History Main / ShrugOfGod

* Whether the VideoGame/IceClimber duo is a pair of HalfIdenticalTwins, [[PuppyLove lovers]], or unrelated friends is up to the player. This leads in an odd situation thanks to ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' returning the characters to prominence, with half the fanbase seeing them as unrelated and shipping them while the other part is utterly {{squick}}ed by [[IncestYayShipping pairing siblings]] together.

-->'''Interviewer''': Do you think people will want to replay the first title after clearing this one?
-->'''Nomura''': Hmmm, I think there are a lot of puzzling elements, so maybe they'll want to play the next game... and there'll be a secret movie too.
-->'''Interviewer''': The next game!? Do you mean "III"!?
-->'''Nomura''': The next game will be the next game (laughs)

--> "In the end, Klonoa is supposed to be the player. If the player thinks he is a dog then he is a dog. If the player thinks of him as a cat then he is a cat".

* Mortis Ghost, ''VideoGame/{{OFF}}'''s creator, prefers to let everyone come up with their own explanations to whatever just happened in the game rather than say so himself. Considering [[MindScrew what sort of game we're talking about]], that's a lot of speculation to be done. He has given some canonical facts though, such as the fact that Sugar, Enoch, and Zacharie are the only humans in the game, and agreeing with a fan during a livestream that the Batter is a lesbian.

-->'''Scout''': He's not here, is she?

* In ''VideoGame/InvisibleInc'' is Shopcat an [[UpliftedAnimal uplifted cat]] pretending to be a human or a human pretending to be an uplifted cat? Even the devlopers aren't sure.
* ''VideoGame/OtterIsland'': Creator Mizzen is pretty vague when answering questions about the game's story, such as where exactly it takes place and the nature of [[spoiler:the creature on the island that usually only comes out in autumn]], intentionally leaving things ambiguous so players can form their own theories.

* In a interview hosted by Dawko about ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', Scott did this ''a lot''. In the interview, he stated that he feels that the fans should find out how the story plays out themselves. Regardless, he acknowledged the constant effort and near match that Mat-Pat (WebVideo/GameTheory) made and revealed some plot points and interesting facts.

** ''Anime/MacrossFrontier''? While he may have been a little more forthcoming about the [[LoveTriangle three principles and their fates]], we now have the result that [[spoiler: Michel and Brera are ''both'' still alive. [[ContinuitySnarl Despite each having died in a separate, mutually exclusive continuity]].]]

** Famously, during an interview, when the interviewer told him that [[FanPreferredCouple many fans were hoping that Hinata would get a chance to be with Naruto]], his answer was... [[TrollingCreator "I hope so too"]]. [[spoiler: [[OfficialCouple And she did]], as detailed in the movie ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'']].

* Leaving aside one storyline that everyone seems to be ignoring, ComicBook/TheJoker has never had any backstory that was not told by the Joker himself. In ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'', a backstory is told which initially appears to be definitive, but the Joker later says, "Something like that happened to me. I'm not quite sure what it was. Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another. If I'm going to have a past, I'd rather it be [[MultipleChoicePast multiple choice]]". His pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} backstory of having previously been a gang leader called the Red Hood has mostly been maintained (DependingOnTheWriter), but the backstory of the man who became the Red Hood has never been independently revealed.

* After ''ComicBook/BatmanThreeJokers'' wrapped up, writer Creator/GeoffJohns said it was up to fans and later writers to decide if it was canon or not. ''ComicBook/BatmanChipZdarsky'' does subject it to CanonDiscontinuity with "Joker: Year One", which [[spoiler:ignores the idea presented in ''Three Jokers'' that the Joker is a CollectiveIdentity and instead that the "three Jokers" refers to the Joker having [[SplitPersonality three personalities]], not literally being three different men.]]

* The contents of the suitcase from ''Film/PulpFiction'' are an example. It was originally supposed to be the diamonds from Film/ReservoirDogs, but then [[Creator/QuentinTarantino Tarantino]] changed his mind and said it's basically supposed to be "whatever [[MacGuffin seems most valuable to the viewer and can fit in a suitcase]]". He's regretted putting the yellow glow in the briefcase, because it seems to be a clue to a question that never had an answer. Creator/SamuelLJackson and Tarantino both got sick of getting asked what was in the briefcase and would occasionally answer, "Batteries and light bulbs".

