: Re: How do I prevent a structure-breaking character from being seen as a fourth-wall-breaking joke? I am unofficially "fixing up" a video game through modding. The game's Big Reveal is that the game

@Ogunnowo420

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If you want the Big Reveal to be taken seriously, just present it as such. Make it serious. A 4th wall break cannot happen unless you specifically want it. Sure, some of your players will smirk and think "oh, so this is what your aiming at".

But it will be clear that it's not played for jokes, or meta-gaming, if -as you said- the plot is coherent. Being coherent implies showing real struggle and real character development in face of this major reveal. How can it be humor, if the main character is shown to be devastated by the realization?

Major, flashing red spoiler alert from Supergiant's game, Transistor:

Every character in the game is an AI or a form of digitally-conserved mind. This is heavily implied in all the game and in the mechanics as well, as you can "save" dead people and interact with them as "functions" (aka skills) of your sword.

Yet there isn't a thing remotely resembling meta-narrative in the game. Everything is played face-value.

So your idea is perfectly viable as it is. The fact that your villain, the programmer, programmed your game-in-the-game, doesn't means that you are automatically going meta; nor the programmer has to be someone actually existing in our reality.

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