Metafiction and Video Games

[treismac]

Definition of METAFICTION

: fiction which refers to or takes as its subject fictional writing and its conventions.


So I beat Clash at Demonhead and it had an interesting example of metafiction (sorta).

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/541659_10151445579660294_516975293_23770049_776949 15_n.jpg

I was wondering what other games, retro in particular, have examples of this literary device.

[treismac]

Clash at Demonhead at the ending Bam says he is going to make a game about his adventure.

The voodoo lady in the Monkey Island series references her having a contract with Lucas Arts for a set amount of games. I can't recall which game, though. I think it was the Curse of Monkey Island...

No More Heroes 2 (or was it 1?) has references to the game being a game.

Cheetah Men starts with the Action GameMaster (sic) being sucked into his game, which also serves as a metaphor for how much the game sucks.

[treismac]

Oh! Donkey Kong Country with Cranky Kong telling young Donkey Kong about video games back in his day. Go to 20 seconds in for the "back in my day speech."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=67OPI3cXAaE#t=20s

[JSoup]

No More Heroes 2 (or was it 1?) has references to the game being a game.

Both games did that.

[Edmond Dantes]

Did somebody say Metal Gear Solid 2?

[treismac]

Did somebody say Metal Gear Solid 2?

You'd be the first.

[Gunstar Hero]

I don't know if this is what you mean but in Tekken 3 (PS1) Mokujin's ending scene shows him playing Tekken 3 with his kids and fighting his wife in the game... Then his wife comes up behind him sees who he chose to fight in the game and uppercuts him into the sky lol.

[NayusDante]

Maniac Mansion 2: Day of the Tentacle references Maniac Mansion as a video game based on what happened in the mansion before, and even includes it as a bonus within the game. That makes DOTT a sequel to a game that exists within itself. It's sort of like a grandfather paradox.

In Earthbound, the police chief of Onet makes a remark about getting stuck while playing Earthbound. There's also the part about the player being an unseen force in the game, even assisting in the final battle. A sign outside a building in Fourside references a planning meeting for Earthbound 2.

Pokemon games often show NPCs holding Game Boys, trading Pokemon with each other.

Then there's Nanashii no Gemu, or "The Game With No Name" by Square Enix. It's basically The Ring with an 8-bit RPG in place of the cursed video tape. You play that game to solve some kind of mystery. I wish they had released it abroad.

Myst could fit the definition of metafiction. It uses writing and books as metaphors for other ideas. It's not video game related, but it's metafiction nonetheless.


I was working on an RPG (http://www.slimesalad.com/forum/viewgame.php?t=3912) where the player was replaying an old 8-bit RPG that glitched out and affected them in the "real world," but I never finished the ending. It was supposed to be a commentary on how we remember games, but I never got around to doing the "real world" segments.

[SpaceHarrier]

Golden Axe (arcade version) ends with some kids playing an arcade game called "Great Axe" and all the Golden Axe monsters explode out of it and chase the kids away.

Mortal Kombat III features a fatality where a MK arcade machine falls and crushes your foe.

[treismac]

Here is an example from Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWs6VVZHqm0

[Kitsune Sniper]

Maniac Mansion 2: Day of the Tentacle references Maniac Mansion as a video game based on what happened in the mansion before, and even includes it as a bonus within the game. That makes DOTT a sequel to a game that exists within itself. It's sort of like a grandfather paradox.... Funny that, I always figured Dr. Fred or Weird Ed had coded the game based on what had happened to them.

They never say this in the game, of course. That's just what I figured had happened. Wikipedia says something to that effect...

[Lerxstnj]

In the beginning of Duke Nukem Forever, Duke is playing Duke Nukem and says something about "playing with myself" and how long it took the game to come out.