My story belongs to the Sci-Fi genre. This genre has many tropes, some of which I used in this story. Tropes are important because they categorize a story into a certain genre. In VR tropes are important not only because they help classify a story to a genre but also because they aid the VR designer to use these tropes in ways that are unique only to VR and therefore distinguish VR from other mediums e.g. film.
In Morty and the Magic Bananas, a clear Sci-Fi trope is the existence of benevolent aliens. Occasionally in Sci-fi stories aliens are friendly and even helpful. These beings usually give Earth beings a helping hand and/or a warning e.g. in Lilith’s Brood, aliens save humanity. In Morty and the Magic Bananas our alien is not only friendly but also helps Morty see things more clearly, matures Morty in a way, and metaphorically gives humanity the solution for immunity.
Wormholes are another sci-fi trope that is widely used in my story. Usually, wormholes work as a means of Sci-fi transportation. Similarly in my story wormholes (green portals) are not only used to travel literally from one location to the other fast but also signify a change of scene and a change of act. The player that passes through a portal not only changes location but also accomplishes/realizes a scene change and at some points an act change. This is an example in which a genre trope not only classifies my story in the sci-fi genre but also makes the story unique in VR since portal use in such a way is only possible in VR.
Faster-Than-Light-Travel is another Sci-fi trope that in my case goes hand in hand with the trope of using Wormholes. The green portals in my story not only signify a change of location and scene but also a fast forward in the case where Morty has been eating bananas for two weeks after he met with the friendly alien. This trope is one more example where VR can be differentiated from other mediums for the narration of this story since the player gets to actually travel faster than light.
Body Modifications: In the dream scene Rick is depicted as huge and frightening while Morty is tiny before having his eureka moment. When Morty has the change of status quo Morty is also depicted large. These body modifications in ACT2 (dream location) are possible in a sci-fi story and can be depicted easily in VR. These disproportionalities symbolize the status quo of Rick and Morty in Morty’s subconscious as well as how Morty views Rick (scared of him). The player of this VR experience gets to live these body disproportionalities in the dream scene so Morty’s subconscious is even clearer.
The concept of everything being a simulation or a dream. Similar to the matrix in my story the main act is basically a dream. However, our protagonist feels the dream like it is real. Our player in VR also has the chance to live the dream as real as our protagonist feels it.
Johnson, R. (2019, January 17). The 25 Greatest Science Fiction Tropes, Ranked. Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/the-25-greatest-science-fiction-tropes-ranked/
Chand, N. (2019, December 07). 5 Best Timeless Tropes In Sci-Fi Movies (& 5 That Need To Die). Retrieved December 10, 2020, from https://screenrant.com/tropes-sci-fi-movies-good-bad/