The World Within, Beyond, and Around the Game

When I was little and had the special treat of visiting my best friend’s house, we would play Wii games late into the night, often foregoing the original narratives the game expected of us and instead attempting to reach the hidden corners of each page. I distinctly remember flying the plane into the Wii Summer Sports volcano and finding a small blurb of information left for us down near the lava. The thrill of discovering something that was left there secretly for a curious player was one I couldn’t get enough of. My friend and I would race off the road of Mario Kart tracks in attempts to find secret passageways and small shortcuts within the walls of whatever dungeon or ski resort we were driving through. Though I loved playing Wii as a child and discovering the worlds within the games I was playing, I haven’t been much of a gamer in the years since, preferring to watch films and read instead of playing games. However, with my recent interaction with class material and the incredible New York Times Op-Doc called Hardly Working, my curiosity in the worlds of video games has been reignited.

Hardly Working follows 4 nonplayer characters (NPCs) around the game Red Dead Redemption 2 for a few days, tracking their movement, narrative arc, and routines. While watching the documentary, I was continuously struck by the momentous effort and attention to detail that the creators dedicated to building the game. These 4 NPCs show a complex side narrative of life in the Wild West that has nothing to do with the linear plot of the game, but who serve to simply further bolster the richness of the experience and world. It reminded me of the in class discussions that we have had about the processes of creating a digital artifact and representation. Specifically, how there are coders who decide the rules of the world and of each character, but it’s the computer that actually turns their efforts into a viewable and playable representation. These players are coded to perform specific actions over and over again in a series of code with some if:then sequences – such as how their behavior changes when it begins to rain – that are supposed to run in the background of the game. These moments prove that each character’s code isn’t just a small amount of movement, they are actual narratives and stories with emotion, choices, consequences, and beyond just that idea, these stories reminded me that there can be multiple forms of rhetoric in any one form of media, and this game had many variations.

The stablehand walks around the farm aimlessly, hammering things, moving hay, making soup, drinking 3 sips of beer, and standing in fields.

Visually, the world is artistically rendered to look like the Wild West, its NPCs dressed as farm and town workers, carpenters, and citizens of the well flushed out and animated town. It’s a persuasive and immersive environment that further supports the characters’ side stories as they wander the hidden alleys at night, ‘build’ things on the dock (that never grow or get smaller), and stumble drunkenly from the bar to the stables. The repetitive audio bits that come from the bar combine with background music and bells to create another persuasive aspect of the immersive world. All of these elements make the NPCs’ storylines more fleshed out, but also highlight the monotony of the work and manage to make subtle comments about the repetitive aspect of working under capitalism. The characters hardly glitch, hardly break their routine, and hardly ever notice the player who is recording them – but in the few small instances they do, it’s as if a lightning rod hits the viewer, pulling them suddenly out of their role as a player and instead into the lives of these NPCs. In glitched moments, like when the carpenter looks directly into our eyes, these characters become rounded, human-esque beings in a display of narrative and storytelling. 

This documentary was deeply intriguing as a study of both impressive video game storytelling design and as a representation of humanity. Each character’s story had some kind of arc or challenge that had nothing to do with the plot of the game, and it is assumed that the many other NPCs in the game all had their own storylines too. This is just one game that balances the very present, but background, animated film media with playable procedures in a game of progression through numerous predetermined storylines. I am really looking forward to continuing my exploration of side characters, places, quests, and the limits of a game when playing LOTRO. The more I learn about games, the more impressed and in awe I become with their complexity and the immensity of creating a playable, immersive world simply from 1s and 0s. 

-Mariah

Sources:

• in class discussions and NYT Op-Doc Hardly Working

Pokemon: The end of a journey but the beginning of something new

Pokemon, a childhood classic for many people my age, has recently become a substantial part of my life again. However, we will talk more about that later and start at the very beginning of the story. 

