What do people think about breaking the 4th wall in computer games?
If you're not sure what the 4th wall is, it is a term that was first used to describe the imaginary wall between the actors on stage in a theater play, and the audience.
Breaking the 4th wall is where the actors interact directly with the audience, as if the 4th wall isn't there.
The play is supposed to be telling a story as if there is no audience and that it is taking place in a real world environment, so breaking the 4th wall can destroy this impression.
In computer games, the 4th wall can be broken when the game interacts directly with the player. This can be a problem with FPS games in particular, that are specifically designed to immerse the player in a 'real world environment'. An example of this is in training levels, where the player is instructed to press the W, A, S and D keys to move around, thus destroying the illusion that the player is in a 'real world environment' (after all, you don't press the W.A.S and D keys to move around in real life!). IMO this is why gameplay tutorials are better off done in a manual, rather than in-game.
So, my question is this, how can we make our FPS games interact with the player, without breaking the 4th wall?
Again, sorry if this is in the wrong place (it might have been better off in the game design theory board?), but I thought it was relevant to FPSC, because I'm talking primarily about FPS games.
