Forums » RP Discussion » That 4th wall :3

Does anyone have a character that, in some way or another breaks the fourth wall? Cuz my characters Angelo and Dean do. It's slightly weird in a way because Angel knows he's in an RP and quotes real life things like "Hey, i heard the new episode of Shingeki No Kiyojin is coming out, The readers of this RP are probably gunna watch it" that's just an example. I like doing that because on e of my most favourite anti-heroes, DeadPool, does that and it's soo funny.

So tell me, do you do that or do you have a specific character that does?

I have two capable of doing it on some level, though I play this very carefully because this sort of thing tends to shatter other players' immersion. Since people usually use RP as a way to get away from reality, breaking it like that has a tendency to make others reel in utter befuddlement!

I only have 1 character who can do this.
In part I made it so because of her personality
Though, like Dragon said, it's something rare.

BTW/ I love she-hulk, and it almost hurts how much I love it when she breaks the 4th wall

I very very rarely break the fourth wall for the reason Copper_Dragon mentioned in that do it badly and immersion is dead. It's okay when Deadpool or She-Hulk or whatever does it because you're reading a comic, not roleplaying. When I do it it's usually subtle and complementary to what I'm writing, not the whole point. You might also notice that Deadpool never breaks the fourth wall out of the blue, it's always as the punchline to a joke, hmm.

I can only think of one time off the top of my head I've done it and it wasn't even RP. Last month I designed an interactive murder mystery, early on in the game the player's confidant (a butler) asks them to name their prime suspect based on gut instinct alone. If they suspect the butler himself, he provides his alibi then chides the player, reminding them "A servant being the culprit in a murder mystery is very poor form!". It's genre savvy, it's a good punchline for the conversation, it's not over the top, and it never happens again. The player won't even see this conversation if they pick anyone else.

I also don't see it as a question of whether a specific character can break the fourth wall or not and I'm really not sure about it being a "power", any of your characters should be able do anything if it benefits the story. Most of the time breaking the fourth wall doesn't.

I have characters that do not as much break the 4th wall as they do make hints that they know it exists. They have never seen it, they they can't see passed it and (like normal characters) have no idea that it is me who is pulling the strings - but they can feel it and notice when it is happening in a big way. They claim to know it exists because of their travels. They conclude that with as many far-fetched places and times and separate realities they have been to there is one that they always seem to pass up.

It brings to mind the concept of a proverbial black hole. Not in the sense of a giant hole trying to absorb everything but that they can't directly see it (the 4th wall), they know it is there because everything seems to originate from it (myself and others beyond the 4th wall).

Does this make sense?

Hmm, I guess it does. With dimensionally travelling characters, you can get anything, really

One of my own characters tends to...ah...break the fourth wall ocasionally, through his footnotes, which generally give tidbits of information into the scene. But it's all very subjective.

I mean, when a fight's going on, full of gunfire and swords and whatnot, he can be making a snarky remark on how that man's outfit looks strangely similar to a certain character of a certain movie, or can be describing the scenery, since he had no chance to elaborate on it when being brutally attacked.

I mean, it's never actually said who he is describing the whole thing, to, but yeah It probably breaks the Wall.

I don't know, really, it depends on how it's broken. If it's for a joke, or a plotline, or is innate of a character's personality, it generally doesn't cause much issues. But if it's just blatantly and explicity said, then it might pose problems. But then again, it's always with the style of writing.

All are really good points, and Copper, I never really thought about immersion much though my character Angelo has just recently done it once. It was subtle but I really get where you all are coming from. Maybe I should think about reaching the fourth wall than breaking it, be subtle and not destroy it with a sledge hammer.

Indeed! The trope a lot of us are bringing up is called "Leaning on the Fourth Wall", which is exactly as it sounds-- a character subtly touches upon that wall dividing their viewable reality and our own, but they never quite grab that sledge hammer and knock it straight down. When done right it can add a lovely little flair to the scene or story.

Both the subtle and unsubtle can be done well, mind you, but like anything it takes a good sense of craftsmanship and care! The fourth wall and all that it upholds is a surprisingly sensitive structure!


I also realized I didn't quite address the other half of this conversation--the who! *cracks knuckles*
Admittedly I don't do this anymore, mostly because I don't think about it and most people are turned off by the notion of Fourth Wall observation and destruction, but both Johann(the dark elf) & Taunter(the Haunter) are capable in some form--the former borne from the fact that I created him to counteract and cope with the typicality of Roleplay at the time (being able to pick out people's cliches in RP was a boon), and the latter because he's some sort of bizarre eldritch abomination of a Pokemon and it fit.

I wish I had ha the chance to interact with Taunter...