Retrospective on UNDERTALEâs Popularity
Though it was released almost a year ago, I have the same opinion of it.
Itâs about an 8/10, niche RPG game.
If you like the characters and the humor, youâll probably like it, and forgive it for its flaws.
If you donât, youâll probably hate it.
Surprisingly, there are many people who like this type of game. Though I did work hard, thereâs definitely a lot of luck involved in having a game become this popular. So, it wouldnât surprise me if I never made a game as successful again. Thatâs fine with me though.
Not only did I not expect this level of popularity, but initially, I was afraid of it. I didnât want UNDERTALE to become tiring for people, or become spoiled before anyone even got a chance to play it. Early on (this was probably excessive) I even tried to contact certain Letâs Players to tell them not to make any content about it.
But, the game became very popular. Unavoidable, even. At the height of its popularity, ânot liking the gameâ felt like a cardinal sin to many fans online. In reaction to these circumstances, others began actively hate the game, creating an endless whirlwind of discourseâŚ
Like a thunderclap to a small dog, all of this attention stressed me out. And every time it seemed to die down, something revived it, such as the GameFAQs contest, the award shows, bizarre theory videos, and so on. At times, I wished I had a way to quell the attention. I felt a strange powerlessness. (And guilt, for feeling stressed when the success of the game SHOULD be something Iâm nothing but ecstatic about.)
At the same time, countless wonderful things were happening. People told me the game helped them through a difficult part of their life. Others told me that the game had made them laugh, or cry, or say âI want to be kinder.â Many young kids told me they wanted to create games or music because of it. And, on a personal level, because of its popularity, I have been able to help myself and many people in my life. (And, hopefully, in the future, I can help many other people because of it, too.)
So, ultimately, itâs a good thing that the game reached so many people, and Iâm very, very, very, very, very, very, thankful to everyone that supported it, and everyone that helped me make it.
And thank you to anyone who has created fanworks for this game over the past year. Iâve been in fandoms my whole life. I drew Cave Story characters in the margins of my 7th grade history class notes. So itâs amazing to see something I created incite a similar passion in other people.
Someday, UNDERTALE will fade from peopleâs minds. But, Iâm sure in 10 years, some kid who played UNDERTALE will create a game that surpasses itâŚ
I look forward to playing that.
Tomorrow, on UNDERTALEâs anniversary, letâs have a fun time. I am thinking I will open the askbox, andâŚ
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