One of my favorite games of all time is Undertale, a smash-hit indie RPG. While Undertale creates many different types of fun, my favorite is the way it creates Narrative fun. While not exactly “human” drama (as many of the main characters are “monsters”), Undertale stands out in part because of the story it chooses to tell, as well as the way it gets there. Rather than having a linear story, there are different “endings” based on how players handled encounters with the monsters in-game: Pacifist (not killing any monsters and instead finding different ways to grant them “mercy”), Neutral (killing some monsters), Genocide (intentionally killing all of the monsters). This mechanic also breaks the fourth wall—the main antagonist can block additional replays of the game and even permanently alter the way the game unfolds in future runs of the game. Moreover, the music, dialogue, and story beats will also change based on which route the player chooses to take. This also changes how the player interacts with Undertale—the dynamics. As the game grows darker as you kill more monsters, some players may be influenced to “turn back” and choose pacifist methods instead. Conversely, upon seeing these changes, some players may also be driven to continue their actions out of curiosity—this decision to destroy a world for personal entertainment is one that the game forces players to contend with. All of this serves to emphasize the very human ideas of and struggle with morality, power, and the potentially irreversible consequences of one’s actions. Without these mechanics, Undertale’s narrative wouldn’t be able to be told with the same impact it has been.
