The Metaphor is Meaning - "Show, Don't Tell" in Game Design - Extra Credits

[@extrahistory]

Where do the literal and metaphorical overlap in a game you've played recently? Share your findings!

[@timothymclean]

Why do I always wave to the guest artists? They can't see me...

[@barrybend7189]

Anubis and Jehuty in Zone of the Enders.

[@mcpics4448]

Extra Credits it be more methodical if I don’t answer 😉

[@Westernmiddleeastern]

Persona

[@bartleby116]

A bit of a lesser known 3DS game, Ever Oasis is community builder action rpg where the size of your community grows with the size and vitality of your oasis. You grow shops, and character(very limited) emotional maturity develops with their shop's product lineup and profit potential. Basically, the game is very obviously about growth and community and ties those together mechanically. I think it doesn't really have a lot to say about those concepts, but it is a nice metaphor and a very pleasant rpg.

[@couchphilosopher8515]

I always liked the incomprehensible blabbering of The Sims because it shows you don't need words to become an astronaut, you just need to play a shit ton of chess

[@ognjentasic7537]

Truly livin up to your name there bud

[@helenanilsson5666]

The Sims is also an excellent metaphor for the joy of being an omnipotent being murdering the heck out of some idiots.

[@neilelliott263]

Oh so if the koi fish tries hard enough he becomes a dragon Wondered why magikarp could do that

[@myky992]

Damn now my mind is all over the wall thanks

[@neilelliott263]

André T Pokemon lore goes really deep wow really interesting how they get the designs for them (Even if some of them are trash bags)

nearly all of them (if not 100% of them) are either references to animals, cultural myths, or real world events in some cases. two examples: Magicarp is based on an old japanese myth of a school of koi swiming up the Yellow River in China, at the start of that river is a waterfall (with a torii gate at the top) most of the koi fish decided to turn around and let the river take them out to sea but some jumped again and again trying to get up the waterfall. after 100 years of jumping one koi reached the top and the gods revarded him his perseverence by turning him into a dragon (explaining the magicarp -> gyarados evolution) source-koistory.com/blog/koi-fish-meaning-and-myth Zapdos is based on the Native American thunderbird (which you may be a bit familiar with if you watched "Fantastic beasts and where to find them") source - it's pretty obvious if you look at him and his description (it's a perfect description of the Native American creature) and both Moltres and Ho-oh are phoenix

[@festethephule7553]

Well that was super satisfying. Thanks!

[@skylin245]

Theyre not yellow with red cheeks, but@André T was right Pika's are really damned cute...

[@Coop838]

In the Halo series, all the UNSC vehicles are named after animals, (Warthog, Mongoose, Scorpion ect) and the Covenant vehicles are all named after supernatural beings (ghost, banshee, wraith, ect) and I think that's to show a familiarity with the human vehicles, we know how they work, just by looking at them. That's a jeep, that's a quad, that's a tank. The Covenant vehicles are strange to us, unnatural. They're sleek, they use technology we don't understand and kill very easily. Is that a hover bike? That lumbering floating smooth thing is a tank? That screeching noise is coming from a flying vehicle? So they are named after scary things we don't understand. The naming seems to be both literal and metaphorical.

[@LuvzToLol21]

Halo has so much hidden symbolism, you could make an entire episode, in fact an entire series about them. For example, blood comes up a lot whenever discussing the Covenant, as in "on the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons." To a proud warrior race like the Sanghelli, spilling blood is not something to be taken lightly. Their own blood happens to be bluish-purple. You know what else is bluish-purple? ALL OF THEIR VEHICLES.

[@Starfloofle]

And probably has something to do with the phrase "blue-blood" being a term used to refer to nobility, too, given they're at the absolute top of their society

[@Coop838]

Let's not forget about The Flood and what's supposed to save life from the flood, The Ark.

[@aliasunknown4879]

Cooper Mulderry The ark goes further than that, the ark wiping out all life in the galaxy is symbolic of God or Noah choosing to only save the few good people and leave the rest to be killed by the flood

[@zippo504]

@Burritozi11a The Elites also have very few doctors, because their blood is shed somewhere other than battle they hate things like trauma treatment. To be treated by a doctor is to be dishonored.

[@swi03]

Nier: Automata's character designs where the combat androids are blind folded and cannot see the truth while the Observer's have their mouths covered and do not speak the truth.

[@sharktrap267]

Swi mhm, that could explain the blindfold. Always wondered "why the blindfold?" They can definitly see through, but they don't need it either :/.

[@thenotsobritishgamer7257]

Shark Trap iirc the targeting system is built into the blindfold

[@arturoreyescortez2476]

Also, the swords of 2B and 9S foreshadow what is going to happen to them, the name 2B is a word play that is about the true mission of 2B, A2 doesn't have a suicide move but a berserk mode, and the machines imitating human in the desert is already telling us what is the theme of the game.

[@Omnywrench]

Not to mention how most of them are dressed like maids, butlers, and hotel bellhops- it's not just cheesecake, it's also metaphorical for how they were built to serve mankind, carrying out orders without question.

[@mestre12]

@@Omnywrench blind devotion.

[@ihappy1]

The level design in Psychonauts does this so well and I love it. Sasha's calculating personality is shown so simply with his mind being a simple cube, but once you start prodding around and it breaks open you understand the pain underneath the cold exterior.

[@Janootz]

"The koi is a symbol of striving. In the myth, the koi can become a dragon, but only if it doesn't give up." And NOW I understand Magikarp.

[@wiksolop72]

It's interesting how many people are still unfamiliar with the tale of a carp becoming a dragon. Not a personal dig at you or anything, I'm legitimately fascinated by the rate at with cultural ideas spread. Particularly when it comes to stories and fables that are considered "common knowledge" within the region of origin, but are largely unheard of elsewhere. As an additional sidenote, you are correct. This is EXACTLY the relationship between Magikarp and Gyrados. It's referenced pretty specifically in Pokemon Snap. If you get a Magikarp to swim up a waterfall, it will emerge at the top as a Gyrados

[@SocktheWorm]

I always figured it was a Japan thing, but I still don't get why Gyrados wasn't orange, and why Dragonite isn't blue.

[@martenmaarten]

@@SocktheWorm oh shoot now that you mention it ... 🤔🤔

[@warrior_aa]

wow

[@kindoflame]

There is actually a fan theory that Dragonite and Gyrados where switched at the last minute. I never really bought into it since I never heard a particularly compelling reason for why this switch happened and the biggest evidence for it was the shape and palate of the Pokemon.

