History VideoGame / GrowingUp

Developed and Published by Vile Monarch in 2021. Available on Steam for PC and Google Play and the App Store for Android and [=iOS=].

'''Character-specific tropes should go on the Character page if they apply to only one character.'''

* ModularEpilogue: At the end of the 18-in-game-year cycle, [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue the epilogue will reveal what happened to your classmates after your high school graduation]] based on the choices you made in their story paths. Your career will also be determined based on what kind of skills you learned and mastered along with your grade in the [=SATs=]. You will also marry one of your classmates if you reached their path's good ending by romancing them, or a generic NPC of either gender you choose or determine at random if you didn't.

'''Character-specific tropes should go on the Character page.'''

** Some of the movie posters you see are reminiscent of ''Film/TheTitanic1997'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994''.

* TomboyishName: Alexandra likes [[OneOfTheBoys playing with the boys]], [[GamerChick video games]], and [[FriendlyRival having friendly competitions]], but she prefers being called "Alex".

* AccidentalPervert: If you're a boy, Vivica Valentine will come out of the girl's bathroom and call you out for being a pervert, even if you were just wandering outside. Turns out you could smell her smoking weed and were just wondering where it came from.

* AdoptionAngst: [[BrattyTeenageDaughter The rebellious Vivica]] can't bear to stay with her AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents, who are [[PushoverParents "too nice" to her]] and dote on their biological son, whom they had after adopting her and realizing they could still conceive a child. She's trying to search for her birth parents to discover her origins, [[spoiler:but their fate is left unknown by the end of her route. She'll still look for them unless you convince her that her adoptive family genuinely loves her, and her relationship with them will improve because she'll accept that they love her the way she is.]]
* TheAloner: Nathan "Nate" Prior plans to live alone after high school to live the quiet life [[spoiler:and escape his messy upbringing caused by his parents' breakup. He does so in both of his endings, but he'll reconcile with his parents with the protagonist's help in the good ending.]]
* AlphaBitch: Alicia is the richest and most popular girl in middle school who bullies the PlayerCharacter at the beginning of her route. She also has her own GirlPosse who follows her everywhere and she splurges on expensive clothes with her dad's credit card. She [[LovableAlphaBitch grows out of this as you get along with her through the years]] and also in high school when [[spoiler:her dad forces her to volunteer at the hospital. Her wealthy upbringing made her forget that there are people less fortunate than her, and when her dad plans to close the hospital to build bigger businesses, she aspires to go to community college and become a registered nurse to continue helping the sick.]]
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents:
** Alexandra "Alex" Beaufort is initially nervous about talking about her parents to you because they live and work at the carnival instead of having "normal" jobs. If you've befriended her well enough when you give her her missed homework, she'll be happy to take you around the carnival because she knows you won't judge her family for it.
** Vivica's mom dotes on her and takes her out to dinner in the beginning of her route, but Vivica absolutely can't stand it because her parents dote on her brother more than her since she's adopted. You can go to dinner with them to help ease the tension a bit.
* AnimalLover: Besides writing poems and songs [[spoiler:to deal with his parents' breakup]], Nate likes feeding the ducks with peas at the park and volunteering at the animal shelter. [[spoiler:He even becomes a vet in his route's good ending, liking the peace that comes with animal care.]]

* ArtificalLimbs: Wendy Cooke has a wooden prosthetic arm but is conscious of it because bullies call her [[Literature/PeterPan "Captain Hook"]] for it. However, she's inspired by it to make horror movie makeup and special effects.

* BaldHeadOfToughness: Officer Riley shaved her head to show how tough she is as a retired ROTC instructor.

* BigBeautifulWoman: Bobbie Grail is a plus-sized woman who believes that she can grace the stage despite her size. Her father tries discouraging her from following her dreams because of it, [[spoiler:but she overcomes her fears by slapping her butt in front of the crowd when they laugh at her in her first stage gig in high school.]]
* BigFun: Bobbie is a plus-sized woman who enjoys belting out her favorite showtunes with you. She doesn't like it when she's told to be quiet.
* BlackAndNerdy: Kato Ababio is a Black nerd who spends most of his school time studying to become a doctor and his free time playing [=MMORPGs=]. He struggles with balancing the two and is socially awkward in real-life dating.
* BookSmart: The player character almost inevitably becomes this if you pay even a little bit of attention to your studies, guaranteeing them an A or B in their exams.

