Tropes can be found in every corner of the gaming world, covering just about every aspect from how a game's story should play out, to how a protagonist should act, to how the player is encouraged to act in a certain way. But while most of these tropes are there to benefit the player in one way or another, the 'Computer shall taunt you' trope has the opposite goal in mind, aiming to simply annoy and goad the player.
Though it's most often seen in real-time strategy games, the 'Computer shall taunt you' trope can be found across a vast number of video games, regardless of their journey. The odds are, if the game features a snarky antagonist, then it likely conforms to the 'Computer shall taunt you' trope, and that trope acts as great motivation for the player to strike down their foe.
The Computer Shall Taunt You Gaming Trope Explained
Simply put, the 'Computer shall taunt you' gaming trope is used to describe just about any scenario in a game where an NPC taunts the player. This can be the game's main antagonist, pointing out how weak the player is, a simple enemy taunting the player to fight them, or even a shopkeeper teasing the player for not having enough cash to buy an item. The main purpose of this trope is to effectively give the player a reason to despise the NPC character, and strive to continue the story just so they can play a part in their downfall.
The Best Examples of the Computer Shall Taunt You Trope in Gaming
Some of the best examples of the 'Computer shall taunt you' trope come from the Civilization franchise, and in particular, Civilization 5. The fifth entry in the beloved turn-based strategy series is infamous for having particularly aggressive AI, and throughout a session, these opposing world leaders will often appear on-screen just to mock the player, whether it's about just losing a battle, losing a city, or simply to gloat over their newly built Wonder. Civilization 5's Gandhi is the most infamous leader who does this, with his AI apparently being ironically more aggressive than the rest, which has led to countless memes over the years.
In the very first Spyro The Dragon game, the player will run into a few enemies that taunt the player. While most enemies will wave their arms above a defeated Spyro as the game over screen appears, it's the game's many Egg Thieves that are the most infamous examples of the 'Computer shall taunt you' trope. Hidden across every level in Spyro The Dragon is a cloaked Egg Thief that runs away at the sight of the player. The goal is to knock into these enemies, defeating them and rescuing the egg in the process. However, these little thieves are fast, and if the player slows down at any point they turn around and start mocking Spyro just like a childhood bully would, making the player's desire to ram into them even more insatiable.
The Super Smash Bros. franchise features a lot of the 'Computer shall taunt you' trope. In both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl, the AI opponents will often taunt the player after they've knocked them out of bounds. While this is technically done to achieve a bonus, that does little to calm the player, who is likely now on a revenge path. The Portal series features perhaps the most literal version of this trope, with both GLaDOS and Wheatley mocking the player throughout their journey for their perceived lack of skill.