Category:MacGuffins

A MacGuffin is an object or idea which adds no depth to a story but is nonetheless responsible for moving the narrative along from one point to another. Often, a MacGuffin is a valuable object which a character must acquire, protect, or transport. (For example, Metroplex's transformation cog.) Although a MacGuffin is a type of plot device, not all plot devices are MacGuffins.

The nature of the MacGuffin itself doesn't matter—it could be anything. The MacGuffin's only important attribute is its importance to the characters. It is the reason they take action, and it is the characters' actions—not their motivations—that are usually of most interest to the story's audience.

In Transformers fandom, a MacGuffin is sometimes referred to as an "Evil Invention / Alien Device", or "EI/AD". This term was coined by Kendrick Kerwin Chua to refer to the "machine of the week" style stories that were often told on the G1 cartoon.