Unlike most people, I first encountered Pokemon through the anime rather than the game. I vividly remember it was the summer of my third grade where I would spend the whole afternoon having my eyes glued to the TV screen. By the end of the summer, I had a 99% accuracy rate on “who’s that Pokemon” and a fresh pair of glasses. Despite my loss of vision, I gained many fond memories of adventures with Ash, Misty, and Brock in the fantastical world of Pokemon.

From that point, Pokemon grew up with me. I religiously followed all of the seasons until the end of middle school, but eventually I lost my connection to the series. Interestingly enough, I never once thought about playing the game. I wasn’t a big console/Nintendo gamer, which is the primary platform for Pokemon games, and I was more interested in watching the stories than playing the game. This brings up a good point about the independence of game associated media and the game itself. To some people, playing the game motivates them to watch the show or vice versa. However, there are groups of loyal fan bases who only care about the show (me!) or the game. Sometimes, materials that develop from the game become its own unique universe. Pokemon the show focuses on aspects of adventure, friendship, and Pokemon battles whereas Pokemon the game focuses on strategies and developing your Pokemon. What unites the two together is the aspect of Pokemon battling. This unique game mechanic has been the foundation of the Pokemon universe. The only difference is that as the audience, we take a third person perspective on battling, while as the player, we become the trainer. 

However, in the end, the existence of the two media formats will always form some kind of connection. 

Recently, as I was scrolling through Youtube, the announcement that Ash has finally won the world championship and is set to retire from the series suddenly caught my attention.

It felt strange seeing that post, as all of my past memories of Pokemon and my childhood flooded into my mind. Ash finally achieved his dream, and I too has grown from that stage of my life. I clicked into the post and was taken into the moment of Ash’s last battle, the battle that settled his path. As I was watching the battle, I suddenly had the urge to play the game, to experience the world of Pokemon. I googled the first thing that came to my mind: Pokemon game. Among the billions of search returns, a top choice caught my eyes: Pokemon Showdown. Clicking into the page, I was brought to a website where the following trailer is shown.

As someone who has never played Pokemon on Nintendo, this battle simulator is a great solution to someone who just wants to experience the fun of Pokemon battles. After clicking “play”, I was taken to this main interface.

The platform allows the players to choose a wide range of battle format, styles, and customization. The website also seems to be extremely popular with more than 20,000 players and 2,000 battles going on at given time that I visited the game.

Without knowing how the game work, I clicked “Battle!”. Immediately, I was directed into a battle interface with another player.

The graphic conveys a retro feeling, with pixelated avatars and Pokemon displays. The music also is from the classic Pokemon games and brings the players back in time through nostalgia. Finally, the experience is almost identical to a battling experience that is played on a Nintendo. Players can use different moves and switch their Pokemon in and out of the battle field to make the best strategic decisions to win the battle. The game also accurately reflects the new game mechanisms that were introduced such as megaevolution, dynamaxing, and terastallizing. I was immediately attracted to the game and would play it couple times a day to this day.

I saw that other people have written about Pokemon already, and I think it really shows how much Pokemon had an impact on our generation. From the anime, the cards, to the games, Pokemon has constructed a fantastical world full of adventures and fond memories. In the end, I want to conclude my blog by sharing the Pokemon theme song that started the show’s 20 plus years journey and the moment that Ash won his most important battle. The juxtaposition of these two moments not only shows the evolution of the Pokemon universe but also as a testament to the many generations that the Pokemon series have brought joy to.

-Ryder

Take a walk down memory lane and listen to an all time classic.

Take a moment to witness Ash’s victory.

The KMCU (KillMonday Cinematic Universe)

As Marvel fans, we all excitedly turn to the internet forums the second a new MCU movie comes out with Easter eggs only a true comic fan can catch. Pointing out tiny details in the background of frames, we find references to movies which came before and skillfully piece together the hidden story that the average viewer wouldn’t have even known was there. We all think of this as a Marvel-specific phenomenon, but what if I told you that it’s video games’ turn to take up the mantle for a new type of overlapping story? That’s right, we’re talking about the KillMonday Cinematic (or Videographic?) Universe.