* BrilliantButLazy: Wendy, who avoids school like it has an outbreak of the plague, can end up working for a space agency in one of her ending paths.

* ButchLesbian: Vivica is a rebellious punk rocker who likes smoking weed and going to rock concerts. She's only dateable if you're a girl.
* CannotSpitItOut: Richard starts avoiding you and becomes tongue-tied in high school for reasons unknown. Trying to push him to talk will make him avoid you more, [[spoiler:but he'll eventually confess that he fell in love with the summer camp instructor while also having feelings for you. He couldn't tell you earlier because he was so hung up with his emotions regarding his crushes.]]

* CharacterCustomization: Starting in elementary school, you can customize your character's clothes and even request new ones from your parents. In middle school, you can also spend money on more clothes and even new hairstyles, but you can no longer request new clothes from your parents in high school.

* ClassClown: Bobbie has aspirations towards being a Broadway actress and often interrupts classes with her jokes and loud singing. You can call her out for this, but she'll get upset about it.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Nate is found dead in his apartment in his route's bad ending. He committed suicide because he couldn't handle the stress of living alone and failed to cope with his parents' breakup.]]
* EducationMama: Your parents set {{Side Quest}}s called Expectations for you to complete starting in elementary school. These usually involve raising a certain stat or studying a certain subject several times. Accomplishing them within the number of turns given will raise their satisfaction meter, but failing to complete them will lower it. You can also raise the meter by mainly learning and mastering skills, and they'll give you extra allowance and grant you special requests if you raise it above 70. However, lowering it below 20 will prevent you from making requests from them and they'll also take away your allowance.

* FeminineMotherTomboyishDaughter: Alex is the most boyish girl in the game since she loves playing at the arcade, in comparison to her relatively traditional-looking mother who manages the carnival.
* {{Fratbro}}: Sam is your typical 90s jock, complete with his varsity sweater. He's a tough guy who enjoys playing American football and is a ladies' man in campus.

* FriendlyRivalry: You can be a competitive gamer with Alex, and if so, she'll also see her neighbor Shane as her friendly rival, even if she gets jealous when he beats her high score in [[FictionalVideoGame Space Sheep]]. She even doesn't hold ill will against him when [[spoiler:he gets injured in her dare in high school, but blames herself for it because she had to cut classes to visit him in the hospital. If you date her, she'll play Space Sheep with you in Shane's honor and even give you the choice to put his name in the scoreboard. He even becomes your wedding officiator in her good ending if you marry her.]]

* GamerChick: Alex loves playing at Starcade 80, and her favorite game is Space Sheep. [[spoiler:She even buys the arcade and renames it "Alex's Arcade" (or "Space Sheep Arcade" if you marry her) in her route's good ending, wanting to share her competitive gaming spirit with future generations.]]

* GirlPosse: Alicia has a gaggle of popular girls always following her around when she bullies you. [[spoiler:However, they go separate ways in high school.]]

* GracefulLoser: While Alex gets a little upset when she loses, she doesn't take it so badly because it just motivates her to try winning next time. In fact, she doesn't like it if you [[ILetYouWin deliberately lose to her]], [[spoiler:and she'll leave you if you do that too many times]].

* JerkJock: Sam establishes himself as a sports-loving bully by throwing an American football on your head. He enjoys bullying other students because [[JustJokingJustification he thinks they just can't take a joke.]] However, [[LovableJock he gets over this if you befriend/date him.]]

* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: Bobbie is a big and loud aspiring Broadway actress, unlike her military parents who [[FantasyForbiddingFather try discouraging her from following her dreams]] because they think it's "girly" and [[spoiler:people might make fun of her for being fat]].

* MysteriousMiddleInitial: The P in Richard P. Nelson's name isn't short for anything because it's just his mother's favorite letter.

* NightmareFetishist: Wendy likes watching R-rated horror movies and aspires to do makeup and special effects for them because she's inspired by her wooden prosthetic, [[FantasyForbiddingFather but her parents want her to take up engineering instead.]] [[spoiler:She even makes a fake severed arm for a prank in high school if you encourage her to do so.]]

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Charles Hoffman goes by [[RedBaron "The Hoffer"]], even outside his campaign for student council. He eventually lets the protagonist call him by his first name or just "Hoffer" if [[GayOption he dates him.]]

