NEW Thesis File For Printing - Leonillo

INTENTIONALLY-DESIGNED “DETERMINATION”: A LUDOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE
ROLE-PLAYING GAME UNDERTALE’S DESIGN AND A PHENOMENOLOGICAL

JUSTIFICATION OF THE PLAYER’S EXPERIENCE
by
Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo
Presented to the Faculty of the Humanities Program

In HUMT33 Thesis Writing II
As Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts in Humanities
Dr. Joachim Emilio B. Antonio
Faculty-In-Charge
University of Asia and the Pacific

Pasig City, Philippines
July 2022
© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

APPROVAL SHEET
Intentionally-
Role-
justification of the Player's Experience
by
Presented to the
Faculty of the Humanities
of
University of Asia and the Pacific
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
of
Master of Arts in Humanities
July 2022
Panel of Examiners:
Sophia Martha B. Marco, Ph.D. History

Program Director
Joachim Emilio Antonio, Ph.D. Creative Writing

Thesis Professor
Veronica Isla, Ph. D. Communication
Dean Edward Mejos Philosophy
Therese Marie Santos Humanities
Ma. Asuncion Magsino, Ph.D. Philosophy

Thesis Adviser
Annex I.
Declaration of Authenticity by Thesis Writer

I, ______________________________
Name of Thesis Writer
hereby certify that the soft copy of my thesis entitled:
Intentionally-Designed
Intentionally-Designed “Determination”:
“Determination”: A Ludological A Ludological
Analysis
______________________________________________________________ AnalysisGame
of the Role-Playing of the
Role-Playing Game Undertale’s Game Design and a Phenomenological
Undertale’s Game Design and a Phenomenological justification of the Player's Experience
______________________________________________________________
justification of the Player's Experience
is an exact copy of the approved hardbound manuscript/work.
I make this Certification under pain of administrative and/or academic sanction/s in the
event that what I certify is untrue.

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Printed Name & Signature
July 22, 2022

_______________________
Date
Annex II.
AUTHORIZATION BY AUTHOR
I, ________________________________,
Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo the author of the work/thesis entitled:
______________________________________________________________
INTENTIONALLY-DESIGNED “DETERMINATION”: A LUDOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE-PLAYING GAME
UNDERTALE’S DESIGN AND A PHENOMENOLOGICAL JUSTIFICATION OF THE PLAYER’S EXPERIENCE
______________________________________________________________
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July 22, 2022.

Pasig City, Philippines, ______________20____.
____________________________ Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo
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Annex III.
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my thesis professor, Dr. Joachim
Antonio; my thesis panelists namely Ms. Therese Santos, Mr. Dean Mejos, and Dr. Veronica Isla; and Dr.
Marion Magsino who is my thesis adviser and mentor, for taking time in reading my study and guiding
me through this analysis of Undertale in their respective fields and expertise.
For the main study itself, I would like to acknowledge the researchers whose discoveries have
contributed to the theoretical framework of my study. For Ludology, I would like to thank the discoveries
of Frederic Seraphine, Miguel Sicart, and C. Thi Nguyen for introducing me to a whole new way of
understanding game design. For Phenomenology, I would like to thank the insights of Steven Conway and
Bradley Elphinestone for their study on understanding the phenomenon between the player and the
interactions of the virtual world. Without these researchers and their remarkable work, this analysis would
not have been possible.
For the topic itself - and my inspiration to always choose the good towards my enemies - I want
to send my thanks to the creator of Undertale: Mr. Toby Fox. Undertale has helped me through tough
times, and the lessons it left continue to guide my actions in life. I hope he knows how creative he is in
building virtual worlds that have reached out to so many hearts all around the world. May he continue to
stay determined until the end.
I am extremely grateful to the people in my life who have sent me encouragement, prayers, and
love for the past year: my friends and blockmates in my Humanities class; to Mom, Dad, Kuya Mark, and
Jana. I would not have been able to push myself to finish this thesis to the best of my abilities without
your continuous support and advice.
Finally, I offer this study up to Almighty God and Mother Mary, who have given me guidance to
overcome the challenges I have faced while writing. In times when I felt vulnerable and hopeless, they
have given me strength to successfully push through in writing this thesis - that I’ve prayed for since I
entered into the university.

Leonillo | 1
ABSTRACT
More than a handful of studies have already been conducted under the fields of phenomenology
and ludology that discuss the Role-Playing video game Undertale. It has been regarded in other studies as
a game that tests the player’s decision-making processes in order to determine which route out of the three
endings should be taken to win, namely the Neutral Route, the Genocide Route or the Pacifist Route. This
thesis aims to bring that similar recognition for the game’s design itself but in relation to how certain
game elements - particularly the items, the design of the battle sequences, and the dialogues of the Main
Monsters - contribute to the player’s motivation in pursuing their predetermined route. It will give light
into this aspect of the video game which aims to justify Undertale’s game design and elements using a
framework and gathered insights from the fields of Ludology (particularly that of Seraphine, Sicart, and
Nguyen) and Phenomenology (particularly the article written by Conway and Elphinstone).
Keywords: Ludology, Phenomenology, Role-Playing Games, video game design, player’s experience,
playground metaphor, aesthetics, agency, motivation, struggle

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY 3

Review of Related Literature 10
Player at Play: The Uniqueness behind the Interactive Nature of Video Games 10
The Decision-Making Processes through the Player’s eyes 12
Phenomenology in Gameplay 14
How Undertale’s Interactive Nature as a video game and the Encouragement of practicing
Decision-Making reaches out to the Player 16
Statement of the Problem 18
Theoretical Framework 19
Ludological Aspect 20
Philosophical (Phenomenological) Aspect 23
Methodology 24
Significance of the Study 26
CHAPTER II. THE FLOW OF THE NEUTRAL ROUTE: A STARTING POINT 30
CHAPTER III. THE FLOW OF THE PACIFIST ROUTE 33

The Ludic Framework, Sicart, and Nguyen Applied to the Pacifist Route 34
Interpretation Layer 34
Aesthetic Layer 43
CHAPTER IV. THE FLOW OF THE GENOCIDE ROUTE 48

The Ludic Framework, Sicart, and Nguyen Applied to the Genocide Route 51
Interpretation Layer 51
Aesthetic Layer 61
CHAPTER V. JUSTIFICATION FROM A PHENOMENOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 66

Zuhanden (Ready-To-Hand) Mode and Temporary Agency as Methods of Intensifying Autonomy
and Competence of Undertale Players 66
The Role of the Characters and how they affect the level of Relatedness in Undertale 68
The Immersive Experience Offered in Undertale 69
CHAPTER VI. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 73
Works Cited 78
APPENDIX 82

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CHAPTER I.
Introduction of the Study
Since its release in 2015, the video game Undertale, created by indie developer and music
composer Robert (Toby) F. Fox was regarded as one of the most famous and successful Role-Playing
Games (RPG) of the year that catered to kids and adults alike. Known for its fun characters, its “unique
and quirky combination of gameplay styles”, the music soundtrack, and different endings all presented in
retro graphics form, it became one of the best-selling games based on the Steam market data in 2015
(Wawro 2015, Meszaros 2020, & Steamspy). In this single-player game, a human child has fallen to a
place (called the “Underground”) where monsters were banished after losing the war against mankind.
The main objective is to go back to the surface and survive every encounter with different monsters.
Despite having one objective throughout the gameplay, Fox created three endings or “routes” for the
users to freely choose. Those endings are the Pacifist, Genocide, and the Neutral Routes.
Screenshot 1: The Fallen Human (main character of Undertale)
It may be helpful to be acquainted with the basic elements that go into designing a game. This
will provide us with a working definition of the terms to be used throughout this study.

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The first term is mechanics/mechanisms which are the individual pieces of the game the player
can interact with and it includes the game pieces, player’s actions, and rules that govern how they all
interact with one another. Taken together, they become a system. Once the players interact with these
game elements, a dynamic process called gameplay is created. Gameplays can be pleasant when the
player has opportunities to develop strategies or enjoy the visuals of the game. However, gameplay can
also cause the player to feel frustrated and bored. This is the player experience, or the subjective
experience once the player interacts with game elements. All of this would be happening within the game
design which provides the overall configuration that brings together the different game elements, namely
the mechanics, the gameplay and the player experience. It includes how the game should work, behave,
how to act from the anticipated actions of the player, the characters, etc.
After interacting with the game elements overtime, the player will receive outputs from the game
system. These outputs called feedback loops affect the future events that happen in the game. When the
system generates a positive feedback loop, the player can acquire more assets that are beneficial to reach
his goal. A negative feedback loop would be when the player’s inputs go against what the system is
doing in order to reach his goal (Zubek 2020).
Generally, in Role-Playing Games (RPG), the gameplay focuses on the main character engaging
the enemies in a battle and his survival is measured by the amount of Health Points. This becomes crucial
if he were to win the battle. The battle scenes or sequences happen when the player encounters an enemy
that needs to be defeated. The character is often given four battle actions which are:
1. Attack/Fight: the option to inflict damage that will decrease the enemy’s Health Points.
2. Special Attack: the attack used by the character’s skills (e.g. wizard characters can cast magic
spells; or a knight character can use his sword).
3. Use Items: allows access to objects of various uses. These increase health, defense, speed, and
attack points.

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4. Escape/Run: discontinues the battle when an enemy is too strong (or the character is weak to
fight).
Everytime the player wins a battle, he earns Experience Points (or EXP). Gathering enough EXP
would lead to increasing the character’s Level (or LV) that shows how powerful he is (Schuller 2017).
This can be compared to an athlete who can physically become stronger after intense training. Other
rewards also include money after winning a battle.
In Undertale, the game piece that enters the battle is the character’s “SOUL” which is a small
heart-shaped icon. It is found inside a small box or “Bullet Board” that restricts the area where it can
move around. The rule of each encounter is that the player must move the “SOUL” around the bullet
board to dodge the enemy’s attacks using arrow keys (left, right, up, down). The health points will depend
on how the “SOUL” fares in battle.
Image 1: Combat between Knight Knight and Madjick

(Credits to username Casper from Legacy of Games)
This RPG introduces novel battle actions as options, hence giving this game a certain twist. In
battles, Undertale gives the option for players to not kill off enemies. As mentioned by Fox, this is a game
where “you don’t have to destroy anyone” (Fox 2015). Instead of a “Special Attack”, the second action
for the character in Undertale is labeled “ACT”; and the fourth option was labeled “MERCY” instead of
“Run”.

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Choosing an option in a battle sequence would depend on how the player intended the game to
proceed.
1. FIGHT: inflicts damage to enemies. For the combat system, the player presses the “Z” button
when the sliding bar reaches the center of the meter. If the player misses, only minimal damage is
done.
Screenshot 2: How to inflict damage to enemies

2. ACT: this shows ways to interact with the enemies in a variety of ways including talking, flirting,
laughing, etc. as attempts to pacify the enemy. It aims to peacefully end the battle.
Screenshots 3.1 and 3.2: Choosing the ACT option would show the different interactions allowed
for Snowdrake (left). Choosing “Check” would give a hint on how to pacify this monster (right).
Given that this character is a comedian, he will be throwing in jokes.

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Screenshot 4: Afterwards, the player should select ACT again to choose the “Laugh” option to
convince the monster that you appreciate his jokes. Choosing “Heckle” on the other hand, would
only upset the enemy and prolong this process further.
3. ITEM: gives access to gathered items in the game. These help increase the attack, defense, speed,
and health level.
4. MERCY: there are two other choices that the player can choose from in the middle of a battle
which are Spare and Flee.
Screenshot 5: Options under the MERCY option

“Flee” allows the player to leave the battle. “Spare”, on the other hand, can be selected once the
enemy is pacified. Undertale players know that they have pacified the enemy once the name of
the character turns yellow.
Screenshots 6.1 and 6.2: Once Snowdrake has been pleased with the player’s actions. This allows
the player to now choose the Spare option under MERCY to peacefully end the battle.

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Every defeated enemy in Undertale will give the character money (or G) as reward, and
accumulate enough EXP to gain another LV. However, Undertale redefines these other common RPG
acronyms that some players may be familiar with - shown through the table below.
Acronym Common meaning in RPGs The meaning given at Undertale
EXP Experience points Execution Points

Shows how much experience has been gained “A way of quantifying the pain you have
and how much is needed before reaching a inflicted on others. When you kill someone,
higher level. your EXP increases. When you have enough
EXP, your LOVE increases”
LV Level LOVE: Level of Violence

A number that determines the amount of gained “A way of measuring someone’s capacity to
experience throughout gameplay that represents hurt. The more you kill, the easier it becomes
the overall power of the character. to distance yourself”
Chart 1: The definitions under “common meaning” are inspired from Daniel Schuller’s “How to Make an
RPG” (2017).
Once the player has defeated the monster, the character gains more Execution Points (EXP)
showing the amount of pain inflicted on others. Accumulating enough points would lead to an increase of
the character’s Level of Violence (LV) showing how capable he is of inflicting harm to others.
In Undertale the gameplay proceeds differently as the player chooses any one of three routes:
Pacifist, Genocide, and Neutral Route. To know the kind of ending that the player has arrived at, he will
be judged according to the accumulated EXP and LV gained. This is where the player will become aware
of the route that they eventually ended up with.
1. If the player has received no amount of EXP and LV, by sparing monsters, he will end up
with the Pacifist Route
2. If the player has received the maximum amount of EXP and LV, by killing monsters, he
will end up with the Genocide Route
3. If the player has received some (and not the maximum) amount of EXP and LV, by both
defeating and sparing some enemies, he will end up with the Neutral Route

