Childish
Culture concept
Any tags that make games more childish, making distinctions between any two things clearer and things normally hard to identify glaringly easy as well as judging situations or intentions simple, good is always good, evil is always evil.
Note that this is not the same as "for children", only that the mentality is very immature or simplistic.
Traits: (not necessary for all to apply)
* Clear choices, evil actions are evil and always harmful (not necessarily harmful to the protagonist), good actions are good and always beneficial.
* No unexpected consequences for your actions.
* Unrealistic violence, excessive splatter and any gore is cartoonish.
* Problems are simple and clear cut.
* Comic relief or other things to lighten up the mood if the work is supposedly "grim".
* Lack of drama and tragedy, unless it is used for humor.
* Action-oriented, little to no time spent considering your actions or their effects.
* Everything is explained, why someone does or did something, no matter how contrived such explanations are.
* Player directed at everything or at least the important things. Lots of hand-holding and pointing so they notice things.
* If the setting deviates from reality, then the differences are pointed out or focused on at least for an introductory of them (besides tutorial), likely in form of a tutorial or moment of exposition where someone explains the why even though explaining it makes no sense (which may be lampshaded with "but you know this already" or similar).
... and so forth.
Traits: (not necessary for all to apply)
* Clear choices, evil actions are evil and always harmful (not necessarily harmful to the protagonist), good actions are good and always beneficial.
* No unexpected consequences for your actions.
* Unrealistic violence, excessive splatter and any gore is cartoonish.
* Problems are simple and clear cut.
* Comic relief or other things to lighten up the mood if the work is supposedly "grim".
* Lack of drama and tragedy, unless it is used for humor.
* Action-oriented, little to no time spent considering your actions or their effects.
* Everything is explained, why someone does or did something, no matter how contrived such explanations are.
* Player directed at everything or at least the important things. Lots of hand-holding and pointing so they notice things.
* If the setting deviates from reality, then the differences are pointed out or focused on at least for an introductory of them (besides tutorial), likely in form of a tutorial or moment of exposition where someone explains the why even though explaining it makes no sense (which may be lampshaded with "but you know this already" or similar).
... and so forth.
Contrast: mature
This is a container group; its children are:
| Dark is Evil | Dark, black, or simply dimmer things are depicted as evil or evil things are consistently clothed/colored dark and anything that becomes evil gains darker coloration. | 2002 / 2018 | 19 games |
| Dualism | Conflict of two extremes. Can be either internal or external conflict with the player on either side or having choices between the two. | 1974 / 2021 | 700 games |
| Evil by default | People or creatures are labeled as being evil, especially when being evil is the primary trait rather than extension of some actual evilness such as cruelty. | 2010 / 2014 | 6 games |
| Evil is ugly | Evil beings are depicted as ugly and being evil turns you ugly (or conversely, being ugly makes you evil). | 1996 / 2014 | 15 games |