*** Incidentally, some elements of the original trilogy's world-building (most notably [[{{Ecumenopolis}} Coruscant]]) were inspired by Isaac Asimov's Literature/FoundationTrilogy, where the question of humanity's planet of origin is a mystery in-universe and eventually becomes a plot point.

** Then there's the coin flip that was used to determine if Londo or G'Kar would be the bad guy. [[GreyAndGreyMorality No one will say who won.]]

* The producers of ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' has been vague about a number of things, including whether [[EvilTwin Bizarro]] is really [[ComicBookDeath dead]]. As in, ''[[KilledOffForReal dead]]'' dead. They also confirmed that they had no idea what ComicBook/DoctorFate meant when he said Chloe Sullivan walks the same path as he.

** Although, WordOfGod later confirmed that [[spoiler: Chuck is indeed God, and it was further confirmed in-universe in episode 11x20, "Don't Call Me Shurley".]]

** [[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hotel-california/ According to Snopes]], it's definitely not about Devil worship. It's about [[spoiler: hedonism and greed in California during the 1970s caused by fame. Hotel California is not an actual place, but a metaphor for how the music industry causes fame to be abused.]]

* Music/KenAshcorp [[InvokedTrope Invokes this]] in the description to "Burgz", where he implies that this song about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin literally burgers]] might be a metaphor for relationships, right before closing his statement with "Who knows?".

* ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978'' fueled all kinds of theories about ''why'' 42 was the answer to WMG/TheUltimateQuestionOfLifeTheUniverseAndEverything, until Douglas Adams [[http://www.vacic.org/photo/42/index.html stated on alt.fan.douglas-adams]] that [[RuleOfFunny it was just a joke]]:

* Samuel Beckett, when asked what, exactly, ''Theatre/WaitingForGodot'' even meant responded "What do you think?". And then, on being given the interviewer's analysis, "Hmmm, interesting". And that is all. Beckett did, however, deny a persistent piece of {{Fanon}} that persists in studies of the play. "If I meant Godot to be God, I would have simply called him God". Though, to complicate matters, at another point he did claim that his subconscious does things without him at times. All in all, "If I knew who Godot was, I would have said so in the play".
** To be fair all of Beckett's plays are all examples of this Trope he famously refused to explain anything of any of his plays to the point, he befriended those that never questioned him.

* At the end of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', SilentProtagonist Claude has just rescued his annoying and motormouthed girlfriend Maria. The screen fades to the credits-on-black but Maria keeps on talking, and [[spoiler:a single gunshot is heard, and she quits talking]]. Rockstar's official response to fan questions about what actually happened is [[spoiler:"certainly gun shots were fired but nobody is sure as to exactly what happened".]] During a Q&A they went into more detail - by saying that some of the developers thought Claude killed her and some thought he didn't. They also managed to shrug about Claude's backstory ("he's a drifter"), and his current status ("he's not dead but we don't know what became of him").

-->[[http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=114535 The whole issue of canon is something the fans came up with. I guess you will be able to identify as canon those story elements we continue to build on and develop and mention repeatedly as the story progresses. Others might fall by the wayside once they've served their purpose. Couldn't you say the same of us all?]] [sic]

** And on the subject of ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', according to the Ultimania, [[spoiler:Roxas "may or may not" have had Ventus's heart.]]

** When asked how Kirby got his name, Masahiro Sakurai says he doesn't remember. Shigeru Miyamoto says it was inspired by the lawyer who defended VideoGame/DonkeyKong from [[Film/KingKong Universal's copyright infringement lawsuit]], but also that Kirby was just [[InherentlyFunnyWords a funny name]] for the little guy.

* This is how the creators of ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' react the big question presented by the game's ending. [[spoiler:Who is it that appears in front of Tear? Is it Luke? Is it Asch? Is it some weird combination of both caused by Lorelei?]]. The game's director answered with "Who do you think it is? That's the answer". [[MisaimedFandom Cue endless debates on the subject]].

