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| Toby Fox's Undertale |
Undertale is one of the finest games to release in 2015. Produced by independent developer Toby Fox after a successful Kickstarter campaign, Undertale subverts expectations by turning a number of traditional game mechanics on their heads. I spoke a bit about one of the many great aspects, the music, in a past article. But today, I'm not here to talk about the game design, I'm here to discuss how Undertale shows its talent in the art of subtlety by presenting the audience with "alternative" groups of people with a strong sense of normalcy. I will not be spoiling any plot details of the game, only discussing a couple of characters.
To start, the protagonist, as seen on the left above, is a genderless character. There is no default name, and the character, in their pixelated form as well as in the official art, lacks any features that distinguish them as either male or female, only as a child. The character is a blank slate for the player to take control of, and the player is free to characterize the character in whatever way they please. Whether they'd like to make gender a part of that is up to them. This is an intelligent way to present a silent protagonist.
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| Female Character, Undyne |
Another character that avoids typical gender roles is the female knight, Undyne. She is certainly one of the strongest characters in Undertale, as well as one of the most positively thinking. There are a long list of characters in the game that express adoration or great respect for Undyne and her strengths. She is far from so many games representations of women as inferior or as objects. Of course, all main characters in the game, regardless of their gender, and including Undyne, are well developed to make them likable and real.
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| Royal Guards as they appear in battle |
The two Royal Guards shown above are not very developed characters, with only two potential appearances total. These characters are both male, and they are said to be in love. They are shown to be very strong companions, and in battle, they confess their love for each other. They are homosexual, but it is never directly stated to be so, they are just presented to be in love, and the fact that they are both men really is not an essential detail. There is another same-sex couple later in the game that follows the same idea; two women that are in love, but the fact that they are both women does not define the relationship and does not need to be directly pointed out. Both of these instances take something that some people like to say is an "alternative" way of being, and present as it truly is; normal, presented no differently than if it were a couple with two people of the opposite gender.
Undertale is one of the most human games in recent history, even if there is only one human to be seen. By this, I mean that the things that are presented are very personal for those who are a part of those "alternative" groups, and their presented in the best way possible. It is also capable of evoking understanding in people who are not a part of these groups and perhaps lacked acceptance of them before. I commend Toby Fox not just for the excellent game design in Undertale, but also for the work he did in the writing, presenting things in such a normal fashion, even if some people would typically not think of them as such. It's a courageous thing to do, and I hope the influence it has can continue to be felt as the game industry keeps pushing forward.
What are your thoughts on Undertale and the topics discussed above? What games do you think are best at using subtlety to be progressive? Please let me know in the comments or however you wish to.
Special thanks to Lonche Thrash for keeping me on track while writing with his immense knowledge of Undertale.
Have a tremendous day.
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