History VideoGame / DieAnstalt

You can find the game online and for free [[http://www.parapluesch.de here.]]

* ShoutOut: References include ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey,'' Edward Hopper, and Henri Rousseau.

* UnwinnableByMistake: Dolly was completely incurable when she was first introduced.

* LivingToys: Fluctuating between 2, 3 and 4 on the Sliding Scale. Apparently, whether or not the humans in the game acknowledge them as sentient objects depends on the "host consciousness" and how well it projects to the cuddly toy, dictated in a sliding scale of its own. [[http://karaita.tumblr.com/post/14126445851/reblog-if-you-like-the-game-die-anstalt-and-can-speak Rough translation of the concept here.]]

''"In a soulless world...its inhabitants spineless. Spoiled by a consumerist culture, and yet...lonely. This gives birth to frustration...and makes one even lonelier. The last friend remaining is...the cuddlytoy. These creatures can't defend themselves. They cannot run away. Insanity...is their only way of escape."''

''Die Anstalt - Psychiatrie für misshandelte Kuscheltiere'' ("The Asylum - Psychiatric Clinic for Abused Cuddlytoys") is a German point-and-click game made in 2003. The player takes on the role of a psychiatrist treating plush toys that have been driven to mental disorders due to abuse by their owners. Gameplay consists of selecting a patient to treat and then selecting different treatments from a list on a clipboard. Choosing the right treatments at the right time is essential to win, although there are several that won't do any harm or help.

* FreudianExcuse: Sort of the whole point. [[spoiler:Averted with Sly, although the help does point out that from the Freudian Excuse position, [[LampshadedTrope
his symptoms don't make a whole lot of sense.]]]]

** Sly [[spoiler: was used as a drug stash, and tossed out of a car when the cops pull them over. He's subsequently run over by another car.]]

* BreakTheCutie: The patients' backstories...and you, if you decide to be a jerk and torture them.
** Combined with BreakTheHaughty for Dr Wood.
* CharacterBlog: The game's Facebook page and other periphery sites. In a survey about a year ago, they even insisted that stuffed animals were not allowed to take part.

** After Dr Wood's first foray into[[spoiler: astral projection, [[http://i40.tinypic.com/208bac0.png you can see him trapped in a glass box way above the forest as he makes his way back]] - something that will turn out to have caused his insecurities and narcissism in the first place.]]

* DarkIsNotEvil: [[spoiler:Dolly's wolf form turns out to be nice.]]

* DrugsAreBad: Improper use of the "Administration of Drugs" option. Also, [[spoiler:Sly's problems stem from accidentally receiving a severe overdose of hallucinogens.]]

* FissionMailed: A red bar on the patient's progress meter usually means that you've messed up your patient even more and need to "reset" them with electroshock therapy. [[spoiler:At one point you have to do it to break Dub out of a catatonic state and continue with his therapy.]]

* FreudianExcuse: Sort of the whole point. [[spoiler:Averted with Sly, [[LampshadedTrope although the help does point out that from the Freudian Excuse position, his symptoms don't make a whole lot of sense.]]]]

* HappyPlace: Sly and Dolly experience this in their dream sequences...but it doesn't last.

* HumansAreCthulhu: The driving force behind the patients' problems is abuse by their owners, although it's usually unintentional - [[spoiler:Sly's owners are the only ones to do anything deliberately malicious to their toy, and even then hiding drugs in his tail for easy access probably seemed like a good idea at the time. Lilo is even reunited with his owner happily when he's cured.]] Notably, we seldom see an entire human from the patients' point of view, except for a somewhat eerie silhouette of a glasses-wearing girl.

* MushroomSamba: You see one when administering[[spoiler:/administered]] drugs.

* NightmareFuelColoringBook: Most of the artwork produced in Paint Therapy; kudos goes to Dolly for [[spoiler:attempting to paint a peaceful meadow, only to flip out and gouge the canvas with her paintbrush (and in some situations, her face)]].
* NoMedicationForMe: Mostly averted. For four out of six patients, you cannot successfully treat them without the "administration of drugs" option.

* TimedMission: You only have a certain time frame to interact with Lilo while playing ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' before he removes the game from the handheld, and to take Dub's timer away from him when he's unconscious. In stages 1, 4 and 5, Dr Wood is also not in any mood to be kept waiting, and will leave if you take too long.

* TheVoiceless: Lilo, and it's not because his mouth is zipped shut.

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Averted with Kroko, Sly and Dub.

* TimedMission: You only have a certain time frame to interact with Lilo while playing ''{{Tetris}}'' before he removes the game from the handheld, and to take Dub's timer away from him when he's unconscious. In stages 1, 4 and 5, Dr Wood is also not in any mood to be kept waiting, and will leave if you take too long.

