In World Approaches to Absurd Game Mechanics

Does anyone else ever consider the absolute absurdity that some of the game mechanics must look like from an in-world perspective??? Like imagine, you are Sara from Good Hunter, every week you watch as the hero of the realm runs up to your restaurant, cooks 10 whole roasts and 10 honest to the archons, open bowls of soup, and shoves them in their bag like this is a normal occurrence (which, considering how long this has been going on, it’s becoming one!) They say nothing.

The next week, you watch as they pour out a seemingly endless stream of sunsettias into the pot. They still say nothing. You no longer know what the hero of the realm is doing.

Or, alternatively! You are a fisherman somewhere, maybe doing your job, making taking a five minute break. As you do, you watch as a figure appears and as they draw closer you recognize Furina, archon of Fontaine, just booking it in a straight line past your boat, walking on water as easily as land.

You make it back to shore a few hours later and half of the other fishermen think you are losing your mind (you aren’t certain they’re wrong) the other half just nod like “yeah, Furina, we’ve all seen her”. (Bonus points if this is somewhere like Inazuma where there’s no reason for her to be there!)

Generally speaking, I tend to assume that those mechanics are more for us as the player rather than what actually happens, but still it’s funny to consider! Does anyone else have examples of amusing instances like this???

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Commentaires

KuShiroi2026-01-08 23:43

I don't really think about it. Suspension of disbelief is essential in video games. Game mechanics don't have to make sense in the world/lore for me. They're all there for players to better enjoy the game or for the game to function.

poetiicdissonance2026-01-08 23:55

Oh agreed! Like I say, usually I just chalk it up to not being something people would actually react to, but occasionally I think it’s amusing to consider.

SecondAegis2026-01-09 03:21

Some game mechanics do canonically happen in world though. Weapons are known to just disappear and float behind vision users, as mentioned by a voice line between Traveller and Paimon

Forgot2Catfish2026-01-08 23:57

This is definitely a shower thoughts topic and I approve. I think about all the "evil" saurian smugglers that we thwart and bring to justice. Meanwhile slaughtering hundreds if not thousands of saurians just to claim their teeth so my Natlan characters can become more talented.

poetiicdissonance2026-01-09 00:04

Ooohh! That’s a good one! Behold the Traveler: world’s most murderous hypocrite 😂. It’s so true though! Still, no less amusing. The Traveler out here with their bag jangling with teeth while they take down the ‘evil’ smugglers!

Forgot2Catfish2026-01-09 00:13

Sometimes not so murderous. Like when I sniped out all the abyssal fires in old Varanara without killing any of the abyssal mages to make the abyssal lector appear. I'm sure the abyssal mages were just like "Boss I dunno what you want from us. There was this blue glow from some Liyue lady and then all of our torches went out one by one."

Shahadem2026-01-09 02:10

I love that hypocrisy in the Harry Potter: Legacy game.

You run around murdering "poachers" who capture animals to sell. And yes you do murder them because you can cast Avada Kedavra on them.

Then you yourself capture those animals and sell them for a couple hundred galleons. But it's ok because you are the one doing it.

BuilderAura2026-01-09 05:24

A friend of mine and I were talking about this with my kid. And apparently in canon they just like to fight. So we're not killing them, we're knocking some teeth loose while we pummel them til they retreat XD

Forgot2Catfish2026-01-09 05:28

Thanks for sharing this about Saurian teeth! And the warm backshells we farm are sheddable right? Right??????

BuilderAura2026-01-09 05:36

ummm yes absolutely. We are helping them shed! XD

SectorApprehensive582026-01-09 00:05

hahahaha. In my case its when I run out of milk, and like a good dad, run to every store in every continent and empty their entire stock, leaving everyone else wondering "where did the milk go? O traveller must have passed by again. Well, guess no family is getting milk for the next 3 days". Or when I made out like a bandit robbing every piggy bank blind when I collect my expeditions. Recent I keep imagining Good Hunter thinking "dammit he left without putting the stove back on again!" when I accidently douse it with Mona's dash

BuilderAura2026-01-09 05:28

that reminds me of the time I accidentally hit the normal attack button on my controller when I was beside a fire on Nahida and INSTANTLY died cuz her EM is through the roof. I can just imagine the poor Sumeru citizens having heart attacks that their beloved Archon just lit herself on fire and died.

Iffem2026-01-09 05:48

"Hey Sumeru, ever heard of Jeanne d'Arc?"

unktrial2026-01-09 00:15

Teleportation and spatial manipulation is a known but rare ability in Teyvat, and yes, Good Hunter is well aware of it. There was a timed food delivery event where they said that the Traveler was the Adventurer Guild's best deliveryman.

That's actually not the most impressive example though. That would go to the Adepti. The adeptus arts lets you put entire domains inside a teapot.

Tubby (teapot helper) even upgraded the Cat's Tail restaurant with adeptus arts with a special teleportation room ... just to play cards.