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Outside of the battle sequences, part of the journey in the RPG unfolds in a story. Interacting with
Non-Playable Characters (NPCs) through dialogues is used in building the narrative. In Undertale’s game
design, the player becomes familiar with the virtual surroundings, and the characters through these
dialogues. They also bring him steeped into the fictional world underlying the game (Mäyrä 2017).
Undertale’s dialogues with NPCs serve as guides to let the player know that he is either moving
away or closer to the ending they want. The player elicits aggressive and rather negative responses from
NPCs when using the FIGHT option to kill monsters. While the friendly and peaceful responses would
result from befriending enemies using the ACT and MERCY options. What makes these dialogues
unique in Undertale is that it continues inside and outside of battles which result in negative and positive
feedbacks to the system - and the entire narrative. This game element has been mentioned that it is one
most crucial to the entire experience of the Undertale that will be shown later in the Review of Related
Literature.
Screenshots 7.1 and 7.2: Negative Responses of Characters after killing monsters
Screenshots 8.1 and 8.2: Positive Responses of Characters after sparing monsters

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The three game elements mentioned and discussed in the previous segments of this introduction
will be part of the main discussion of this thesis. This study aims to bring more clarity to the purpose
behind these game elements: the items, the battle actions FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, MERCY, and the
dialogues of the main characters. By looking at these game elements, the analysis will show how these
carry out the proper experience for the player’s immersion in the narrative and gameplay. In other words,
I argue that the player can create the experience by interacting with the game elements in Undertale’s
game design as part of the user’s overall enjoyment of the video game.
Review of Related Literature
Undertale has already been taken as topics for academic papers and articles that questioned how
different philosophical concepts were applied and stirred certain feelings during and after playing. Several
game critics have also written about this game throughout the years which have all included the impact
that it left on the players. These studies have mostly covered what the players have learned from their
gameplay in a moral or ethical sense that have led them to change their preferred ending during gameplay.
Apart from analyzing games in general from an objective point of view, several studies have been
conducted that showed how video games encourage a certain connection with its users due to its
interactive nature. There have been written works regarding the importance of games in teaching
philosophical concepts such as the basis of decision-making processes, and the emotions that stirred up in
the middle of gameplay. To show these works in order, I will begin by introducing the studies that have
acknowledged the unique experience of players through the interactive nature of video games.
Player at Play: The Uniqueness behind the Interactive Nature of Video Games
Various forms of research on video games established their importance both to the entertainment
industry as well as the impact that it leaves on its users. Looking for materials about what made video
games a unique experience, I found works that supported this platform as a way for people to immerse
themselves in mainly because of the various combinations of interactions that they can experience with it.

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Gonzalo Frasca’s Simulation versus Narrative, for instance, discussed how video games can stir certain
emotions or reactions from the player based on how creatively the game elements were able to set
particular moods and atmospheres in the gameplay. This is the effect of combining both the pleasures of
narratives and the appropriation of oneself as part of this crafted fictional world (Frasca 2004, 222-234).
Other writers took this similar claim a step further: Katherine Isbister in her book How Games
Move Us: Emotion by Design who claimed that games were designed in such a way that it affected the
lives of human beings using different approaches, audiences, and goals; and Nicole Lazzaro, who in Why
We Play: Affect and the Fun of Games: Designing Emotions for Games, Entertainment Interfaces and
Interactive Products emphasized how important the stimulation of feelings are in making effective and
affective games. The former discussed in her study that games have the potential to educate players as
much as books and films can - but in its own, unique manner (Isbister 2016). Whereas the latter discussed
that mere placement of random elements is not enough to bring out that genuine feeling to users, but a
series of models and frameworks that discerns the degree of the player’s enjoyment (Lazzaro 2009).
Going back to Frasca, he further backs his claim on simulation up with another study entitled
Rethinking agency and immersion: video games as a means of consciousness-raising where he used The
Sims game (or what he referred to as a “people simulator”) as his main basis. In this study, players are
now not only aware of the world that their characters live in, but also the ideologies that they wish to
practice within that realm – or those that they want to experiment with based on their discussions with
other fellow players (Frasca 2001, 167 – 174).
Another study that supports the video game’s ability to tell stories and to “invite their users to
shape them in action” is Eric Hayot’s article entitled Video Games & The Novel. For him, games are a
way to understand what exactly has shaped our world today and how well do we know them (Hayot 2021,
178 – 187). Apart from this, they also play a crucial part in the real world wherein our understanding of
video games can “suggest what we feel the world should be as Liam Mitchell pointed out in his book
Ludopolitics: Videogames against control. Despite games being a form of escapism, is it also considered

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as a way to see and construct our ideal version of the way we live and the society that we are a part of
which leave the player feeling a form of impotence, guilt, or confusion (in a good, contemplative manner)
(Mitchell 2018). Another study that is similar to Mitchell’s claim was Craig Hayden’s The Procedural
Rhetorics of Mass Effect: Video Games as Argumentation in International Relations where video games
allow players to freely choose which enables this identification with that fictional world that can
articulate, represent, and simulate the practice of international politics in both narrative and procedural
capacities (Hayden 2017).
This subsection was able to discuss how video games can be a form of reliving of the player’s
current ideologies or those that they wish they had in real life. It was treated as a safe space for people to
express themselves, or to develop new expressions of their own. This is due to the elements that stirred
emotions and affected the users’ gameplay in general – including the way they manipulated the entire
storyline of the game. According to Seraphine, this is how game designers ought to control the different
game elements that lead players into a “certain emotional state”. This ability to evoke emotion even just
through the interaction of non-physical objects is what made video games one of the reliable sources to
understand the effects of human input (Seraphine 2016). The following set of works will now discuss the
creativity of game design and the amount of control that is left to the player’s free will by looking into the
studies that focus on the decision-making processes done in video games.
The Decision-Making Processes through the Player’s eyes
For players to decide which path to take in their gameplay is crucial in seeing their intended
ending to the end. This concept is not new as – apart from experiences from choice-based games – other
works have already established this aspect of play. Aliprantis and Chakrabarti discussed this in-depth in
their book Games and Decision Making that discusses both decision and game theory in finding out how
both can play their role in one body of knowledge (1998). Another work is by Joseph E. Harrington, Jr
entitled Games, Strategies, and Decision Making which states the strategic abilities under the courses of
economics, business, political sciences, and international relations can be related to game theory. It also

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discusses strategic scenarios of everyday life in order to see an accurate representation and understanding
of human behavior (2015). Part of the body of knowledge about how games connect to their players
includes how they encourage engagement by channeling their sense of morality. One of these notable
works is Playing Around with Morality: Introducing the Special Issue on “Morality Play” written by
Malcolm Ryan, Paul Formosa, and Rowan Tulloch which focused on this platform and the freedom that it
gives to players alongside the interplay with ethics (2019); this study had a similar claim to Joy Butler’s
Situating Ethics in Games Education which is about how social and ethical understanding can be applied
in game construction and how it encourages students to question their prior knowledge about relevant
societal issues (i.e. gender, race, ability) (2013); and finally, Kevin Veale’s Affect, Responsibility, and
How Modes of Engagement Shape the Experience of Videogames where players develop this sense of
obligation to the fate of the digital world and the characters in the game (2015).
Other academic papers used actual choice-based games in determining how emotions are felt,
along with the ethical and moral implications behind their concepts. The work of Boyan Andy, Nicholas
David Bowman, and Matthew Gizzard’s article A massively moral game? Mass Effect as a case study to
understand the influence of players’ moral intuitions on adherence to hero or antihero play styles
examines the prior knowledge of the user’s moral concepts in coming up with their chosen paths on how
to play this game series (2015). Other works are about the Telltale Games which were highly known for
their compelling stories which solely depend on the choices of each player as discussed by Barbaros
Bostan and Matteo Genovesi. Bostan’s work Empathy and Choice in Story Driven Games: A Case Study
of Telltale Games showed how the repeated sequences and gameplays from the qualitative code process
show how this attitude is encouraged for the player to continue acting as the protagonist of this narrative
(2015). On the other hand, Genovesi’s Choices and Consequences: The Role of Players in The Walking
Dead: A Telltale Game Series focuses on the choice excitement involved when players develop their
decisions due to the interactions that they have with other characters and with the entirety of the game
itself (2017).

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From the first and second subsection of this segment, it is seen that the player is someone who
still has their own freedom in guiding the main narrative - despite being limited by the mechanisms and
rules of the video game. Furthermore, there is an element of emotional and psychological attachments
towards their interactions with the different game elements, and the consequences that follow those
actions. From these studies, it may be concluded that the act of playing video games actually becomes
more of an immersive experience rather than just merely a form of entertainment for its users. This is a
result of considering not only the “kind” of player that interacts with the system, but also the game design
itself that enables this certain effect on its users by satisfying their intended outcome throughout their
gameplay. This phenomenon can be seen in the following set of studies that discusses how the interactions
of players and game elements can actually be explained through the field of phenomenology.
Phenomenology in Gameplay
This subsection is aimed to acknowledge the already existing studies on phenomenological
analysis of different aspects of video games. For instance, we have one of Steven Conway’s books with a
chapter entitled Anima Ludus that - similarly to the main material to be used in this thesis - also tackled
the field of psychology. This aims to show how psychological reactions are developed in digital games
since “being-in-the-world” is a significant experience to those who have participated in a gameplay. He
also included subjects on metaphysics, the self, and patterns of behavior for his analysis (Conway 2018).
Another study is The Game Body: Toward a Phenomenology of Contemporary Video Gaming written by
Timothy Crick - known to be one of the most cited authors in game studies as far as my own process of
gathering different studies is concerned. His article mainly focused on the contemporary 1st-person and
3rd-person video games which are the different camera angles that games usually offer to players
throughout their playthrough. He argues that whatever players inhabit in that space provided to them in a
game would be processed by the user as something similar to that of a movie - since he also used Vivian
Sobchack’s view of film and digital moving images along with the phenomenological model of bodies by
Maurice Merleau-Ponty (Crick 2015).

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There is another study that tackled the similar fields but was able to connect it as well with
Aesthetics and Experience which is that of Jan-Hendrik Bakels in his article Steps towards a
Phenomenology of Video Games. In his article, Bakels included the kinaesthetic video game experience,
and its commonalities of film when it comes to being exposed to time, space, and materiality, and to be in
line with a phenomenological line of thought. He concluded that the kinaesthetic appropriation in video
games can only be reached when players continuously interact with the game world - and to further
discover who we want to be as individuals (Bakels 2020).
Similar to this type of research, there are also authors who used this topic to accomplish their
requirements for their respective degrees in their universities. For instance, there is Anders Hagström’s
Bachelor’s Thesis entitled Poetically Man Dwells in Game Space where he discusses games as spaces,
and what does it really mean to be in one. Using the Heideggerian phenomenological thought, he showed
possible ways to improve games by adjusting it to how players would be able to adjust and appropriate
themselves to such a space (Hagström 2017). Another thesis is the one by Brendan Keogh entitled A Play
of Bodies to fulfill the requirements for his Doctorate in Philosophy. In this thesis, he acknowledged that
video games and players do engage one another - but seeks to understand games as they are:
“amalgamations of existing and nascent media and forms”. He draws most of his conclusions from
phenomenology, posthumanism, and cyborg theory in his analysis and dissection of this type of media
(Keogh 2015).
These studies have shown that a certain immersive experience can be done through the
interactiveness of video games, combined with the active engagement of the player who has their own
sets of goals in the gameplay. According to C. Thi Nguyen, the player becomes motivated by in-game
goals because it satisfies the temporary interests that the user chose to have in the beginning of the
playthrough. These interests do not always define the player as a person, but it is perceived as necessary
in order to win the game. This is why Nguyen pointed out one of the aesthetics of games which is to offer
experiential immersion for players to manipulate their interests and let it affect the way they play the

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game (Nguyen 2020, 78-81). Furthermore, these also prove that the player is not someone who forcefully
restrains themselves while interacting with the virtual world. They are people who are expressing their
interests before and during playing, while satisfying some aspects of their identity as seen in their choices.
Similarly in the video game Undertale, the player’s choices plays a vital role in determining the ending of
the story: the good, the bad, and the neutral ending. Even to players who have already decided the kind of
play they want to maintain from beginning until the end, the immersive experience can still be achieved
as well as satisfying their goals as users of the game. In the next following studies, I will be showing how
much work has already been done about Undertale and how its game design has created various impacts
towards the player.
How Undertale’s Interactive Nature as a video game and the Encouragement of practicing
Decision-Making reaches out to the Player
It would be an understatement to say I was surprised to see numerous accounts that conducted
their research using game theory and ethics. Past academic papers and articles that have used Undertale as
their topic mainly discussed how the game affects the human player; most of them have discussed
concepts under ethics and morality. One was Matthew Perez’s Undertale: A Case Study in
Ludomusicology where he claimed that the game’s long-lasting effects throughout the player’s gameplay
were due to its “method which ultimately affects its players’ perception of violence, sound, and choice”
demonstrated by how Fox incorporated his music into the entire experience of players (2017). In that
same year, Joel Couture’s Fallen Down recognized that the effect of this game happens during and after
the gameplay which sparked their sense of compassion and “morality in digital worlds” (2017). Another
that took a similar approach is Esteban Grine’s For Undertale, the human is good, not the player that
explains the various aspects of Undertale’s goals, mechanisms, and its effects on the players - particularly
its ethical and moral aspect (2017).
A recent study by Mirjami Oja entitled Encouragement of moral decision-making and ethical
gameplay in the Undertale video game analyzes the dialogues and mechanisms of the game and how it

