Doki Doki Literature Club

@Paradoxial Stratagem: I believe a few games have already done that. In Drawn to Life, the player is a god-like entity, but the player character isn't the player. Or something like that, I think I played 10 minutes of that game. In at least one of the Paper Mario games, the player and Mario are separate entities. I think it's common for NP Cs in Mario franchise RP Gs to break kayfabe and talk to the player when giving tutorials. "Press A to Jump. What's A? Uh, pay no attention to that."

Wait, isn't that indie hit game from last year like that? Though I think the fact it's like that is a spoiler.

@Draghinazzo: True enough, but just like there are things in the game that we don't see but supposedly exist within the game's setting, like Natsuki's cupcakes, there's a hidden element to the game. Monika even makes a point to eat one last cupcake before deleting Natsuki, which I believe is a pretty strong argument to show that, yes, things only superficially mentioned by the characters exist in the game, in the same sense that the background and set pieces of a play exist in the play. So, despite the fact that player character input is smaller and smaller with each passing Act, the player character himself is a still existing and thinking entity.

Only Super Paper Mario does that joke...mostly because the gimmick is story related.

edited 4th May '18 1:29:09 AM by randomness4

Eh, I still can't really forgive Monika, in large part because I don't think she learned all the lessons she needed to learn.

No matter how much she wants to believe the contrary, she is not real more "real" than the other girls simply because she knows they're in a visual novel, and the other girls are not simply robots following a script. There are multiple scenes demonstrating as much. And yet, Monika, despite having to steer the game back onto the "tracks" after Natsuki comes to you with a letter about Yuri disguised as a poem, so to speak, never acknowledges this. Even after you delete her, she still believes she the only "real" girl out of the four. There's never a moment where she realizes she's just as "real" as the other three and vice versa.

The implication may or may not be there...in the letter.

Not really...

Well, she still had more control despite being "gone"...

@Paradoxial Stratagem:

I think that some of the old point-and-click adventure games did something like this—if perhaps without taking it quite as far as you're suggesting. I seem to recall cases in which the characters would respond to player input as though they were commands, on occasion refusing to comply for one reason or another. (The first Discworld game even took away your cursor briefly if you misbehaved in a certain way, if I recall correctly.)

As to other characters hearing comments intended for the player, I've read that Grim Fandango does that.

You might find some examples (including the Grim Fandango one above) on the Informing the Fourth Wall page.

[edit] That page also links to Addressing the Player, which seems to have some examples—the entries for One Shot and OFF (under "Role Playing Game") stand out in particular.

edited 4th May '18 10:18:27 AM by ArsThaumaturgis

Well I've been doing some research and getting recommendations, and apparently such games I'm referring to actually exist in newer releases like the ones you mentioned. I can't help but suspect that medium awareness/post modernism is becoming more popular as interactive media becomes more interactive and immersive. Says something about the human condition doesn't it?

edited 4th May '18 10:18:36 AM by ParadoxialStratagem

Not really...

Eh, to each their own I guess. I'm a bit curious to know what everyone named their MC in their separate universe copy. I named them Parastrat because I couldn't think of anything better (admittedly I missed a perfect opportunity for a quick, stupid joke by naming them Jhin...) And because I had no idea what to expect, Monika's efforts to call me out by name failed...because my Username on my computer is ALSO Parastrat...poor sucker thought they'd learn my real name.

Kawahisu.

I was looking for something Japanese-sounding that wasn't just "Kamina" or "Kaworu," but still made me think of an overly macho, deity-like entity.

I went the silly route and named him after members of Migos.

I had to laugh when she tried. I can't remember if I used my actual name or my usual generic name (John or JOHN), but my current user profile, not initially deliberately, is just the first four letters of e-mail address. So her attempt to call me by name, freak me out, ended up in her just suddenly spouting gibberish and being like 'hahah did I get you'.

edited 5th May '18 1:25:52 PM by Lavaeolus

My PC name is just my last name, so when she tried to call me by my real name it just came off as kind of odd. I try to Hand Wave it as that being how people address each other if they're aren't close in Japan, but I'm never able to really buy it.

I think one of the things I liked most about this game is that there's so much potential for the kind of antagonist being portrayed here if being played differently. Imagine if Monika actually knew how to program in a way that wasn't comparable to Wheatley's inability to manage Aperture Science. Imagine if the medium-aware antagonist didn't like you and were Dangerously Genre-Savvy.

I'm already wishing for a story with a final encounter something like this:

>Tries to access character folders

>Does not have permissions

>Logs in as the superuser equivalent in-universe to access folder

>Deletes character

>Has to reload and return to step 3 because said character rigged their file to destroy the game if you removed them

>Removes dead-man trigger on files

>Demotes permissions on target character to least privileges possible, if not outright removing their ability to access anything

>Forcefully removes their character file and commits changes

>Win

Granted such a thing would be difficult to pull off well, you'd have to balance it requiring some level of puzzle-solving while not being so cryptic and frustrating as to piss off the player.

If she could do all that She could likely make her own route. Make her route THE ONLY route, and do that without killing the others. So it would be basically "Monika Dating simulator: And her three friends who are totally OK with you dating Monika.

I called my MC: "David" as a joke. A friend of mine named David, used my first name while naming the MC of Hatoful Boyfriend. So I did the same with his name.

edited 5th May '18 8:46:32 PM by RhymeBeat

Answering this question requires playing the game?

I named my character Mallard, as I do with most of my games. My computer profile's name is Mr Mallard. Still kind of effective, but a bit silly

I wouldn't be surprised if someone's computer name was Asshole or Jackass or some other profanity, just for events like that.

Monika: I can't believe your name is actually "Asshole", not unless you're from that movie that was full of them.

edited 5th May '18 10:33:47 PM by sgamer82

She...would say..."Oh, but you're (real) name is something I can't call you because you're so wonderful."

Then she just laughs, like Mr. Wiseau...that's basically what she does.

edited 5th May '18 10:38:27 PM by randomness4

Honestly one of the things I wish this game had more of is Developer's Foresight, yes there's a bit here and there, but at times I can do really outlandish shit just to see how limited or complex a system is. For example Would I get the typical downer ending if I deleted everyone right away before starting Act I, or would I be called an evil bastard for doing such a thing? Would the story be completely averted and disappointingly short as the MC gets so bored with life they decide they're done with it? Iunno.

If you delete everyone right away...

You should do that...

A character analysis on Monika.

edited 11th May '18 1:23:34 PM by marston

That's really long...