IF that Breaks the Fourth Wall?

I suspect that it’s not so much that people in general are opposed to it in film, but rather that those who are opposed to it are very vocal about being so. These days, postmodern expectations allow winking at basically all rules as mere conventions that only stodgy people insist on. There are still those who believe that the “traditional Aristotelian” unities of time, place, and action are completely necessary for a drama to reach its utmost possible development, and they tend to be vocal about it, but they’re a rather small minority.

Beyond that, I think it depends on exactly where you draw the line between in-game commentary by the game on the game and explicitly addressing the audience, which is kind of fuzzy. How awkward and improbable does an NPC comment have to be before it edges past the fourth wall? If someone is following you around making comments that have little in-game plausibility but are actually hints for the player, does that count?

I think that probably the best-known example was some of the comments by Planetfall’s Floyd, one of which was recently discussed here: When saving, a game metacommand that has no in-universe relevance, Floyd, if visible, will ask if “we’re about to do something dangerous,” which is a pretty clear instance of breaking the wall.

Beyond that, I have a general sense that games that switch PCs tend to have commentary that addresses the player directly when that happens, which may or may not be what you’re looking for. It’s been a while since I played either, but I have a vague sense that this might include Everybody Dies and Common Ground might do so?

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