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encourages players into making certain decisions. This paper used the Human-Computer Interaction
(HCI) in order to properly combine humanities with game design properties (2021). Finally, there are
Frederic Seraphine’s two works. The first is Ethics at Play in Undertale that analyzes the ethical and
unethical choices to see how it uses emotional power to evoke thoughts on responsibility and awareness
of consequences (2018), and the second is The Rhetoric of Undertale where he made use of the negative
emotions that were given to players that made them contemplate about aspects of their society and
themselves (2018).
In relation to the latter work, such emotions - that most likely came from when players have
chosen the Genocide Route – were also used as the main basis for Esteban Grine’s article Regrets and
Guilt in Undertale where he reflected on his own experience of playing the game (2017); Max Dubois’
“For as long as you remain here here”: retraumatization, video game trauma theory, and player response
in Undertale that discussed what triggered users based on the accounts of trauma theorists (2020);
Alexandra Muller’s Undertale: Violence in Context that emphasizes how the classic retro art style was
nonetheless used to show violence in relation to other digital games (2015). Lastly, as a contribution from
someone who took the Neutral Route of the game, James Phyrillas (or more commonly known on the
internet as Schaffrillas Productions) gave an analysis in his YouTube video entitled How Undertale
(Accidentally) Broke Me about something that struck him when he realized how important it was to show
a bit of kindness in the game by sparing a life.
The aforementioned works have indeed contributed immensely in looking at Undertale from a
different, and more meaningful, point of view rather than just accepting it as entertainment. In fact,
Seraphine even already included his own application of the Ludic Framework to Undertale - but had a
different approach and understanding of agency. What I aim to contribute to this existing body of
knowledge under the fields of Phenomenology, Ludology, and Undertale studies is how it can
demonstrate an ability that human beings are capable of engaging properly from the game without any

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other motivation in mind other than to experience the beauty behind the game found in the challenges it
imposes.
Statement of the Problem
In most RPGs, gaining strength (via experience or EX points) is a way to overcome stronger
enemies and "big boss" levels within the fictional realm. In Undertale, Fox was able to introduce multiple
ways of achieving the goal and also let players know about another side of "gaining experience" (ref.
Table on p. 8). From my experiences of playing and observing games such as the Pokemon Series (1996),
World of Warcraft (2004), and Persona (1996), a positive feedback loop is evident after gaining enough
experience points to make characters stronger. This contributes to the player’s sense of achievement after
many hours of leveling up their character (Schuller 2017). In RPGs, players are usually invested in
slaying as many enemies as possible in order to make their gameplays easier in the long run. However,
Undertale takes players a step further in testing their patience and choices by humanizing the enemies in
their design, as well as changing the meanings of the usual acronyms RPG players are familiar with (e.g.
LV is labeled as "level of violence" that measures the character’s capacity to kill). Not only does this help
for other players to change their route, but it also persists them to stay in the route they chose before they
play the game - which is what my study aims to analyze.
This process of letting the player discover for himself/herself the various ways to construct
his/her character is something that other studies of Undertale have taken, particularly on morality. This
study, however, considers those players who may not even care much about the moral or ethical
implications of the game. Some players may just play the game out of curiosity, to know more about the
story, or just to simply have fun (since it is a product of entertainment, after all). This study will focus on
the game design - specifically its mechanics and the gameplay. The main question that my thesis will be
answering is:

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What game elements Toby Fox used in Undertale, as part of the design, aid to motivate the player to
continue pursuing his predetermined route during gameplay?
This will be followed by other sub-questions which are the following:
1. How do the battle scenes assist/challenge the player’s process of owning up to his
decided route until the end?
2. What do the Main Monsters do to provide feedback loops the player’s process of owning
up to his pre-decided route until the end?
3. What would keep the player in the route that they originally chose to pursue up to the end
of the game?
Overall, this study aims to show the beauty and intricacies of the world-building and the game
design of Undertale in general. It aims to also set the proper foundation for Undertale to become one of
the reliable and possible subjects of study when it comes to other, complex philosophical topics that may
need more validation apart from the other articles that focus on moral implications, rather than focusing
on the reasons behind the construction of the design itself.
In the end, this study aims to set the foundation for future research on philosophy in Undertale
that does not focus on moral implications. Instead, it will see how the game can stand on its own as an
impactful product of entertainment, and allow this immersive experience that can only be possible on
virtual worlds.
Theoretical Framework
This study on Undertale will mostly focus on the design itself in relation to a player who has
already decided the ending that they wish to pursue. Looking into the game’s mechanisms and design, this
study will combine the fields of Ludology and Phenomenology into looking at how players stay

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motivated and determined to finish a chosen route. Through these lenses, this study aims to explain the
process of how the role-playing game Undertale was designed to make the player want to finish their
chosen route through the experience being offered in the mechanics, and after interacting with
selected game elements as part of the main motivations of the game. We can begin with a brief
explanation of the Ludological Aspect.
Ludological Aspect
The main framework that this study will be relying its structure on is the Ludic Framework
created by Frederic Seraphine in 2016 - which is an expansion of Le Blanc, Hunicke, and Zubek’s
Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics Framework made in 2008. It is structured by the Interpretation Layer
and the Aesthetics Layer.
In this framework, the game designer uses as the basis for game design the power of the game to
evoke an intended emotional state. He claims that there is a continuum between the interpretation and the
aesthetic layers, justified by the use of Peircian semiotics (see Appendix showing the Ludic Framework).
This provides a new way of understanding the construction of game designs and the gameplay itself.
Here’s a brief explanation of what forms part of the Interpretation and the Aesthetic layers respectively.
1. Interpretation Layer - this is the layer that encompases the game’s mechanics. It includes the
video game’s ludics (or the interaction blocks of the game otherwise known as the mechanics)
and its interwoven influence with dynamics (the run-time behavior after interacting with the
game also referred to as the system). This shows how gameplay can affect the dynamics that
follow (Seraphine 2017)1. Seraphine identified three types of signs that are generated by the
player, the game pieces and the interaction between the two. These three signs in turn produce
three different layers of meaning of gameplay for the player (2017). Ultimately, the action the
1
Refer to Table 1 in the Appendix which simplifies Seraphine’s concept of ludics.

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player takes using various elements of the game mechanics would be significant for the player
himself, for the game piece he interacts with or for the gameplay as a whole.
Details on the Interpretation Layer will be added using a chapter from Miguel
Sicart’s book (Play Matters) entitled Playgrounds. The selected chapter of his book
discusses how play spaces accommodate play. In this case, users are open in imagining
and exploring the space that they chose for themselves (49-60). Sicart’s playground
metaphor will be the main source in determining how the entire world-building of the
game was not done randomly because of its entertainment value to its users.
Sicart’s concept of “props'' or game elements is also used in this study to
understand how the player is encouraged to interact with the different game elements in
Undertale. It will help in why interacting with the chosen game elements proves crucial
to the player’s experience. After interacting with the Interpretation Layer (or the game
mechanics), the analysis of a player’s overall experience would then be directed towards
the second layer of the framework known as the Aesthetic Layer (or the player’s
experience).
2. Aesthetics Layer - this is the layer where the player reaches a specific monadic emotional state. It
predicts the most likely (emotional) response of the player’s inputs towards the game elements
(Seraphine 2017).
To discuss the Aesthetic Layer, I will be using Games: Agency as Art written by
C. Thi Nguyen. Nguyen applies his expertise in game analysis by using his understanding
of human rationality and agency in video games (PhilPeople website). In his book, he
discussed how games as a distinct form of art is different from traditional artforms. This
is because the game designer has constructed and intended it for the player’s exertion of
ability and engagement (Nguyen 2020, 3).

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Nguyen proposed two modes of playing corresponding to two types of players.
The first one is called an Achievement Player who has no other goal but to win the
game; and that the player’s goal is similar to the purpose of why he participated in the
first place. The other is called a Striving Player whose purpose of playing is different
from the goal of the game - the one who desires the experience within the means towards
the end rather than the end itself which he can just easily dispose of (Ibid, 8-10). This
player is more focused on the process or the flow of the game, rather than its end result.
Nguyen explains how playing games is valued not for the rewards that it
promises in the end, but to experience the beauty and fun behind the struggle towards the
goal. This is where Nguyen proposes the category of Aesthetic Striving Play - the kind
that seeks the aesthetic quality (harmony) of the challenges in the game play (Ibid, 12).
The player’s capacity to set temporary agencies allows this enriching experience that is
engineered to suit their character’s abilities, goals, and desires within the boundaries of
the gameworld itself (Nguyen 2020).
Nguyen’s analysis of how games ought to be experienced would help in
understanding why the player would be motivated to still continue the route that they
chose - even after the many challenges that he has struggled to overcome. This is part of
the experience within the Aesthetic Layer can be extended to the analysis of the player’s
inputs to the game system. In determining the most likely behavior of players with game
elements in the chosen route, this layer can uncover the reason why the player persists in
the route despite the struggle they have gone through.
Hence, this study will take Seraphine’s Ludic Framework a step further through these additional
ludologists, Sicart and Nguyen, to support the two layers resulting in a new framework. This will be the
main tool used to analyze Undertale’s game design and determine which elements contribute to the

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player’s experience. The analysis using this framework intends to show how the player is motivated to
pursue their chosen route despite the challenges in the game.
Figure 1: The Ludic Framework combining Sicart and Nguyen; an original framework edited by the
author
This proposed Ludological framework will serve the analysis part of the research. The
Phenomenological aspect of this thesis will be used to justify the findings by establishing its relation to
the natural tendencies of the human person interacting with video games.
Philosophical (Phenomenological) Aspect
Phenomenology will be utilized to justify the player’s experience and responses within the
Aesthetic Layer as a result of the Interpretation Layer. To further explain the phenomenology behind
Undertale Pacifist and Genocide players, I will be using a small study written by Professor Conway, who
specializes in game studies,and Professor Elphinstone, a psychologist. The article entitled Da-Sein design:
Linking phenomenology with Self-Determination Theory for game design applies Heideggerian
phenomenology/da-sein (which discusses how man is essentially interpretative both in the body and in
different situations) to the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) by Deci and Ryan back in 2000 (2017). They

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argue that combining Heidegger’s understanding of the human being as Da-Sein and SDT provides a
better analysis of how the psychological needs of a person are satisfied through game design - and the
experience it gives to the player (2017).
They say that the enjoyable parts of the game come from our make-up as human beings. Their
study opened the possibilities of improving the user’s experience by linking (and validating) SDT using
the knowledge of the natural tendencies of man through the lenses of phenomenology (Conway &
Elphinstone 2017). They showed how game design heightens the overall experience of players to become
meaningful. SDT’s view of game mechanisms is elevated because of “a nuanced understanding of
meaning via phenomenology”. This is due to the psychological needs, specifically those of autonomy,
competence, and relatedness, that are satisfied in the middle of gameplay. As stated in their study,
activities that satisfy those three needs are intrinsically motivating and something that people would want
to do rather than see it as something that they have to do.
This thesis will make use of this similar application of SDT and Heideggerian phenomenology in
investigating the possible reasons behind Undertale’s overall design and its way of letting players engage
with it.
Ludology and Phenomenology together constitute the theoretical framework for this study that
discusses the crucial factor that provides a link between philosophy and games: the human player’s
experience. Tracing the phenomenology behind a “motivated” player to that of the game mechanisms of
Undertale would provide another humanistic way of looking at the game, as well as other games within
the similar “Anti-RPG” RPG genre.
Methodology
The entire paper will mostly be discussion-based which will come from selected aspects of game
design, and the support that phenomenology can provide to justify possible claims. I tried looking for a
text where the rules of the game are clearly spelled out but neither Toby Fox nor the Steam website

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provided any online copy. Instead, I will use the notes written by Kristina M. Yarberry - who wrote
journals regarding Undertale’s mechanisms on her website (Neocities.org) – along with the rules
mentioned in the game itself as points of reference. Similarly, the figures that I have placed in this thesis
are screenshots of my personal gameplay, as well as some that have posted their own videos of Undertale
online.
Scope and Limitation
The player for this thesis has already decided the path that he is willing to take. This study will
look for possible reasons as to how this kind of player stays motivated to finish their predetermined route
throughout their gameplay.
This study will be looking into only the Pacifist and the Genocide Route. In analyzing the two
routes:
1. The Ludological aspect of the study (Figure 1) will be used to look into the Interpretation and
Aesthetic Layer of each route in Undertale. This will be divided into two chapters: one for the
Pacifist (Chapter 3) and another for the Genocide Route (Chapter 4).
2. The analysis will describe the importance of the following game elements:
a. The items to increase the player’s Attack, Defense, and Health;
b. The interactions allowed in the fight scenes containing the four main options per battle
sequence (Fight, Act, Items, Mercy); and
c. The significance of the dialogues with the 10 main monsters specifically designed for the
Pacifist and Genocide Routes.
3. Chapter 5 will contain the phenomenological justification to the Ludological analysis. This will
look into how the selected game elements allow:
a. The increase of autonomy and competency through temporary agency;
b. The development of the player’s relationships throughout the gameplay; and

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c. The immersive experience for users to enjoy.
This study will exclude the analysis of the Neutral Route which will nevertheless be explained,
and compared to the other two routes, in Chapter 2. This will be followed by the Pacifist Route and
Genocide Route which are the main focus of the analysis of this thesis. It will discuss what will happen
during the battle sequences against enemies since this is the main method of achieving each ending.
The game elements to be observed are limited to the three mentioned above, namely the items,
interactions and dialogues. I limited the analysis of the game elements to the three because these are often
perceived as the common parts of the game design that are often overlooked. Besides, the discussions of
the Ludological and Phenomenological aspects of this study is limited to what can be deduced from the
expected gameplay which will exclude any data collected from surveys and other forms of asking
feedback due to the limitations of the online setup - and the time required to do this study in general.
Significance of the Study
Toby Fox himself encountered a few people who played the game who said that Undertale made
an impact not only in terms of its material gain but also from those who got to apply its lessons and
decision-making skills in their own life. In an article at GamesBeat news, Fox shared in an interview that
“Others told me that the game had made them laugh, or cry, or say ‘I want to be kinder.’ 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” (Minotti 2016).
Considering that this study will focus on the importance of the human’s unique experience
enabled by game design, I want to quote the following writers who also recognized this connection
between players and the effect of their decisions within the gameplay:

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“Player-experience design crafts these cognitive and affective responses in conjunction with user
behavior. Therefore, the design of player experiences must refine not only the gamer’s cognitive
response to a system… it must also design the gamer’s affective response…”
(Lazzaro 2009)
“The environments, characters, and objects in a game provide another possibility for
self-regulation. Most games will offer players some choices regarding their identities, their
opponents, and their environments. The better games will provide a variety of choices that allow
users to regulate the difficulty of their first experiences.”
(Pagulayan et al 2009)
“Our affective responses are shaped by the modes of engagement required of us as we negotiate
game texts: players become invested in the outcomes of the decisions required to engage with the
game, and thus feel responsible for the consequences of their actions within that context”
(Veale 2015)
“The player moves through the game world taking actions as this person, adopting his or her
concerns and struggling toward his or her goals… Avatars and NPCs allow players to identify
and engage in new ways, awakening different kinds of emotions that designers use not just for
entertainment, but also for encouraging the deep awareness that travels alongside agency—a
feeling of responsibility and of the complexity of relating to other beings. They offer us, as
humans, a new bag of tricks for walking in another’s shoes and reliving a situation in the present
tense.”
(Isbister 2016)

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“... what really matters here is the image that the player has of the character that she has built. In
other words, character is a mental image: the result of her own choices, that will keep on
affecting her subsequent choices, even when the game does not remember them.”
(Monchan 2017)
“The freedom of choice for a person is effectively present when worldbuilding is coherent,
because every single part can become an entry point for him/her, who can decide the order of
his/her movements through the transmedia scheme. Nevertheless, the choice can effectively
become choice excitement only inside a formal structure in which a person can interact explicitly
with a narrative ramification of the transmedia scheme, able to reflect dynamically and
dramatically his/her choices, emphasizing his/her ‘agency.’”
(Genovesi 2017)
“... the game progresses through the consequences of interactions with encountered characters
and the strategic options available to the character are constrained by previous interactions and
‘mission’ choices.”
(Hayden 2017)
Despite the numerous studies claiming that Undertale was really created with moral implication
or lessons about always choosing the good, users must still accept that it is still a game - aimed to
entertain people or to test the player’s skills (Cambridge Dictionary). Even without any other implications
apart from the consideration of the game’s design and the experience it gives the players, Undertale still
remains something worth discussing in the fields of Ludology and Philosophy.
My study aims to contribute another perspective in studying Undertale as a video game, a play
space for users to freely pursue their chosen path, and also an experience for every individual. The fact
that the game was designed for players to be challenged by whether or not they remain to be the "good" or

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“bad” character shows its potential as a representation and a simulator of interactions where people can
see themselves continuing the route they chose - despite the challenges it imposes on them.

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CHAPTER II.
The Flow of the Neutral Route: A Starting Point
As the name suggests, this route’s ending is neither good nor bad. This is what new players of
Undertale are most likely to end up with; especially if they are not aware of the other two endings. Some
may just be curious about how each “version” of the many possible Neutral endings they would be like
since each version’s ending depends on the monsters that the player has killed, and those that he/she
spared.
Screenshots 9.1 - 9.4: Scenes from the Neutral Route gameplay taken by the Author
Following the story, the ending scene after the human protagonist has left the underground on
their own would be accompanied with a phone call from any of the boss monsters that the player has
spared before ending the game. The boss monsters would be updating the protagonist (and the player) of
what happened after they left the underground and left the monsters with no human souls to help them

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reach the surface. One of the characters, Flowey, would appear and give hints to the player in order to
achieve the good ending.
Screenshots 10.1 - 10.4: Flowey’s Lines in the Neutral Route gameplay taken by the Author
Despite the amount of Execution Points gathered, however, the player would not be able to reach
the maximum Level of Violence since they only managed to slay and show mercy to some enemies until
the end. Nonetheless, players would have an easier time to slay more challenging enemies since the
protagonist’s statistic (attack, defense, etc.) creates a positive feedback loop which can result in doing
more damage. In addition, the protagonist would be considered as an enemy to some of the boss
characters, and a friend to others - regardless if they spared the said character or not.

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It may be worthwhile comparing and contrasting the features of the Neutral Route and its
feedback loops with those of the Pacifist and Genocide Route.
Unlike the other routes, the Neutral Route does not have a required total number of monsters to
kill or spare to achieve the ending. In fact, players in this route would be left to trust their instincts or
judgements when deciding which enemies to befriend, run from, or slay. Despite it leading to different
variations of dialogues at the end of the gameplay, this route does not demand as much from the players
as those in the Pacifist and Genocide Routes. This is due to the role that is expected from the Neutral
Player when they begin their interactions.
For instance, in the Pacifist Route, the player is expected to spare every monster since he is the
hero of the Undertale narrative. This would mean that the player would be restricting their actions to
those that would help him get through every challenge to survive such as gathering healing items,
spending time with the characters, etc. In the Genocide Route, the player is the villain of the narrative
where he kills every monster. In this situation, the key to survival is to be strong enough to defeat more
difficult enemies along the way by leveling up, retrieving better weapons, etc.
The interactions in the Neutral Route do not demand that kind of role from the player. He is
neither the hero nor the villain. Without this kind of expected agency, the process of being immersed in
the game’s narrative is difficult to achieve. Furthermore, the player’s skills in facing monsters will not be
executed to its full potential. Regardless of how difficult the battles are, not maximizing the ways to
maintain one role hinders the development of both positive and negative feedback loops. Instead, the
player only experienced the different versions of the same ending. For these reasons, this thesis will not
be focusing on the Neutral Route.
Though it gives players the opportunity to choose whoever they want to spare or kill in the
Undertale game world, it is not as intense as the path being offered, and the requirements imposed, in the
Pacifist and the Genocide Route.

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CHAPTER III.
The Flow of the Pacifist Route
Also known as the “good ending”, the Pacifist Route can be achieved when the player spares all
monsters by using ACT and MERCY during battle to spare enemies. Choosing the ACT option would
allow brief conversations until the enemy is pacified and is willing to spare the protagonist. For each turn,
the player has to dodge the enemy’s attacks to have enough Health Points to choose MERCY afterwards.
However, pacifying an enemy is not as easy as it seems. For one, the player would be encountering
several different monsters in battle. For the encounters with each monster, the player can choose any
action from a number of choices under the ACT option. This is why it is recommended to use the
“Check” option to get hints on how to pacify the enemy. The player will know that the enemy is pacified
if its name has turned yellow, and so does the “Spare” option under MERCY to place emphasis.
Picture 1: from Hall (2021) at the Eurogamer website.

For multiple times, the player must apply this action to different enemies and find out what can be
best done. This is the way to “convince” different monsters that the character wants to end the battle
peacefully. This will allow the player to see the ending of the game where monsterkind and humankind
would go back to the surface together to live in peace and harmony.

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Screenshots 11.1 and 11.2: Scenes from the Judgment Hall with Sans during a Pacifist Run (left); and the
final scene of the Pacifist Route (right)
The downside of choosing this ending is that the player will neither be gaining EXP nor will be
leveling up. This means that the character will have to rely on dodging and using specific items to survive
each battle. This becomes challenging in battle encounters with stronger monsters who have more
difficult patterns to dodge. Instead of slaying the monsters, choosing this route would mean that the
protagonist should befriend all enemies. Choosing the FIGHT option to defeat even one monster,
however, would prevent this from happening and will result to either the Neutral or Genocide Route. The
following subsection will now analyze this route using Seraphine’s Ludic Framework, alongside insights
by Sicart and Nguyen.
The Ludic Framework, Sicart, and Nguyen Applied to the Pacifist Route
A. Interpretation Layer
From the overall design of the game itself, players of Role-Playing Games may be
familiar with the appearance of Undertale. For one, there is the common instruction of the player
having control of movement to their character through arrow keys, and the ways for them to
interact with the gameworld using the “Z” and “X” buttons. Moreover, the retro-game design
(similar to Mario or Pacman) gives a non-threatening aura that invites the players to put their
guard down when it comes to the actual gameplay itself. In a way, it even might be comforting to

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some players to see Undertale’s minimalist visual design. This also applies to the four main battle
sequences, namely FIGHT, ACT, ITEMS, and MERCY.
Such visuals bring some players - who are familiar with the RPG genre - to something
they can easily appropriate to or identify with. As Sicart may have put it, the fight scenes can
actually be seen as RPG players’ (familiar) “playground” since the elements being placed around
this setting are common to other games; and also suggests a unique way of interacting with
monsters without necessarily killing them.
When it comes to the Pacifist Route in particular, the design of battle fights can be seen
as one of the simplest - yet trickiest - obstacles to overcome and get used to especially to those
who are used to playing RPGs often. In any encounter, the player is given the four options stated
above - but can only achieve the “good ending” by only choosing the ACT and MERCY options
to end the battle peacefully. Furthermore, players would be spending most of their time in
“getting-to-know” their enemies through the actions allowed under the ACT category (i.e.
laughing at Snowdrake’s jokes in battle). The method of survival in battles was twisted in such a
way that its challenge is connected to a Pacifist’s goals and interests that the player has
appropriated themselves into.
Not making use of all options provided in the battle is what made this playground open to
creativity and proper identification of one’s goals as a player. This can be connected to what
Sicart mentioned about the activity of play overruling the design of the playground (in this case,
the common design of RPG battle encounters) where the participants can freely appropriate
themselves to any action they choose to identify themselves with (56). This is crucial in building
that first layer of motivation for the player that results in a positive feedback loop since it
combines their interests and goals in playing Undertale as a pacifist. The experience may not be
similar to what is expected in an RPG, but still imposes a certain level of difficulty making it a
challenging route to some Pacifist players nonetheless. Players would still go through this kind of
difficulty if it means achieving their initial goal which is to achieve a good ending.

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Once the system has detected the player’s intention through either choosing any action
that excludes FIGHT, the dynamics of that encounter affects the rest of the playthrough and turns
into something that poses a challenge, creating a negative feedback. Stronger opponents will
appear as the player progresses and the options under ACT become more complex - especially
against the boss monsters. At times, the player has to do multiple trials and errors before he can
spare the enemy. This is where the game element ITEM option becomes important to the
gameplay - especially in the middle of a battle.
The items are used either outside or during a battle sequence to defeat an opponent with
ease. Given that Pacifist players do not inflict damage to their enemies, they are only concerned
with acquiring the items that increases the Defense level (to have lesser damage inflicted by the
enemy), the Speed level (to have a quicker pace in dodging attacks), and Health Points (to avoid
losing/dying in battle). These are called consumables.
Such items are the ones placed on this table below:
Item Description Cost and/or Location
Bandage Adds 10 Health Points Free and is already equipped

(HP)
Monster Candy Adds 10 HP Free, can be taken at a bowl in the Ruins
Spider Donut Adds 12 HP 7 G at the Spider Bake Sale
Spider Cider Adds 24 HP 18 G at the Spider Bake Sale
Butterscotch Pie Fully restores HP Free, given by the character Toriel
Snowman Piece Adds 45 HP Free, given by a Snowman in the Snowdin Forest
Nice Cream Adds 15 HP 15 G from a Cart in the Snowdin Forest
Bisicle Adds 11 HP 15 G from the Snowdin Shopkeeper
Unisicle Adds 11 HP Free, appears after you eat one Bisicle
Cinnamon Bunny Adds 22 HP 35 G from the Snowdin Shopkeeper
Astronaut Food Adds 21 HP Free, found in a Cooler at the Garbage Dump
Crab Apple Adds 18 HP 25 G from the character named Gerson

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Sea Tea Adds 10 HP and Increases 18 G from the character named Gerson
Speed during a battle
Abandoned Quiche Adds 34 HP Free, found after completing the Bridge Seeds Puzzle in
Waterfall
Temmie Flakes Adds 2 HP 3 G from the Tem Shop
Instant Noodles Adds 4 HP Free, found at the refrigerator in the Lab of a character
named Alphys
Hot Dog…? Adds 20 HP 30 G at the Hot Dog Stand
Hot Cat Adds 21 HP 30 G at the Hot Dog Stand
Junk Food Adds 17 HP 25 G from characters Bratty and Catty
Hush Puppy Adds 65 HP Free, provided after giving a Hot Dog under the fourth
door of the MTT Resort
Starfait Adds 14 HP 60 G at the MTT-Brand Burger Emporium
Glamburger Adds 27 HP 120 G at the MTT-Brand Burger Emporium
Legendary Hero Adds 40 HP 300 G at the MTT-Brand Burger Emporium
Steak in the Shape of Adds 60 HP 500 G at the MTT-Brand Burger Emporium

Mettaton’s Face
Potato Chisps Adds 13 HP 25 G at the Vending Machine in the True Lab
Last Dream Adds 12 HP Free during the fight against the character Asriel
Dreemurr
Faded Ribbon Adds 3 Defense (DEF) Free, found in the One Switch Puzzle at the Ruins
Manly Bandanna Adds 7 DEF 50 G, from the Snowdin Shopkeeper
Old Tutu Adds 10 DEF Free, found behind the waterfall in Waterfall
Cloudy Glasses Adds 6 DEF 35 G from the character named Gerson
Temmie Armor Adds 20 DEF 9999 G from the Tem Shop

(available after buying the 1000 G Scholarship)
Stained Apron Adds 11 DEF Free, at the Isolated Area in Hotland
Cowboy Hat Adds 12 DEF 350 G from the characters Bratty and Catty
Heart Locket Adds 15 DEF Free, found in Asgore’s Home

Table 1: Consumables in Undertale

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These items that the player can either acquire on random spots or buy at shops are
important to a character that cannot level up. A Pacifist Character may not be physically stronger,
but should be able to withstand the strongest of opponents as long as they have the means to
increase their chances of surviving each battle encounter. In one case, the Butterscotch Pie -
acquired in the Ruins area - can be used to make one of the enemies named Asgore weak in battle
and easier to defeat. This feature creates a positive feedback loop which aids the player into
getting past this enemy with a higher Health Point count than the rest of the main monsters. This
can be connected to what Sicart referred to as the control within a digital playground where the
environment is bound by the rules to protect the one participating (which in this case is the virtual
character) (53). Having this much access to a variety of items results in another positive feedback
once the Pacifist players are occupied in moving towards their goal. Fox’s design to leave this list
of items around the game does not only ensure the survival of the character; it also encourages the
player to make strategies and roam around each area and make the most out of being a pacifist.
The player is encouraged to face stronger monsters in the long run to earn more Money
(or G) and afford more expensive items with better benefits. A negative feedback loop is created
when the available items would ensure achieving the player’s intended route - despite not gaining
EXP or LV. This is crucial in providing the “safety” of the character and making sure that the
player is not left unaided. According to an article written by Nick Yee, one of the main
motivations of both male and female gamers is “Completion” (or finishing the missions) (2016).
By constantly failing or dying in battles, the players would most likely feel frustrated towards
their experience since they see that they are either making a mistake; or the game itself has
something to do with the negative feedback loop between the user and the system.
The following paragraphs will now discuss the importance of the dialogues of 9 of the
Main Monsters of Undertale. Before discussing the final part of this subsection, I will broadly
introduce the 9 Main Characters of Undertale, who they are, and what occupation or significance

