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When Videogames Know They're Videogames

Posted by simoniker on from the all-very-clever dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In 'I Never Metagame I Didn't Like', AllRPG.com goes into a discussion of metagaming - what it is and some games which feature it. The piece explains: 'Metagames show awareness of their nature as games. These games ignore all pretense of being a representation of a reality--rather, they know that they're polygons on a screen', and goes on to reference titles such as Earthbound and Metal Gear Solid as examples." Are there other examples of titles which address the player in this awfully postmodern way?

6 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Disagree. by Bagels · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I'd have to disgree at least partly with the two examples given. Though at times they might break the third wall (say, with Psycho Mantis in MGS) or simply not take themselves seriously (all of Earthbound) for the vast majority of the game the player character seems unaware - or at least unaffected by - the fact that they are in games.

    Little moments of that sort of third-wall breaking can be good to relieve the monotony, however. I particularly like the little voice that harangues you whenever you pause in Viewtiful Joe ("OK, is it number one, or number two?")

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  2. Author is on crack! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    His description is not a metagame. A metagame is when the player engages the gameplay mechanics directly, taking a step back from the suspension of disbelief to play on a different level outside the boundaries of the games world, NOT when a game breaks the "fourth wall" and becomes self-aware.

  3. Re:Metagaming? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I guess WarioWare Inc fits in perfectly then.

  4. .hack by FrenZon · · Score: 2, Insightful

    In one of the new the .Hack games, based on a relatively popular anime, you play a player who is playing an MMORPG that he's stuck in. The game is therefore a single player simulation of an MMORPG, complete with the game AI playing as players, and also as NPCs. The gameplay is also based on currenty-day MMORPG gameplay - the focus being entirely on levelling and getting new stuff.

    Sounds JUST ABSOLUTELY THRILLING to me.

  5. It's pretty common... by Haeleth · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Remember Monkey Island? Hermann Toothrot frequently turns to the screen and comments on things, and when asked who he's talking to he replies, "the people watching, of course." Then there's the famous "rubber tree" scene poking fun at Sierra adventures. And I'm pretty sure the "that's the second largest monkey head I've ever seen" bit is a reference to the player, too.

    The fake "game over" is a pretty common gag in adventure games, actually... I can think of several other (more obscure) titles that feature it.

  6. Most (in)famous example of breaking the 3rd wall by cgenman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Meta-game" terminology aside, the most horrific example of breaking the 3rd wall happened in the original X-Men game for the Genesis. Apparently, the team thought it would be cute to force the player to stop a self-destructing computer from counting down by resetting it / resetting the Genesis. Of course, nobody could figure out that what the designers wanted the players to do was to walk over to their machines and push the reset button, so many people just though the game wasn't finished.

    I personally think it was done as a collaboration with Sega to sell more controllers. There's only so many times you can throw one of those into a television before one or the other breaks.

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