* SingleIssuePsychology: For each patient so far, their issues all them from one single traumatic event that the therapist (i.e. you) has to find out about to treat them.

* UnwinnableByMistake: Dolly was completely incurable when when she was first introduced.

* GuiltCommplex: At the heart of Lilo and Dub's troubles.

* TheGhost: Dr Kindermann. He leaves for a study in Japan prior to your arrival, and all communication with him after that consists of analysis from him in the aforementioned guide.

* OrWasItADream: It is usually easy to tell when the game switches from reality to dream sequence, due to appropriate transitions and circle borders. However, [[spoiler:Dr Wood's cultish takeover of the asylum in the middle of his therapy]] blurs the line between the two planes by not showing these indicators.]]

Based on recent posts on the corresponding Die Anstalt Facebook page, there may well be a seventh patient on the horizon...

* CharacterBlog / AlterEgoActing: The game's Facebook page and other periphery sites. In a survey about a year ago, they even insisted that stuffed animals were not allowed to take part.
** If you order one of the plushies, along with the "patient" you receive a letter giving additional detail on their condition and recommendations for further home treatment.
* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:After Dr Wood's first foray into astral projection, [[http://i40.tinypic.com/208bac0.png you can see him trapped in a glass box way above the forest as he makes his way back]] - something that will turn out to have caused his insecurities and narcissism in the first place.]]

** AllPsychologyIsFreudian: Subverted. While the excuses themselves are indeed Freudian, more of an emphasis is placed on psychodynamic and biological psychology. Indeed, the "certain lopsidedness" of Dr Wood towards Freudian methods is one of the obstacles you need to get past in his therapy.

* LateArrivalSpoiler: A recent update to the graphics of the site spoils [[spoiler:the existence of Dolly's inner wolf]].

** [[spoiler:OrWasItADream: It is usually easy to tell when the game switches from reality to dream sequence, due to appropriate transitions and circle borders. However, Dr Wood's cultish takeover of the asylum in the middle of his therapy blurs the line between the two planes by not showing these indicators.]]

** EverythingsBetterWithPlushies

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Averted with Kroko, Sly and Dub, [[spoiler:and possibly also with the potentially-upcoming frog patient, name as yet unknown]].

** WaitingPuzzle: Near the end of Dub's therapy, [[spoiler:when he starts crying and using up tissues, you have to wait until he uses up all the tissues before you can proceed; and even then, one foot wrong will set him off again]].

* EpiphanyTherapy: Partially averted. The final flashback plays a huge role in curing the patient, but actually getting there is most of what your job is.

* [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil Covers Always Spoil]]: a recent update to the graphics of the site spoils [[spoiler:the existence of Dolly's inner wolf]].

'''Kroko:''' A paranoid crocodile with severe aquaphobia. He has a pillow for a SecurityBlanket and... [[WannabeSecretAgent believes he's a secret agent]].

''Die Anstalt - Psychiatrie für misshandelte Kuscheltiere'' ("The Asylum - Psychiatric Clinic for Abused Cuddlytoys") is a German point-and-click game made in 2003. The player takes on the role of a psychiatrist treating plush toys which have been driven insane due to abuse by their owners. Gameplay consists of selecting a patient to treat and then selecting different treatments from a list on a clipboard. Choosing the right treatments at the right time is essential to win, although there are several that won't do any harm or help.

* CriticalPsychoanalysisFailure: Dr. Wood, being a psychiatrist himself, is all too happy to turn your treatment methods back on you. He's also somewhat trigger-happy about deciding ''you're'' insane and administering electroshock therapy.

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: [[spoiler: When Dr. Wood goes crazy and becomes a cult leader, he tries to hypnotize you, the player (or at least the player character) into joining his Claw Association.]]

'''Kroko:''' A paranoid crocodile with severe aquaphobia. He has a pillow for a SecurityBlanket and... believes he's a secret agent.

* CharacterBlog / AlterEgoActing: The game's Facebook page and other peripherary sites. In a survey about a year ago, they even insisted that stuffed animals were not allowed to take part.

* LivingToys: Fluctating between 2, 3 and 4 on the Sliding Scale. Apparently, whether or not the humans in the game acknowledge them as sentient objects depends on the "host consciousness" and how well it projects to the cuddly toy, dictated in a sliding scale of its own. [[http://karaita.tumblr.com/post/14126445851/reblog-if-you-like-the-game-die-anstalt-and-can-speak Rough translation of the concept here.]]

!!This game uses the following tropes:

* BizarroEpisode: In a recent YouTube 'e-card' pitching an alternate scenario for 21st December, an alien ship crashes into the asylum, [[spoiler:which the toys subsequently commandeer]].

'''Dolly:''' A chronically depressed sheep who sometimes believes herself to be a wolf.

'''Kroko:''' A paranoid crocodile with severe aquaphobia.