KillMonday Games is a Swedish indie video game development company who made their debut with instant hit “Fran Bow” in 2015. This point-and-click horror adventure tells the story of Fran, a girl who after the murders of her parents is sent to a mental hospital where, with the help of her characteristic red pills, she can see demons and other clues that help unlock the mystery of their deaths. As the player progresses, details about an unseen world come to light when Fran discovers that she exists in one of five worlds: the Five Realms of Essential Existence (FREE). During the game, Fran travels to several of these worlds on her path home and meets exciting characters who help her along the way.

Fran meets the Luciferns, creatures which exist in the second, third, fourth, and fifth realities.

The concept of FREE is important for both Fran and the player, who can solve certain puzzles only by traversing the different realities with the help of the red pills. The existence of these other realities implies a much larger story at play, with the prospect of unexplored worlds a major function of the game. As Fran and the player progresses, the line between what “reality” is and is not becomes blurred, until fantastical creatures appear even when Fran does not take her pills. After the popularization of Fran Bow from Youtubers like Markiplier and Jacksepticeye playing the game, fans were eager to work to piece together what they believed was a standalone story.

Fran encounters the pinecone people without the help of her pills.

Despite the game’s immediate success, it took KillMonday Games another four years to release their second point-and click horror adventure, “Little Misfortune,” in 2019, which became a second hit among fans with more immediate success. This time, players followed Misfortune, another young girl who, like Fran, is haunted by hallucinations which don’t appear to be real, the most prominent being the narrator’s voice, who Misfortune dubs “Mr. Voice.” However, what shocked fans in the opening sequences of the game was references to Fran Bow, opening up the possibility that the two games are, in fact connected.

In the opening cut scene of Little Misfortune, the Luciferns and pinecone people from Fran Bow can be seen in the tree and leaning against the grave.

This changed the game for players. Suddenly, it seemed, KillMonday Games had gone from a one-hit-wonder to a reputable studio that thinks critically about the games it produces and is committed to telling a complete story over many installations and many years. Fans began to debate the meaning of different elements of the games and how they worked together, how Fran and Misfortune may be connected, and who is pulling the strings behind both of their fates. It is now impossible to talk about the story of Fran Bow without talking about Little Misfortune and vice versa, which not only makes for a smart business move from KillMonday Games, but also a more immersive gaming experience.

The first shot of Misfortune’s home in “Little Misfortune” featuring a drawing of a demon stuck to a tree. Some fans (me) think that this demon may have tried to kill Fran in her own game.

While the future of KillMonday Games is still unclear in terms of their release schedule, one thing is for sure: the KillMonday Cinematic Universe is nowhere near done. It is exactly this type of imagination and creativity which the indie gaming world needs to stay afloat, and KillMonday may have just cracked the code to the next generation of game theorists. The theories and ideas of KillMonday’s fans are some of the most important elements to building a community, and after pairing the games together, fans want more and more. We may not have all the pieces yet, but rest assured that the puzzle continues.

– Sawyer Sussner

Luigi’s Mansion 3: Luigi’s Spooky Spotlight

You hear the familiar “W-a-a-a-a” that Luigi screams and suddenly you’re transported back in time to when you first played Luigi’s Mansion on your Game Cube as a child. Mario and Luigi are perhaps one of the most classic video game duos, but Mario definitely makes it bigger than Luigi in regards to character development, play time, and games as the main character.

Luigi’s Mansion GameCube 2001 Trailer, Listen for Luigi’s “W-a-a-a”

Mario and Luigi, the famous Nintendo brothers, have a line of games in which they are both equally featured. Some of these games include Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam, Mario and Luigi: Dream Team, and Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. However, there are way more games that star Mario than Luigi. For example, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Oddessy, and Paper Mario (to name a few). Luigi, the less-appreciated brother, really only gets to be the main character in Luigi’s Mansion, but that is part of what makes Luigi’s Mansion so special.

