''completely'' absent from the work. Subversions occur only when the audience is made to believe in advance that a trope will happen, but then it doesn't actually happen at all. In short, a Subversion is when a trope is [[BaitAndSwitch Bait-And-Switched]]. If there is a situation where the trope could occur, but it doesn't, that's not automatically a Subversion. It's simply an Aversion unless ''the writer directly implies'' that the trope is about to occur.

* '''Don't bother playing with it if it's NotATrope'''.

* '''Don't bother playing with it if it's NotATrope'''. (PeopleSitOnChairs is an exception.)

* Go ahead and list as many transformations as you can. If you can't think up a good example, go ahead and leave an entry blank. The WikiMagic will bring examples.

->'''Valid:''' "Double Subverted: The heroine's love for the hero fails to prevent his death, but as she's led away in despair, she is rescued by a reincarnated hero."

* If the characters in your examples have names, ''be sure to use the same character(s) in all examples on the same page''. If the page consistently refers to the hypothetical characters as "AliceAndBob", but one example calls them "Charles and Della" (for example), [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife people will be confused]].

A list of all the Playing With articles is [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/namespace_index.php?ns=PlayingWith just a click away.]]

** "Averted" vs. "Defied": An AvertedTrope, as noted above, is one that the writer simply fails to include. A DefiedTrope occurs when a GenreSavvy character goes out of his/her way to ensure the trope's absence. The reverse assumption is also possible: "Defied" means the trope is prevented by the characters, not the writers or executives. In other works, it's the inversion of {{Invoked|Trope}}, not {{Enforced|Trope}} or Plotted A Good Waste. If something in RealLife (e.g. ExecutiveMeddling) [[RealLifeWritesThePlot prevents the writer from using the trope]], or if the writer intentionally excludes a trope that he/she could use, it's still simply Averted.

** "Plotted A Good Waste" vs. "Enforced": An EnforcedTrope is one that the writers are forced to use, often due to ExecutiveMeddling. "Plotted A Good Waste" is when the writers decide to intentionally use a normally unintentional trope.

** [[IntendedAudienceReaction Plotted A Good Waste]] is only applicable to tropes that are normally unintentional.

** "{{Convers|ationalTroping}}ed" does not mean "{{Discussed|Trope}}" -- ''conversed'' means talking about a trope in [[ShowWithinAShow another work]], and ''discussed'' means having a character explicitly discuss the trope in GenreSavvy way in a situation in which it would normally appear.

** "Deconstructed[=/=]Reconstructed" vs. "Defied": Some "{{Deconstruction}}s" listed on Playing With pages involve the characters preventing the trope from occurring. This is incorrect, when a trope is prevented by one or more characters, it's a DefiedTrope. "Defied" is also easily confused with "Reconstructed", as a Reconstruction often involves the characters Defying the effects of the Deconstruction.

** "Discussed" vs. "Lampshaded": A DiscussedTrope is when the characters talk about a trope which might apply to their situation. A LampshadeHanging is specifically when the trope occurs, but is made less jarring to the audience's WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief by having characters point it out. (Ideally, your Discussed examples should not also be Lampshades - i.e. the trope itself should not be used in them.)

** "Plotted A Good Waste" vs. "Enforced": An EnforcedTrope is one that the writers are forced to use. "Plotted A Good Waste" is when the writers decide to intentionally use a normally unintentional trope.

* While we are on the topic of lesser-known transformations, "Unparodied" means that the audience expects to see a ParodiedTrope, but the trope in question is PlayedStraight instead.

** Tropes about the style of a work cannot be Played For Laughs/Drama, though some can be Parodied or Deconstructed/Reconstructed.

! Some common misunderstandings, and things to keep in mind:

** "Deconstructed" vs. "Played for Drama": A {{Deconstruction}} does not necessarily mean that the trope is darker or more dramatic than usual, although they may overlap. PlayedForDrama just means that the trope is used in a serious or dramatic way. A Deconstruction ''takes the trope apart'' and uses it in a more realistic way. In short, Deconstructed basically means "Played for Realism".

** Tropes that are beyond the control of the characters (e.g. tropes about the style of a work) cannot be Invoked or Defied, and most likely also cannot be Played For Laughs or For Drama, though some can be Exploited, Deconstructed, and/or Reconstructed.

** "Invoked/Defied in vain" (Invoked/Defied examples should end in success.)
** "DanBrowned" (Since this means that so-called "facts" are riddled with glaring errors, you may be tempted to use this to mean "the trope is used in a scientifically impossible way". However, this is incorrect; [[DanBrowned Dan Browning]] is a trope, and not a way to play with tropes. In fiction, there is no such thing as an impossibility.)

** "Averted" vs. "Defied": An AvertedTrope, as noted above, is one that the writer simply fails to include. A DefiedTrope occurs when a GenreSavvy character goes out of his/her way to ensure the trope's absence.

* A template is conveniently provided at PlayingWithWikiTemplate ([[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlayingWithWikiTemplate?action=source raw source]]). Using it will make the pages consistently formatted.

** Only tropes which are AlwaysMale or AlwaysFemale can be [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender Inverted]]. If you list "trope X happens to Bob" where most examples use Alice (or vice versa), this is only a valid GenderFlip if the trope is gender-specific.

** "Inverted" vs. "Exaggerated": For character tropes where the basic trope is "Alice is/does X", you might be tempted to list "every character ''except'' Alice is/does X" as an Inversion. This is incorrect; an example such as this would constitute an Exaggeration rather than an Inversion, as the trope is used on more than one character.