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they have in the world of monsters. The introduction will be done in the order in which they make
themselves known to the character (and player).
List of the Main Characters of Undertale
FLOWEY TORIEL SANS

PAPYRUS
The first character to be The caretaker of the The brother of Papyrus
The brother of Sans. His
introduced to the player who Ruins and former and is unexpectedly one
main aim is to capture a
later on is actually the main queen of the of the strongest
human and finally take his
villain of the game who Underground. She characters of the game -
place as part of the Royal
wants complete control of saves the character which players are often
Guard.
the monster world. from Flowey misled by his laidback
and quirky personality.
ALPHYS METTATON ASGORE

UNDYNE The royal scientist who One of the creations of He is the main ruler of the
The captain of the Royal helped the protagonist Alphys who is a robot underground. After the
Guard whose aim is to at the Hotland area. with a monster soul. He disappearance of his only
capture a human to free all She created Mettaton is the main entertainer son and adopted human
monsterkind from the who is a robot with a (TV Star) of the child, he swore to free
underground; and finally monster soul. underground and aims monsterkind from the
live on the surface. to also show his talent underground through
to those at the surface. acquiring seven human
souls.
ASRIEL
This is the final (and real) form of Flowey who was the son of Toriel and Asgore.
Table 2: The Main Characters of Undertale in the Pacifist Route
These 9 Main Monsters are subject to having small exchanges with the player. The
dialogues and responses of these characters are friendly given the player’s actions. This happens

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after being spared by the character. This demonstrates what Seraphine calls the interwovenness of
ludics and dynamics (2017) - the play style determines the “behavior” of the rest of the game
including those within it. The following paragraphs will go through each of the monsters’
reactions towards the player continuously choosing the options ACT and MERCY.
1. After Flowey is introduced, he will try to attack. After some time, he will taunt
the player by telling them that befriending monsterkind is a waste of the
character’s potential. In the end, he is one of the main monsters that the player
must spare. In the end, Flowey leaves after being shown mercy.
2. When Toriel accepts that the player does not want to fight or flee from battle, she
only tries to convince the character to stay with her. This is an attempt to save the
life of the character since she does not want them killed. Toriel is left in the Ruins
and was never seen again until the final battles and scenes of the Pacifist Route.
3. Sans befriends the protagonist because his brother, Papyrus, wants to capture the
human. Later on, it was revealed that Sans promised Toriel to protect the human.
Throughout the game he maintains his fun and charismatic figure. In this route,
he was not of any threat at all.
4. In the battle, Papyrus would be tired out after several attack attempts and allow
the character to spare him. This would open up a new side story showing the
friendship between Papyrus and the human. This character would become
another guide for the character to know new areas, and also to introduce Undyne.
5. Undyne has a very straightforward goal. As part of her duty, she aims to capture
humans to save monsterkind. After several attempts of chasing and capturing the
human, she collapses and is saved by the human. Similar to Papyrus, this opens a
narrative showing the friendship between Undyne and the human.

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Screenshot 12: Scene after the chase with the character, Undyne
6. Alphys guides the human through puzzles and bonds through small conversations
between the phone calls. This character will not be an opponent - but would give
hints about their ruler Asgore and his plan to free monsterkind.
7. Mettaton’s wants to see the surface to entertain a much bigger audience of both
humans and monsters. This was revealed during the fight when he started
opening up about his goal as a TV Star. This later on changed after being spared
and chose to stay in the underground as an entertainer for monsters.
8. Asgore’s encounter would require the FIGHT option before sparing him. The
strategy needed is to lower his defense and attack level first by consuming the
Butterscotch Pie item which reminds him of Toriel. Another is talking to him
using ACT. In the Pacifist Route, Asgore would invite the human to live with
him in the castle - similar to how Toriel convinces the character to stay.
9. After sparing Asriel, he will break the barrier between the underground and the
surface for monsters to escape the underground. In the end, Asriel stays in the
underground where he will protect monsters and humans from his Flowey form.

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Screenshots 13.1 - 13.4: Asriel’s final scenes after breaking the barrier between the
underground and the surface
What is important here is how the monsters respond to the action that most of them did
not expect from someone who they actually are trying to capture or kill. The exchanges between
these characters and the pacifist player is crucial in understanding the contexts behind the motive
of each monster, and getting to know the entirety of Undertale’s “good ending” narrative.
According to one of Sicart’s description of “props”, the ones that can help move the plot
forward are also considered as such (56) - which in this case would be the dialogue sequences of
the main monsters. These dialogues slowly build up the good ending that leads to creating bonds
themselves and those main monsters through dialogue. Without such props that enable this
positive feedback loop leading to the intended outcome, the activity of play would become
repetitive rather than engaging and fun - something static rather than contemplative. This is
crucial in building that first step to the aesthetic layer where the player reaches certain emotional

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states in response to friendly dialogue - and the narrative itself. The players are also being part of
a story that only needed their active engagement to let it come to play. Supposedly, players who
chose this route have an interest towards the story that is yet to be unraveled through the
discourse between the character and the enemies.
When a player chooses the Pacifist route to use throughout the playthrough, the game sets the
appropriate challenge, and also the reasonable ways to overcome them. If a player does not become
stronger physically, he must have access to the items and other elements to make it through the end of the
playthrough or else risk the negative feedback of having a difficult gameplay with this route. The
motivation intended for a Pacifist player would already be evoked within the design of the game itself. In
the end, everything would depend on the kind of strategy that the player will use to survive being the
good character of the story. Undertale’s system adjusts to that to the Pacifist Route’s appropriate thrill and
enjoyment; while setting its proper parameters in being a challenge for the player.
B. Aesthetic Layer
Once introduced to the system of Undertale, we can ask: what does the game offer that
motivates the player to pursue this path up to the end? What game mechanics provide that
experience? This subsection would discuss how the claims made from the Interpretative Layer
can lead players to a certain aesthetic state - which is related to Nguyen’s study on the possibility
of “Striving play”.
To start off, one of the main tasks of game designers according to Nguyen is to “work to
encourage and support the aesthetics of agency” (121) in their games. Simply put, “agency” is the
role that players have chosen to take throughout the gameplay. That role has its own in-game
goals, interests, and purpose of playing that is reflected through the actions being done by the
player in the video game. For Nguyen, the designer is responsible for placing game elements in

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order to gradually build up the motivation needed for players to have an immersive experience
whilst completing the game. In other words, the designer is ultimately responsible for creating the
positive feedback loops incorporated in the Interpretation layer. Nguyen connected this with
another concept called “prescriptions” which are the common rules to let players know how and
be guided to fully experience the game which users can freely experiment with as long as it is
within the bounds of the virtual world. Hence, Nguyen maintains that agency in games is
something “framed” - or surrounded by the norms that regulate the player’s experience (123-125).
When it comes to the interactions in battle, the prescription or rule is that all Pacifist
players are expected to choose the ACT option to know how to properly pacify an enemy before
showing/selecting MERCY. By predetermining their route as pacifists, players would then
restrict themselves into this rule in every monster encounter. Having this rule to follow from the
beginning of their playthrough helps the players stabilize the experience for the Pacifist Route.
The game designer (Toby Fox) intended that when players follow this rule, that is. When
they choose the ACT option in every battle encounter, they will understand the logic behind the
Pacifist Route. It will be apparent, through a positive feedback loop, that the monsters of the
underground world do not actually attack out of spite. Rather, they do so in the hope of getting
out of the prison made for them by humankind. This may even be connected to what Sicart said
about the activity of play being a contemplative experience (Sicart 2014, 57) rather than
something stoic.
For instance, the fact that every monster has their own list of different interactions (e.g.
laughing at Snowdrake’s jokes) shows how the Pacifist Route can be seen as testing the player’s
ability to understand another being’s needs and how to attend to it for a successful pacification.
Apart from dodging attacks, the main skill being practiced by the Pacifist player is to create an
immersive experience in this virtual world. Being a pacifist of Undertale requires befriending
enemies which often includes the risk of getting hurt in the process. Then comes sparing
monsters, which is included in the rules in pursuing the Pacifist Route. If the players wish to see

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the good ending, then they have to learn how to get past each monster by “acting”, and not by
defeating them in battle.
This also applies to the game designer’s placement of different items around the area.
The convention bound to this game element would be to either explore each area more to find out
any hidden items; or to deliberately face more monsters (and risk the character’s life). The
positive feedback loop would result from the way that the environment was designed to meet the
needs of a Pacifist player, and makes use of his ability to befriend monsters.
This is a factor that Nguyen would also consider as a harmony between a player’s overall
capabilities and the demands of a practical environment (108-109) - where the character’s
statistics should be such that he would be able to survive in the environment created by Fox. Even
from the design itself, Fox may have utilized these items and shops to be incorporated to the
game. By not gaining EXP or LV, one of the logical ways to further heighten the chance of
surviving each pacification is to have enough items that improves the abilities that Pacifist
characters need (i.e. Defense, Speed, and Health Points). This support that the game provides for
the character’s survival creates a positive feedback loops wherein it contributes to the confidence
in finishing the route despite not being able to gain levels.
The Pacifist player’s temporary agency, however, becomes more explicit when it comes
to the dialogues with the Main Monsters. Nguyen separates the definitions of “goal” and
“purpose” of each player in any game. Goals are what a player should care about in a game (12);
and the Purpose of playing should be the reason for playing in the first place (i.e. to relieve
stress) (6). The goal of each Pacifist player of Undertale would be to not kill anyone to see the
“good ending”; and the purpose is to discover and form the bonds, that is to create a relationship
between the character and the monsters they encounter.
For Nguyen, Aesthetic Striving Players would only take a temporary interest in achieving
their goals rather than make them a priority. They keep their goal in mind in order to make

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themselves go through and be guided in every obstacle being laid out for them by the game which
is where the actual aesthetics lie (33-43). After all, for an Aesthetic Striving Player:
“... winning doesn’t matter if the experience was dull, uninteresting, or aesthetically insipid”
(Nguyen 2020, 72)
The dialogues in the interpretation layer are something that is crucial for the
development of the overall narrative of Undertale. But in the aesthetic layer, it is a subtle way of
“getting-to-know” the other characters which includes their personalities, aspirations, and overall
quirkiness that contributes to the experience of being a pacifist. For instance, after sparing
Papyrus, the player will realize that he only wanted to capture humans to be popular and have
friends of his own. Immediately, the pacifist character will be given a choice to be friends with
this character and go out on a date or to reject this invitation and just move on to the next area. Of
course, for a player whose agency has already been constructed, the player would most likely
choose to be friends with this character.
Pacifist players should be able to have this similar temporary interest towards the purpose
of being a true "friend" towards the enemies - and to actually seek opportunities that lead to the
good ending that players want to pursue.
Screenshot 14: “Dating Start!” scene with Papyrus after sparing him in Battle

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This kind of interaction is sustained until the end. Striving is seen in the amount of time and effort
all pacifist players put in as they interact with all the main monsters of the game. The quality of the
player’s actions is based on how meaningful their actions are in relation to the story being constructed.
The positive feedback loop being created is when the player becomes more encouraged to pursue this
route once they have seen the fun side of the different characters of Undertale. Such a factor adds to the
overall enjoyment of the players when they become immersed in their role as a pacifist. It completes the
experience of being the hero and friend of the characters in this narrative seen both inside and outside of
the battle sequences.
This supposed “Anti-RPG” aspect is one of the main beauties of this game where the dissonance
(or Negative Aesthetics in games) (112) between the goal and purpose of a Pacifist Player would clash
with those of the genre of Undertale itself (a role-playing game). Being engaged in the difficult act of
facing enemies whose statistics are beyond the main character’s is what created negative feedback loops.
However, it is through these kinds of interactions between the player and the game elements that the user
is kept motivated to achieve the ending. Despite taking up unusual, anti-RPG, quests of befriending
enemies instead of defeating them can aesthetic striving players truly get to immerse themselves in what
Nguyen refers to as the “various thrills of the game, the absorption, the intensity, the drama, and the like”
(72).
The effect this framed agency of a Pacifist has in the narrative and the virtual world helps the
players to focus on pursuing this route to see what their activity can do to the game (Nguyen 2020, 131).
The latter point was pointed out by Nguyen as something that Aesthetic Striving players can appreciate
from a game designer’s work because the users participated going through the in-game struggles to reach
their desired ending (Ibid, 146-147). The motivation would not entirely be towards achieving the goal, but
is more on anticipating more experiences that unravel as they continue to perform that play style.

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CHAPTER IV.
The Flow of the Genocide Route
Also known as the “bad ending” of the game, the Genocide Route can be achieved by killing all
the monsters - including the main characters. The protagonist will not befriend any of the monsters and
will select the FIGHT option to inflict damage on the enemy. The main objective is to defeat monsters
through this method to turn them into dust that shows the enemy’s defeat.
Screenshot 15: Toriel turning into dust after defeating her
There are two ways of defeating the monsters. One would be to continuously choose FIGHT to
gradually inflict damage and eventually defeat an enemy. The second would be to choose ACT to first let
the monster’s guard down until they allow the player to spare them, then choose FIGHT for an easy one
hit kill. The second method of killing can only be done to some monsters who chose not to fight anymore,
and therefore would make it easier for a Genocide player to go for an instant hit.

