Central Theme: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

Central theme, the tie that binds together.''|'''[[Daniel Amos]]''', "Central Theme"}}

 

* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog 2006]]'' - A question often asked in this game is whether or not one person should suffer for the good of the world. Since Elise is used as [[Barrier Maiden|a living seal for Iblis]] the world is safe from destruction, but she obviously suffers from it and has to force herself not to cry so as to not release the god through her tears. After being confronted about it by Amy, Silver wonders whether or not it's right to kill Sonic to save the future and later on in the story {{spoiler|Silver is reluctant to seal Iblis inside of Blaze thus sending her into another dimension and out of his life}} even though doing so will keep the world safe. At the end of the game, {{spoiler|when Elise has to blow out the Iblis Flame to stop it from ever existing, she is hesitant to do so since that will erase the meeting between her and Sonic. She even cries, "I don't care what happens to the world!" She has to choose between herself and everyone else.}}

* The ''[[Fallout]]'' series: Even [[After the End]] people will still try to kill one another.

** Via [[Word of God]], the series' other central theme is that you need to let go of the past. In ''New Vegas'' in particular there is a direct correlation between a faction's evilness on the karma meter and how tightly they cling to the values of the past.

** ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' has a theme beyond that, and a different one for each DLC. In the game overall, it's that all power is a gamble (appropriate for Vegas) and small things can tip huge scales.

* ''[[Command and Conquer Red Alert]]'': Is there really a better world than what we have now?

* ''[[The Reconstruction]]'': Scope; the necessity to understand all sides of the story and the full truth before one can make the correct decision, and the danger of jumping to conclusions. However, you must acquire the necessary knowledge without also losing sight of what is truly important.

** This is strongly represented by the [[Multiple Endings]]; {{spoiler|if you get the normal ending, your scope stays in place, and does not expand. In the [[Golden Ending]], your scope explodes, as you realize the story was [[Science Fiction]] all along, not [[Fantasy]].}}

* ''[[Thief]]'': [[Refusal of the Call|You can only run from your responsibilities for so long]].

* ''[[Homestuck]]'': As always, friendship prevails.

* A recurring idea in the ''[[Walkyverse]]'' is hypocrisy. It's most obvious in [[Character Development]], where someone will realise they've been acting hypocritically, but it also shows up in smaller ways - [[Jerkass|Mike's]] favoured technique for inducing suffering is pointing out when someone is being hugely hypocritical (usually by painfully enforcing their own logic), one-shots in ''[[Shortpacked]]'' tend to focus on hypocritical fan logic, etc.

** David Willis also likes exploring the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism]]. See the famous 'It's the rain' speech Walky gives in ''[[Its Walky]]''.

* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'': Teamwork and trust are key to victory - the more people trust each other and are willing to cooperate, the more effective they are, even bad guys. People who cannot afford trust their allies {{spoiler|such as Lord Shojo}}, think they don't need others to solve their problems {{spoiler|like Miko or V in "Don't Split the Party" arc}} or just want to do what they want, not thinking about their teammates {{spoiler|like Belkar}} get in trouble. Also, [[Deconstruction]] of [[Dungeons and Dragons]] stereotypes by putting them in contrast with a realistic racial conflict.