A common piece of advice given to writers surrounding the inclusion of plot twists is that they should be predictable, if the reader is actively looking for clues. It shouldn’t just be an unexpected new plot device suddenly included that subverts everything we currently know, like a deus ex machina. It should be there, lingering in the background but not obvious enough to the unsuspecting reader.
I think that the plot twist revealed in the final level is well-written because there are various elements of the game that suggest it (aside from the ones we talked about in class), in retrospect.
For example, the introduction of game mechanics such as reversing time or controlling one’s shadow seems contrarian—it sets up an end objective so similar to that of Super Mario Bros and other platformers, creating an expectation for similar mechanics as well, but crumbles it right away in the World 2. The inclusion of this new mechanic adds an extra layer of strategy to the game, because instead of completely avoiding all situations where the character dies or is injured, the player has to take into consideration these possible paths and leverage them using the new time reversing mechanic. The inclusion of these unique mechanics makes the game more difficult, for some—it makes it different from Super Mario Bros. But it is not different for the sake of being more challenging—it is different because it a hint towards further subversion of expectation in other aspects of the game. If the game differs from Super Mario Bros in mechanics as well as the strategy needed for the game, perhaps it is also different in terms of, say, plot, or objective.
The Wardrip-Fruin reading explains this well, how “the most common logics are widely (if somewhat unconsciously) understood by game-literate players. It is through this understanding that players develop their ability to play—to understand the game world such that they can take action intentionally and interpret its results” (13). This suggests that the standardization of certain mechanics, or expectations for a certain genre or style of game, helps players build meaning from the game. So subverting these expectations may suggest a subversion of expected meaning as well.
It is even using this twist in game mechanics that the twist in the plot is revealed in the final chapter of the game. Someone playing the game and realizing this may arrive at the conclusion that the goal that Tim is after, saving the princess, may not be what it seems, even before the finale, and that’s what makes it a great plot twist.