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Mario & Luigi video games, all on the Nintendo 3DS (left to right: Paper Jam, Dream Team, and Superstar Saga)

Luigi’s Mansion, the 5th best selling GameCube game, follows Luigi as he attempts to suck up ghosts with the Poltergust 3000, invented by Professor Elvin Gadd, or E. Gadd for short. Luigi arrives at the mansion because he won a free mansion in a contest he did not enter (a pretty obvious sign that he shouldn’t be going to the mansion, in my opinion). Luigi soon learns that King Boo, another character in the Mario franchise with not enough character development, built the mansion to free ghosts who had previously been captured by E. Gadd. 

Luigi’s Mansion 3 game over screen. If you see this, you lost and King Boo is about to freeze you in a picture frame with Mario, Peach, E. Gadd, and some toads

Fast forward around 18 years and Luigi’s Mansion 3 is released on the Nintendo Switch as a Halloween special. Enter me, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a newly purchased Switch. Luigi’s Mansion 3 on the Switch switches (ha-ha, pun intended) things up in a few ways: a brand new model of the Poltergust called the Poltergust G-00, new moves, and a new sidekick named Gooigi. The Poltergust G-00 is equipped with the abilities to stun, suck up, or shoot plungers at ghosts, which comes in handy to slam big boss ghosts or to break treasure loose from different items around the hotel. Luigi also comes with new moves like the ability to slam ghosts or jump into the air.

Watch the Volpin Props team bring the Poltergust G-00 to life!

Finally, Gooigi is a clone of Luigi but made out of goo, which comes in handy to slip through bars and walk over spikes, but be careful not to get him wet because he will melt! Gooigi is one of the best parts of Luigi’s Mansion 3 because it allows you to play with multiple players on the same mission. There is also a fully multiplayer option at the ScreamPark (a park filled with many, many ghosts) but Googi allows you to play with two people through the main story.

Gooigi slips through the bars of the hotel store to help Luigi find the next elevator button.

My favorite part about playing through Luigi’s Mansion 3 has been the amazingly detailed mansion floors with themes such as a garden floor, a kitchen floor, an opera floor, and a film studio! For me personally, the detailed depictions have drawn me most into the game, more so than the ghost fighting and Mario saving components of the game.

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  Floor 7

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  Floor 11

Luigi’s Mansion 3 floors with extremely detailed imagery

With Halloween coming up this week, I hope you all consider playing Luigi’s Mansion 3 for good scares, ghosts, and adventures! Happy Halloween!

13 Sentinels: A Love Letter to Science Fiction

Around mid-September, a friend messaged me asking if I knew anything about a video game that was trending on Twitter.  I opened the app myself to find that a small studio’s latest PS4 release was not only getting rave reviews, but that industry giants such as Super Smash Bros’ Masahiro Sakurai and Nier: Automata’s Yoko Taro had gone out of the way to praise the game.

Vanillaware’s 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a hard game to describe.  Not only does its mix and match video game genres, but it also drops you right into a complex mystery with the objective of spending the next 30-40 hours untangling it.  Most of the fun comes from discovering different elements on your own, so if you are sensitive to spoilers, I suggest you stop reading this blog post right now and consider playing the game yourself.  However, because I understand how hard it is to trust a recommendation of literally, “just play it yourself, dude,” I’ll do my best to sum up the appeal of the game without revealing too many secrets.

One of the first things you see when you boot up the game: the title screen. If you don’t want any more info than this, turn back now.

13 Sentinels is best summarized as a love letter to pulp science fiction.  Every subject you can think of—giant robots, time-travel, clones, AI—is included with childlike enthusiasm.  The writers clearly adore the genre and delight in paying homage to as many classics as they can.  However, despite these nods to past works, 13 Sentinels still manages to forge its own unique identity.