[@derrickdang6067]

The Keyblade of the Kingdom Heart series is a literal manifestation of the ability to unlock or "change" someones heart. The true Keyblade the main characters and villians strive for represents their ideological goal of changing the worlds heart as well.

[@carlosbaldellou]

Well, there's Spec:Ops,which has a literal and metaphorical descent to the deepest parts of hell and the human mind. You must always go down. Never go up.

[@dukeman6008]

true that game was an acid trip I will never play again, not saying it was a bad game just I am not playing it again

[@Seth9809]

Dukeman Bioshock Infinite made me feel the same way.

[@Treviisolion]

Undertale obviously, but one of the most interesting metaphors is in the sound design. Oh and Spoilers up ahead, but seriously if you haven’t played Undertale by now you probably don’t care. Despite its simplicity, by making connections between the songs you can really dig into the various parts. For example, the song played in the ruins when you enter a genocide route is actually a slowed down version of Flowey’s main song. The fact that San’s boss fight’s song is called Megalovania wasn’t missed by much of the community expanding on the lore. Oh and there’s the actual fights themselves. How the enemy attacks you is indicative of that enemy’s personality. Siren is shy and barely sings a few notes, but encourage her and she starts singing a full on tune. Aaron flexes his muscles in a contest with you. I could go on and on and on, but Undertale uses just about every piece of design as metaphors to convey information, both lore wise and mechanic wise.

[@Rynamony]

Another example I loved in undertale when I saw it is that Asgore never kills you with one attack, if you have 2 hp and he hits you he will lower it to 1hp instead of instantly killing you, it shows how he can't get himself to actually murder you in cold blood, he will always hesitate before giving the killing blow

[@nathanbrown8680]

Megalovania lies outside the sound design. It's just a song Toby Fox is proud of and reuses. Undertale is the third time. It can be used as a lietmotif in other songs, but since it's a preexisting piece it can't incorporate any. I'm not sure of the details of its first use. It was in some rom hack he made that I'm not familiar with, but the second use is not thematically related to Sans.

[@BoltonForTheNorth]

The facehugger is actually an metaphor for rape and the subsequently possible, and forceful, insemination of the victim with a fetus they didn't want. It was created to make male audiences feel uncomfortable. You are not wrong about the corporation stuff, just a bit of trivia I liked to add.

[@minorex123]

I mean, that's not a metaphor for rape, that's just literally rape.

[@kindoflame]

The best stories use one literally thing to represent multiple metaphorical messages.

[@edwardliu111]

I mean not really, rape is defined as unwanted sexual intercourse or insertion, and having a thing stuck in your mouth isn't rape, it's assualt.

[@SirBladewind]

@@edwardliu111 considering it both impregnates you then kills you I'd say it's both rape and murder

[@Nonsensehat]

I always liked how Wind Waker was about growing up. At least to me. Tetra is a pirate in a wacky Peter Pan style adventure until her father (or ancestor) tells her to grow up and take responsibility. You help Medli and Makar find their vocation. Even the mechanics fit the metaphor. A boat sailing the open sea. A world of freedom and independence that’s literally above the stable and dry land of your old home, your parent’s home. Then the game ends with a dad character telling his children to make their own world. And they do. They build trains there and it’s awesome.

[@michaelcard1725]

Your comment reminded me of an analysis I read a few years back about Majora's Mask. If I could remember the address, i'd post it here, but basically it was using that game as a metaphor for growing up, with particular references to the way each form Link can take with the four transformation masks is taller than the one before (Deku

[@ognjentasic7537]

Wow i never noticed that, but now that you mention it it seem so obvious i feel kinda stupid

[@TobbyTukaywan]

"They build trains there and it's awesome."

[@unluckym4n]

in dark souls, humanity can be mainly found on rats

[@roundishwhale]

was waiting for this :D

[@Jenohart]

I was gonna say something like this. Literal: the DLC of the first game almost explicitly states that humanity, human souls, are cut from the same cloth as the abyss and all the evil, vile, corrupting monsters that you fight that come from it. Gee, I wonder what the game is trying to say about the nature of man and who the real monsters are.

[@hoodiegal]

There is an in-universe explanation for it though: rats eat the corpses of other creatures, and as such slowly absorb scraps of humanity until they accrue enough to from a "proper" piece of humanity.

[@aliasunknown4879]

Jenohart You stand against and fight all the horrible things you could have been, maybe Dark Soul itself symbolises the struggle to be good in a world where many have fallen

[@zippo504]

@Jenohart In the intro cutscene, before any Lord is shown, we see shallow husk like humanoids shambling towards the First Flame. They are all Hollows, literal and metaphorical, humans(Pygmy) and giants(Lords). They all gained Lord Souls from the same source, and they all were Hollow before the First Flame. But Humanity is just the fractured Dark Soul from the Furtive Pygmy. The Light, the Life, and the Death Souls all lead to terrible ends, just like the Dark Soul, the Abyss, and Humanity. So really humans are no better or worse than anything else that lived.

[@UltraMunchlax]

The video discusses mostly visual or literal metaphors, neither of which are unique to games. I would expect a channel like this to talk about the type of metaphors which can only appear in the medium of games: mechanical metaphors. How can we use the game's mechanics to say something about the character or the story? For example, in the final boss's last form in Shovel Knight, having lifted the curse from Shield Knight, the player has to hop on her shield to attack the boss. Because the hopping mechanic has been so central to the game thus far, and because it synergizes so well with the shield, you suddenly understand these characters' relationship. How they rely on each other and why we spent the whole game trying to save Shield Knight. This is the only type of metaphor unique to the medium of games but sadly this video didn't at all touch upon it.

[@datanaral6031]

Indeed. I was disappointed, too; the intro promised examples unique to the medium. Or, at least ones you couldn't execute in a book. They didn't deliver. Undertale executed mechanical metaphor extensively in its combat system. Attack mechanics would frequently hint at the opposing character's nature for development purposes, or clue you in on how to end the conflict peacefully. The World Ends With You made use of mechanical metaphor as well, in its original release on Nintendo DS. The whole combat system was designed to allow the player to control two characters who share a single pool of health. The player gains damage bonuses and access to a powerful team attack if they can efficiently manage both, called "syncing up". All this to reinforce the idea of putting your trust in others, one of the game's core themes.

[@wiksolop72]

Similarly, I liked the mechanical metaphor in the Souls games. The enemies you fight were once just like the player character. It's the same reason they respawn just like you do. But at some point they died one too many times and simply gave up. If the player gets too frustrated and quits playing, they've become the very thing they were fighting against. Just another poor soul who was driven mad in an unforgiving world. (which also can be seen as a statement about failure/perseverance in the real world)

[@Rainbowthewindsage]

I beleive they have an older episode talking about mechanics as metaphors.

[@extrahistory]

Some of the examples I give here are a bit ham-handed or on the nose in order to make it clear _how_ we can do this, but you all can do it better ; ). I'd love to see us get to the point as game creators and a game audience where we can expect more subtlety than what I laid out.

[@onimaxblade8988]

Yeah, I was going to say it all sounded a bit obvious, but people, devs and players included, often don't think about these things a lot, so it is best to lay things out.

[@michaelclements5793]

Don't listen to that schmuck. Matt has been great for Extra Credits. Back on topic: I think Myst shows how wonderful and enriching creative pursuit is, unless you start trying to use your creativity for greed. Then the creative pursuit is entrapping. I'm looking at you EA, Warner Brothers, etc. Additionally, the creative process helps one develop mysteries and unknown aspects of their own work that they may not know of or recognize, but other people may find when they explore it. Such as what we are doing here.

[@jon9828]

@@piepie3295 Dude, stop being rude to the new guy. If it's Floyd you want he's on a different channel now and still quite active, go there.

[@axelkusanagi4139]

Maybe the Granfaloon from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night?

[@Biouke]

I'm glad to have studied video games in Uni instead of a specialised private school because, if it was a bit lacking on the technical fields, this is the kind of media critic and analysis we were encouraged to do. Being conscious of what our game "tells" and how we want it to tell those things is important. It doesn't mean that all the games you design MUST have a strong underlying subject, but awareness of what lies between the lines helps juggling with those metaphors, if only by insuring that the players/reviewers won't interpret it as something we don't condone. As an example, the difference between the writer's intentions and the players' reading in Far Cry 3 is a good lesson.

[@SirAroace]

I wish you show a example of unintentional Metaphor, aka when, by not thinking about what your design means, your players gets a message that was not intended or even story breaking.

[@7Seraphem7]

Metroid: Other M.

[@ottoleois9323]

Call of Juarez. It was bad enough to make Dan the original curse the developers.

[@ottoleois9323]

Link here kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWHGmmmojrSfm68

[@SomeFreakingCactus]

Tom Clancy’s The Division’s enemies all wear hoodies, a strong symbol of the Blacks Lives Matter movement.

[@pifilixxiv3192]

oof, dont remind me of that time after i killed the boss of the cleaners, i found a voice recording of him talking to his niece, and almost dropped on to my knees and cried

[@birdeynamnam]

Undertale is a great example of this, where the humans are the real monsters. And if you choose to fight the literal monsters, you will become a monster yourself

[@AusSP]

...Er, technically? Or actually no? I mean, I'm pretty sure that Undertale was actually saying that the monsters can be good people, though they're typically actually characters with depth who aren't necessarily good, and can do evil with good intention, and that makes them equivalent to humans, and you shouldn't let labels manipulate you, which stands in contrast to the typical opinion in games that monsters are always bad people. (Also, that games typically have you kill without consequence, and Undertale flips that around.) It wasn't saying that humans are evil, even though it has an evil human. It's far more interested in it's manipulation of gaming "common sense" than it is in saying things about the human condition.

[@antoninedelchev6076]

It has become kind of a cliche, but "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." - Friedrich Nietsche.

[@nicholasrandall3507]

The monsters in the underground murdered 6 children, plus countless other humans in the earlier war. Humanity first. The genocide run is well justified. Replace an entire population of monsters with one scarred child. More than a fair trade.

[@samus123ful]

That´s deep man. How about tuTORIEL and asGORE? although I think the latter is more of a contrasting contradiction.

[@grill-surf-bust]

Great point. You couldn't pull off that experience anywhere other than a game. It went deep into that one simple idea, and then it kept unpacking things and tying them back together. The function is blunt and the form isn't subtle. But that's why it's a good example, why it works, and why it resonated with an audience. Even if you think it's simple or a bad game, I really doubt you'd miss the idea at hand.

[@MaciejGajzlerowicz]

I think Papo & Yo deserves a honorable mention. A literal clumsy, irritable monster is a perfectly designed alcoholic father of the protagonist, who tries to learn how to live with the monster in his life... And without him.

[@Alphasoldier]

Papa Y Yo had a great ending though. It explained the reality really well near the end. But if you look at stuff like Silent Hill, hoboy. Layers upon layers.

[@larosenin]

Spot on, mate!

[@KubkaKawyprzyGrze]

I think Papo & Yo made a mistake trying to hard to make everybody understand these metaphors

[@invadingduck]

I don't normally leave comments but...Metroid Fusion. You're faced with the fact that by killing all of the Metroids, Samus has unleashed an even worse biological terror upon the galaxy; that killing off an entire species is maybe not the best thing to do. Samus is even treated with Metroid DNA to make her immune to the X Parasite. AND THEN the X Parasites make clones of Samus to hunt her down aboard the space station, basically flipping the tables and making it so that Samus is the one being stalked by a relentless killing machine. The Samus clone even transforms into a giant monstrous form of Samus as a boss to complete the metaphor. I could go on (the Federation secretly experimenting with unethical bioweapons the way Space Pirates did with Metroids, the X and the AI following "programing" like orders or instinct) but I just wanted to gush a bit about how great Metroid Fusion is.

[@BeerByTheNumbers]

"I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee." Show Don't Tell Bethesda, give me a background game for the lore!

[@hungrymusicwolf]

I would love to see something like an adventurer at the start of the game fighting together with you and taking an arrow to the knee only for it later to be revealed that he had to stop being an adventurer because of it.

[@barrybend7189]

He subtly said he got married.

[@Slinaro]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think I remember that this was a myth and was not actually true. EDIT: I just quickly searched and apparently it is not true. I didn't find reliable sources that pointed to the "arrow in the knee" being a reference to a Nordic slang for getting married and I saw many people telling that it was just a rumor.

[@Roxfox]

No it's not.

[@ramelo07]

Roxfox great point

[@EdKauffmann]

I think the best way games do this is when mechanics are used as a metaphor - the two-stick control scheme of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons says more about the themes and characters than anything else

[@NikkiMKarLen]

I'd rather live with penguins too, Superman.

