History VideoGame / IAmAlive

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:The survivor who wants two "canned foods" in the subway hangs herself after you leave her regardless of what you do. Not really, she only hangs herself if you didn't help her, if you do the next time she will be gone.]]

* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: Averted. It is equally deadly compared to the pistol and bow, and you won't get any more ammo. However, it does give you a second weapon to use in the final section, after you lose your pistol.

* PacifistRun: Subverted. While some people you come across may be reasoned with [[UselessUsefulNonCombatAbilities if you keep your distance]], ALL the gangs are out for blood. [[NotTheWayItIsMeantToBePlayed If you try to run from confrontations]] regardless of whether you decide to be peaceful, or simply pragmatic (to conserve health and ammo), ''they will run after you'' and ''they will catch you''.

* TheStraightAndArrowPath: Arrows always land where you aim.

* WeaponForIntimidation: Half of the mileage you'll get out of your gun is using it to intimidate machete-wielding mooks after you've shot the ones carrying guns. This can either be used to force them to kneel for a PistolWhipping or to back them up to a fire or cliff, into which you can then kick them. However, it should be noted that enemies will eventually try to call your bluff if you go too long without firing, and kick kills will only work once if there's more than one mook. Averted with your bow, which is deadly but rarely intimidating; enemies will only put up their hands if you take the time to draw the arrow back, which might be enough to get you killed.
** Some of the survivors who will only attack you if you get close might yell out, "I have a weapon!" It's implied to be this trope.

** Also, the helicopter and its pilot in the "Strangers" chapter. The hero sees a newly crashed helicopter on top of a building and theorizes that the pilot jumped out before it went down. There is no way to examine the wreckage any closer, there is never any sign of the pilot, and neither the crash or the pilot are ever mentioned again. (In fact, the incident is so strange and unrelated to anything else in the game, it's just shy of being a BigLippedAlligatorMoment.)

* AttackItsWeakPoint: Armored enemies can only be killed instantly by a headshot, and the final boss is only vulnerable in his legs.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:The survivor who wants two "canned foods" in the subway hangs herself after you leave her regardless of what you do.]]

It's available on the UsefulNotes/PlaystationNetwork and XboxLiveArcade worldwide, as well as UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} for the PC.

''I Am Alive'' is a video game developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and published by {{Ubisoft}}.

* MacGuffin: The Survivor Camps, where the protagonist's family is heavily implied to be. Not too long in the story you'll find you aren't the only one searching for it...

* TapOnTheHead: Where he hits them. Though it is implied to be non-fatal (hence the need to make the enemy surrender first), there is no way to be sure.

* UnspecifiedApocalypse: "The Event," the cause of which is a total mystery. The only thing you know is that it caused terrible earthquakes, flooding and unleashed never-ending dust clouds. Given the deformed man you meet, it's very possible radiation is also a hazard.
* WeaponForIntimidation: Half of the mileage you'll get out of your gun is using it to intimidate machete-wielding mooks after you've shot the ones carrying guns. This can either be used to force them to kneel for a PistolWhipping or to back them up to a fire or cliff, into which you can then kick them. However, it should be noted that enemies will eventually try to call your bluff if you go too long without firing, and kick kills will only work once if there's more than one mook. Averted with your bow, which is deadly but rarely intimidating.

* YouWouldntShootMe: ''Everyone'' is aware exactly how valuable bullets are, so if you hold an enemy at gunpoint for too long and can't get them to surrender completely, they'll decide that you're too chicken to waste a bullet and attack you.

'''''I Am Alive''''' is a video game developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and published by {{Ubisoft}}.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Yes, it is survival horror. However, there are no supernatural evils. Every single being you run into- including every single enemy- [[spoiler: with the possible exception of the dancing mutant, and he's ''friendly'']] are ordinary human survivors. [[NotSoDifferent And in order to survive, you will have to do a lot of things that they have done]], albeit for pragmatic reasons rather than their ForTheEvulz. [[NightmareFuel Think about that for a second.]]
* ImAHumanitarian: Some of the more desperate scavengers have resorted to cannibalism in lieu of continuing to eat on the dwindling supply of canned goods. You can find some "meat" in a couple of rare places in the game. It's the best possible healing item, filling up your health and stamina capacity... but it isn't rat (that's a separate meat) and there's no more livestock. If you eat any, the end screen will take 5% off of your score and outright calls it human meat.
** It also serves as one of the five items you have to give to the dancing mutant to get the shotgun. There's a piece lying on the ground right near his home.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Averted. Your character mentions he's never fired a gun before in his life, and it shows. His aim is below average, and even if the iron sights are dead-on you can still easily miss a headshot at anything more than about 15 feet, wasting a valuable bullet. It's always best to just go for torso shots (which still incapacitate in 1 hit), unless you're dealing with an armored enemy.

* OneBulletLeft: In the early levels, you'll often find yourself literally living bullet to bullet. Several times you'll have to do with no bullets at all, until you kill one with a gun and take his bullets.

** TapOnTheHead: Where he hits them. Though it is implied to be non-fatal (hence the need to make the enemy surrender first), there is no way to be sure.

