abstract | - A Stock Phrase used on characters frivolous -- or apparently frivolous -- in the face of a Matter of Life and Death. "This isn't a game." or "We are not playing a game." (Or sometimes "We are not playing.") Sometimes even when it is a game, but the stakes are too high to treat it as one, such as the second type of Serious Business; alternatively, the character may point out about the game "This is serious," generally with an enumeration of the consequences. (With the first type of Serious Business, use of this is a characterization trope: the character is really that out of touch with reality.) Often supplemented with concrete observations, such as that people will really die or suffer terrible injuries if they fail. Sergeant Rock (who knows War Is Hell) will often use it on New Meat that think War Is Glorious. Usually used on people who are supposed to be on the same side as The Hero, and who are cooperating, but not just seriously enough. Cavalier Competitor is a natural target for it. The Obstructive Bureaucrat, for instance, usually gets told just that this is a Matter of Life and Death. When this is news to the character, see And You Thought It Was a Game instead. Sister Trope to This Is Reality, but with no invocation of the Fourth Wall (unless, of course, it's being said within a Video Game). You Watch Too Much X is a milder Sister Trope. Compare with And You Thought It Was a Game. Examples of Not a Game include:
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