Undertale
Storytelling Reinvention:
subverts the Role-Playing game genre by presenting a game world wherein every conflict can be solved nonviolently
Game Information
Release Date: September 15th, 2015
Developer: tobyfox
Publisher: tobyfox
Rating: Teen
Genres: Action, Role-Playing
Price: $9.99
Website: http://undertale.com/
Undertale was released in September of 2015 and was created almost entirely by Toby Fox, save for some of the artwork in the game. He was funded through Kickstarter and had an initial goal of $5,000. By the end of the campaign 2,398 people supported his idea and raised $51,124 to go towards the game. (1) It took Fox about 2.7 years to finish creating the game. Fox says that he did not get an influence for the game from any one place. It was a combination of everything he comes across in life -- be it internet culture, comedy acts, or other video games. (2)
From first view, Undertale looks like a fairly simple game. Kallie Plagge reported in her review of Undertale published on IGN, “My journey had begun with dumb puns and silly puzzles, but the end affected me in a way I never expected. That’s kind of Undertale’s specialty — playing with our expectations of what an RPG should be, subverting them, and using them to drive a story unique to what games can do." (3) Fox’s uniquely designed game pulls on these stereotypical game expectations and stretches them beyond what is expected of a typical RPG. By doing this, he has created a game that explores a new form of storytelling through video games.
References:
1. Mike Suszek. Crowdfund Bookie, July 21-27: Terminator 2, Undertale, Last Dream. Engadget. 29 June 2013. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/29/crowdfund-bookie-july-21-27-terminator-2-undertale-last-dr/>.
2. Tim Turi. GI Show – Yoshi’s Woolly World, Star Wars: Battlefront, Undertale’s Toby Fox. Game informer. 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.gameinformer.com/b/podcasts/archive/2015/10/15/gi-show-_1320_-yoshis-woolly-world_2c00_-star-wars_3a00_-battlefront_2c00_-undertale-toby-fox.aspx>.
3. Kallie Plagge. Undertale: Review. IGN. 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/01/13/undertale-review>.
Researcher: Haley Zach