One of the ways this is most evident is through how the game is structured.  After a prologue introduces you to a few storylines, the game gets divided into three sections: Remembrance, Destruction, and Analysis.  Remembrance is where most of the narrative takes place.  You choose a protagonist to follow and then play as them, exploring their environment and talking to others to gather more information.  Destruction meanwhile leans more heavily into its real-time strategy elements.  You divide the protagonists up into teams and defend important defensive points from waves of enemies for up to two minutes.  Then in Analysis, all the events of the game are organized into one big timeline and you can unlock additional informational files on different characters and plot elements.

Remembrance Mode: before you select which character you want to follow, you can check to see how much of their story you’ve seen.

If you’re confused over which part is the “main game,” that’s the point.  While there are some checkpoints to keep the truly endgame spoilers away from newcomers, 13 Sentinels gives the player the choice and agency to pace the game however they want.  There really is no one right or intended way to play the game: exploring not only different locations, but concepts and mysteries is where the fun comes in.  For much of the game, you’re given more questions than answers.  And while eventually the story manages to resolve itself, 13 Sentinels gives you the chance to put together many plot points ahead of time if you’re an observant player.  While many of its characters are charming and likeable, much of my enjoyment came from those “aha!” moments I got when I finally figured out one piece of the plot.

Destruction Mode: surprisingly all the explosions and flashing lights are easier to process than some of the plot twists this game will throw at you.

It can be an overwhelming experience, but eventually a set of themes began to emerge.  Fitting for its nonlinear nature, you slowly gain a sense of time as cyclical.  The same problems return again and again, and humanity continues to focus more on their own personal drama while disaster looms over the horizon.  It would be easy for the game to fall into cynicism with its teenage love triangles and revenge plots, yet ultimately it still finds a hopeful ending.  While there are parts of the game that fall flat for sure, I’ll leave other reviews to cover those.  This probably won’t be a game for everyone, but the fact something as ambitious as this even exists is enough for me to get caught up in its infectious excitement.

– Amanda

Ace Attorney’s Twist on Law and Lawyers In the Media

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney is a 6 game series (11 including spinoff story games) made by Capcom on Nintendo platforms, iOS, and GooglePlay stores. This adventure visual novel mainly follows Phoenix Wright, an upcoming defense lawyer in a world of crime where his defendants seem guilty without a doubt.

Cover of first Ace Attorney Game, 2001

Now you may be thinking, “Why would I play as a lawyer? That’s boring,” and yes, it may sound boring, but the creators at Capcom were incredibly creative in their storyboarding and character design/development. These games may not be too popular in America – yeah, my friends had no clue what this game was – but they are EXTREMELY liked in Japan. There is a great demand for more games in the series, along with an anime series and a musical production, but what is so intriguing about a lawyer game?

Scene from the Ace Attorney Musical

As mentioned before, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney follows Phoenix Wright, a young defense lawyer who takes on murder cases where there seems to be no hope in his clients to be innocent. He works alongside a young spirit medium in training (yes, it seems a bit out there, but stay with me), who also influences the cases and Phoenix’s success. As a defense attorney, Phoenix goes head to head against a series of corrupt prosecutors whose main goals are to get Phoenix’s clients declared guilty. This gives Phoenix, and the player, the motivation to get a “not guilty” verdict and to help the defenseless. But beyond all of this, there is something else that gives Ace Attorney its charm: the characters and the pacing of the story.

There are a handful of recurring characters within the game that old players love to see reappear every now and then. The repetition of characters in different murder cases was a strategy of the creative team due to the lack of sprite storage in the first production of the game, but concerning actual gameplay, the reoccurring characters make the world seem more familiar to the player so, even in the most outrageous murder cases, the player has some sense of familiarity. Also, each new case reveals more about the characters, whether it is a backstory, a newfound alliance for the future, or both. The player even learns about Phoenix Wright, even though they are playing as him in the game. However, the intensity of the courtroom during the case can be seen as a stressful back and forth between Phoenix and the prosecutor, the periods in between are key for character development in the game.

