games that "break the 4th wall"

**dingdongyo** · 03-25-2011, 11:51 PM

i think i'm using that term right. what i mean by that is:

a) games that acknowledge you, the player on your couch or whatever, as separate from the characters you control but still part of the game,

or

b) games that connect you, the player, to the game in unique ways (as in, more than just by the controllers/peripherals that every other game uses the same way).

i'm fascinated by that concept, and i really dig games that experiment with it. but it's hard to envision without giving examples, so here's a few that show what i mean:

startropics (nes): if you bought the game brand new, it came with a physical copy of a letter from dr. jones to mike (the character you control). in the later stages of gameplay, mike gets a message from dr. jones instructing him to "dip my letter in water." the correct course of action was for you to put the controller down and actually go dunk the physical letter in water, which then revealed a code used to advance in the game.

earthbound (snes): i vaguely remember this game coming with a scratch n' sniff enemy list in the manual, so you could also smell who you were fighting (at least the "pile of puke" boss had this feature). nothing spectacular, but still unique and i thought it was cool. also, the last battle had a finish that acknowleged you as separate from the in-game world, but still integral to victory. it gave an unexpected sense of satisfaction to the ending, for me anyway.

eternal darkness (gc): i've always wanted to play this game, because i've heard it has a unique way of displaying insanity. as your character in game begins to lose it, the game starts doing wacky things, such as simulate bugs crawling across the tv screen, simulate the tv power cutting out, and making your on-screen health meters go wonky and make no sense. the game breaks it's own rules in a deliberate attempt to confuse the player and make them wonder what is actually happening, essentially simulating insanity.

does anybody have any other examples? am i the only one who likes this stupid shit?

03-25-2011, 11:51 PM	#1
dingdongyo I have standards. Posts: 445	games that "break the 4th wall" i think i'm using that term right. what i mean by that is: a) games that acknowledge you, the player on your couch or whatever, as separate from the characters you control but still part of the game, or b) games that connect you, the player, to the game in unique ways (as in, more than just by the controllers/peripherals that every other game uses the same way). i'm fascinated by that concept, and i really dig games that experiment with it. but it's hard to envision without giving examples, so here's a few that show what i mean: startropics (nes): if you bought the game brand new, it came with a physical copy of a letter from dr. jones to mike (the character you control). in the later stages of gameplay, mike gets a message from dr. jones instructing him to "dip my letter in water." the correct course of action was for you to put the controller down and actually go dunk the physical letter in water, which then revealed a code used to advance in the game. earthbound (snes): i vaguely remember this game coming with a scratch n' sniff enemy list in the manual, so you could also smell who you were fighting (at least the "pile of puke" boss had this feature). nothing spectacular, but still unique and i thought it was cool. also, the last battle had a finish that acknowleged you as separate from the in-game world, but still integral to victory. it gave an unexpected sense of satisfaction to the ending, for me anyway. eternal darkness (gc): i've always wanted to play this game, because i've heard it has a unique way of displaying insanity. as your character in game begins to lose it, the game starts doing wacky things, such as simulate bugs crawling across the tv screen, simulate the tv power cutting out, and making your on-screen health meters go wonky and make no sense. the game breaks it's own rules in a deliberate attempt to confuse the player and make them wonder what is actually happening, essentially simulating insanity. does anybody have any other examples? am i the only one who likes this stupid shit?