[@Kapin05]

Sadly that's not an option anymore. _Thanks, Disney!_

[@JMcMillen]

Then you are at the wrong pole. Penguins live at the south pole, not the north pole.

[@LightBusterX]

Ice King wants his Gunther back.

[@RevanLah]

Oh? He wants to touch his tralala? lol!

[@IAmTheAce5]

Here’s one: Mirror’s Edge Catalyst shows a future society run on a caste system; where everything is so corporate, it’s almost feudal- there’s even flags on the rooftops like medieval lords marking their territory

[@florianfrey9258]

Damn, the guest art this time around was nothing short of spectacular! Kudos, Jack!

[@michaelemouse1]

Damn, I just noticed that the Weyland-Yutani logo looks like a fanged mouth.

[@Madhattersinjeans]

A tale of two brothers is about the older brother teaching the younger one to swim.

[@crypticcorvid]

That boy's name...? MICHAEL PHELPS.

[@Piorn]

It's about becoming a complete person when you're forced to fill the gap someone left.

[@spl744]

Damn bruh spoilers!

[@Ruby_WB]

The Guest art was amazing this episode! :D

[@spamkaze]

In Disney's The Jungle Book, the fire Mowgli tied to Sher Khan's tail represented human mastery over the jungle via fire and guns. It was also a fire tied to his tail, so I can see why he'd freak out a bit.

[@elivyre9439]

Lohse from Divinity Original Sin 2. I never got far in that game but if you play as Lohse the game uses the fact that she is literally possessed by a demon as a metaphor for mental health. Having a character who is fighting an evil entity who lives in her head and is actively trying to hurt her and make her miserable is an interesting parallel to the struggles of anxiety and depression.

[@grodon909]

Not going to spoil it for you, in case you decide to play again, but that metaphor doesn't really work at all once you start going through her story, especially if you choose to work with the demon.

[@PangolinPyrrhic]

It also falls apart more when you consider the goal is to get rid of the demon. It tells people with those issues that they're wrong and need to be fixed, rather than working with the issue and making it livable. Celetse does it better: she wants to get rid of her evil side right up until they understand each other, apologise to each other, and use their combined gameplay mechanics to overcome obstacles that each of them alone failed.

[@JenoPaciano]

Final Fantasy X's Sin is one of these literal metaphors for being destroyed by the sins of the past. Human war produced Sin, Sin is the link between the past world and the present world, the dead walk the Earth and often create more death, the world is called Spira which references the unending cycle (spiral) of death, technology never moves forward, summoner repeat the pilgrimages of their ancestors only to die, and the forward thinking Al Bhed are shunned for trying to break the spiral. I could go on.

[@daffaalfarisy7761]

please go on.

[@JenoPaciano]

Daffa Alfarisy I'm flattered. There will be spoilers below. - Yevon, the religion of Spira, is headed by a man who's not only ancient, but dead. This also symbolizes how Spira is controlled by the past. - The Fayth, who produce the aeons that power summoners but also power Sin, are literally preserved in stone and forever entombed, destined to sing the same old thousand-year-old song forever. This one speaks for itself. - Tidus, the game's protagonist, is literally a memory from the past. He is the unknowing product of the simulation of a city from a thousand years ago, a walking memory. This is not the same as him actually being a time-traveler, and I think that's deliberate. - Yunalesca waits in Zanarkand, the "city of the dead", which is a thousand-year-old ruin. The end goal of the pilgrimages is to go _back_ to an unchanging city from the past and meet with an ancient being there. - Tidus and Yuna together are able to resolve the world's conflict. Symbolically, it takes both the memories of the past (Tidus) and hope for the future (Yuna) for the world to finally atone and move forward. - At the end of the game, Tidus ceases to exist. While I don't think this was wise, it symbolically represents Spira finally leaving the past behind. This game also has a lot of stuff to do with father figures. With three of the main characters, we see details about their fathers and their relationships with their fathers. This symbolically represents a relationships with the past order, those who came before. - Tidus's conflict with his father mirrors Spira's conflict with its past, its forefathers. - Yuna trying to follow in her father's footsteps mirrors the other summoners blindly following their predecessors and Spira blindly following tradition. - Seymour seeks to end Spira's suffering in the same manner as he dealt with his own father: through murder. He believes he can break the spiral by becoming Sin - symbolically adopting the mantle of the sins of the past and taking responsibility for all suffering onto himself - and murdering everyone. He's basically the Antichrist. Bonus points: - Auron keeps one arm concealed in his coat, his face partially concealed by a high collar, and his eyes concealed by sunglasses. This is a metaphor; the man keeps many secrets. - Sin seems to live in water and often rises up out of the water. In story, water is often a metaphor for unconsciousness and dream. This hints that Sin is the product of dream, specifically the dream of Fayth used to produce his aeon. - Yuna is the only person in the group able to "send" the fallen, meaning getting them to accept their deaths and move on rather than them dwelling on the past. I didn't mention this above because, technically, all summoners can do this but only Yuna saved Spira.

[@AssassinLupus7]

Not sure how relevant it is, but an extra note about Auron; during any flashback scenes during Braska's pilgrimage, Auron doesn't have his arm covered, he doesn't have the high collar on his jacket (I'm not 100% sure on this one, but mostly sure) nor does he have his sunglasses. At that point in his life, he didn't have all of those secrets to keep.

[@JenoPaciano]

@@AssassinLupus7 Yes, good point. He was open and honest in his youth.

[@velvetisis]

I feel like symbolism is more what you were going for here, which I guess is technically a kind of metaphor.

[@myilmazalper]

symbols have definite meanings that are only apparent in the context of the story. metaphors are universal concepts evoked through images that can be shaped to fit many different situations. example: Metamorphosis by Kafka is a metaphor, not a symbolist story, because the man turning into an insect is a metaphor for social alienation and that experience is conveyed vividly. if it was a symbol it would be "former criminals struggling to begin life anew" or "foreigners failing to fit in to a new environment". These are specific situations, but a metaphor gets to the common heart of these situations and lays it bare.

[@Skilltagz]

One from Bethesda via Fallout:3: When you return to the vault after exploring the wasteland, no matter what you do, you cannot stay in the vault. The vault is where you spent the beginning of your life, and where you were shaped before you head out into the wasteland. It's the metaphorical womb that created the Vault Dweller.

[@davyhotch]

The Golden Path in Far-cry 4 has two leaders with different goals for the faction; Amita and Sabal. Their personalities and motivations are reflected in the two halves of the player skill tree; Elephant and Tiger.