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Screenshots 16.1 and 16.2: First method of defeating enemies: Encounter with Froggit
Screenshots 17.1 - 17.4: Second method of defeating enemies: Encounter with Papyrus
Eventually, the player would notice that some NPCs would be missing after killing monsters. This
is one of the realistic touches that Fox designed in Undertale. Other residents of the underground react
after having seen a killer. This effect continues throughout the playthrough which makes it easier for
Genocide players to steal from unguarded shops and stands.

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To achieve the Genocide ending, the player must spend time to defeat every single monster in an
area to reach a kill count. The entire virtual world of Undertale has five different areas and has its own
kill quota.
In the first area called the Ruins, there are a total of 20 Monsters to kill before facing Toriel as the
final boss. The second area is called Snowdin which has a total of 16 Monsters to kill before facing
Papyrus as the final boss. The third area is called Waterfall which has a total of 18 Monsters to kill
before facing Undyne as the final boss. The fourth area(s) called Hotland and Core has a total of 40
Monsters to kill before facing Mettaton as the final boss. Finally, the fifth area called New Home will
only require defeating Sans. In total, there are 94 encounters needed to be reached, and 6 of the Main
Monsters that the player has to face before moving on to another area.
The player can keep track using the SAVE points per area which indicates the number of
monsters left in the area before moving on to the next. The player would know that they have reached the
total number of kills in an area during every encounter when they see the text “But nobody came.” at the
dialogue box instead of another monster appearing . The SAVE points will only show the text
“Determination.” when the player has completed the kill count.
Pictures 2.1 - 2.3: taken from “Genocide Route” at Undertale Wiki (left); the scene after reaching the
total kill count/quota of one area (center); and “Determination” text after reaching kill quota
Achieving this ending would mean that the player would need to go around each area multiple
times to receive enough Execution Points (EXP), to improve the protagonist’s statistics, and reach the
maximum Level of Violence (LVL) of 20.

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This route leads the player to meet the final, 10th character, Chara, who will exit the game after a
monologue and a quick jumpscare. When the player opens the Undertale game file again, the screen is
black for a few minutes before Chara lets the player open the game again. At this point, the player will
not be able to achieve a true good or neutral ending since the game will recognize the protagonist - unless
the player can delete the SAVE file in their actual device.
Screenshots 18.1 - 18.4: Chara’s final monologue and jumpscare

The Ludic Framework, Sicart, and Nguyen Applied to the Genocide Route
A. Interpretation Layer
The general description of the game applies this route as well, specifically the use of
retro-game design, the controls, and the options for the battle sequences. The marked difference is
that the Genocide Route requires the players to choose the FIGHT option exclusively until they
have slain the monsters that they encounter. This would allow the player to follow their initial
goal in playing which is to achieve the bad ending of Undertale.

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Similar to the Pacifist Route, the game will recognize this pattern of actions - especially
through the amount of EXP and LVL that has increased overtime. Regardless of what method of
killing was used (whether it’s purely using FIGHT or involved letting the enemy’s guard down
using ACT) the “behavior” of the game will change when an enemy has died from the player’s
actions during the battle sequences. Once the player has already killed an enemy, the entire
playthrough is affected. Despite the negative feedback which considers the moral and ethical side
of killing enemies, the Genocide route is, in reality, the normal way of combat under the genre
Role-Playing Game. Following the rules of how to make a typical RPG, leveling up is crucial in
the entire journey of the character where defeating enemies to gain enough experience points can
allow easier encounters with stronger enemies (Schuller 2017, 419).
In this case, the Genocide player would most likely be someone who understands the
logic behind the stucture of Undertale as a Role-Playing Game. Instead of a negative feedback
loop, this produces a positive feedback loop for a player who chose the Genocide Route (and
killing monsters) deliberately. The more EXP and LV gained, the more capable they can be to kill
stronger monsters. Connecting this to an insight taken from Sicart, this mindset is something that
some Genocide players may identify themselves with - and offers a much different experience
(52). Such interaction with the monsters in the battle scenes forms the first layer of motivation for
players where the encounters with stronger enemies become easier to deal with.
Once the player continues its killing routine in one area, the game music slows down and
the pitch is lower. This implies that the player is moving towards the “bad ending” of the game
given the eerie mood set after killing enemies. These signs help the player keep track of whether
or not he is moving away or closer towards his original goal to see the bad ending. Since it was
his intention to do so, the player would stay motivated after seeing his progress as a Genocide
character through such signs - which can only be triggered once the player has not changed his
chosen interactions in the battle sequences.

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Genocide Players would also be looking for items and are more interested to pick up the
weapons that would increase their attack level. These were the very items that Pacifist Players
usually ignore or dispose of. Apart from improving the attack points, each weapon can also be
used in a variety of ways that can make defeating monsters an easier task than it normally would.
It helps the player to achieve his goal in the Genocide Route faster - since the act of looking for
enemies already takes up most of their time by travelling areas.
Such items are the ones placed on this table below:
Item Effect and Description Cost and/or Location
Stick Adds 0 Attack (ATK) Free and is already equipped

Can be used for a Single Hit
Toy Knife Adds 3 ATK Free, can be taken at a Balcony in the Ruins
Tough Glove Adds 5 ATK One is Free in the Dimensional Box

Can be used for a Single Hit, Another can be stolen from the Snowdin
then Smash Shopkeeper
Ballet Shoes Adds 7 ATK Free, found in the Tall Grass at Waterfall
Can be used for Three Hits
Torn Notebook Adds 2 ATK 55 G, bought from Gerson

Can be used for Two Hits
Burnt Pan Adds 10 ATK Free, given by a Snowman in the Snowdin

Can be used for Four Hits Forest
Empty Gun Adds 12 ATK Stolen, from the Shop of the characters Bratty
Can be used for Four Fast and Catty
Hits
Real Knife Adds 99 ATK Free, found in Asgore’s Home

Table 3: Weapons in Undertale
Despite the given access that all Undertale users have for items, Genocide players are not
required to buy in most shops. The character is allowed to steal items - which follows the
villanous role the player assumes throughout the Genocide Route. Similarly to the Pacifist route,
weapons keep Genocide players motivated since it increases their chances of defeating stronger
monsters with ease. In addition, it aids them in completing the total number of monsters to be

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killed in an area by making the character’s attack stronger after each new equipped weapon. A
positive feedback would be created in acquiring the items that improve their Attack level,
achieving the kill quota per area would be done easier and quicker.
When it comes to the 10 Main Monsters of the game, their role becomes different in the
Genocide Route as seen through their dialogues. They have their own ways of reacting to the
human protagonist, and attempts to stop the character from proceeding further into the
underground. Interestingly, more important dialogues mostly came within the battle sequences
more than outside of it. This makes sense since a Genocide character would rather fight to the
death rather than to talk it out in a civil manner.
1. Before Toriel is about to be defeated by one more attack, there are two dialogues
that come before she turns to dust. Using the first method of killing (using
FIGHT until her Health Points reach to 0), she will say the following dialogue:
Screenshots 19.1 - 19.4: Toriel’s death using the first method of killing
When the player uses the second method of killing her (using FIGHT at the very
last moment), she will say a different dialogue which essentially gives the similar
message. The new dialogue after the second method of killing can be seen in the next
page.

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Screenshots 20.1 - 20.3: Toriel’s death using the second method of killing
2. Papyrus’ encounter with the human protagonist at first was very similar to how
he was in the Pacifist Route where he would challenge the human to different
puzzles and notice how the character is acting “weird”. He does this before he
immediately spares the human character without even engaging in battle. During
his dialogue when the player uses the FIGHT option to end his life in one strike,
his final words were of hope that this human will eventually change its ways.
Screenshots 21.1 - 21.4: Papyrus’ death using the first method of killing
3. The character Undyne would also show her own moments of frustration towards
the Genocide character after all the damage already been done. She first

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mentioned that Papyrus never missed a meeting for the Royal Guard - which
implies that she knows that the geocide character killed him already. Before
starting her battle, she showed her final form in the Genocide Route as Undyne
the Undying.
Screenshot 22: Undyne’s Original Form Screenshot 23: Undyne the Undying
Before disappearing into dust, her last dialogues were her expressing her final sentiments
for all monsterkind’s hope for a better life.
Screenshots 24.1-24.5: Undyne’s death
4. Before beginning the battle, Mettaton first established that the character has
already proven itself to be “not just a threat to monsters… but humanity, as well”.
Similar to Undyne, the Genocide Route unlocks his final form: Mettaton NEO.
His final dialogue ended in a sarcastic tone, “Guess you don’t wanna join my fan

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club…?” which is most likely his way of ending his “show” while still putting up
his reputation as an entertainer.
Screenshot 25: Mettaton EX (original final form) Screenshot 26: Mettaton NEO (Genocide Final Form)
5. The human protagonist will be having the final battle against one of the strongest
enemies in the Genocide Route: Sans. At first, Sans would not be as friendly as
he was at the Pacifist Route. There was a moment where he threatened the human
character if Papyrus is killed. Sans will only appear in the Judgment Hall where
he and the character will begin their battle sequence.
Throughout his dialogues, he gradually reveals himself as one of the
“self-aware” characters of the game (the other being Flowey). He mentioned the
concept of “resets” and how he knows that the player will eventually defeat him.
Due to how lengthy San’s dialogues are, the relevant lines will be listed down:
➔ It's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing, flowers are blooming... on
days like these, kids like you… should be burning in hell.
➔ What? You think I'm just gonna stand there and take it?
➔ That’s your fault isn’t it? You can’t understand how this feels. Knowing
that one day, without any warning… it’s all going to be reset.
➔ And getting to the surface doesn’t really appeal anymore either. We’ll just
end up right back here, without any memory of it right?
➔ Always thought the anomaly was doing this ‘cause they were unhappy,
and when they got what they wanted, they would stop all this… but that's

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ridiculous, right? Yeah, you're the type of person who won't EVER be
happy.
➔ I know I can’t beat you. One of your turns, you’re just going to kill me.
➔ (Before he turns into dust, he ends in this line calling out to his dead
brother) I’m going to Grillby’s. Papyrus, do you want anything?
6. The human will meet with Asgore who makes a very short appearance, first
saying “You must be the one that flower just warned me about… what kind of
monster are you?”. Asgore will try to stop the character from proceeding any
further by inviting them for a cup of tea. In this route, the player will not be
engaging in a fight because Flowey automatically attacks him.
7. Flowey would actually call the human by the name Chara; who was a friend of
Asriel (Flowey’s true form). Chara, however, was known as a bad person in the
story. This is why Flowey thought they were Chara after seeing Toriel’s death.
When the player reaches the New Home area, Flowey will tell his
backstory about how he resurrected as a flower after he died as Asriel. Flowey’s
original intent was to finish the plan to destroy mankind, but was eventually
scared of the genocide character. This would explain his latter dialogues that are
filled with facial expression and his body shaking which shows his fear towards
the protagonist.

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Screenshots 27.1 - 27.9: Flowey’s Lines in New Home Area
After killing Asgore, Flowey would beg for mercy while still showing
expressions of fear based on his facial and body expressions. At the latter part, he
changed his face into Asriel while still asking the human to spare him. In the end,
the same animation of hitting an enemy will be done multiple times until Flowey
is completely gone from the screen.
Screenshots 28.1 - 28.7: Flowey’s Final Lines before his death scene

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8. Chara will appear at the final part of the Genocide Route. They will introduce
themselves as the name that the player gave the character (which was “Cetlen” in
this gameplay ). In the end, Chara will give two options: the (a) ERASE option
would mean to destroy the world of Undertale to destroy and conquer more; or to
reject this invitation by choosing the (b) DO NOT option. Both options would
lead to the same result of Chara making their jumpscare scene and the game will
exit on its own.
Screenshot 29: Chara’s Choices for the player
Looking at the narrative formed by the dialogues and responses above, the Genocide
Route held its reputation of being the “bad ending” of the game. This route that requires players
to kill enemies fits this darker narrative. From knowing this side of the characters, these dialogues
that serves as “props” moves this eerie plot and the entire experience of the game into something
that only Genocide Players (and Spectators) can only have access to.
The Genocide Route does not include any side quests for the player unlike in the Pacifist
Route. The genocide player’s main goal is to seek and destroy every monster he encounters which
- similar to the pacifist side quests - also takes several hours of time and effort. Monsters do not
appear in an instant when the player walks around in an area. Apart from this, defeating all of the
main monsters - some with their new forms and strength - would also test the player’s patience to
constantly repeat this until he reaches his goal of the bad ending.

