Misc. A Tiny Taleis a unique game that combines puzzles and platforming action with character-driven narrative, all while making an effort to offer diverse perspectives between characters. The robots inhabiting the world ofMisc. A Tiny Taleare aware of what social constructs are, but also have a more dynamic view of those, and they are capable of feeling human emotions on a wide spectrum. Game Rant spoke to Michael Pearce, founder of Tinyware Games and developer onMisc. A Tiny Tale, about how LGBTQ themes were added into the game and why values likediversity and accessibilityare important to the studio.
Pearce described how being a small team of three developers can have an impact on the way some topics are approached in the game, especially when all three arepart of the LGBTQ community. Accessibility is something that has gotten more attention over time, and rightly so as players can select which options they want to use to customize their experience. Diversity, on the other hand, is still less common in video games according to Pearce, and he is convinced that it is a responsibility more indie game developers should take on because they have more freedom.
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Misc. A Tiny Tale Is About Acceptance and Celebrating Differences
InMisc. A Tiny Tale, players talk to a plethora of different robots who will often have a problem the protagonist tries to solve. This allows gamers to experience various human interactions in a game where mankind may be gone, even though humanity is still very present in these robots andhow they form relationships. Understanding and helping other robots is just as important as solving puzzles or jumping around, and that’s what really moves the story forward inMisc. A Tiny Tale.
“Something that can help a lot of people is to have plenty of accessibility options and some sort of inclusivity because there’s just not enough games out there right now that show diversity or inclusivity. A lot of that is coming up recently, in the last few years, which is really good to see. I’ve seen a lot of options menus now have so many different options, just all sorts of different things that can help people play the game the way they want to play it. It’s fantastic.”
The game’s main characters are Buddy and Bagboy, who are best friends that embark on an adventure together, with the former being more akin to other platforming games' characters and the latter being an insecure robot in search of meaning. There arelots of costumes and cosmetic itemsto be found inMisc. A Tiny Tale,and Buddy doesn’t care if he is seen in clothing that would be described as more feminine, like skirts. Bagboy, on the other hand, feels different from the robots he’s known for all his life, and expresses a sense of lacking a purpose.
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WhileMisc. A Tiny Taledoesn’t include “enemies,” there are moreantagonistic charactersthan others. The main villain is a 1950s era tin robot who wants to revitalize the world, but they don’t understand that they’re causing more harm than good with their actions. Tinyware Games' title is one with a very specific message, that it’s ok to be different. Not only that, but people and robots should celebrate those differences because they make every individual unique.
“It all come together around this idea to play as tiny robots. I really wanted to tell the story of these two robots about acceptance, diversity, and being different. We put together this prototype and we went from there.”
This message is a positive and impactful one, and it inherently ties to the game’s name, because it’s ok to feel miscellaneous at times.Diversity is healthybecause that’s what makes living beings their own person — or robot in this case. Acceptance is not something the characters are actively offering to all the robots they meet on their journey, but rather something that’s implied to already exist.Misc. A Tiny Talepromotes inclusivity by not highlighting the differences, and that makes all the difference.
