Contextual Studies: Task 2

Game mechanics that compliments the story - Undertale

Undertale's story revolves around a human child having fallen into the world of monsters, and they must find their way back to the human world. Throughout your adventure, you encounter various monsters ranging from goat-like humanoids, sentient skeletons and giant armoured dogs that will commit to actions depending on how you treat other monsters. As you explore the monster world, you will come across various random encounters of monsters, with the options to kill them or befriend them, with various consequences coming from either action. Befriending them, or giving them mercy, will result in a more diverse story, new friends and ultimately a much happier atmosphere, but at the cost of no experience, meaning the further you go the harder it is to defend yourself. Killing on the other hand, grants you more experience at the cost of other monsters wanting you dead or avoiding you, diverting you away from the plot of the story and bringing forth a new one, to some degree.

Giving mercy to all of the monsters grants you the experience of encountering loveable characters and with them interacting with you like friends or even family. You begin to learn each monster's backstory and personalities, and pushes you in the direction of a rich plot. Causing mass genocide on the monster nation will twist the music to creepier proportions until the music is non-existant when every monster in the area is dead. You can feel the toll of killing each of the, ultimately, innocent creatures and watch as your character turns into a murderous psychopath that will begin choosing actions in the overworld to their own accord.

This kind of mechanic really ties in well with the story. Each action you commit to impacts the story in some way, and the monsters will also change their opinions of you accordingly. Committing good deeds will let you become attached to each character, uniting them all together into one large, happy community. Bringing the apocalypse to the monsters will bring out some of their darker sides as they try to defend themselves or their family and friends. The game is about a child's desire to get home and questioning morals in order to do this, in which the combat system delivers upon with decisions on a monsters life and the story as a whole purely within your hands, bringing a memorable experience no matter the outcome.