Soup cans: Difference between revisions
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'''Soup cans''' is a derisive term for a [[puzzle]] that makes no sense within the [[plot]] of a game. The puzzle's nonsensical nature distracts so much from the plot that the | '''Soup cans''' is a derisive term for a [[puzzle]] that makes no sense within the [[plot]] of a game. The puzzle's nonsensical nature distracts so much from the plot that it damages the game's sense of [[mimesis]]. | ||
The term is named after a sequence in ''The Seventh Guest'' (Trilobyte/Virgin, 1993) where the player must spell out a secret message by shuffling cans of soup on a pantry shelf. There is no logical reason for this at all, other than the sense that the mansion the player is exploring has a pantry, and the pantry needed a puzzle of some kind. | The term is named after a sequence in ''The Seventh Guest'' (Trilobyte/Virgin, 1993) where the player must spell out a secret message by shuffling cans of soup on a pantry shelf. There is no logical reason for this at all, other than the sense that the mansion the player is exploring has a pantry, and the pantry needed a puzzle of some kind. | ||
Latest revision as of 22:57, 25 May 2024
Soup cans is a derisive term for a puzzle that makes no sense within the plot of a game. The puzzle's nonsensical nature distracts so much from the plot that it damages the game's sense of mimesis.
The term is named after a sequence in The Seventh Guest (Trilobyte/Virgin, 1993) where the player must spell out a secret message by shuffling cans of soup on a pantry shelf. There is no logical reason for this at all, other than the sense that the mansion the player is exploring has a pantry, and the pantry needed a puzzle of some kind.
The term arose from a comment made by Russ Bryan in the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.int-fiction: "I mean, what the hell kind of villain thwarts the hero's progress with soup cans in the kitchen pantry (Seventh Guest)?"
Links
- Solve The Soup Cans at TV Tropes Wiki.