Princess Emily
lukewarm take: there has been no anime (/manga/light novel) where having video game mechanics as an actual in universe mechanic has been to the benefit of the series
lazy loafer
but can there be, theoretically
Princess Emily
if it's not actually a video game that shit serves no purpose
Princess Emily
no
Princess Emily
the only thing it does is shatter the suspension of disbelief and encourage bad storytelling
Princess Emily
all it does is go "look we made a setting that is SO OBVIOUSLY based on RPGs that they literally use RPG mechanics! lol!"
Princess Emily
and it's SO STUPID, every time
Princess Emily
even in RPGs they're not using those mechanics in fucking universe!
Princess Emily
it drives me insane
Princess Emily
why do series keep doing this
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
i've said it before but i feel like it could be used well if the mcs had a proper, like. thought? question? about what this means for the reality of the setting, and their own existence? but it never happens
Princess Emily
for an isekai, ehh maybe
Princess Emily
that's not an argument, that's literally in a video game
Princess Emily
it's always like "hello person of a very normal world, let us check your stats!" "oh, wow, normal person, you made level 2! congrats!" it's so fucking stupid
Princess Emily
and they lose absolutely nothing just by. not. doing that.
Princess Emily
ok i guess in some cases you lose something because the protagonists try to game the RPG mechanics that for some reason exist in this real world they are in, but
Princess Emily
it still makes for a bad setting, so it'd be better to work that out
Princess Emily
i'm not even specifically targeting isekai, there are plenty of other series that do it
Princess Emily
i'm currently hatewatching picking up girls in a dungeon etc
Princess Emily
which is a general isekai fantasy world except there's no isekai
M'I HEMO
Log Horizon is technically not a video game but the whole point is they're in an mmo they're mostly familiar with. For Kumo Desu Ga, the fact that there are video game mechanics and why those exist in the world are a major part of the plot and world building mystery.
M'I HEMO
Mostly though it's to build familiarity and expectations so that you can short hand a lot of explanations and handwave serious econonomic questions for viewer ease. The skills and levels are just a codified extension of your usual shounen tropes and abilities anyway so they'd likely exist for most of these anyway.
M'I HEMO
And for series like Tondemonai Skill, in which his main abilities are having an infinite size inventory space and having access to an online shopping center for ingredients, the gamification makes his abilities more palatable than if you tried to explain them without using game/computer terms.
kamikasei
What about Goblin Is Very Strong?
☆Tobu☆
I would suggest Dungeon Meshi as an example of game mechanics gone right
☆Tobu☆
Since it actively interrogates what a fucked-up situation would result from A] dungeon grinding as the core of a local economy, and B] casual resurrection after death being an option
kamikasei
They don’t have literal mechanics though - I think Emily means being able to check stuff like your level and stats, or access infinite hammerspace inventory
kamikasei
Dungeon Meshi is more tabletop than CRPG.
☆Tobu☆
Fair enough - power levels have been lame since DBZ
Princess Emily
M'I HEMO
: log horizon is a piece of shit, so nothing lost there. kumo desu ga is not made better by the inclusion of this plotline. and the fact they need video game mechanics in order to build a world that doesn't shatter at first glance
Princess Emily
means the world building is bad
Princess Emily
that's bad world building
Princess Emily
also infinite inventory doesn't make any series better so let's get rid of that too
Princess Emily
☆Tobu☆
: yeah dungeon meshi didn't have any video game mechanics
☆Tobu☆
I tend to think of dungeon levels and extra lives as a game thing, but most of the tabletop I've played was very freeform XD;;
M'I HEMO
What plotline do you mean in Kumo desu ga it's literally every plot in the series is tied to the mechanics
Princess Emily
I read the first hundred chapters and never got into any plot like that
Princess Emily
but it's only going to make a better plot to throw it away and write something else
Princess Emily
if a premise for a series involves using video game mechanics in an actual non video game, it's a bad premise
Princess Emily
like that lazy witch isekai, whose entire initial premise is she leveled up on slimes for 200 years or whatever,
Princess Emily
it's a bad premise! you could make a better story if you got rid of it!