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Despite it being relatively repetitive when it comes to the main interaction of FIGHT -and
gaining EXP and LVL - the dialogues from the different characters introduced an interesting diversity of
responses - from the pity shown by Toriel, the hopeful attitudes of Papyrus and Undyne, to the
aggressiveness of Sans. This opens an entirely new narrative, and also evokes a variety of emotional
states for the player. This game element creates a particular positive feedback loop by taking on the role
of being the villain of the story by using the dialogues as “props” (Sicart 2017, 56) - and suits the interests
of the player by pursuing the bad ending.
Connecting this to an insight from Sicart (57), the player who already predetermined this route, it
would most likely create a positive feedback loop since it suits their interests of achieving the bad ending.
Moreover, the challenges being offered (i.e. going through the entire area to reach the kill quota, looking
for better equipment, etc.) are suitable for a character with higher statistics and better chances of facing
stronger monsters and choosing the options that would lead them into the “bad ending”. This is how these
elements made this route as much of a contemplative experience as the Pacifist Route since it gives this
perspective of how such common RPG mechanics of becoming stronger by slaying monsters can have a
variety of effects towards the rest of the virtual world that the player interacts with. When a player
chooses this route, the game sets more difficult challenges than those in the Pacifist Route that would suit
the user’s higher statistics. This will keep the player entertained and challenged to see that all of his
efforts to become stronger will not - in fact - go to waste.
B. Aesthetic Layer
Some may argue that the Genocide route will not have a “winning” system since it is
known for its bad outcome; alongside the negative emotions that it brings to the characters of the
game and to the player himself. One of the goals that I aim for this thesis is to shed light on the
experience being offered in the Genocide Route that is just as immersive, contemplative, and
enjoyable as it is to the Pacifist Route (in relation, of course, to players who have already chosen

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this as their route). I argue that achieving the “bad ending” is what winning means to Genocide
Players.
Those who predetermined this route would most likely have an interest in pursuing this
end as the entire goal of their playthrough - regardless if it has a negative effect towards the
characters and the virtual world of Undertale itself. Players who chose to play Genocide would
have different goals and purposes (still, following the definitions given by Nguyen) than that of a
pacifist.
The genocide player’s statistics gradually increases throughout the playthrough.
Therefore, the ideal interaction with the enemies - and environment of the route in general -
should be suited for a character that is supposedly a merciless killer. On the game designer’s part,
they contribute highly to positive feedback loops by taking full control of the agency expected
from genocide players; and also to design a practical environment that such players would want to
interact with. Toby Fox’s design of Undertale does this by allowing the player access to items to
further increase their chances of defeating stronger monsters around the area. In addition, this also
remains part of the experience of being the villain of the story given that the player can freely
steal items in shops. Not only does it encourage the further exploration of the virtual world of
Undertale, it also allows the player to see the changes around the environment once they have
continued their chosen route (i.e. the lower pitch in the music and the NPCs suddenly
disappearing from their usual spot in the game).
When it comes to the battle encounters, the Genocide Route follows what Nguyen calls
the “prescription” or the rules expected of any role-playing game (Nguyen 2020, 121) - that is, to
kill enemies and become stronger. With this route that requires gaining more experience points
and leveling up, Fox may have used this in designing the Genocide Route to something that the
genocide player’s agency would be more suited for - involving having the proper capacity to face
stronger enemies and also being a merciless killer in the Undertale narrative.

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According to Nguyen, such a consideration by the game designer would definitely bring
fine-tuned effects of the playing experience by having this control over the supposed agency of
the genocide character and the practical environment suited for the user’s capabilities (Nguyen
2020, 158). Having this design is satisfying for a striving player given that their full capacity after
achieving the highest possible LV can be fully expressed into the virtual world (Nguyen 2020,
110).
In addition, Fox’s role as a designer encourages and supports the kind of agency expected
in this route. Genocide players would be eager to face stronger enemies once they have the right
equipment and capability to overcome such obstacles. This kind of “support” given to the
genocide player - despite the struggles that follow along this path - gives provides a positive
feedback that their play style would lead them to the end that they set as their goal.
This shows how the game elements of experience points and leveling up was used to
stabilize the experience of playing Undertale after choosing this route. In addition, the players are
given several opportunities to see how strong the character can actually become through killing
monsters and leveling up. Otherwise, it will result to a negative feedback loop when the gameplay
would not be as enjoyable if the player cannot fully express their full potential as genocide
characters. This becomes motivating especially towards the more difficult monsters to defeat who
are reserved for the latter battles of the Genocide Route.
Instead of looking for more monsters to earn more money, they aim to become stronger
by hunting multiple times to achieve the total kill count, and gain enough EXP and LV. In relation
to this, part of their goals would also be to look for the appropriate items suitable for their journey
in becoming stronger. Apart from the items that help increase a player’s health and defense, the
more important items will be the ones that improve their Attack Level - which are the ones in the
table from the Interpretation Level.
It is reasonable to maximize the ways to become stronger to its highest possible level
before encountering difficult enemies in the end. It later on becomes something more meaningful

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when it comes to the interactions related to the purpose of a Genocide Player. Letting players
have access to weapons which can improve their pursuit of their predetermined route allows them
to see how it can make their experience easier. As they progress, more complex weapons are
introduced and are - in some ways - exciting to use for a Genocide character whose goal is
actually being supported by the items as part of the game elements.
Similar to Pacifists, the Genocide Players would also use their goals only as a guide
towards their purpose of playing Undertale which is to interact with the characters through
dialogues. This unlocks a different narrative showing the consequences of what “becoming
stronger” would look like from the perspective of the victims. By following the prescribed
interactions of a Role-Playing Game, genocide players will experience what it means to be a
merciless killer in this virtual world. Having this interest while pursuing this route would build
motivation for players to see this narrative to the end to build the entirety of the Genocide Route
story arc. Apart from adding more challenges, this game element completes the experience of
being a villain of the story. The dialogues had to do more with the willingness to select the more
violent responses towards each encounter with the characters. These serve as part of the
requirements to “win” at the Genocide Route, and completes the experience overall of an evil
character in this particular narrative.
To clarify, having an experience of a merciless character does not mean that the player himself is
an evildoer. The interest towards the goal and purpose of the Genocide Route is merely temporary as it
should be for every striving player - or as Nguyen pointed out as the player’s temporary agency (Nguyen
2020, 47). In other words, Genocide Players have to manipulate a temporary interest to being the villain
in the lives of the monsters. They set their own disposable ends to kill off as many monsters to be judged
in the end as someone incapable of showing mercy.
Having this temporary agency is possible once the player internalizes being a villain by having
interests towards the goal and purpose of this route. Choosing this route would entail that the player has

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seen a temporary value in pursuing it. This interest heightens the experience and would - therefore - help
the player immerse himself further into the game. As Nguyen points out,
“I am willing to take up whatever pre-lusory goals the game rules tells me to, because I have an
abiding interest in striving experiences.”
(Nguyen 2020, 51)
Despite it being the “bad ending”, this does not mean that the play would not still remain
enjoyable or thrilling to the players who have chosen this route to begin with. In fact, it adds to the
immersive experience of being a villain; and the positive feedback loops as seen through the analysis.
Nguyen refers to all striving play as having disinterested interests where the player is only eager to
participate to satisfy this purpose of actively engaging in the game through the challenges that it opposes
(117-118). The striving experience that an acting genocide player would want an outcome that is more
suitable for their chosen route - and they will be willing to go through all of the difficulties being offered
to them (or the “struggle” of it all) in order to satisfy that “abiding interest”. The motivation stems from
the kind of changes that the game goes through once it has detected the player’s inputs. As a result,
Undertale adjusts to capabilities as a genocide character, and the environment suits the narrative that they
chose to participate in where they play as the villain of the story.

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CHAPTER V.
Justification from a Phenomenological Perspective
The article written by Steve Conway and Bradley Elphinstone is an attempt to apply Deci and
Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to game design. They claim that games are more than “the pixel
and click” to players; but are also a way for users to be immersed into a meaningful experience. This is
not due to the requirements and restrictions that the video game imposes on the player; but comes from
the player himself wanting that experience. Their study supports the idea of making the overall experience
of players to become meaningful, engaging, and pleasurable (Conway and Elphinstone 2017).
In this chapter of the study, this article and the two researchers’ discoveries will serve as the main
criteria to justify the claims made in the previous chapter about the player experience. In addition, it is to
determine if Undertale players are kept within their predetermined route until the end of the gameplay
due to the pleasurable experiences explained through the lenses of Hiedeggerian phenomenology, and
aided with insights from SDT.
Zuhanden (Ready-To-Hand) Mode and Temporary Agency as Methods of Intensifying Autonomy
and Competence of Undertale Players
Nguyen mentioned the player’s goal should be to communicate an inner truth, or something that
they wholeheartedly believe would provide a reason to make their pursuit more meaningful, engaging,
and overall enjoyable at the end of going through the game’s prepared challenges and trials. This can be
achieved if the player sets a temporary agency that guides him to work with the skills, abilities, and items
available for the rest of the gameplay. Nguyen believes that this heightens and enriches the actions to
complete the goal that the player chose for himself (Nguyen 2020, 78).
In Conway’s and Elphinstone’s article, they mentioned that anything that satisfies or enables the

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sense of the basic psychological needs of man (including autonomy and competence) is intrinsically
motivating - and transforms into something that he would want to do. In games, this is enabled through
experiencing the gameworld in what Heidegger refers to as ready-to-hand mode (zuhanden). Zuhanden is
where the game elements can only be understood through gameplay rather than relying on the controller
or gaming console alone (2017).
These tools to help them along the way are given more meaning if the player would already have
a route in mind before playing the game. An Undertale user with a temporary agency limits his choices of
which items to acquire that builds the experience he wants in his gameplay. This is where the
psychological needs of autonomy and competence would come into play. Taking on a temporary agency
(and interest towards acting as a certain role in the narrative of Undertale) would let players be focused
on how to survive in their chosen route. It brings the proper context through which the goals and purpose
of play for the user can be considered autonomous - and the “self” they chose to inhabit (Conway and
Elphinstone 2017). This affects the player's autonomy by continuously acting as the good or bad character
of the story through the interactions done with their battle encounters; as well as to rely on their own
strategies into fulfilling the requirements of the ending they chose. On the other hand, the game would
also be testing their skills and patience to overcome and push through any obstacle that their chosen route
may bring - since it is something that can bring meaning into the experience that players initially chose
for themselves.
In most Role-Playing Games, the items surrounding the area to be picked up, bought, or
interacted with are common for gameplay. Undertale, as an RPG, enables players to have these items as
their own methods of survival - both inside and outside of the battle encounters. Regardless of their
chosen route - any Undertale user is assured that the game was designed to have forms of assistance along
the way that guarantees their survival and pursuit of the goal they have in mind.
Similarly, the design of the battle sequences have options provided for the player that are not too
difficult to comprehend - especially for someone who has already played RPGs. The four options of
FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, and MERCY - that is continuously being displayed for players to see - stabilizes

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the combat experience and is modified once the user decides which route to pursue. These interactions
and items heighten the ready-to-hand involvement with the game world where the items do have meaning
and purpose towards the gameplay. In addition, this assists players to their sense of embodiment in this
virtual world, and continue to become motivated in their gameplay as they face challenges along the way.
The Role of the Characters and how they affect the level of Relatedness in Undertale
According to Conway and Elphinstone, developing connections with the game characters can
“encourage the development of autonomy and competence” (2017). Even towards corporeal entities, it is
still possible to create something believable or “real” with the player - though would still depend on how
engaged the player truly is. This is something that I argue Undertale did exceptionally well - both in the
Pacifist and Genocide Route.
For some players, it may be heartbreaking to kill off the monsters especially after listening to
their stories of how they want to see the surface again and live their lives in peace. Other players may find
it heartwarming to build connections with the characters and to just have fun with their time together in
the middle of pursuing the player’s original goal. All the while keeping in mind the goal of playing, the
purpose of the player is given this opportunity to expand its relatedness even more towards the characters
of the game - and this was achieved through the dialogues inside and outside of the battle sequences.
These dialogues are crucial not only to build that relatedness with characters, but it also allows
players to know more about the gameworld of Undertale. The backstory of each character, their struggles
in life, and the things that they find worth protecting. It adds to the player’s opportunity to understand the
reasons behind why his enemies want to capture a human who fell in the monster’s world in the first place
- they have their own sets of goals as well following the Undertale narrative. Even in the Genocide Route,
the player may not help but feel sometimes relieved to have slain every single monster if it meant an
easier time to beat stronger enemies in the long-run. Even if they would, however, suffer the

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consequences that follow right after, the story that was offered to them through the dialogues was worth it
given that it also came with an entire process of connecting the dots of one story after another.
The psychological need of relatedness is not necessarily something that achieves a “good” and
friendly relationship with a corporeal being since the player - in the end - wants to follow through the
goals that they set for themselves, and the things that they have to accomplish if they want to see the route
that they predetermined until the end. After knowing such backstories, players would be more motivated
to pursue the quest that they have set for themselves - in relation to the ending that they already chose.
After going through the internalization process of temporary agency, setting interests, and knowing the
“self” that the player has chosen to present themselves within the game, they can have are able to know
the kind of relations they aim to have with the NPCs and other characters of the game to satisfy their
temporary interests.
The Immersive Experience Offered in Undertale
There are several choice-based Role-Playing Games such as Undertale that also revolve around
its play on moral and ethical decisions. The Grand Theft Auto (2014) series, Papers Please (2017), The
Wolf Among Us (2013), and Life is Strange (2015) are examples of games that also demonstrate how the
player’s choices determine the good or bad ending for the protagonist while grappling with challenges to
ensure their character’s survival. Published works and studies regarding RPGs have described its features
in several ways. Amongst these studies, the characteristics of RPGs can be summarized as (1) players
assuming the role of their characters and monitoring their actions to achieve their goals – hence,
“role-playing” (Zagal & Deterding 2018; Murray 2021), (2) the combat system and interactions, in
general, would vary depending on the kind of RPG (i.e. computer, tabletop, etc.) being used (Zagal &
Deterding 2018; Adams 2014); and (3) the obstacles which are meant to challenge the players to
overcome to unlock achievements and improve their attributes in the gameplay (Björk & Zagal 2018;

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Bowman 2010). One characteristic that remains in all RPGs is the interactions made by players and
Non-Playable Characters (NPCs) in order to progress to the rest of the story.
Although the aforementioned games exhibited similar features, Undertale takes these
characteristics a step further. Firstly, users are allowed to think about their next move in the battle scenes
for as long as they want unlike the time limit imposed in GTA, The Wolf Among Us, and Papers Please.
Secondly, the interactions are continued via dialogue even during the battle scenes which range from
casual conversations to intimidating the player even further on choosing their next move wisely. Thirdly,
the overall game aesthetic is made in the classic retro game design (mentioned in the Background of the
Study as similar to those of Pacman, Pokemon, and Mario) allows players to pay more attention to the
dialogues, the sudden shifts in the atmosphere, and the variations of the storyline being offered. The
overall atmosphere being set in this gamespace (Conway and Elphinstone 2017) is something that is
inviting to the player’s sense of involvement and significance to the overall narrative of Undertale.
One of the rules of Undertale which includes this process of actually interacting with enemies
through their dialogues - alongside the changes seen in the game itself - informs the player as to whether
or not the ending (and formation of character) that is being pursued is towards the Pacifist or the
Genocide Route. It helps the players who already predetermined their respective routes to keep track if
they are still within that path and not missing out on any steps or requirements.
The combinations of choices, as well as the possible outcomes per action, made the entire gaming
experience designed to have the players invest themselves in exploring and testing. Such insights were
taken from the works of Sicart’s work on seeing the world of play as an extension and a representation of
our real lives. This leads me to introducing the one of the most important aspects of the game is the
RESETS - one of the things that Undertale is known for which Seraphine also recognized as one of the
parts that made it “break the circle” of the gameworld (Seraphine 2018). When a player is constantly
being defeated in the game and decides to go back all the way either from the last Save Point, or all the

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way to the beginning, the “boss” characters that the player has interacted with can vaguely recognize their
past actions such as the ones indicated below:
Pictures 3.1 - 3.4: taken from a Tumblr post by username nochocolate (2018).
This part of the game that does not let any past actions go entirely forgotten contributes to the
overall immersion of the player into having this believable experience based on their connections with the
character, as well as their own contemplative moments as players. Conway and Elphinstone refer to this

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as how the player focuses on being “there” in the game world, rather than being “here” in the real world -
one of the most crucial steps on how players can internalize themselves as part of the game rather than
separating themselves from it. The concept of being-there-in-the-world, I believe, is strongly suggested in
this particular aspect of the game since it does not only expose players to different paths within their
predetermined route, but it also widens the meaning of their playthrough, and the role of their existence as
part of the overall story arc.
These aspects of the game heighten its “Anti-RPG” theme which is the overall charm that
Undertale offers to players. Players are made aware of what their actions would do to the overall
progression of their chosen route which they use to gradually construct the overall “personality” of the
protagonist similar to how the human person is made aware of their actions and their consequences to
others and themselves. It affects how they strive to see the good or bad endings of the game while also
making sure that they reach the goal to leave the realm of monsters.