[@silverdeathgamer2907]

However they are both ruthless and predatory leaders who do not care for their followers and are willing to act take any action no matter how immoral it is in order to promote their respective ideologies, I would argue elephants are viewed as powerful,noble and caring deeply for their family and especially their young which reflects neither Amita or Sabal.

[@davyhotch]

Silverdeathgamer290 I'm half remembering a video by Ryan Hollinger. He did a better job of arguing it than i can................... Sabal is related to the Elephant. (Elephants have religious significance and they are the only animal where killing them gives penalties) ............................Sabal sees himself as a protector of past traditions, Favouring saving allies over gaining intelligence. Resisting drug dealing and restoring temples..................... Amita wants to promote change and makes more aggressive decisive moves to create a different future.

[@nayannmartinelli300]

Bioshock makes the metaphor of "the illusion of choice" a literal aspect of the plot, i.e the game gives you options on how to play or which way to go, but the player has actually little freedom on the matter, because the developers have already mapped all the routes and you can only progress in very constrained ways.

[@andrasfogarasi5014]

"What are the characteristics usually associted with a vampire?" Charming and eccentric noble?

[@myilmazalper]

try "blood sucking immortal" lol, the eccentric noble part was added and combined with the blood sucking bit by Bram Stoker to jab at the Victorian ethical code, which is a different but related metaphor.

[@jon9828]

To me vampires are metaphors warning about the effects of hedonism run amok. Wanton carnal desires in the form of food, drink, gaudy clothes, expensive housing and... other things. Wanton desire for all these things have turned a human into a bloodsucking monster. There's a reason a lot of vampire fiction makes the connection between wine and blood. Wine is a symbol of elegance and luxury. Fits quite well with the hedonism angle. The vampire metaphor runs deep, it's a classical concept after all. Surely many other interpretations out there. .

[@yusiuc5533]

or sparkle and capitalize on young girl's mind in twilight's case

[@Kumimono]

Good with maths? Ah, ah, ah...

[@cloudbroken]

This is a great point. Classic metaphors are rewritten by new media and tropes to the point that they mean something else entirely. I don't think of zombies, vampires, or werewolves as anything more than plot contrivances, despite the fact they could mean plenty.

[@BC-iq8ks]

Dragon Age Inquisition is full of those. In final dlc, you always go into a magic mirror in order to start the quest, and the story shows one character as the mirrored image of the protagonist. The background in the final dlc's end is atop of a mountain overlooking a elven fortress, the same scene of the end of act one, but this time the characters are facing each other instead of side by side, represents the split that happened between the two and their similarities.

[@popogeejo]

I did my dissertation on this subject but in regards to animation. You can load so much meaning into such small things when you have complete control over visuals it can actually be quite scary. Like, how many characters can you just look at a still image of and know their broad personality straight away from simple design choices? How much can just the style of glasses you might have them wear say about them? (I know it's more semiotics but I did bad on my dissertation for a reason!) 'It's such a Beautiful Day' uses the simple art style as a metaphor for the main characters sense of detachment and artifice with the world. Games have a beautiful extra tool in their belt and that's their mechanics which I'm sure you've talked about before. Cultist Simulator could be a far more approachable game but it's mechanics reflect the warped and esoteric nature of the subject matter as just a quick example. THAT moment in Brothers: A tale of two sons is this concept at its purest.

[@timross5351]

It's not exactly subtle, but I immediately thought of Sin in Final Fantasy 10. A whole game about how fighting against "sin" without understanding it or correcting the problems that lead to it can merely perpetuate the cycle of sacrificing what you love and in the end becoming the sin you strive against.

[@AssassinLupus7]

There is another thread going that actually makes some good points about the symbolism in FFX that you may wish to check out.

[@timross5351]

AssassinLupus7 , where might I find that?

[@AssassinLupus7]

Tim Ross it was just another comment thread on this video. I'm not sure if there's a way to share it. At least on mobile. The original post for it was from JenoPaciano if that helps at all.

[@CatOnACell]

Celeste. the strawberries create a great treat at the end for your friends and kind of symbolize the sweetness of overcoming optional challenges. and the more strawberries you collect the more your in game friends like the pie because you pulled more sweetness form the game.

[@lemontyseven7454]

Just want to compliment you guys on the beginning of the episode! It was a great way to introduce the concept in an understandable way.

[@Volti666]

This is a very valuable advise. Thank you Extra Credits for this! I personally apply it to the pen&paper tabletop RPG I create as a GM for my players. There I try to give certain characters, situations or even home-brew monsters meaning with these exacts tools. Here I have the advantage to see how much my players enjoyed it or to see the astounding face of em, when the coins of meaning dropped

[@Ghiaman1334]

I love this topic. As someone fanatic about creative writing, this area of game design would be the part I know I could put all my effort into. However, I ashamedly can't think of many examples, but I could try to rattle one or more off. Dust: An Elysian Tail - Ahrah? As a powerful sword who is Dust's mentor, they could also mean that Dust's growing knowledge of himself, his backstory and his reason for existing empower him and make him stronger? Also, I don't know if this counts, but the dialogue options that come up, specifically the one at the end of the Blackmoor Mountains, leading to the same result could mean something. They could work as a metaphor for how powerless and unprepared Dust is, given he knows next to nothing about himself so maybe couldn't make these choices given he still hasn't gotten over the hurdle of his own identity.

[@janeguiness6866]

I would like to add ftl as mechanic and metaphor. It often seems that the way to survive is to be vicious so you can make it to home world. However, if you’ve killed everything in your path, even those who flee, and frequently abandon civilians for your own sake, why shouldn’t there be a rebellion against your empire? And why is your ship alone in its fight?

[@joeblaster8770]

There was a GI Joe comic that used Divine Comedy as a metaphor to explain Cobra's goals for conquering the world.

[@devincory9695]

Holy shit everyone needs to play Celeste.

[@nbrickey7272]

Y E S

[@yurisonovab3892]

The moment Badeline reached outside of the text window gave me chills.

[@ceresgc]

Indeed

[@GryphonBlazier]

Celeste and Getting Over It with Bennet Foddy both tell similar meta-literal stories revolving around a mountain, and both are worth a lot to anyone going through a struggle.

[@ИванИванов-г9ш2р]

Celeste? I guess it's another ultrahardcore metroidvania with pixelart, 8-bit music and deep tragic story? And pastel palette? No. Thanks but no.

[@glitchygear9453]

As an animation fan, I love you for making this video. Animation and comics have been doing this for years, especially in the Eastern culture; I'd love to see games utilize this more often, instead of just putting a cute chibi face on everything.

