Fan Theories

Okay, today we're going to go into something a little more serious, but it's gonna remain Fun Stuff. You see, I chose to name this site Planned All Along because a story has to, well, be planned in the early stages of development of a game, I'd even say at the very beginning. So, in a way, the story has no other choice but to have been "planned all along". I also chose this angle because the story of a game is an aspect that has become increasingly important nowadays.

Have you ever watched a TV show and told yourself: "I have a theory about that part"? As if you were trying to guess some untold truth about the series? Or, have you watched a mystery film (or a mystery novel) and tried to guess the culprit before it ended? (If for this you watch Columbo, you're cheating.)

You can theorize about works of fiction.

Making a theory about any work of fiction requires the theorician to know pretty much all there is to know about the series. Or, at least, the key elements needed to understand the theory. Video games can be very long works, so there's a lot of elements to think about. However, it also helps to know other things. The best theories are made when comparing the work's context to other contexts. Especially real life or historical events.

On some sites, theories are known as Epileptic Trees, a reference to the television series Lost, which was so complicated and bizarre that everyone ended up having even weirder theories for all that happened. Some trees were shaking on the island. "They have seizures, they're epileptic!" was one of the fan explanations. Makes total sense, huh? On the site, those theories are classified as Wild Mass Guessing, and you can read both stuff that makes sense and even more stuff that makes absolutely no sense on thos pages. Have fun reading.

However, it can happen that some theories make more sense than others. In this Cracked article, six video game franchises are looked at, and revelations are made about them.
-Donkey Kong Country is about the Banana Wars, a very real event.
-All the characters in the Mario series are actors.
-Animal Crossing is actually about child abduction and cultist endoctrinment.
-Metal Gear Solid 3 is a virtual mission.
-The ending to Mass Effect 3 finally makes sense: The aliens have mentally broken the hero.
-Last but not least, Link in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is going through the five stages of grief, and the whole game is actually in his mind.

...Crazy, huh? Those examples represent what great fan theories are. No way to say that it's what the designers wanted, but it's hard to believe otherwise after you've read the evidence.

Have fun creating your own little theories about the series you like. If you even can find one, anyway.