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CHAPTER VI.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Choosing the route or ending to engage in throughout a game is one thing, and to own up to one’s
choice because they want to is another. Some may say that the main factor would be on the part of the
player’s own values and outlook in life - but there is also much to be said about the construction of the
game itself. Toby Fox was able to design Undertale into an environment suitable for a specific type of
gameplay that suited the ending that was chosen by the player. Not only did it contribute to the overall
survival of their character - enabling them to reach their initial goal upon playing the game - but the
consideration of how each element was placed and designed heightens the entire experience and
immersion of the player from the beginning until the end. The questions raised earlier will be answered
directly, starting with the Main Question:
What game element of Undertale, as part of the design, aid to motivate the player to continue
pursuing his predetermined route during gameplay?
As mentioned throughout this thesis, the three game elements that aided to motivate the player in
his pursuit of the chosen route would be the interactions allowed during battles, the items they can
acquire or buy, and the dialogues with the main characters. The interactions were able to let the player
follow a certain pattern which the game system can recognize - and support their experience further into
their intended goal. The items assist the character’s survival in the gameplay, while also making the most
out of the pacifist character’s ability to attend to the enemy’s needs; and the genocide character’s ability to
inflict better damage. Finally, the dialogues are the game element that help build up the entire story arc of
each route. As the player progresses, he is exposed to different characters whose backstories are crucial in
immersing the player into the lives of the monsters themselves.

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All of these elements contributed to the positive and negative feedback loops necessary for the
player’s experience. They were given another purpose through the game design and mechanics which
helped in supporting the player’s pursuit of their chosen ending; as well as building up the momentum
upon game completion.
The following paragraphs will now attempt to answer these subquestions:
a. How do the battle scenes assist/challenge the player’s process of owning up to his decided route
until the end?
i. The Pacifist route encourages a more peaceful way of interacting in battles through the
use of ACT and MERCY; while the Genocide route lets the player become stronger
through defeating enemies by choosing the FIGHT option. Apart from the game
recognizing the pattern being done, this also makes the player practice on his own and
find out how to get past each enemy’s attacks. By encountering more monsters to either
earn more money or level up, the player can become close to an expert in battles. In the
Pacifist route, he can memorize the ways on how to pacify different monsters. In the
Genocide Route, he can know how to properly dodge every difficult pattern of attack that
stronger enemies can use. The player who can anticipate each move of the enemy can
also create a positive feedback loop as they progress through the game.
b. What do the Main Monsters do to provide feedback loops the player’s process of owning up to his
pre-decided route until the end?
i. Apart from the dialogues contributing to the narrative, the responses from the main
characters also contain some of the most genuine interactions with the player. In the
Pacifist player, the main monsters offer side quests for the human protagonist as an
attempt to get to know them better as friends - rather than just mere NPCs of a game. This
is where the player will be exposed to the friendlier side of the main monsters. A
Genocide player would recieve more violent responses from the monsters to protect their

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kind and stop this villain who have entered their world. This is where the player is
exposed to the aggressive side of the main monsters.
Both of these sides are crucial since it contributes to owning up to the role that was
originally taken by the player: either as the hero or the villain of the story. Not only does
it let them keep track of their progress, but these responses also assist in attending to the
original interest that the player had when he already chose his predetermined route.
c. What would keep the player in the route that they originally chose to pursue up to the end of the
game?
i. Part of the motivation being evoked in the player already comes from the aspect of the
human person himself - especially when he becomes immersed in the game. After
interacting with the different elements, the supposed outcome would be that the
psychological needs of a person’s autonomy, competence, and relatedness is increased.
The game elements would be given a different purpose, and an overall meaning, for the
player that adds to his experience of expressing his chosen agency as a pacifist or a
genocide character. Overtime, it develops an intrinsic motivation within the player to
continue their pursuit towards their chosen ending.
Through the lenses of ludology, this thesis was able to unravel more about the reasoning behind
the design of the fight encounters, the items that were around the virtual world of Undertale, and also the
significance of the dialogues from the Main Characters. It is through Sicart’s metaphor of playgrounds
and props as game elements, these were appreciated as enablers of the motivation needed for the player’s
full (and active) engagement in the route that they have taken interest to - rather than just mere, common
elements that are required of any RPG genre. Through Nguyen, on the other hand, these were seen as part

Leonillo | 76
of the main contributors of how the player can truly own up (and stay interested in) to the temporary
agency that they have chosen to inhabit.
These claims needed a phenomenological justification - from Conway and Elphinstone’s short
article and study - to show that something as simple yet hard to understand as “motivation” and
“immersion” can also be done in a video game setting. Considering how the human person can transform
their interests and goals - and yet would get to develop a genuine interest and positive feedback loops
from their stable experience in gameplay - is something that supports the possibility of having genuine
enjoyment through the challenges, relationships, and opportunities to get fully immersed in the activity of
play even in a virtual world setting. Such experiences stem from the game designer’s consideration of
fulfilling the needs of a gamer, as well as the psychological needs of a human being.
There was indeed much to be said about these chosen elements of Undertale that may both
subconsciously and consciously contribute to the overall experience of players as they begin their chosen
route. Despite such elements being one of the “common” factors of what made a Role-Playing Game as
such, it was given the right context as soon as the player has chosen which role they wish to act as
throughout their playthrough. Though there were other elements to consider, this study has chosen these
three game elements to further show the amount of consideration that Fox may have done to make sure
that the entire experience of each player is satisfied based on their own temporary interest in playing a
certain role in the narrative.
For future studies that would like to take this similar course of discussion a step further, I would
highly recommend conducting surveys to Undertale players to have immediate feedback to work with.
This can be done should the circumstances allow it that possible take on the topic to be a feasible project -
as well as widening the scope of the research from qualitative to quantitative. Apart from this, it would be
best if future researchers would assign such a task to go through the game to players who have not played
Undertale to get the most genuine responses possible. It will allow the researchers to also consider having
the Neutral Route as part of their scope if ever they encounter some players to see it as a challenge.

Leonillo | 77
Despite the developer’s very conservative (and at times, secretive) moments when interviewed
about the concept of his game, this thesis attempted to show the amount of thought that Toby Fox actually
put in the entirety of Undertale. Through the lenses of understanding the game from both a ludological
and phenomenological aspect, this video game can bring individuals to feel and experience senses of
struggle and pleasure of being a pacifist or a genocide character which they continue to pursue because of
the innate desire evoked by the concepts in the overall design of the game. Through the analysis of chosen
elements of the game, readers can see how important it is to actually consider both the good and bad
endings of Undertale as something worth studying and to value as one of the things that contribute to its
overall aesthetic, and beauty, as a video game.

Leonillo | 78
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Leonillo | 82
APPENDIX
I. Explanation taken (and shortened) from Seraphine’s “The Ludic Framework” Article, 2017
Three Types of 1. Actum

Signs a. The interaction-sign comes from a direct input from the player.
(e.g. moving the joystick of the controller to move character)
2. Factum
a. Interaction controlled by the game state itself - and not by the player.
(e.g. NPC waving at your character)
3. Tactum
a. Interaction that involves two or more (playable or non-playable) game objects. (e.g.
grabbing, pushing, hitting)
Peircean 1. Firstness
Trichotomies a. The layer of the code and is the trichotomy of the object:
i. Qualisigns - Concepts or ideas
ii. Sinsigns - existent signs
iii. Legisigns - rules/conventions
2. Secondness
a. The layer of the game, or the “meat of what the experience is made of”. It is the
trichotomy of the signs:
i. Icons - shares characteristics with the object
ii. Indices - denoting an object by virtue of of an existing relation
iii. Symbols - represents object by an involvement of a law/convention
3. Thirdness
a. The layer of play where ludic experiences are open to interpretation. It is the
trichotomy of the interpretation:
i. Rhemes - decontextualized possible interpretations of a sign
ii. Dicisigns - assert something as true or false
iii. Arguments - meanings from abduction, induction, or deduction
Ludics in the 1. Signs and Firstness

Peircean a. Actum - Qualisign
Trichotomies i. Possibility of the jump controlled by the player.
(combined signs 1. Actum since it’s within the player's control.
and trichotomies) 2. Qualisign since it’s the monadic idea of a player’s jump.
b. Factum - Sinsign
Action given: i. Jump of an NPC with direction, height, and parameters.
Jump in a Video 1. Factum since it’s being controlled by the game.
Game 2. Sinsign since it provides the nature of the jump - or the concepts to
make it an existent object.
c. Tactum - Legisign
i. Touching poison will cancel out jumping action.
1. Tactum since it involves interaction between the poison and the
character.
2. Legisign since it is bound by the rule when someone touches the
poison.
2. Signs and Secondness
a. Actum - Icon
i. Player triggers jump animation.
1. Actum since the trigger is within the player's control.
2. Icon since the animation shares characteristics with an existing

Leonillo | 83
object (jump).
b. Tactum - Index
i. Monster jumped causing dust to appear.
1. Tactum because the monster and ground interacted.
2. Index because the dust animation implies that a monster landed a
jump - even if we don’t see it.
c. Factum - Symbol
i. NPC making a special jump to show allegiance to a certain group.
1. Factum since it was done by an NPC.
2. Symbol because the special jump bounds to the law/convention of a
certain group.
3. Signs and Thirdness
a. Factum - Rheme
i. The complete jump mechanics of an NPC and possible interpretations
attached to it.
1. Factum since it was done by an NPC.
2. Rheme since we are looking at the different intents and meanings
that the mechanics can convey.
(e.g. jumping forward to the player could mean differently compared
to jumping away)
b. Tactum - Dicisign
i. Cracking noise and hurting animation after doing a failed jump.
1. Tactum since the landing object interacted with the ground.
2. Dicisign since the sound and special animation show that the player
was hurt during this failed landing.
c. Actum - Argument
i. Limping animation triggered after the player’s failed jump.
1. Actum since it was done by the player.
2. Argument since from observing the limp animation, the player can
deduct that his leg is broken which lets him know another rule or
convention. Through abduction, the player can guess the meaning
behind this sign.
II. The Ludic Framework (a screenshot from the article made by Frederic Seraphine in 2016)

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INTENTIONALLY-DESIGNED “DETERMINATION”: A LUDOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE

ROLE-PLAYING GAME UNDERTALE’S DESIGN AND A PHENOMENOLOGICAL

Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo

Presented to the Faculty of the Humanities Program

University of Asia and the Pacific

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo

Sophia Martha B. Marco, Ph.D. History

Joachim Emilio Antonio, Ph.D. Creative Writing

Veronica Isla, Ph. D. Communication

Dean Edward Mejos Philosophy

Therese Marie Santos Humanities

Ma. Asuncion Magsino, Ph.D. Philosophy

Declaration of Authenticity by Thesis Writer

Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo

Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo

July 22, 2022

A. Conditions—With this Authorization, the following conditions apply:

(a) Object linking and embedding function

and ensure that copyright restrictions are on view to the public.

July 22, 2022.

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

playground metaphor, aesthetics, agency, motivation, struggle

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY 3

CHAPTER II. THE FLOW OF THE NEUTRAL ROUTE: A STARTING POINT 30

CHAPTER III. THE FLOW OF THE PACIFIST ROUTE 33

CHAPTER IV. THE FLOW OF THE GENOCIDE ROUTE 48

CHAPTER V. JUSTIFICATION FROM A PHENOMENOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 66

CHAPTER VI. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 73

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

Introduction of the Study

Screenshot 1: The Fallen Human (main character of Undertale)

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

doing in order to reach his goal (Zubek 2020).

spells; or a knight character can use his sword).

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

rewards also include money after winning a battle.

on how the “SOUL” fares in battle.

Image 1: Combat between Knight Knight and Madjick

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

Screenshot 2: How to inflict damage to enemies

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

and health level.

which are Spare and Flee.

Screenshot 5: Options under the MERCY option

the character turns yellow.

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

Acronym Common meaning in RPGs The meaning given at Undertale

EXP Experience points Execution Points

LV Level LOVE: Level of Violence

of the route that they eventually ended up with.

with the Pacifist Route

will end up with the Genocide Route

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

Review of Related Literature

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

other fellow players (Frasca 2001, 167 – 174).

© Mary Caitlin T. Leonillo 2022. All rights reserved.

capacities (Hayden 2017).

studies that focus on the decision-making processes done in video games.

The Decision-Making Processes through the Player’s eyes