Raymond490902026-01-09 00:26

The Traveller dies (perhaps drowning in a small koi pond), collapses to the ground, disappears in a cloud of pixels, then teleports back in 5 seconds later as if nothing happened.

(Hu Tao makes surprised butterfly noises in the background)

algunarubia2026-01-09 00:33

The one I tend to think about is treasure. Why are the treasure hoarders bad but we are good, when we're literally opening chests in the city and taking the contents?

Forgot2Catfish2026-01-09 01:42

To be fair, not all treasure hoarders are seen as bad, the organization is just known for doing a lot of bad things. They've been known to rob and maim merchants, caravans, and travelers as well as enslave people and animals. But Beidou has been known to recruit treasure hoarders into other lines of work. The traveler also cooperates with specific treasure hoarders on occasion.

Shahadem2026-01-09 02:12

Beidou the PIRATE?

What does Beidou the PIRATE recruit them to do? Help her seize cargo ships on the high seas so she can steal their cargo? Hold up cruise ships for ransom?

Forgot2Catfish2026-01-09 03:09

She recruits them to do honest work. Odd-jobs around Liyue. They aspire to join her crew. Its one of her hangout routes.

Iffem2026-01-09 05:50

She's more of a Privateer

algunarubia2026-01-09 06:27

I mean, we go around killing a lot of random people and collecting mora from them, and what are my omni-ubiquity nets for if not poaching native species? It's just odd that we're "the good guys" when we don't seem all that good, actually.

happyppeeppo2026-01-09 00:34

I have the argument that in every nation of teyvat a fuckin ton of strange things happens enough to people stopped caring

Think about it, in lyiue alone your god fall from heaven, another god tried to invade your city and his wife too, you see the rich lady that everyone wants to marry trow her floating house into a vortex of fury then you see that some celestial birds and deers saved your town , and everyday you see the kid who work in the restaurant with a teddy bear that use pyrotechnics to cook , all that and you just trying to sell your cabbages, even if the idol of another nation comes and walk in the water in front of you things would look normal

Iffem2026-01-09 05:49

"You know what, Teyvat life is already so weird... This might as well happen."

Sharlizarda2026-01-09 01:08

Yes, when we go to the jade chamber, fall in the decorative ponds then run into the building soaking wet and start erratically jumping around, bumping into furniture, running over tables and partially climbing walls. Everyone has to act like this is perfectly normal etiquette and continue with formal conversations. Bonus points for finishing the interaction by leaving and falling to our death

Remanage2026-01-09 01:13

One of the things I really liked about Zenless Zone Zero was that they handled the "why am I in control of this squad of gacha characters" - the MC was actually piloting the little robot guide remotely, and providing guidance to the mercenaries you hired. Your guidance was reflected in what the characters was doing, and the little robot would throw little attacks or heals or whatever occasionally.

Of course, it didn't explain why only one could be on the field at a time, although some agents would take actions from "off field" and when you swapped, the previous character would finish the attack they were doing, which sort of worked if you thought of them as a tag-team group.

KuyoraOkamitsuki2026-01-09 01:54

I have two words: Timmy - pigeons

MaeveOathrender2026-01-09 05:52

I don't think about it. It's played out at this point, has been for decades. If I had a penny for every low effort webcomic I've seen where the 'punchline' is literally just 'NPC reacts with humanlike shock to game mechanics that make no sense to them,' I'd be able to C6 Columbina next week. It's such an old, old concept, and boring to boot.

Oh my God, the Dragonborn just froze time and stuffed thirty-seven cheese wheels in his mouth.

Oh my God, why is nobody questioning the fact that this ten-year-old and his pets just took down an entire criminal syndicate?

Oh my God, isn't it strange how this city which is allegedly home to millions of people is small enough to drive across in five minutes?

It's all the same shtick. 'IsN't iT wEiRd aNd UnReAliStIc tHaT-' Yes, it is. That's why we all developed a sense of ludonarrative dissonance and we're all collectively agreeing to ignore the stuff that 'doesn't make sense,' because if we had to waste time explaining how and why every little thing happened, we'd never have time for any actual gameplay. We just accept that you can walk from Mondstadt to Liyue in 15 minutes and call it a day.

squeamishkevin2026-01-09 07:48

Can't help thinking of that guy on a rock being held captive by a dog in Liyue. He's been up there for over 3 years.

Fit-Professor18312026-01-09 10:28

Whats a problem with Sara? Every person would want to cook food before going to expedition for a week. It would be totally normal if some random guy just stopped to restock his food supply every week, Other stuff is the same level, any fisherman would be stunned if a president appears and just does his thing.

What you described is the most NOT absurd game mechanics

IcebreakingRice2026-01-09 10:46

i remember how shocked i was when i learned that the weapon spawning is like normal thing? People see it and accept it?
we even have a voiceline about this

after this i stopped questioning