[@reynard3767]

The one that stuck with me the most was the Sands of Time trilogy from Prince of Persia. It had a good mix of subtle stuff that you wouldn't see unless you looked for it and big obvious metaphors that tell you that there's something to look for, and that they ended the last game in a series where the core mechanic was going back to fix mistakes with a message about growing up, accepting what's in the past and moving forward has always been really enchanting to me.

[@emmettg7490]

This channel always has good guest artists. Their main style is awesome too of course.

[@NoNumbersAfterName]

From the 90s: Obsidian. Every piece and the entire whole is one huge metaphor for understanding one's place in the universe, and what it means to make a choice.

[@siegebug]

Venom Snake is Big Boss's doppelganger and "Not really." He uses a hologram phone, he smokes the phantom cigar, his arm is a prosthetic, there's a FOB base that's not the real Mother Base which people can attack, and DD is a fucking wolf.

[@macdri]

So... that was a metaphorical penguin in the arctic, right? Seeing as literal penguins in the arctic... unintentional humor?

[@No_Superman10]

Extra Credits talked before about the use of descent in Spec Ops: The Line. About how almost every major area starts with Capt. Walker descending and entering Hell itself. One character even states, when asked about their (dead) commander; "By now I imagine he's just downstairs."

[@fakyorcru9799]

Man this is some good art, it feels so full of energy and flow please hire him more :D

[@dvklaveren]

I like it when I stumble into these for role-playing games. My alchemist has stretch powers, but he's also stretching himself thin by by taking on too many responsibilities and still trying to make room for adventure. A nagaji NPC relevant to one of my character's backstories is a merchant who strives in spite of struggle. Nagaji have snake-like features and she came to be based on the aphorism "owo foro adobe", which describes a snake diligently climbing a thorned raffia tree trying to get to the top.

[@Brandazzo22]

Great video. Making sure every team in development is on the same page on conveying or portraying metaphors is more important than the metaphor itself. We're starting to see many games with a ton of unattended ludonarrative dissonance which I personally despise. I think a video over ludonarrative dissonance should be made because its become a new element divisive among gamers

[@samgu3750]

loved the art and subverting the imagery of some of those creatures. like the face huggers and the xenomorph

[@frei2304]

I recently finished Danganronpa V3 and i think the last chapter can be a great example of these

[@colly9888]

I think the metaphor could have been done better, it was really shoved down the player's throat

[@JAHMZ528]

After the Yakuza Kiwami example you gave I realized another example from that series and again with the tattoos. The fact that Kiriyu and Nishiki’s tattoos are incomplete make for a great connection to the idea that the frame work of their ideals and goals are being outlined in these early years and in the events of this game (Kiryu’s pursuit of doing what he believes is right and Nishiki’s obsession with their future and standing within the Tojo Clan).

[@WhatTheFnu]

I love how in Wario Land, most enemies are carrying knives, or shields, or other pointy bits to cover themselves. So Wario (the bad guy) is at his best when he's fighting dirty and hitting people from the back.

[@shawnheatherly]

Finding a meaning in a game, regardless of intent, is what can make a game memorable.

[@h.m.8068]

Extra credits is one of my favorite channels,its just so amazing.

[@bendonatier]

My favorite example of this comes from gen 2 of Pokemon. Your rival in the game gets a Zubat early on, usually associated with villains due to how many rocket grunts have them. It stays on his team throughout the game, as he wants about strength being important and compassion being worthless, but after getting a dressing down by Lance, and him taking a good hard look at you the player he has a change of heart and starts to care more for his Pokemon, his Zubat having become a Crowbat, a Pokemon that only evolves with high friendship

[@arturoreyescortez2476]

That is a nice remix of Majora's Mask theme at the end. On the topic of this video, the Dark Souls games are a fountain of metaphors. You can play the game without knowing the full story and you can still understand what is happening. Aldritch's description by many characters isn't an overstatement because he became a mass of corruption after eating many people (including gods); the Abyss Watchers are so insane that they attack each other even before you fight them; the Dancer of the Boreal Valley behaves like an elegant dancer when she fights; and Solaire is so joyous that he wears a sun tunic over his armor and looks colorful in comparison with the other characters.

[@rlnnstrm]

Awesome art! Really inspired and expressive. Thank you Jack McGee! Pretty much floored over here. 👏

[@writingstuff3502]

You guys really ought to make an Extra Storytelling series.

[@Xionizzy]

Totalbiscuit talked about how Brothers a Tale of Two Sons is a good example of mechanics as metaphor. The story is about the bond of two brothers as they go through a journey, while the mechanics is controlling both of them with wasd and the arrow keys. The brothers have to work in tandem to through puzzles, and the puzzles themselves function as a sort of metaphor on their reliance to each other. Since you control both of them, the controls feel really wonky at first, but as you complete puzzles, not only does the bond between the brothers in the story gets better, but your mastery with using both of them gets better too. What they do later at the story is really interesting fron a mechanics as metaphor standpoint, and what’s even more interesting is that it’s something that’s medium specific to games. Mixing interactivity with metaphor adds a unique emotional layer to the gameplay that no other artistic medium can really achieve.

[@flutterymuffins]

I don't really have a finding, but something I do want to bring up: the necessity (or lack thereof) of metaphor. I don't deny that it can often enrich a story or enhance enjoyment, but I also think it has it's place. Subtext, allusion, metaphor; I wish many game developers (and media creators in general) would try a little harder to make such things optional. Sometimes I don't care if character X is psychologically scarred by character Y and how that relates to the human condition. It goes back to art is what you make of it. No one can tell you what a particular song means to you, because we assign our own meaning based on circumstance and experience. But when lyrics are often blatant, or in games when subtext cries out just a bit too loud, I often feel like my personal interpretation is encroached upon. Everyone has an opinion, and it can alienate people at times. I wish people could enjoy the simple things, and the joy of the straightforward. I wouldn't mind an episode on that to be honest.

[@derpface1]

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream has a good blend of telling, showing, and implying that uses visual metaphor to line up punches by having the player start to catch on to the deeper meaning before punching you in the face, but not in a bad way. The game never makes you feel cheated or disgusted unless that's the emotion you were meant to feel in that moment and the antagonist AM is very compelling in his motives and voice acting. Given that the games really old, and point and clicks aren't as common anymore, playing it is hard, but watching a playthrough might be worth peoples time.