* PomPomGirl: Felicity "Flick" Browers is the preppy cheerleader of the high school you attend. She puts a smile on her face and maintains a slim body so she can perform at her best, [[spoiler:but she's actually [[StepfordSmiler forcing her smile]] and skipping meals to keep up with the pressure]].

* SchoolForcedUsTogether: How you meet Kato. Your teacher assigns the two of you for a school project, but Kato insists on working alone, and you have to help him balance his studies and gaming life.
* SchoolIdol: Alicia's popularity only soars higher through her school years, [[spoiler:but it comes to a head when she's forced to volunteer at the hospital.]]

* SpiritedCompetitor: Alex loves making everything a competition, even schoolwork when the protagonist motivates her with a bet.

* WellDoneSonGuy: Sam is obsessed with American football and aims to win the big game in high school, but he wants to quit because [[spoiler:he's only doing this for his father, who's pressuring him into believing that winning is everything.]]

* WizardNeedsFoodBadly: The mental health meter in functions similarly to a hunger meter. It goes down every time you work or practice a skill, and if it drops below 20, you'll be overworked. You won't be able to learn new skills and two of your schedule slots will be removed. Your mental health can be replenished by eating in restaurants, passing exams, going on vacation for the rest of your turn, and entertaining yourself but at the cost of lowering your parents' satisfaction. Keeping your mental health above 70 will make you relaxed, which opens an additional schedule slot unless you have the maximum of eight.

* AccidentalPervert: If you're a boy, Vivica will come out of the girl's bathroom and call you out for being a pervert, even if you were just wandering outside. Turns out you could smell her smoking weed and were just wondering where it came from.

** Alexandra Beaufort is initially nervous about talking about her parents to you because they live and work at the carnival instead of having "normal" jobs. If you've befriended her well enough when you give her her missed homework, she'll be happy to take you around the carnival because she knows you won't judge her family for it.

* AnimalLover: Besides writing poems and songs [[spoiler:to deal with his parents' breakup]], Nathan Prior likes feeding the ducks with peas at the park and volunteering at the animal shelter. [[spoiler:He even becomes a vet in his route's good ending, liking the peace that comes with animal care.]]

* AwkwardFatherSonBondingActivity: You can join Jake and his father to watch a [[LawProcedural law]] movie at the cinema as part of his father's effort to [[spoiler:steer him away from his gangster life]]. Jake is less than appreciative at first, but he'll thank you at the end of his route for [[spoiler:helping him realize that he's being reckless with "fighting crime" by being a gangster.]]
* BabiesEverAfter: You and your high school romance inevitably have a child or adopt one at the end of your journey, and they will be your character in your next run.

* BookSmart: The player character almost inevitably becomes this if you pay even a little bit of attention to your studies.

* ComingOutStory: [[spoiler:Charles]]' route involves him coming to terms with his homosexuality and how it's affecting his political career in the student council. [[spoiler:In high school, he comes out as gay to the protagonist when they catch him in crying in the bathroom after losing the elections. Then he comes over to their house to ask them for help in dealing with it because his sister caught him first and their father is homophobic. Thanks to the protagonist's support, Charles becomes brave enough to come out to his dad but still gets kicked out of the house, but he fights for LGBT+ rights in his good ending in the epilogue, looking to his sister for support (and also the protagonist if [[GayOption he marries him]] after years of on-again-off-again dating).]]

** Wendy's parents try discouraging her from her dream to become a horror movie makeup artist in favor of pushing engineering like them. Depending on your choices, they'll either succeed in this, making Wendy work for the space agency, [[spoiler:or wholeheartedly support her ambition after she successfully convinces them that she'd enjoy it more.]]

* FriendlyRivalry: You can be a competitive gamer with Alex, and if so, she'll also see her neighbor Shane as her friendly rival, even if she gets jealous when he beats her high score in Space Sheep. She even doesn't hold ill will against him when [[spoiler:he gets injured in her dare in high school, but blames herself for it because she had to cut classes to visit him in the hospital. If you date her, she'll play Space Sheep with you in Shane's honor and even give you the choice to put his name in the scoreboard. He even becomes your wedding officiator in her good ending if you marry her.]]

* GamerChick: Alexandra [[TomboyishName "Alex"]] Beaufort loves playing at Starcade 80, and her favorite game is Space Sheep. [[spoiler:She even buys the arcade and renames it "Alex's Arcade" (or "Space Sheep Arcade" if you marry her) in her route's good ending, wanting to share her competitive gaming spirit with future generations.]]