* The AmazingTechnicolorPopulation of ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' has lead to a lot of speculation about the ethnicities of several supporting characters - The most popular being the {{Fanon}} theory that Skeeter is [[TokenBlackFriend black]]. In response to this, Jim Jinkins has said "I'm like, 'Well, he's blue!' [...] If that's how you see him, that's great. It's not a bad thing, but I never planned it. Skeeter is blue, and he's Doug's friend".

** The show itself [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield has made a ton of jokes]] about where Springfield is, with everything from TheUnreveal to establishing it to be in an impossible location. One episode establishes "West Springfield" as "three times the size of Texas". ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'' says it borders Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky, which is geographically impossible. And "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E22BehindTheLaughter Behind the Laughter]]" called them a "Northern Kentucky family", but ''(a)'' this was about the Simpsons as actors rather than characters (it's a weird meta episode) and ''(b)'' there are variant recordings of that particular line which can occasionally be heard on reruns.

* The question of "Who is Mysterion?" from the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "The Coon". In the original commentary, Trey Parker and Matt Stone flat-out stated that they don't know who Mysterion is, and that there was no specific character who they intended Mysterion to be. Fans continued to debate the issue and presented evidence backing up various theories, with Clyde and Kenny usually being the most popular candidates. The issue was finally revisited in the three-part "Coon And Friends" Trilogy, with a fan poll between the first and second parts about who viewers thought he might be. (In case you're wondering, [[spoiler:it's [[TheyKilledKenny Kenny]]]]).

* Glen Murakami of ''WesternAnimation/{{Teen Titans|2003}}'' fame is (in)famous for not caring about the finer points that get the {{Fandom}} up in arms. The Shrug Of God is the official answer to ''anything'' related to whether or not it's in continuity with the other Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse cartoons, anything to do with the characters' origins or out-of-costume lives (most famously, which Robin it is), and pretty much anything not detailed onscreen. General fan consensus is that ''Teen Titans'' isn't part of the [=DCAU=] and Robin is Dick Grayson, but ThePowersThatBe have never answered yes or no, not considering these things to be important.[[labelnote:With that in mind...]]Show writer David Slack [[WordOfSaintPaul has stated that]] the Robin we see is Dick Grayson, with everything from the show itself (the relationship with Starfire, the scene with two trapeze artists falling to their doom, the series being based on the 1980s incarnation of the team, "Larry" aka [[SdrawkcabName Nosyarg Kcid]], Robin becoming Nightwing in an alternate future, etc). backing him up. Both the [[ComicBook/TeenTitansGo comic book continuation]] and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' confirm this Robin to be Dick Grayson as well.[[/labelnote]]

* This was done by the creators of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' for a subplot that seemed to be unambiguous in canonicity. According to Doc Hammer, the writers initially hadn't decided if Myra is the boys' birth mother but decided against it for the final season.

** It happened again between Seasons 3 and 4 regarding the purpose of the ORB. This, however, was eventually answered in Season 4's "The Revenge Society" - [[spoiler:the ORB is useless, because instead of killing Lloyd Venture to prevent its use, his bodyguard Sandow broke it instead. In the commentary for the scene where this is finally revealed, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer took great joy in answering the questions in such a way.]]

* This is the entire point of the story ''The Lady or the Tiger?'' by Frank Stockton, as well as its sequel, ''The Discourager of Hesitancy''. Stockton was once at a party where, in an attempt to get a straight answer out of him, the host(s) served two kinds of ice cream: one in the shape of a lady, the other in the shape of a tiger. They asked which he would prefer. Stockton said, "I'll have a bit of both".

* Creator/SiSpurrier has been asked what the deal is with "the Fiend" (the evil verson of Professor X within Legion's mindscape) in ''Comicbook/XMenLegacy''. Is he just one of David's alters? Is he a fragment of Xavier's psyche that David absorbed following his father's death? Is he some other entity entirely? Spurrier's view is that he doesn't know, David doesn't know, and it doesn't matter; what ''matters'' is that there's an evil version of Legion's dad in his head, and it ''hates'' him.