There are two main parts of the game that alternate as time passes: courtroom disputes and investigation time. As Phoenix Wright, the player is to assume that the detectives investigating the case only find surface-value evidence, which means that it is up to Phoenix to find the evidence that is harder to find. These parts of the game are completely different from the stress inducing courtroom scenes where you are constantly concerned about your client’s outcome. These periods are not timed and the player chooses to roam in different areas concerning the case until they find what they need. During this time, characters talk amongst each other, creating more in depth character development and maybe even more evidence for Phoenix to use in the case or future cases to come.

One thing that Capcom does right in creating the game is that the player is not completely connected to Phoenix Wright. When the case gets difficult or there are points where the player thinks “How am I supposed to figure this out? I’m not a lawyer,” we are reminded that Phoenix is a lawyer, and a smart one at that. Although the players take control of Phoenix’s actions, his thoughts are fully his and he can connect the dots that the players may not see, promoting the game to progress.

All and all, this game series is more than the typical “beat the bad guy and win.” The progression of characters and the build up of the story with all of the cases gives the game a unique sense of inclusivity, pulling the player into a world where they belong and can succeed alongside Phoenix Wright.

-Helen L.

Into the Woods: Journey, Remediation, & Hypermediacy

One of Stephen Sondheim’s most recognizable musicals is Into the Woods, which you may recognize from the movie version Disney made in 2014. The story involves various fairy tale characters, in addition to two modern ones in the Baker and the Baker’s Wife, who go into the woods in a quest to get what they want and come out happily ever after (or at least singing a song implying so); the second half has them going back into the woods and reexamining their old desires. So just from this synopsis, I can expand on how the show uses the theme of journeying, how it is a remediation of other tales, and how it plays with Hypermediacy in its production.

The first act is a relatively simple tale of the characters’ journeys: it is plot friendly, about overcoming obstacles, poses only a slight moral dilemma, ends with all the characters, including the narrator, singing about how they have a happy ending (really, look at how joyful they all seem), and moralizes some simple tales that everyone has learned: “And we reached the right conclusions/ And we got what we deserved!”

Behind the happy-go-lucky surface, the philosophies of the protagonists are manically explained “To be happy, and forever,/ You must see your wish come true./ Don’t be careful, don’t be clever./ When you see your wish, pursue”  The underlying belief of these characters is the exact same as what it was in the beginning: to be happy, pursue your wish, explained as “Into the woods/ To get the thing/ That makes it worth/ The journeying.” Although the characters have taken a physical journey, and killed the wolf, slain the giant, avoided making the decision to commit to a prince, and completed the witch’s task, they have not grown as characters since they have not changed, only their circumstances have. While this may be fine for a children’s show (as shown by the success of “Into the Woods jr” which is just the first act of Into the Woods) Act II is here to change that.

“Ever After” The Act I Finale song. PICTURED HERE, from left to right: Florinda & Lucinda (Cinderella’s sisters), Cinderella’s step-mom, Little Red Riding Hood’s Grandmother, The Other Prince, Milky White, Prince Charming, Cinderella, Jack (The Giant Killer), The Baker (not from any fairy tales), Little Red, The Witch, Jack’s mother, Cinderella’s Father, Rapunzel, Cinderella’s Father, Prince Charming’s Servant, and The Old Man. NOT PICTURED: The Baker’s Wife (I’m not sure why!), The Narrator (also played by The Old Man in the Forest), and the Wolf (also played by Prince Charming), with the two double roles serving as stylistic metaphors for the characters.

In the second half, the characters are forced to deal with their reckless desire to get what their wish. They go back into the woods because a giant is invading their realm, due to the various things that the characters have done – from Little Red taunting Jack to steal her harp, Cinderella carelessly throwing a magic bean away, and various other careless actions – and they eventually gather together and admit their blame in the present situation. Perhaps what makes act II about the journey and not the destination is the choices that the characters’ make: this is best exemplified symbolically when they sacrifice the narrator to the giant, signifying an end both to simple morals and having your decisions made for you.