* ReducedToRatburgers: There are two kinds of meat in the game. One is [[ImAHumanitarian human]]. The other is rat, though it's served as a kabob.
* ScavengerWorld
* SecretAIMoves: Machetes are the only melee weapon available to anyone in the game, but while you are limited to using a BladeLock or a surprise kill with it, your opponents have the ability to actually swing the machete like a normal weapon.

** ShortRangeShotgun: Also averted. The range for the shotgun is realistic, though spread is, as ever, a problem.

* ThinkingOutLoud: Our hero, which is exactly what really happens when people spend a lot of time alone, especially in survival situations. He's lucky he's not [[CastAway talking to a volleyball]].
* TwentyBearAsses: There are 20 victims in the game, each of which needs one or two of some item you've probably collected on the way. In return, you get an extra Retry and some backstory. A strange, gorilla-like mutant living in the dust cloud asks for five hard-to-find items, but at least he hands you a loaded shotgun as a reward.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:Henry's wheelchair is found near the end, but he is not seen again. A nearby victim will tell you that they took him alive to wring the location of the hidden survivor camp out of him, but you'll never find him.]]

* YouBastard: Lone survivors are often territorial (and sometimes guarding a healing item), but not actually out for your blood unless you get too close. If you wind up killing them (either by accidentally pissing them off or on purpose) they may mutter some final accusation at you, like "Murderer!" before croaking. Even some surviving people in the vicinity of the kill may react with fear even if non-hostile and also call you out on it.

* YouWouldntShootMe: If you hold an enemy at gunpoint for too long and can't get them to surrender completely, they'll decide that you're too chicken to waste a bullet and attack you.

It's available on the PlaystationNetwork and XboxLiveArcade worldwide, as well as {{Steam}} for the PC.

* NoodleIncident: "The Event," the cause of which is a total mystery. The only thing you know is that it caused terrible earthquakes and unleashed never-ending dust clouds. Given the deformed man you meet, it's very possible radiation is also a hazard.
** Whatever happened between the protagonist and his wife. In the letter she wrote for him, she says that she "forgives [the protagonist] for everything". Given that he was off away from his family at the time of the Event, and that there's no male clothing or anything related to it at his house, it was something pretty big that he did wrong.

* XMeetsY: ''Literature/TheRoad'', video game style.

[[caption-width-right:233: "And for now... [[TitleDrop I am alive]]."]]

* MeaninglessLives: The retries pretty well fit this.

''I Am Alive'' is a video game developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and published by {{Ubisoft}}.

It's released on the PlaystationNetwork and in XboxLiveArcade worldwide.

* ReducedtoRatburgers: There are two kinds of meat in the game. One is [[ImAHumanitarian human]]. The other is rat, though it's served as a kabob.

* TheStraightAndArrowPath

* UnwinnableByDesign: Gathering and conserving resources is pretty important. If you're really unlucky or incautious, you might find that it's impossible to get through the next fight or the next climb because you're out of items, and can't backtrack to get more. Also, be careful about where you shoot that bow - it's surprisingly easy to fire your one and only arrow somewhere where you can't retrieve it.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The original premise of this game involving trying to survive six days ''after an [[EarthquakesCauseFissures earthquake]] in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.'' Apparently, the developing team didn't think this scenario to be a believable survival setting. The name of the protagonist is Adam Collins, an ordinary office employee who gets caught in the mess unlike the protagonist in the game's final release who had to travel by foot since the dust made air travel almost impossible.

* DevelopmentHell: It was first announced at E3 2008, and since then was delayed repeatedly, changed developers, was completely revamped, and missed a number of projected release dates. It was finally released on March 7, 2012 on [[XBoxLiveArcade XBLA]].

* AwesomeYetPractical: The Hunter's Bow. You only get one shot at a time (two in the finale), but you never need collect more ammo (just get the arrow back out of what you shot), and it can easily be used in conjunction with your more intimidating pistol to whittle down larger groups of machete-wielding mooks.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://iamalive.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Has one]], but has 30+ articles, including from the pre-release, retail form of the game.

* ButtonMashing: {{Blade Lock}}s, breaking open locked gates, lifting shutters, and forcing extra effort out of your character (whether running or continuing to exert past the stamina limit) all involve pressing the left mouse button as fast as possible.
* TheCombatPragmatist: In the "Encounters" trailer, the main character strongly advises taking this stance on violent altercations. Use surprise to kill the first of the enemies in a group, identify any other gun-wielders and shoot them immediately, and use psychological pressure to get the rest of them to fold (usually by killing the "leader" of a group). If at all possible, intimidate them into backing up into a cliff or a fire that you can kick them off of/into. This may seem pretty dirty, but it's a dirty world, and if you let your guard down, these bastards ''will'' kill you.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The original premise of this game involving trying to survive six days ''after an [[EarthquakesCauseFissures earthquake]] in [[TheWindyCity Chicago]].'' Apparently, the developing team didn't think this scenario to be a believable survival setting. The name of the protagonist is Adam Collins, an ordinary office employee who gets caught in the mess unlike the protagonist in the game's final release who had to travel by foot since the dust made air travel almost impossible.

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: The computer never runs out of ammo, and in fact does not even need ammo. This is plainly obvious when you find an empty gun on a survivor you just killed, even though that same survivor is perfectly capable of shooting you with his supposedly empty gun if you don't kill him immediately.

!!''I Am Alive'' contains the following tropes: