Other Breaking the Fourth Wall

[GinkyGotBack]

What do you guys think about characters who break the fourth wall? Whether it be in general or in your roleplays, I find it a little annoying when someone playing Deadpool or Gintoki approaches my character and says something along the lines of, "Hey, you're *blank* from *blank*!" or "Oh man, not another multi-fandom rp!"

I don't have a problem with that kind of thing, it's never been enough that I just give up on a forum or cuss them out ooc. It just kind of grinds my gears a little that someone is essentially breaking 'immersion' (or whatever you'd like to call it) for other people and myself by using those kinds of characters.

 

[Sibelle Grey]

I think there's a way to do it where it can be . . . not so overt, more of a witty tap on the fourth wall than downright smashing it into a pile of rubble. Tapping is easier to pull off than shattering. I don't think just anyone can pull of breaking the fourth wall in any sort of writing because it can backfire and come across as laughable (in a serious roleplay, this would be bad), awkward, or even too heavy and thus disruptive.
In roleplaying, which is fun because it's immersive, it can so easily be obnoxious unless it's done very well, very subtly, or it's very well-timed. Most importantly, everyone involved has to be fine with it. In a 1x1, it might be easier to break the fourth wall every once in a while if it's well-done and if the partner is fine with it (and even then, I'd probably do it a handful of times at most). In a group roleplay, there's a higher chance of there being a person within the group who just. has no patience for breaking the fourth wall. There's also a higher chance of it being annoying because Player X uses the device as a way to make their character ~special~ and more aware than every other character.

In general, it can be well-done in writing or cinema when it has a point. The main character speaking to the reader as a way to garner natural sympathy for the character and really draw in the reader. The main character in a position where a monologue is a way to share a moral that could apply to any of us. To me, breaking the fourth wall just for laughs can get tedious really fast and come off as disruptive unless it actually is funny (I actually love Deadpool). Basically, I think it would be harder to pull off in roleplay than in other types of writing.

 

[Thatoneflawedhero]

I sometimes make my character's break the fourth wall.

Some people love it.

Some people call it autistic.

 

[The Omen of Death]

Welp, doesn't this thing feel like it's been centered directly with me as the target (i feel bad naow kill meh)

In all seriousness, I am QUITE the Deadpool and Gintoki RPer, (I even used the two one time to poke fun at shipping. It was fun) and through my experience RPing, I usually only drop 4th wall breaks when they appear necessary, like if a moment comes where I can poke fun at a concept beyond the 4th or poke fun at characters (although I only do this with characters that are popular or ones that I know of) I would like to think I never overuse it, in Deadpool's case this may be slightly different since he drops many pop culture references quite often.

Also through my experience certain characters have different awarenesses of the 4th wall, Deadpool and Gintoki for example have the highest awareness of it, as they have done things akin to the following (Torn pages out to the past to warn their past self about a mistake, but the past self can't hear him because of noise, Changed the VFX to change a word that was meant to be violent and would hurt him to something more innocent so that they don't get harmed etc.) Obviously types of 4th wall breaking of this caliber would be on the verge or actually breaking rules of some kind unless you had permission.

Then you have some below that only have awareness about themselves being fake, a player, viewer, reader etc. and the mechanics surrounding their existence like Hyperdimension Neptunia and Kid Icarus (the most recent one) who obviously comment about it often.

Then you have those characters that will subtly break it a couple times with winks to the camera, or maybe once or twice say something to the audience.

And yes sometimes it does depend on the seriousness of a RP, but usually multifandom RPs don't tend to be all that serious, (on the grand scale of how serious something can get) but when it comes to 4th wall breaking in non-fandom RP's or Fandom 1 x 1 RP's? Never in my life have I seen one.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Welp, doesn't this thing feel like it's been centered directly with me as the target (i feel bad naow kill meh)

In all seriousness, I am QUITE the Deadpool and Gintoki RPer, (I even used the two one time to poke fun at shipping. It was fun) and through my experience RPing, I usually only drop 4th wall breaks when they appear necessary, like if a moment comes where I can poke fun at a concept beyond the 4th or poke fun at characters (although I only do this with characters that are popular or ones that I know of) I would like to think I never overuse it, in Deadpool's case this may be slightly different since he drops many pop culture references quite often.

Also through my experience certain characters have different awarenesses of the 4th wall, Deadpool and Gintoki for example have the highest awareness of it, as they have done things akin to the following (Torn pages out to the past to warn their past self about a mistake, but the past self can't hear him because of noise, Changed the VFX to change a word that was meant to be violent and would hurt him to something more innocent so that they don't get harmed etc.) Obviously types of 4th wall breaking of this caliber would be on the verge or actually breaking rules of some kind unless you had permission.

Then you have some below that only have awareness about themselves being fake, a player, viewer, reader etc. and the mechanics surrounding their existence like Hyperdimension Neptunia and Kid Icarus (the most recent one) who obviously comment about it often.

Then you have those characters that will subtly break it a couple times with winks to the camera, or maybe once or twice say something to the audience.

And yes sometimes it does depend on the seriousness of a RP, but usually multifandom RPs don't tend to be all that serious, (on the grand scale of how serious something can get) but when it comes to 4th wall breaking in non-fandom RP's or Fandom 1 x 1 RP's? Never in my life have I seen one.

I say Deadpool and Gintoki as they're the ones I see the most, Deadpool more commonly than Gin though. I don't mind little taps at the fourth wall like Sibelle Grey said, and I've been in and seen enough multifandom rps with you in them to know that you don't really abuse the 4th wall like some people xD

Like I said, it really only annoys me when other people seemingly go out of their way to break other peoples immersion. I remember one multi-fandom Rp where someone approached my character playing as Gintoki. The first thing they said was "Hey, its Doppio from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure!" and then he mentioned something that happened in the manga about my character dying. At that point any immersion I had playing that character had disappeared. On account of me being stupid and new to forum rping, instead of going to ooc and telling him I wasn't comfortable with that, I used my character's no nonsense personality as an excuse to pretty much tell him to buzz off. I guess what I'm trying to say is, 4th wall breaking is fine so long as you're not ruining other people's experience.

 

[The Omen of Death]

I say Deadpool and Gintoki as they're the ones I see the most, Deadpool more commonly than Gin though. I don't mind little taps at the fourth wall like Sibelle Grey said, and I've been in and seen enough multifandom rps with you in them to know that you don't really abuse the 4th wall like some people xD

Like I said, it really only annoys me when other people seemingly go out of their way to break other peoples immersion. I remember one multi-fandom Rp where someone approached my character playing as Gintoki. The first thing they said was "Hey, its Doppio from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure!" and then he mentioned something that happened in the manga about my character dying. At that point any immersion I had playing that character had disappeared. On account of me being stupid and new to forum rping, instead of going to ooc and telling him I wasn't comfortable with that, I used my character's no nonsense personality as an excuse to pretty much tell him to buzz off. I guess what I'm trying to say is, 4th wall breaking is fine so long as you're not ruining other people's experience.

Ok good, I was getting worried there for a sec (gonna put down that excessive amount of cyanide pills away now) but that Gintoki example is excessive, if I were Gintoki or Deadpool in that case scenario, I probably would have poked fun at the fact that he is a Jojo's character and just poked fun at the fact that all of Jojo's is pretty much a meme. That's probably to the extent of the 4th wall breaking that I would do in that case example.

 

[Idea]

I'd argue breaking the fourth wall is a powerful tool, but you wouldn't want to use a sledge hammer to bake a cake. The important thing in my opinion, is that it fits the theme of the rolepaly. Is the premise and the idea something that supports a fourth-wall-breaking character? If not, then it's not reasonable to have one. However, this CAN be achieved even in setting that at first glance don't appear to support a fourth-wall breaking character. For example, in a fantasy RP I once had, I had this character who workshipped a god of secrets, and this god revealed a god-slaying secret to this character, that drove him mad. While I never got to actually show it in the roleplay, this reason was the notion they were part of a story, that it was all fake, and this realization drove the man mad. The existence of this god of secrets made the setting support this character, but the fourth wall wasn't a all-out fourth wall break either, another aspect that could be discussed. It's a lot to unpack, but basically, your setting has to support it, and you have to figure out how it came to be. If you can do that, you have a chance at making a working fourth wall breaker.

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

What do you guys think about characters who break the fourth wall? Whether it be in general or in your roleplays, I find it a little annoying when someone playing Deadpool or Gintoki approaches my character and says something along the lines of, "Hey, you're *blank* from *blank*!" or "Oh man, not another multi-fandom rp!"

That's a very unusual thing to occur. I do believe that reputation preceding a character, whether it be a cannon character or oc should take place. But then again, I've never done a multiverse rp. It's not that bad compared to actual mind reading or knowing a total stranger, just because the player knows it from reading the previous posts.

 

[Noivian]

Honestly, 4th wall breaking annoys the hell out of me. It functionally rips me out of the immersion. I do a small amount of method acting when role playing my characters, and if characters around them start breaking the fourth wall, I'm never certain quite how to have my characters react to that. Naturally they'd refute it, or act confused and dismiss it as crazy talk, but it leaves an unsettling lump in their guts, a nagging idea that maybe their world isn't real. As one who rides on immersion, that pretty much makes it almost impossible for me to continue a role play, especially if it's a 1x1. Group rp's make it easier to skim over, especially if your character is in a large group of characters - the noise could prevent them from hearing, or maybe something else happened that drew their attention away. But once the idea is there that maybe that world isn't real, it's just too jarring for me to continue on normally.

So, naturally, I don't 4th wall break. But as much as it annoys me, if it doesn't mess up the combat or the rp for anyone else, I usually just kinda bury that unsettling feeling and try to troop on for everyone else's sake.

 

[Epiphany]

Honestly, 4th wall breaking annoys the hell out of me. It functionally rips me out of the immersion. I do a small amount of method acting when role playing my characters, and if characters around them start breaking the fourth wall, I'm never certain quite how to have my characters react to that. Naturally they'd refute it, or act confused and dismiss it as crazy talk, but it leaves an unsettling lump in their guts, a nagging idea that maybe their world isn't real. As one who rides on immersion, that pretty much makes it almost impossible for me to continue a role play, especially if it's a 1x1. Group rp's make it easier to skim over, especially if your character is in a large group of characters - the noise could prevent them from hearing, or maybe something else happened that drew their attention away. But once the idea is there that maybe that world isn't real, it's just too jarring for me to continue on normally.

So, naturally, I don't 4th wall break. But as much as it annoys me, if it doesn't mess up the combat or the rp for anyone else, I usually just kinda bury that unsettling feeling and try to troop on for everyone else's sake.

Basically the same. 4th wall breaks have their place I suppose in some forms of media but RPing by its definition means playing to a role; having someone poke your character's role is as jarring to me the player as it is to my character. I also don't entirely know how to react beyond ignoring it, because when I'm playing a story out nothing ruins the story faster than encountering characters in the story that point out "hey this is a story!"

Not a deal breaker if someone is amusing themselves, good on them, It's just not amusing for me and I hope they don't get pushy with the immersion breaking or I'd probably just walk away. Haven't ever had to thankfully.

 

[BackSet]

Fourth wall breaking and lampshade hanging is a staple of the characters I play (especially in paradoy roleplays) so have to disagree with you there. I believe that fourth wall breaking is an important tool for humor but overuse of it makes it annoying. The best use of breaking the fourth wall would have to be the aside glance. Especially in situations in wich another character states that "this is real life."

 

[Epiphany]

Making a joke or reference that's aimed at the reader, rather than at the characters in the situation, is one thing.

Making a joke or reference that's aimed at making the character realize there's a reader? Unless that's the RP I signed up for on purpose, I don't want it.

 

[Sibelle Grey]

Making a joke or reference that's aimed at the reader, rather than at the characters in the situation, is one thing.

Basically.

 

[BackSet]

To add another couple of sense to this conversation i have a sort of scale that determines whether or not breaking the fourth wall is appropriate. In general the best place to break the fourth wall is a parody. In a parody your knowingly parodying and making fun of tropes in fiction so fourth wall breaking is out of place. Multiverse RPs are on the list of "fourth wall breaking is okay" in my book but there below superhero RPs so not as much fourth wall breaking might happen. In general in a multiverse do it can be assumed that some characters might have read about characters they're encountering. For example: dead pool is a confirmed Harry Potter fan and hufflepuff so him knowing who Harry Potter is wouldn't be suprising even if he didn't break the fourth wall. Or: in the world of Percy Jackson most other media exists so Percy might have watched some of it. As I mentioned above superhero RPs rank above multiverse RPs on the "fourth wall breaking scale". This is because comic books and such dabble in fourth wall breaking quite a bit so it can oftentimes fit the theme. Of course breaking the fourth wall in a gritty noir rp would be out of place and ruin the experience.

Basically the scale, with a few exceptions, runs on level of seriousness. The more serious an rp is the less fourth wall breaking occurs and vice versa.

 

[Shog]

The 4th wall is an interesting concept for me. I prefer my universes to stay isolated and that includes this one. It is for this reason I have not and never will participate in a multi-fandom role play. With Deadpool, you read his comics/watch his movie or any show he's in expecting the 4th wall to break. Still, when he does it it's tactful. The 4th wall isn't gone, but clearly fractured. Still, that's in a non-interactive media. In role playing the most I can tolerate is a tap on the 4th wall very occasionally and only with the right kind of person. It has to be someone who just seems to have lost it entirely, or or so incredibly smart that most people don't understand what they are saying half the time anyway. This is because it allows for the readers to pick up on it, but the characters can pass it off as just part of the character's kookiness. The only time I've ever enjoyed a 4th wall break was when this person's character referred to mine as Shog (my username). Sure, my character was a bit put off, but this wasn't out of line for what they did anyway so there was no logical inconsistency. One of the worst times I've dealt with a 4th wall break in an RP, the character shouted at the sky to tell the narrator to shut up and then commented about how they didn't feel like they were part of the main plot yet. This just left me with an unsettled stomach as it wasn't even directed at the reader so it was only a half attempt at a 4th wall break, lingered on their self awareness for far too long, and really made it feel like their entire purpose for existing was to break the 4th wall. One thing I wish happened more often is people making it public knowledge right off the bat that the RP or their character is designed for 4th wall breaking. This will tell me to either A. not sign up for that RP regardless of how good it looks (nothing is worth a bad 4th wall break), B. inform the person the RP is not designed for the 4th wall to be interacted with in any way if I am the GM, or C. mentally brace for impact. I know I'm not the first here to say it, but setting is also very important. If the setting is grim or serious then a bad 4th wall break becomes so much worst. Even a traditionally "good" 4th wall break can leave everyone with a sour taste in their mouth just because of how out of place it is.

 

[BackSet]

I don't mean to be rude to anyone but I don't care about anyone's sense of immersion. If someone "broke the fourth wall" in real life would it break your sense of immersion? No, no it wouldn't. You'd just call them crazy and move on. Thus it's simple if you just treat a roleplay like real life or just realize that it's not real and none of this matters in the long run. Also I do break the fourth wall in real life because it adds a bit of spice to my boring normal life.

 

[The Omen of Death]

One of the worst times I've dealt with a 4th wall break in an RP, the character shouted at the sky to tell the narrator to shut up and then commented about how they didn't feel like they were part of the main plot yet.

Thing is with this example, is that in some interactive mediums like video games, non-interactive things like novels aren't immune! Some novels have 4th wall breaks like that and some are purely like that a sub-genre known as 'meta fiction'. And sometimes speaking with the narrator or yelling at them up to the heavens is a device used its a legit form of 4th wall breaking. Especially if a character was an impatient type, he'd want to get in on the action and if you are getting in his way for some reason, then it's like he's gonna want you to move along.

If you happen to be a character in the situation just brush it off as crazy talk, or he or she being delusional, there honestly is truly no reason to get irked over a character breaking the 4th wall, unless of course it happens every concievable sentence. It's all for fun, and most people (like me) know that there is a time and place for 4th wall breaking, serious RP's may not be the best place to do it, while at least one in a fine balance of light hearted and dark ones are acceptable.

The point is that characters like Gintoki and Deadpool are put in, because people want to make others laugh and themselves as well at the hilarity that can ensue when stuff like that happens. Poking fun at ideas and concepts in the right place at the right time can be hilarious, and just poking fun at oneself with self-depreciative humor at the 'narrator' is also fine too, it's a means of expression and not one I do often though in the grand scale of what can be broken on the 4th wall. 4th wall breaking truly does not affect the gameplay at all unless boundaries are pushed, only time that should happen is if one has permission and uses it sparingly.

One should try to always remember what 4th wall breaking is intended to be most of the time. Humor.

 

[BackSet]

One of the worst times I've dealt with a 4th wall break in an RP, the character shouted at the sky to tell the narrator to shut up and then commented about how they didn't feel like they were part of the main plot yet.

Wait a second! That was me wasn't it?

 

[Shog]

Thing is with this example, is that in some interactive mediums like video games, non-interactive things like novels aren't immune! Some novels have 4th wall breaks like that and some are purely like that a sub-genre known as 'meta fiction'. And sometimes speaking with the narrator or yelling at them up to the heavens is a device used its a legit form of 4th wall breaking. Especially if a character was an impatient type, he'd want to get in on the action and if you are getting in his way for some reason, then it's like he's gonna want you to move along.

If you happen to be a character in the situation just brush it off as crazy talk, or he or she being delusional, there honestly is truly no reason to get irked over a character breaking the 4th wall, unless of course it happens every concievable sentence. It's all for fun, and most people (like me) know that there is a time and place for 4th wall breaking, serious RP's may not be the best place to do it, while at least one in a fine balance of light hearted and dark ones are acceptable.

The point is that characters like Gintoki and Deadpool are put in, because people want to make others laugh and themselves as well at the hilarity that can ensue when stuff like that happens. Poking fun at ideas and concepts in the right place at the right time can be hilarious, and just poking fun at oneself with self-depreciative humor at the 'narrator' is also fine too, it's a means of expression and not one I do often though in the grand scale of what can be broken on the 4th wall. 4th wall breaking truly does not affect the gameplay at all unless boundaries are pushed, only time that should happen is if one has permission and uses it sparingly.

One should try to always remember what 4th wall breaking is intended to be most of the time. Humor.

And if used correctly for humor, that's much better. That said, most of the time I see it as people doing it just for the sake of doing it. Similarly, it's hard to brush something off at crazy talk if the character has not been portrayed as "crazy." As mentioned early it works for Deadpool (never heard of Gintoki before this thread) because he'd displayed as a bit off the rocker. Far too often I see it as a perfectly "normal" breaking the 4th wall, making it hard for other characters to just brush it off as crazy. It's just like that in real life. If you walked into class one day and found any number of them acting like they're breaking the 4th wall it would be hard to brush off because it's out of character for them. So just to be clear, I'm not opposed to it under the right scenario with the right kind of character, but I rarely see that combination pulled off.

Wait a second! That was me wasn't it?

Yeah... Perhaps had the RP progressed to the point where I could see the character in action more it may have seemed to be more, but as is it left me just feeling uncomfortable.

 

[BackSet]

And if used correctly for humor, that's much better. That said, most of the time I see it as people doing it just for the sake of doing it. Similarly, it's hard to brush something off at crazy talk if the character has not been portrayed as "crazy." As mentioned early it works for Deadpool (never heard of Gintoki before this thread) because he'd displayed as a bit off the rocker. Far too often I see it as a perfectly "normal" breaking the 4th wall, making it hard for other characters to just brush it off as crazy. It's just like that in real life. If you walked into class one day and found any number of them acting like they're breaking the 4th wall it would be hard to brush off because it's out of character for them. So just to be clear, I'm not opposed to it under the right scenario with the right kind of character, but I rarely see that combination pulled off.

Yeah... Perhaps had the RP progressed to the point where I could see the character in action more it may have seemed to be more, but as is it left me just feeling uncomfortable.

That was more for an introduction to the character. It was basically to present the characters abilities, personality, power set all that jazz. I likely would have toned it down after that. And in general that character was a bit of a social recluse who came off as a bit crazy so...

 

[duegxybus]

While I personally do not allow fourth-wall-breaking in most of my roleplays, I still find it rather hilarious if executed correctly (and in all honesty, it rarely is in an RP). However, it takes a certain kind of character to pull it off (as aforementioned) and doesn't really go well with just about everybody.