* Adding the "PlayedForDrama" and/or "PlayedForLaughs" points and then just writing "As it almost always is" (or a variation of that) ''does not count as a valid entry''! If you cannot think of an especially dramatic/comedic way to use the trope, just omit that point. It will be added in a future edit.

** Only gender-specific tropes can be [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender Inverted]].

* "Untwisted" means that the audience expects the trope to be ''Subverted'', not ''Averted''. Don't list "Untwists" in which the trope is just "thrown in" or revealed some time after the character it applies to is introduced.

** "DanBrowned" (Since this means that so-called "facts" are riddled with glaring errors, you may be tempted to use this to mean "the trope is used in a scientifically impossible way". However, this is incorrect; [[DanBrowned Dan Browning]] is a trope, and not a way to play with tropes.)

* '''Not all ways to play with a trope are applicable to all tropes.''' It's not a move to be taken lightly, but there are definitely situations where a given MetaTrope doesn't apply:

* '''Not all ways to play with a trope are applicable to all tropes.'''
** It should be obvious that [[IntendedAudienceReaction Plotted A Good Waste]] is only applicable to tropes that are normally unintentional, and only gender-specific tropes can be [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender Inverted]], but there are other, less obvious examples.

* '''Not all ways to play with a trope are applicable to all tropes.''' It should be obvious that [[IntendedAudienceReaction Plotted A Good Waste]] is only applicable to tropes that are normally unintentional, and only gender-specific tropes can be [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender Inverted]], but there are other, less obvious examples. Tropes that are beyond the control of the characters (e.g. tropes about the style of a work) cannot be Invoked or Defied, and most likely also cannot be Played For Laughs or For Drama, though some can be Exploited. Tropes that are completely realistic when Played Straight cannot be Deconstructed or Reconstructed, and ShesAManInJapan cannot be Inverted (as it covers any GenderFlip of any character in any translation of a work; as such, it has no opposite).

** "Justified" vs. "Enforced": A JustifiedTrope is specifically defined as '''InUniverse'''. That means the writers made a logical InUniverse reason for the trope to occur in the setting, not that [[HandWave meta-reasons]] make it a good choice to make it happen. If the writers ''have'' to use a trope because of ExecutiveMeddling, [[CensorshipTropes censorship]], [[NecessaryWeasel requirements of the genre]], or other external expectations or obligations, this is an EnforcedTrope. Remember that [[TropesAreTools Tropes Are Not Bad]], and a Justification isn't necessarily good.

* If the characters in your examples have names, ''be sure to use the same character(s) in all examples on the same page''. If the page consistently refers to "AliceAndBob", but one example calls them "Charles and Della" (for example), [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife people will be confused]].

* "Zig Zagged" covers miscellaneous or multiple variations, such as a trope that is Subverted three or more times, or both Parodied and Exploited. Ideally, the example on a Playing With page should be a MindScrew or a multiple [[SubvertedTrope Subversion]].

* '''Not all ways to play with a trope are applicable to all tropes.''' It should be obvious that [[IntendedAudienceReaction Plotted A Good Waste]] is only applicable to tropes that are normally unintentional, and only gender-specific tropes can be [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender Inverted]], but there are other, less obvious examples. Tropes that are beyond the control of the characters (e.g. tropes about the style of a work) cannot be Invoked or Defied, though some can be Exploited. They, most likely, also cannot be Played For Laughs or Drama. Tropes that are completely realistic when Played Straight cannot be Deconstructed or Reconstructed, and ShesAManInJapan cannot be Inverted (as it covers any GenderFlip of any character in any translation of a work).

** "SquarePegRoundTrope" examples (They have their own page.)

** "Flanderized" (Like [[DanBrowned Dan Browning]], {{Flanderization}} is itself a trope.)

** "Invoked/Defied in vain" (Invoked/Defied examples should not specify whether they ended in success or in vain.)

* Make sure you know what each transformation means and don't get them confused with each other:

** "{{Exaggerated|Trope}}" vs. "{{Parodied|Trope}}": It is possible for "Parodied" to overlap with "Exaggerated", but ''they are not the same''. It helps get the point across better if your exaggerated examples are not also parodies, and your parodies are not also exaggerated. Having your parody example be "see Exaggerated" is right out.
*** "Parodied" is when the trope or parts of the trope are directly mocked or spoofed for explicit humour value.
*** "Exaggerated" is an [[UpToEleven extreme or over-the-top]] manifestation of the trope, but may still be played straight or taken entirely seriously.

** "{{Averted|Trope}}" vs. "{{Subverted|Trope}}": An Aversion is NotASubversion. Tropes are Averted when they are ''completely'' absent from the work. Subversions occur only when the audience is made to believe in advance that a trope will happen, but then it doesn't actually happen at all. In short, a Subversion is when a trope is [[BaitAndSwitch Bait-And-Switched]].

* '''Not all ways to play with a trope are applicable to all tropes.''' It should be obvious that [[IntendedAudienceReaction Plotted A Good Waste]] is only applicable to tropes that are normally unintentional, and only gender-specific tropes can be [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender Inverted]], but there are other, less obvious examples. Tropes that are beyond the control of the characters (e.g. tropes about the style of a work) cannot be Invoked or Defied, though some can be Exploited. Tropes that are completely realistic when Played Straight cannot be Deconstructed or Reconstructed, and ShesAManInJapan cannot be Inverted (as it covers any GenderFlip of any character in any translation of a work).