I december listade vi lite blygsamt (och skämtsamt, såklart) fem olika saker som kan tyckas lite märkliga men som är självklara inom spelvärlden. Nu har speldesignern Dave Perry skrivit en hel bok om hur man bygger upp spelvärldar och listar massor av sådana klichéer, både roliga och mindre roliga.

De flesta är inte tänkta att vara humor egentligen utan pekar helt enkelt på hur en spelvärld vanligtvis är uppbyggd. Dessutom kvalar många av klichéerna han tar upp även in på film, traditionellt rollspel och annan berättande underhållning. Själva boken finns att köpa på till exempel Amazon.

Här är några av mina favoriter:

1. Wounds can be healed by a truly odd assortment of items, such as candy bars, sodas, and mysterious med-paks that can reverse nearly mortal conditions in the blink of an eye.
2. No matter how many wounds characters get, they never end up with any scars as a result. Apparently, in-game healing techniques are far superior to what we currently have in the real world.
3. Whenever a monster is big enough and powerful enough to level a city by itself, it is also stupid, brutal, violent, and bestial. It is invulnerable to weapons until a) an accumulation of attacks wears it down, b) just the “right” weapon is discovered, c) it can be lured into some deathtrap, d) it can be driven back where it came from, or e) it falls in love with a human woman, which is its downfall.
4. Enemies don’t learn or adapt. They perform the same tactics and actions over and over again, regardless of the fact that you continually beat them with the same attacks or strategies. (Although this is a common cliché, some games are creating more adaptive enemies.)
5. Enemies always have only one weapon but a seemingly unending supply of ammo, whereas in many games you get multiple weapons but (except for your generic weapon) limited ammo.
6. If an enemy catches sight of you or you trigger an alarm, he will forget about you if you can stay hidden long enough. Then he’ll go about his normal business as if he never saw you or heard an alarm.
7. Walls that can be destroyed have special cracks or other distinct textures in them. Likewise, secret passages are generally discernible by walls with special markings. And walls that can be climbed must have a different texture from ordinary walls, which cannot be climbed.
8. Some environments can contain a lot of doors, but most of them won’t open.
9. Tinting a scene with red lighting always makes it seem more dangerous. Green lighting can make it seem poisonous or in some way sickly. Other environmental colors are less common.
10. Aliens and robots all talk funny, no matter how ultra-sophisticated their technology is.
11. Walking causes an exaggerated bobbing effect.
12. Meat always heals for more than vegetables or tofu do.

Har ni några fler roliga exempel?

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