When Videogames Know They're Videogames

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?

Comments

This author is a bit too late

[Anonymous Coward]

"and some games which feature it"

Metagames exist in every game. This term has been coined long before this author thought it up, but really he's just talking about particular games' self awareness (to which the term Metagame does not apply).

A Metagame is the game that goes on in the players mind, when *they* step past the suspension of disbelief to tackle the actual game mechanics, and not the fantasy scenarios involved.
A good example of this would be a First Person Shooter. The "game" is where you, as John Doe Mercenary must blow your way past the Evil Terrorist Organization, using all available weaponry to eliminate your foes and survive.
The "Metagame" in this example is really how quickly and acurrately you can move the mouse and click while using the arrow keys to avoid incoming hits. That is the *true* challenge of the game; hence: "metagame".

I think this author should read up a bit on common game design theories and philosophy before tackling another subject like this. All he's really doing is trying to coin a term that has been in common use in the game design field for several years.

Re:Disagree.

[GearType2]

umm... in EarthBound they make many mentions to the player, the controller (you know the top yellow button, *whoops I said that! I meant to think it* AH I'm saying what I'm thinking and thinking what I'm saying! *oops!*) and in mgs they made multiple mentions, one of the main parts of the game relies on you to find your cd case so you can find meryl's radio frequency.

Well there's LucasArts

[arunarunarun]

In The Curse of Monkey Island Guybrush Threepwood is buried alive and the credits start scrolling, when suddenly Guybrush starts yelling about how you can't die in these LucasArts games.

Does that count?

Re:.hack

[Kalak]

You seem to have the twisting level of the storylines of .hack mixed up. Considering their intertwining, it's easy to do. You're confusing .hack//SIGN with the .hack games (saying one of the .hack games is also misleading, as they are all continuations of the same game, just serialized).

In .hack//SIGN, one character, Tsukasa, is stuck in the MMORPG world, "The World". In the game(s), you play the character, Kite, who is *not stuck* in "The World", but his friend, Orca, who introduced him to the game, is in a coma in real life (IRL) as a result of the game, and really if also from an event that occurred in "The World". This is to say nothing of .hack//LIMINALITY, which is all based IRL, trying to discover why players go into comas when playing in "The WORLD". Also there is .hack//legend of the twilight (aka .hack//udeden or .hack//dusk) where the story is about two twins who are in different parts of a divorced family IRL, and meet up in "The World" under equally confusing circumstances.

It is the best combination of storyline, multiple media (anime and gaming - there are magna I don't have), and so many other concepts such as game levels, philosophy (what is reality anyway?), identity on the net vs. IRL, escapism, creating a better life for yourself IRL via online, etc. I've ever experienced. (Plus the music is excellent, so the OSTs are definitey worth listening to). I have 2 more games to play, but I've taken a break at the request of my family so they know I'm still alive myself. My .sig has said it for a couple of months now, and I'm about to dive back into the games.

The best site I've found to sort this all out (and it took me a while myself) is .hack//info center. A well dubbed version of the anime is on the Cartoon Network at the not great hour of mignight on Sunday.

It is the best gaming experience I've had, and I've given (some might say lost) about 1/4 of my waking hours to video games, and the best video experience I've watched. It is also a great example of going way beyone the barriers of traditional game "walls", as you are forced to think on more that just the level of one player, one controller, one identity. The concept of playing a simulated MMORPG alone breaks that barrier well. You interact with other characters that have not only in-game personas, but converse with you about their IRL issues and talk to you as if you were conversing with them IRL. You play Kite, who is an 8th grader IRL, and has his own interests, and friends (he knows Orca IRL). The twins in .hack//udeden who want to be together IRL, meeting in "The World". I can type and analyze this for hours. Give in to it, as it will change the way you look at games, especially online games. Not to mention, it's a damn good RPG game by itself.

Secret of Evermore

[Landaras]

I googled to try to find the exact text of this, but was unsuccessful. Thankfully, the joke was funny enough that I remember it pretty well.

In Squaresoft's 1995 game The Secret of Evermore (which was produced entirely by Americans, coincidently), there was a section of the game that took place in a huge, open-air marketplace set in pseudo-Roman times.

Within this marketplace, there was a character tossing out the ambient "The End Is Near!" warnings and the like. Eventually, though, if you get into a conversation with him, the exchange goes something like this (emphasis mine at the end)....

The End Is Near Guy: The End Is Near!
You: Uh huh.
TEIN Guy: We have no control over our destiny!
You: Whatever.
TEIN Guy: In fact, we are being controlled by outside forces!
You: Suuuure.
TEIN Guy: It's true! We but answer to the directions of our huge, button-pushing overlords!
You: Riiiiight.
TEIN Guy: If I am lying, may the gods strike me down where I stand!

At this point, a dialog box pops up, with the options "Goat, Chicken, Basket" of which you get to select one.

After selecting, two lightning bolts flash down from the sky onto TEIN Guy, and whatever you selected is left standing in his place.

- Neil