How do you feel about 4th wall breaks?

[Mother Goose]

By 4th wall breaks I just mean when the characters say "I can't believe that took an entire episode" or something like that. If they weren't so overdone, and the writers tried a little harder, I might be able to enjoy them. To me it usually just feels like a cop-out for a joke.

[Aceade]

*Glances out of the screen at the viewer*

 

Well, dear reader, I don't mind breaking this little "fourth wall" we have, as long as one doesn't expect a completely serious work, and nobody overdoes anything-

 

*Reader clicks on his head ad nauseam*

 

Like that. *Mouse clicks his head again* STOP POKING ME!!!!

[daveb]

It depends. If done well it can be good, fun, funny. I don't think it's even a matter of frequency. I have seen some cases where it felt cringey, even though it wasn't done often. I have seen some cases where it's done well and is a frequent running joke or part of how the narrative is framed.

[Tystie]

I think it depends on the format of the original. Generally, I don’t like the idea, but if done well and in an appropriate format / setting, I guess they can work,

 

Yep, I’m hedging my bets!

[everywhere and nowhere]

I like them, but I'm not into watching series. I prefer (retro) adventure games. And I like Easter eggs of the "inter-game reference" kind. Companies who made classic late 80s and 90s video games, such as Sierra On-Line and Lucas Arts, often included references to their other games in a game. Now that pixel graphics are "retro" and "nostalgic", there is even more to refer to, this kind of references is understood a kind of homage to the games which shaped the taste of us the gamers who prefer a more retro style.

Below: the lake in EGA and VGA version of "Quest for Glory 1" (referring, respectively, to the games "Codename: Iceman" and "Ecoquest 1") and the contemporary game "Betrayed Alliance 1" (improved version was released last year), featuring characters from Sierra On-Line games: the "Quest for Glory", "King's Quest", "Space Quest" and "Leisure Suit Larry" series.

I think that "Quest for Glory" was particularly full of Easter eggs because it's a specific game: an adventure-RPG rather than pure adventure, and each part takes place in a setting which is, at the same time, culturally defined (respectively German, Arabic, African, Slavic and Ancient Greek) and deliberately anachronistic. So breaking the fourth wall repeatedly in each part of the series reinforced this "conventional" character of the surroundings.

"Heroine's Quest" (which is like a female version of "Quest for Glory", set in a world from Nordic mythology) is too full of references to classic games, the developer's own games, and also other texts of culture - for example, in one of the solutions for getting out of Thrivaldi the troll's trap (for the Thief gameplay), the dialogue between the Heroine and Thrivaldi is a parody of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".

[Miss Grey]

They can be very funny! But if they're overused it gets tiring real quick. 😛 A surprise fourth wall break can really get me giggling.

[Frameshift07]

33 minutes ago, everywhere and nowhere said:

I like them, but I'm not into watching series. I prefer (retro) adventure games. And I like Easter eggs of the "inter-game reference" kind. Companies who made classic late 80s and 90s video games, such as Sierra On-Line and Lucas Arts, often included references to their other games in a game. Now that pixel graphics are "retro" and "nostalgic", there is even more to refer to, this kind of references is understood a kind of homage to the games which shaped the taste of us the gamers who prefer a more retro style.

Below: the lake in EGA and VGA version of "Quest for Glory 1" (referring, respectively, to the games "Codename: Iceman" and "Ecoquest 1") and the contemporary game "Betrayed Alliance 1" (improved version was released last year), featuring characters from Sierra On-Line games: the "Quest for Glory", "King's Quest", "Space Quest" and "Leisure Suit Larry" series.

I think that "Quest for Glory" was particularly full of Easter eggs because it's a specific game: an adventure-RPG rather than pure adventure, and each part takes place in a setting which is, at the same time, culturally defined (respectively German, Arabic, African, Slavic and Ancient Greek) and deliberately anachronistic. So breaking the fourth wall repeatedly in each part of the series reinforced this "conventional" character of the surroundings.

"Heroine's Quest" (which is like a female version of "Quest for Glory", set in a world from Nordic mythology) is too full of references to classic games, the developer's own games, and also other texts of culture - for example, in one of the solutions for getting out of Thrivaldi the troll's trap (for the Thief gameplay), the dialogue between the Heroine and Thrivaldi is a parody of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".

That's not what people mean by "the fourth wall" (except maybe the one in the middle). People usually just call these "references." Breaking the fourth wall typically involves characters being aware they  are a work of fiction.

 

 

Yes, I think a fourth wall defdeb would be an interesting discussion

[Peaseblossom o7]

I don't mind it

[everywhere and nowhere]

2 hours ago, Frameshift07 said:

Breaking the fourth wall typically involves characters being aware they  are a work of fiction.

But that sometimes happens too in games. In "Quest for Glory" (part 2) also: if you throw a dagger at the magic tree, an image of your screen getting broken into pieces from the inside will appear and the game will crash. Also in "Thimbleweed Park" characters realise that they are in a game and must get out.

[purple_rain]

Assuming that this term can be applied to literary texts as well: I hate the 4th wall breaks in the book I'm currently reading. Luckily, the author doesn't overdo it. 

Apart from that, I see things as most everyone here does: It depends.

 

[blunose2772]

The best 4th breaks IMO are the ones in Ferris Bueller's Day Off when Ferris talks to the camera because it makes you feel like the 4th friend of the journey. 

[lovely_xm07]

I choose options “As long as they don't happen too often” and “No because they're annoying/cliche“. I usually don’t like when characters break the fourth wall as it can get really corny really quickly, but there are a few exceptions.
 

The Deadpool movies and the show Fleabag are my ONLY exceptions. That’s because for one, their jokes are actually funny, and two, the way they decided to break the wall can be really clever. I like how in Fleabag, all she has to do is look at the camera and just smile a certain way because she knows that we know the joke. 
 

Besides them, I really don’t like it. I just find it annoying. I don’t like my characters talking to me. You are here to act, so act like I’m not here! Idk, I just don’t like how majority of 4th wall breaking is done. It’s just not my thing to watch. Sometimes I feel like it defeats the purpose of “show don’t tell”.

[Old Maid Librarian]

Haven't seen many on television.  Seems like it might ruin the immersion in the imaginary world, althougyhb Shakespeare managed to do it consistantly and his work still held up. My fanfic group sometimes writes deliberate 4th wall breaks and they are usually funny. 

[Dagomir]

Does it count if it happens in books and it's the author that does it?

One example which annoyed me was at the end of Stephen King's "Mist".

SPOILER

Spoiler

The protagonists try to flee the monsters inhabiting the mist in a car and search the radio waves for any sign of life. For a brief moment they think they caught something...

... and theN Stephen KIng decides to inject his author's voice to say that according to one of his relatives the only stories that are worth something are the ones that leave you hanging, and so he will end the story there... REALLY?!

 

[Mother Goose]

On 8/13/2025 at 4:25 AM, Dagomir said:

Does it count if it happens in books and it's the author that does it?

One example which annoyed me was at the end of Stephen King's "Mist".

Imo that's just an abrupt ending and not a fourth wall break, because a narrator doesn't usually exist in-universe. That sounds super annoying though. Is there a sequel?

[Dagomir]

16 minutes ago, Mother Goose said:

 Is there a sequel?

Not to my knowledge.

 

 

[allhailtheglowcloud]

I don't like them when they're used in a supposedly comedic way, as that feels cliche. However, if they're done in a more philosophical way then I really enjoy them.

[Squirrel Combat]

As long as they aren't done too often, and the character doing it is the type of character who would do that.