Current Events > Is there a game where the characters gradually become aware they're in a game?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm thinking a space based RPG revolving around the whole simulated reality hypothesis.

Maybe beating the game does something like erase your save file, or resetting your game.

Or maybe multiple endings... one where the characters willfully persist despite knowing complete frivolity of their existence. Leading to your general end game content.

I dunno.
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Interesting.
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Deadpool is always aware.
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The closest thing I've heard of this was in the Sims where if you get far along into one of the career tracks they're able to prove they're in a game, but it's pretty much just a fluff thing.
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You're already close to describing Nier Automata. Or is that the joke

Danganronpa 2 also has shades of this.
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MGS2 kinda
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SmidgeIsntBack posted...

You're already close to describing Nier Automata. Or is that the joke

Danganronpa 2 also has shades of this.

CE is that bad? It's a legitimate question.

I just ask if there is a point in the game where the characters discover what they actually are. And if so, do they properly lead up to such a reveal?

The game should be written as if it is us discovering our simulated reality. Just pump as much subtle existentialism into it as possible, all until it boils to a head and leaves both the protagonist and player questioning their existence.
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Isn't that the entire schtick of Star Ocean 3?
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SmidgeIsntBack posted...

You're already close to describing Nier Automata. Or is that the joke

Wait what.

Can someone spoil the game for me?
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The Simpsons Game.
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DuranOfForcena posted...

i think that's the plot of one of the Star Ocean games, isn't it?

edit: lol wow, ninja'd by ONE SECOND

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my world my way..
least kinda lol
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UncleBourbon33 posted...

SmidgeIsntBack posted...

You're already close to describing Nier Automata. Or is that the joke

Wait what.

Can someone spoil the game for me?

Right at the very end, you are given the option to delete your save "to help another player beat the game".

In order to even get the opportunity to do such a thing, you have to play a bullet hell game, which is pretty difficult unless you're REALLY good at it. If you die there enough times, the game will ask if you want help; saying yes causes you to get help... from other player(s) who chose to delete their save to help you.

It's actually a really cool gimmick, tbh.

Hmmm. Ima have to check out SO3.
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Undertale and OneShot though I think only a couple of characters in either of these are aware of it
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Holy shit. Apparently I already have SO3.

Chilling in my giant pile of unplayed games when I bought this PS2 lot WAYYYY back.
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Bravely Default
Kind of
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GiftedACIII posted...

Bravely Default
Kind of

Fuck I was beat by like 25 seconds.
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I mean there's no fourth-wall breaking in Automata, but here's a quick summary that will not do the great writing any justice.

The game takes place in the latest iteration of a war between Humans and Aliens, who fight using Androids and Machines respectively. Partway into the game it's reveaed the Aliens are long dead. Late game reveals the Humans have been dead for so long they never even met the Aliens. And the only reason the war is still going is because the Machines want to evolve, so they keep manipulating Androids into building a military force under the guise of protecting a human base on the moon. Then they destroy the Androids from within and start over again.
Meanwhile, the male protagonist is an Android hacker who's so good at his job that his partner is assigned to kill him whenever he discovers certain truths about the Android side of the war. And she's been killing him over and over because his memory just gets reset while hers doesn't and then they're paired up again. But then she dies, and the military base blows up, which leaves him free to discover all the truths behind the war and slowly go insane and bloodthirsty (partly from the realizations, but also partly from the backdoor virus used to kill the Androids that slowly infects his logic systems.)
All this is revealed over two or three stories you get in sequence, with 5 different endings altogether. With the final ending you literally fight the credits, but being a bullethell it gets crazy difficult the further you go, and constant death is an inevitability. But then you're asked if you want help, at which point a bunch of remaining player data from across the globe assists you and helps you beat the credits and earn the final, positive ending. At that point you're asked if you want to delete your save, like the players before you who helped in the final fight.
Also Automata is an action RPG.
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Sleeping_Forest posted...

GiftedACIII posted...

Bravely Default
Kind of

Fuck I was beat by like 25 seconds.

Yaaas. It's been awhile since I've seen someone else talking about it. I've just put wicked flight back into my music library. So good
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SmidgeIsntBack posted...

I mean there's no fourth-wall breaking in Automata, but here's a quick summary that will not do the great writing any justice.