Likewise, a good exemplar for how the characters grow as a result of their journey is Cinderella’s ability to finally make a decision. Whereas in Act I her happy ending came as a result of deciding that she would rather be the object of desire rather then follow her own volition, as shown by her realization “I know what my decision is/ Which is not to decide,” when leaving her shoe on the steps of the palace, in Act II she finally makes her own decision by leaving her prince and following her own desires, not his. Only after being forced to reflect in the woods, rather than follow one plot point to the next until they reach their prize, do the characters finally change and sing “Careful the wish you make,/ Wishes are children./ Careful the path they take-/ Wishes come true,/ Not free.” As such, the second act reflects on the danger in rushing recklessly through your journey to achieve your ends.

As previously mentioned, Into the Woods is a remediation, in which the classic fairy tale structure, themes, characters (remember that first image?), narrator, and morals, are put into a medium of a musical. This is significant because whereas a fairy tale is short, plot-based, and is told to tell a simple moral, this musical is almost the exact opposite: it is long, the second half is character-focused, and gives a more complex moral message. As such, it is able to both really reflect on and criticize the motivation behind the characters, both in the songs that illuminate their character and the whole second half that extends their story. Since the characters are humanized, and their stories interact in new ways, it forces us to really examine these tropes as characters, and to question just how reckless the message of fairy tales are.

The format of musicals allows for a character’s interior monologue to be their lyrics and expand the depth of their character, as shown from Cinderella’s pondering morality itself during beginning of her story.

This also shows an expansion of his character, as it lets him reflect on his mistakes and his lifestyle in a way that a plot-oriented fairy tale does not. And really, who can blame Chris Pine- I mean this character?

 

It raises questions like “Does Cinderella actually like this prince and want to stay married to someone she knew for three nights, especially considering how desperate she was to go out of her old situation, how likely is it that she genuinely liked him instead of just accepted literally anything she could get?” and “Why should Jack not face any consequences for stealing from the giant,” and “How much can the prince actually love Cinderella after only dancing with her for three nights?” The answers that the musical raises are: She does not like him, Jack should feel guilt and lose someone important, and the prince just moved on to Sleeping Beauty when he got bored anyways.” As such, its remediation into a more contemplative art form allowed the show to critique the fairy tales it is based on.

In addition, many of the aspects of the musical directly mirror aspects of a fairy tale. There is the infamous first song, a 13 minute piece with several characters singing “I Wish” multiple times throughout, as well as a laundry list of things they wish for; this phrase is common in fairy tales, since the characters are literally only defined by what they think they want (Cinderella = wish to escape, Little Red = Go to Grandmother’s house, Rapunzel = explore the world). Furthermore, the title of the show, which is also the most repeated words in the cast album, is a reference to Fairy Tales, as the woods often represent a place of adventure. Finally, characters like the narrator and the witch are both remediation of the style of how fairy tales are told (simplistically) and the main villain in multiple tales.

These are the reasons why they go into the woods the second time, notice how after their first wish there was still trouble in their lives

Obviously, by the beginning of Act II, they have not learned or grown in their story arks very much.

Finally, the show plays on Hyper-mediacy: in the first half, the characters are almost caricatures, thus drawing attention to the fact that the audience is watching a play. And this works because it is supposed to be like a fairy tale, reflected by the simple, but unrealistic, world the characters live in and the set of the show. In the second they are presented as more real and having more complex motivations, thus making the show appear more transparent. Likewise, there are constant ironic references to Fairy Tale motifs, such as the three willow trees that bring them to the right path: the motif of three is common in fairy tales and allows Cinderella to find her way pack to her story; simultaneously, it reminds the audience that they are watching characters from a fairy tale, and so it makes the play more hyper-mediated in the same moment that Cinderella is able to find her story again. And finally, there is the infamous line “What am I doing here/ I’m in the wrong story!” sung by the baker’s wife in the middle of her climatic scene with the prince, thus drawing the audience out of the story while also illuminating the Baker’s Wife’s intelligence and her awareness of the social politics at play.