[@RastafarianPilgrim]

I hope there's a part 2 of this topic in the works, on the implications and abstraction of mechanics

[@commenturthegreat2915]

In Psychonauts, basically everything is a metaphor.

[@JaneXemylixa]

In TF2, friendly Spy's disguise is represented with a paper mask. Figurative and literal.

[@glaive21842]

The dragon Lofwyr from Shadowrun is doing exactly what you described with the vampire CEO, being the head of the world's largest megacorp.

[@maddinar6727]

In to the moon I always felt like the unfulfilled wish of Johnny to go to the moon was a metaphor for reaching something bigger and with this wish being fulfilled and him still remembering River in the end tells us so much about him. Most importantly it shows how he will never forget the love of his life and what a strong bonds both of them have.

[@S0oo]

And then there is Kojima who makes 20 minutes cutscenes.

[@Erika-gn1tv]

But how else would you know how _deep_ the game is?!

[@S0oo]

It would drive you insane i think. Even these Death Stranding Trailers scare me and i ask myself if i wanna go into this rabbit hole.

[@sparkydoodle696]

S0oo twenty minutes, aw, you’re cute

[@barrybend7189]

You kinda forget the subtle stuff in his games like Zone Of the Enders.

[@AnimeOtaku2]

Wasn’t the closing cutscene in Snake Eater a full hour and a half?

[@Tickerbee]

The last two boss fights in Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows are veeeeery metaphorical. Both of them resemble corrupted versions of Plague Knight and seem like they represent his inner conflict regarding his goal, especially since the soundtrack names the music for the first fight as "The Battle Within".

[@jackvandeputte5691]

A good example I found was the Stanley Parable Adventure Line in well... the Stanley Parable. In the game the story has been throne into chaos and in order to fix it the narrator puts down a literal line representing a linear story. And what i think it means is that most linear stories are bouring sure you can have fun moments bobbing along to some music, or remembering a important detail like the Bush. But when you take a look as a whole it falls flat because it gave you no choise you where going to reach the end any way. In a game about making unique choices having something showing you how boring a linear story is and can be is really inspired.

[@Lunictd]

How about the lore and quests of Warframe? The fall of the oligarchy that is the Orokin Empire (which abuses all its subjects, slaves, uses kid soldiers to fight their wars, creates technologies that would ruin the entire universe) and the rise of a fascist regime (Grineer), capitalism (Corpus) and anarchism(?) (Infested). Maybe the "Space Mom" Lotus/Natah is a figure of how one person needs family and to give and take love? The superweapons that Warframes are, protecting people and saving the Solar System over destroying. There is also Rell from the "Chains of Harrow" quest, the Tenno on the spectrum that all the other Tenno and Lotus ignored, being the one protecting everyone from something only he could see and understand. Some people are far greater than we give them credit for, and being different shouldn't be considered a drawback.

[@lordundeadrat]

Reminds me of when I deeply considered Kellog from Fallout 4. How in addition to being a catalyst for the plot. He also represents the cycle of violence. Not only as a victim of it. But as a willing participant in it. There's basically no way out of killing him. Many say that's a weakness for the plot. But it helps to draw the line between killing because you have to. And becoming Kellog yourself. Just as he became like the people who took his family. I think it's up to the player to decide which is which. Even if it's a pretty ham fisted approach.

[@levyduvic5700]

In the ending of a ”brothers a tale of two sons,” I won't spoil it, but it is literal and metaphorical at the same time.

[@roundtuit2587]

I love when games are deeply but subtly metaphorical or their are two kinds of story being told. You're just having a good romp when something happens that makes you stop and rethink EVERYTHING you experienced previously and colors everything going forward. The Sixth Sense effect, if you will. I fall in love with games and movies that get me to spend hours watching theory and lore videos. That really get me to dig deep into what the story means. Recent examples for me might be the mind-warping end of Inside or the metaverse of Cloverfield (love it or hate it).

[@the_worst_of_the_best399]

Extra good work. I think it can apply on any story told by visuals (comics, book ilustrations, visual novels). The art in this video was cute too, woudn´t mind seeing it again. The only problem I have is with the added text. It broke my concentration on the narration and sonetimes wasn´t even fully visible. Other then that very good.

[@daylanadams9522]

In slime rancher, the structure at the end of the game has two doors. This is a metaphor for choice, it symbolizes the fact that, most of the time, if you choose to do one thing, another thing to do gets abandoned, in the case of the character who helps you and who's story you follow, it was to travel through space and time, or love.

[@TGNXAR]

"Mr. McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

[@michaz.3075]

"A widespread error, in this context, holds that the wider the concept, the less its cognitive content - on the ground that its distinguishing characteristic is more generalized than the distinguishing characteristics of its constituent concepts. The error lies in assuming that a concept consists of nothing but its distinguishing characteristic. But the fact is that in the process of abstracting from abstractions, one cannot know what is a distinguishing characteristic unless one has observed other characteristics of the units involved and of the existents from which they are differentiated. Just as the concept “man” does not consist merely of “rational faculty” (if it did, the two would be equivalent and interchangeable, which they are not), but includes all the characteristics of “man,” with “rational faculty” serving as the distinguishing characteristic - so, in the case of wider concepts, the concept “animal” does not consist merely of “consciousness and locomotion,” but subsumes all the characteristics of all the animal species, with “consciousness and locomotion” serving as the distinguishing characteristic." ~ Ayn Rand

[@AleksoLaĈevalo999]

I didn't know that she wrote something clever and correct from time to time.

[@finnd6109]

portal 1, achievement fratrecide, portal 2 is about what happens after glad0s dies and the pit of hell, when you go to the elevator with Wheatley and he drops you

[@crestfallensunbro6001]

While its not a metaphor, the moment the first portal opens in Portal 1 is a great example of "show, don't tell" the way you see yourself through the portal is a really powerful way of showing what it does.

[@bjornbjornson740]

How about the 40K baseline? Tyranids are a mirror held up to the Imperium. Consider, they are: Violent Mindlessly obedient Viciously hostile to any other species Devote all their resources to continuing their expansion through the galaxy And that's just the Astartes. They are monsters -> They mirror human behaviour -> Humans are monsters Like, not new, certainly, but really a common theme in the background of any game where humanity has a manifest-destiny approach to galactic colonization. If the opposing factions have basically the same goal, and it's really just an argument over resources: that right there makes for comparison territory. So that's why I can't help but snicker during opening cinematics of post-plague-apocalypse games (especially space-plague types) when they act like trying to suck up resources and reproduce as quickly as possible (with little regard to the host environment) is something entirely foreign to humanity.