The game takes place in the latest iteration of a war between Humans and Aliens, who fight using Androids and Machines respectively. Partway into the game it's reveaed the Aliens are long dead. Late game reveals the Humans have been dead for so long they never even met the Aliens. And the only reason the war is still going is because the Machines want to evolve, so they keep manipulating Androids into building a military force under the guise of protecting a human base on the moon. Then they destroy the Androids from within and start over again.
Meanwhile, the male protagonist is an Android hacker who's so good at his job that his partner is assigned to kill him whenever he discovers certain truths about the Android side of the war. And she's been killing him over and over because his memory just gets reset while hers doesn't and then they're paired up again. But then she dies, and the military base blows up, which leaves him free to discover all the truths behind the war and slowly go insane and bloodthirsty (partly from the realizations, but also partly from the backdoor virus used to kill the Androids that slowly infects his logic systems.)
All this is revealed over two or three stories you get in sequence, with 5 different endings altogether. With the final ending you literally fight the credits, but being a bullethell it gets crazy difficult the further you go, and constant death is an inevitability. But then you're asked if you want help, at which point a bunch of remaining player data from across the globe assists you and helps you beat the credits and earn the final, positive ending. At that point you're asked if you want to delete your save, like the players before you who helped in the final fight.
Also Automata is an action RPG.

That sounds tight.

And while I prefer turn based combat, I'm cool as long as it's not janky as fuck.
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SO3 but its a massive spoiler.

I hated it at first but it makes it very unique and i like it now.
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Hmmm. Bravely Default. I have been wanting something handheld.
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sauceje posted...

OneShot

This game absolutely should not be spoiled, but something along those lines applies to this game. It's pretty cool how it works. I recommend it. It's $10 on Steam, and you can probably get it on sale in a couple months.
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LordMarshal posted...

SO3 but its a massive spoiler.

I hated it at first but it makes it very unique and i like it now.

I'll just pay heavy attention to any foreshadowing. That will still be fun.
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In SO3, they don't gradually, or slowly learn they're actually in a game. It happens very suddenly.
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Lost Dimension, but it pretty much sucks.
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Thimbleweed park
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Kisai posted...

In SO3, they don't gradually, or slowly learn they're actually in a game. It happens very suddenly.

See, I might almost envision it as paralleled through our own experiences as humans.

Perhaps a trilogy. The first would be largely dominated by religion and exist in a very traditional RPG world. Your character perhaps acts to fight the church and it's suppression of science. Insert "magical" element for sake of separation from our own reality and to establish an actual sense of godliness within the game.

Then the second game details the world's tumultuous evolution into a more scientific world. Perhaps there's a hyper progression of scientific achievement through preparation for an unavoidable catastrophe. Maybe your character works to unify the world by mid game. Get crazy with the end boss being symbolic of religious ideologies and you can only defeat them with physical attacks. Game ends with the founding of the first space colonies.

Final game is entirely sci-fi with absolutely no "magical" element, no trace of god. Until the very end when the presence of a god being is almost too certain. Only for that god being to end up being us.
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GiftedACIII posted...

Sleeping_Forest posted...

GiftedACIII posted...

Bravely Default
Kind of

Fuck I was beat by like 25 seconds.

Yaaas. It's been awhile since I've seen someone else talking about it. I've just put wicked flight back into my music library. So good

Nice. I was always more about Wicked Thing myself.
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sonic sega allstar racing, they won't sit still

Sunset Overdrive. Although protagonist catches on pretty quick that it's a game.

I wish I could pitch this game trilogy to a developer.
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Silent Hill gag endings.

Conker's Bad Fur Day.
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KainWind posted...

sauceje posted...

OneShot

This game absolutely should not be spoiled, but something along those lines applies to this game. It's pretty cool how it works. I recommend it. It's $10 on Steam, and you can probably get it on sale in a couple months.

Yeah OneShot is pretty awesome.
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Kisai posted...

In SO3, they don't gradually, or slowly learn they're actually in a game. It happens very suddenly.

Its like all hell breaks loose and you dont know where there going with the story and just out of no where. Made me think of South Park where Earths a reality show that is being canceled.
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Any sims type game

They all start off playable but then realize that they're being controlled and actively try to be as annoying as possible.
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BettyWhite posted...

Hmmm. Bravely Default. I have been wanting something handheld.

You should get it. It has one of the best soundtracks on 3DS. Just be warned that the 2nd half starts dragging and you should really skip practically all of the sidequests in chapter 5 and 6 to avoid unnecessary padding.
Sleeping_Forest posted...

Nice. I was always more about Wicked Thing myself.

That's pretty good too. It took me 3 years to notice that all 3 wicked themes share a same motif.
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3D Dot Game Heroes!

It's pretty much the premise of the entire game.
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jumanji
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BettyWhite posted...

Kisai posted...

In SO3, they don't gradually, or slowly learn they're actually in a game. It happens very suddenly.

See, I might almost envision it as paralleled through our own experiences as humans.

Perhaps a trilogy. The first would be largely dominated by religion and exist in a very traditional RPG world. Your character perhaps acts to fight the church and it's suppression of science. Insert "magical" element for sake of separation from our own reality and to establish an actual sense of godliness within the game.

Then the second game details the world's tumultuous evolution into a more scientific world. Perhaps there's a hyper progression of scientific achievement through preparation for an unavoidable catastrophe. Maybe your character works to unify the world by mid game. Get crazy with the end boss being symbolic of religious ideologies and you can only defeat them with physical attacks. Game ends with the founding of the first space colonies.

Final game is entirely sci-fi with absolutely no "magical" element, no trace of god. Until the very end when the presence of a god being is almost too certain. Only for that god being to end up being us.

Actually, you have just vaguely described the star ocean series without meaning too. :u The first one is a very traditional RPG with sci-fi elements popping up throughout. The second expands on it and delves more into the sci-fi concepts and ends with a bunch of religious symbolism. The third one is basically as you described as well (eerily so) but there are still magical elements in the underdeveloped planets.
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I only played like 20 minutes of Undertale but that's kinda like this right?

BettyWhite posted...

See, I might almost envision it as paralleled through our own experiences as humans.

Perhaps a trilogy. The first would be largely dominated by religion and exist in a very traditional RPG world. Your character perhaps acts to fight the church and it's suppression of science. Insert "magical" element for sake of separation from our own reality and to establish an actual sense of godliness within the game.

Then the second game details the world's tumultuous evolution into a more scientific world. Perhaps there's a hyper progression of scientific achievement through preparation for an unavoidable catastrophe. Maybe your character works to unify the world by mid game. Get crazy with the end boss being symbolic of religious ideologies and you can only defeat them with physical attacks. Game ends with the founding of the first space colonies.

Final game is entirely sci-fi with absolutely no "magical" element, no trace of god. Until the very end when the presence of a god being is almost too certain. Only for that god being to end up being us.

You could try playing Xenosaga. Not quite what you're imagining, but kind of in the realm of similar?
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I wouldn't say Sunset Overdrive counts. That game was balls-to-the-wall from the beginning and it simply didn't have a fourth wall whatsoever.
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A friend of mine had this idea he told me about once where the villain's master plan is to break off the connections to an alternate universe exerting its influence on the real one. The villain blames the heroes for being its harbinger. The game would drop several hints but never outright state that the malevolent meddling universe is actually our world, and the player is the foreign element controlling the in-game universe. In the end, the villain is proven right when the heroes kill him and the game workd is overtaken completely by the player's control (it becomes sandboxy).
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BettyWhite posted...

Kisai posted...

In SO3, they don't gradually, or slowly learn they're actually in a game. It happens very suddenly.

See, I might almost envision it as paralleled through our own experiences as humans.

Perhaps a trilogy. The first would be largely dominated by religion and exist in a very traditional RPG world. Your character perhaps acts to fight the church and it's suppression of science. Insert "magical" element for sake of separation from our own reality and to establish an actual sense of godliness within the game.

Then the second game details the world's tumultuous evolution into a more scientific world. Perhaps there's a hyper progression of scientific achievement through preparation for an unavoidable catastrophe. Maybe your character works to unify the world by mid game. Get crazy with the end boss being symbolic of religious ideologies and you can only defeat them with physical attacks. Game ends with the founding of the first space colonies.

Final game is entirely sci-fi with absolutely no "magical" element, no trace of god. Until the very end when the presence of a god being is almost too certain. Only for that god being to end up being us.

Star Ocean 3 isn't exactly what you're looking for.

Spoilers.

The main characters do eventually get the revelation that they, and the entire universe they know (the 3D universe) are actually a massive MMORPG played by 4D beings. They don't find out that they are within an actual PS2 game and being controlled by a player.
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Nothing gradual, but there was a part in the first Max Payne where he realized he was in a video game. If I remember correctly, it was during one of the playable nightmares he had.
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