* This trope reaches back to the Golden Age of Holltywood: In ''Film/AngelsWithDirtyFaces'', at the end of the film a tough as nails gangster played by Creator/JamesCagney is asked by his childhood friend, now a priest, to "turn yellow" as the two are walking down the "last mile" to the electric chair. This is in an effort to get the Dead End Kids, whom the priest is mentoring, to lose their awe and emulation of Cagney's character. Just as the pair reaches the death chamber, Cagney breaks down and starts pleading for his life. To his dying day, Cagney would never reveal if his intent in that scene was to play it as him putting on an act to honor his friend's request or if the character really did genuinely "turn yellow" at the last moment, saying he liked the ambiguity.

* Jack Getschman, the creator of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' AbridgedSeries WebVideo/ScootertrixTheAbridged, has admitted that he doesn't remember why he chose to do certain things. Most notably, why he changed Rainbow Dash's name to the bird.
** He also says jokes about something the audience and possibly the characters didn't get to see, are often things he doesn't either.

-->'''[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=utbmk5kxkkqah7d8k16jx7su&page=9#202 Dr. Gears:]]''' At the end of the day, people can call it canon, non-cannon, brilliant, and stupid, and be right and wrong all at the same time. When dealing with the SCP, you have to understand that we took Canon out behind the barn and shot it in the head a long, long time ago. [sic]

* [[TeasingCreator afroakuma]] seems to do this with roughly half the questions he gets in the TabletopGame/VoteUpACampaignSetting discussion threads. More often than not, he appears to do it ForTheEvulz; certain questions have been noted by him to be unanswerable for valid(ish) reasons, though.

* Edward Kay has been this way about a few aspects of ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', such as the characters' ages, the full extent of Lucius' powers, if [[ShipTease Jimmy and Heloise are getting together]], and (the biggest one of all), the true nature of Miseryville. On that last one, he compared it to Franz Kafka's ''The Metamorphosis'', saying that Jimmy may literally be in Hell (the show's original pitch and what most fans believe), be in an alien world/dimension, or even just be dreaming in a coma.

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', odd visual effects are often used as an artistic convention, such as the angry black eyes of death in [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1187 this comic.]] However, as some of the characters have magic powers, sometimes similar effects are clearly actually happening in-universe. For example, Tedd is actually glowing in [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=874 this comic,]] as another character comments on it. However, in [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2325 this comic,]] the author claims in the commentary that he isn't entirely sure whether the spectral flames surrounding Elliot are merely an artistic convention, or something that is actually happening.

* "Girl" by Music/{{Beck}} has a hard to decipher word in between "My" and "Girl" during the chorus. Is it Summer? Sun-eyed? Cyanide? In the lyric book it says "My ... girl".

il the show gets revived.

* When Creator/MikeJudge is asked where ''[[WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead Beavis and Butthead's]]'' InvisibleParents are, he'll say they're in the same place as [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Charlie Brown's]] parents.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}'' writer, Michael Marlow says he hadn't planned an explanation as to why Beatrice turns out to be alive in the final episode and refuses to reveal the reason he came up with since until the show gets revived.

* When Creator/MikeJudge is asked where ''[[WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead Beavis and Butthead's]]'' InvisibleParents are, he'll say they're in the same place as [[Comics trip/{{Peanuts}} Charlie Brown's]] parents.

** [[FlipFlopOfGod More recently]] however, in an interview he did shortly before the premiere of ''Anime/SpaceDandy'' he instead said [[spoiler:he survived.]]

* Creator/JamesCameron has always refused to say what the "arcturian poontang" mentioned by the [[SpaceMarines Colonial Marines]] in ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' are. Recent tie-in novels have confirmed that they're an alien race.

* Two pricing games on ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' (Check Game and Credit Card) have been "withdrawn". Although neither game has been played in years, the staff has not officially declared either game retired — but then again, they're also making no claims of either game coming back. So as far as they're concerned, both games may or may not be retired. That is, until Check Game returned in 2013.

* In a recent interview hosted by Dawko about ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', Scott did this ''a lot''. In the interview, he stated that he feels that the fans should find out how the story plays out themselves. Regardless, he acknowledged the constant effort and near match that Mat-Pat (WebVideo/GameTheory) made and revealed some plot points and interesting facts.

** More recently, Wyatt has refused to answer questions about [[spoiler:how Sari's protoform appeared in Isaac's lab]]. If that story is going to be told, it's going to be in some form of new Animated fiction.