[@danielrothwelliii6712]

My personal favorite literal metaphor is Tales of Berseria’s resident Lord of Calamity, Velvet Crowe. A monster both physically and mentally, changed beyond recognition both in the acquisition of her new Demon arm and in her mental state. Plus, she’s the villain of her own story, but the hero for the world. A hero the world neither wants nor accepts.

[@guy3nder529]

Even if you're not actively looking for it those hidden meanings are felt more subconsciously and make for a more consistent world

[@Patmax17]

I think a very good example of such a technique is a ttrpg called Monster hearts (by Avery Adler). In that game, players play teenagers who go to shool and live their lives but who are also classic urban fantasy monsters, ie vampires, werewolves, witches, ghouls, demonists. But those monsters are actually metaphorical representations of issues teenagers have to face: the vampire is a person who exploits and dominates others, the werewolves is violent and can't control her rage (though often hurting the people around her), the ghoul represents resting disorders, the demonist represents a person with addiction (in the game, to a dark force that makes him feel powerful but demands always greater sacrifice). And the list goes on. The game mechanics make players explore those problems and guide them to see how their characters develop, and if they can overcome their problems and become adults.

[@josephwelker7376]

The progression of the final boss in super smash bros. Matpat did a whole video on it. But master hand, crazy hand, taboo and the boss in smash 4 (forgot its name) all represent sakurai's evolving feelings about the franchise and his own feelings as its creator.

[@km_studios]

Funny that there's an illustration of Metal Gear Solid at 4:51, because I actually think Solid Snake is an example of that. Throughout MGS1, there are several dialogues which reveal how Snake is a heartless killer. Psycho Mantis and Vulcan Raven both talk about it during their post-death speeches. Naomi points it out before the battle with Sniper Wolf, and Snake doesn't even seem to deny it. The coup de grace, though, is before the final battle with Liquid. Liquid says to Snake "Why did you come here? ... You enjoy all the killing, that's why. ...Haven't you already killed most of my comrades? ...I watched your face when you did it. It was filled with the joy of battle." What's interesting about this scene is that it's in first-person view, and for years, I never understood why. But then I realized that Snake is a metaphor for the player! Sure, Snake himself is a heartless killer, but he also represents the complete lack of remorse for all the people you kill in the game (and have probably killed in many other games). So, when Liquid is saying all these things to Snake about how heartless a killer he is, he's also saying them to YOU! One last thing worth noting is that, Snake has significant character development, and by the end of the game, he really seems to have changed from his heartless killing ways. And, from MGS2 on, there are non-lethal weapons (tranquilizer guns, stun grenades), which make it possible to beat the game without killing anyone.

[@WolfieJoeyGirl]

Warframe feels to me like it has a lot of roots in these decisions. There’s the design and story around Cephaleon Ordis, who is shown very early on to be broken by his design and speech patterns and then the addition of his backstory adds a new depth. Then there’s the Orokin who you could argue use this in reverse. Their name and design invoke purity and being on top yet as learn more about them you realise the metaphor means something completely different.

[@fullmetalvladimir]

An example of this I've seen recently is in the wonderful The Painscreek Killings, that you mentioned in the most recent GYMNHT. I won't go into detail, due to the spoiler-prone nature of the game, but a character has a series of chess pieces with numbers on them. The interesting bit about these is that they are found in places that have symbolic meaning. The knight and queen are found together in a spot where his daughter and her boyfriend hang out. This not only helps to reaffirm his love of his daughter. but also the general idea that he sees her boyfriend as a good figure in her life. The king is found a very hidden and secluded spot, that only he knew about, reaffirming the fact that he keeps secrets and holds things close to the chest. I would go on about the other pieces and who they represent, but they are more ambiguous and more spoilery, and this is a game you should go into with as little information as possible. Edit: Forgot to mention that this also functions as a useful gameplay element, in that if you want to find the pieces, you can start to think about how the metaphors relate to figures in his life. It's not too hard to be off topic, but you can wonder things like "In this religious town, where would the bishop be?" Thinking down that road could help you find all the pieces, albeit their locations aren't generally very hidden, but in a game where information is as much of a lock as any key, anything you can gleam from symbolism helps a ton.

[@asalways1504]

Thank you Jack!

[@MrAmgeo]

One example that I appreciated from Doom 2016 was brought up on an episode of Talking Simulator. The doom marine only ever smashes stuff directly related to demons. Other things, such as elevator buttons, he uses like a normal human. Most games would have him just slam every available button like a gorilla.

[@partyjams]

Don’t really do this myself as a player but there is definitely an audience who appreciate these elements.

[@varicksantana711]

Dark Souls 1 came to me at really low point in my life. My parents were abusive for all of my upbringing, and I had recently ran away from home and crashed at a friend's place. I was so depressed and self-loathing that I couldn't get myself to do much, which only made me feel worse for the family I was mooching off of. I started playing Dark Souls to mask over the pain, but through the intense pain and perseverance, I started to see the challenges as those I was facing in my real or emotional life. I started to see that I could approach and understand the challenges in front of me, that I was capable. Shortly before I finished the game, (and heavily inspired by EC) I got a job and enrolled in community college to study game design.

[@varicksantana711]

I'm now at UCSC studying game design. I still carry some of the baggage from my childhood. Recently, I played through A Hat in Time, and it sort of became this rewriting of my childhood. The story kind of became about me learning to accept my pain and quirks, because they are a part of me, and that I don't need to control and destroy it all to be happy.

[@GlenKStraughn]

That bit on the tattoos in Yakuza reminded me of a character in Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations. Furio Tigre, a loanshark with a wild temper, wears a shirt with a tiger biting a dragon. As mentioned in the episode, the dragon represents wisdom and restraint. The tiger, however, is often used to represent aggression and power. In other words, his shirt is telegraphing his brash and temperamental nature.

[@zodayn]

The pokemon Charjabug is symbolically a depiction of the concept of storing energy for the metamorphosis of a pupa and how that compairs to a battery. It is also literally shaped like a bug battery. Pokémon has many monsters that are literal interpetations of untangible concepts.

[@jacobjohnston3983]

I expected this to be more about how game mechanics can express character. Like a tank character demonstrating that he/she is self-sacrificing/has a heart of gold by having skills that draw monsters to them or keep their allies safe. If a character is sneaky or cruel, they can cast debuffs and curses, stuff like that. Stuff that's more specific to video games.