* ILetYouWin: You can intentionally lose to Alex and Charles in their respective routes, but they'll dislike you for downplaying your skills and not giving them enough competition. [[spoiler:The former will even ditch you and drop out of middle school if you deliberately lose to her too many times because she won't see you as a worthy rival.]]

* MissedMealAesop: In Felicity's route, the protagonist notices that she barely touches her food whenever she goes out to eat with them. She does this to maintain her slim figure for cheerleading, but the protagonist can call her out for it because she gets dizzy when she doesn't eat. [[spoiler:They'll even bring up her ailing brother to warn her not to be in his position if she doesn't take care of herself.]]

* NightmareFetishist: Wendy Cooke in likes watching R-rated horror movies and aspires to do makeup and special effects for them because she's inspired by her wooden prosthetic, [[FantasyForbiddingFather but her parents want her to take up engineering instead.]] [[spoiler:She even makes a fake severed arm for a prank in high school if you encourage her to do so.]]

* SchoolForcedUsTogether: How you meet Kato. Your teacher assigns the two of you for a school project, and you have to help him balance his studies and gaming life.

** Wendy hates schoolwork and likes cutting classes to watch horror movies, and you can rebel with her if you wish. Doing so will further motivate her to continue studying. From there, you can help her with her homework and also invite her to a Shakespeare play to encourage her to study hard and follow her dreams of becoming a makeup artist.

* SkippingSchool: Done in several routes. Wendy especially does a lot of this.
* TheBully: Sam & Alicia both start off this way.
* TwoTeacherSchool: It can certainly seem that way in some routes.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The game is mostly a VisualNovel along with a resource-gathering/management game where you build your stats to unlock skills by collecting resources in the Brain Map, and then work on these skills by adding them to your schedule. But when it's time for exams, you work on your grade by playing a MatchThreeGame where you remove groups of blocks of the same color.

* AnimalLover: Besides writing poems and songs [[spoiler:to deal with his parents' breakup]], Nathan Prior in ''VideoGame/GrowingUp'' likes feeding the ducks with peas at the park and volunteering at the animal shelter. [[spoiler:He even becomes a vet in his route's good ending, liking the peace that comes with animal care.]]

* BaldHeadOfToughness: Officer Riley in ''VideoGame/GrowingUp'' shaved her head to show how tough she is as a retired ROTC instructor.

* CerebusRetcon: If you talk about you expectations for high school with Alicia in ''VideoGame/GrowingUp'', she hopes that it'll be just like on TV, including the {{Very Special Episode}}s. You worry about that, not wanting a car crash in real life, but Alicia [[AlphaBitch doesn't mind "soooome people" dying because she thinks they're lame.]] This BlackComedy moment turns bleak in high school when [[spoiler:she's forced to volunteer at the hospital, and she starts feeling bad for the dying patients, realizing that not everyone is as well-to-do as her and her wealthy family.]]

* JerkJock: Sam in ''VideoGame/GrowingUp'' establishes himself as a sports-loving bully by throwing an American football on your head. He enjoys bullying other students because [[JustJokingJustification he thinks they just can't take a joke.]] However, [[LovableJock he gets over this if you befriend/date him.]]

Starting with your very own birth, the game follows your player character through the early parts of their life up until High School graduation. During this time period you'll have to balance school, work, family, and happiness. Preparing for exams, planning for the future, meeting friends, and maybe even finding love are all big parts of growing up, and the game's LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters will have you covered for many playthroughs.


Developed and Published by Vile Monarch in 2021. Available on Steam for PC and Google play and the App Store for [=iOS=].

* SeniorYearStruggles: Most if not all routes hit their most dramatic points at around senior year of high school. With finals looming

** Alex lives a carnival and wants to work there like her parents. In middle school, she lies to her mom that the field trip was one day earlier to get out of classes, and she wishes to drop out and become a carnie, [[spoiler:which she does in her bad ending.]] Her mom reminds her that schooling can unlock new opportunities for her in the future, which she agrees if you've befriended her well enough. She ends up mysteriously disappearing in high school, [[spoiler:but not to avoid doing homework, but because her rival Shane got into an accident from her dare and was hospitalized.]]

* AwkwardFatherSonBondingActivity: You can join Jake and his father to watch a [[CourtProcedural law]] movie at the cinema as part of his father's effort to [[spoiler:steer him away from his gangster life]]. Jake is less than appreciative at first, but he'll thank you at the end of his route for [[spoiler:helping him realize that he's being reckless with "fighting crime" by being a gangster.]]

* AdoptionAngst: [[BrattyTeenageDaughter The rebellious Vivica]] in ''VideoGame/GrowingUp'' can't bear to stay with her AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents, who are [[PushoverParents "too nice" to her]] and dote on their biological son, whom they had after adopting her and realizing they could still conceive a child. She's trying to search for her birth parents to discover her origins, [[spoiler:but their fate is left unknown by the end of her route. She'll still look for them unless you convince her that her adoptive family genuinely loves her, and her relationship with them will improve because she'll accept that they love her the way she is.]]

* DoubleUnlock: In order to unlock a new skill, you first have to have enough of a certain stat, which is increased by collecting resources from the Brain Map, and then you have to buy the skill with Knowledge Points.

* ClassClown: Bobbie has aspirations towards being a stage actress and often interrupts classes with her jokes and loud singing. You can call her out for this, but she'll get upset about it.

* DramaClub: Richard considers joining the drama club choir, but is extremely nervous about it because he's afraid of his voice cracking in public. Bobbie, on the other hand, is excited to take it up in middle and high school because she wants to be a stage actress.

* GayOption: While there are several romantic interests that lean both ways, Charles and Vivica are strictly homosexual.
* GirlPosse: Alicia leads one of these.
* GraduateFromTheStory: Everyone but your player character and their eventual spouse if you choose to continue as their child for the next playthrough.
* HighSchool: A sizeable chunk of the game takes place during your character's high school years.

* JerkJock: Sam definitely starts off as one of these.
*** LovableJock Eventually with the right choices he becomes one of these instead.
* JuniorHigh

* NewYearSameClass: Several routes talk about the anxiety around being separated from your friends once you switch schools.
* PassingNotesInClass: Bobbie loves to do this. You and Alex can also do this if you're dating.
* SchoolForcedUsTogether: How you meet Kato.
* SchoolIdol: Alicia is one of these in high school. How happy she is about it is debatable.
* SchoolIsForLosers: Wendy avoids school at any cost.

* SchoolPlay: Mentioned in a couple routes.
* SeniorYearStruggles: Most if not all routes hit their most dramatic points at around senior year of high school.

* TwoTeacherSchool: It can certainly seem that way in some routes.

Starting with your very own birth, the game follows your player character through the early parts of their life up until High School graduation. During this time period you'll have to balance school, work, family, & happiness. Preparing for exams, planning for the future, meeting friends, and maybe even finding love are all big parts of growing up, and the game's LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters will have you covered for many playthroughs.


Developed & Published by Vile Monarch in 2021. Available on Steam for PC and Google play and the Appstore for your phone.

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* AdoptionAngst: Vivica is adopted and is not having an easy time with it.
* AlphaBitch: Alicia starts off this way, but if you keep prodding she'll eventually calm down a lot.
** LovableAlphaBitch: Alicia, with enough work, and Felicity has shades of this as well.
* AwkwardFatherSonBondingActivity: You can join Jake and his father on a movie outing to the cinema. Jake is less than appreciative at first.
* BabiesEverAfter: You and your high school romance inevitably do this.

* BullyMagnet: Several of the romanceable characters but Richard and Wendy especially.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Every romantic route invokes this. Perhaps most obviously with friends you meet in elementary and middle school.
* ClassClown: Bobbie has aspirations towards being a stand up comedian and thus lives and breathes this trope.
* DramaClub: Never seen outside of shows but mentioned in several character's paths.
* FeminineMotherTomboyishDaughter: Alex is the most boyish girl in the game, in comparison to a relatively traditional looking mother.
* FratBro: Sam is the personification of a 90s jock brought to life.
* FreshmanFears: Several characters mention these in their path, you can agree or be more optimistic.

Developed & Published by Vile Monarch in 2021.

* NewYearSameClass: Something mentioned as a hope in basically every elementary and middle school friendship. Well same school, in any case.

* DramaClub: Never seen but outside of shows but mentioned in several character's paths.

* School

* SweetDreamsFuel: While the game has some darker moments, between the best endings, beautiful art, lovely soundtrack, and nostalgia invoking nature definitely invokes this.

* AchievementTestOfDestiny: Your SAT results determine how your whole life will go.