Brutallus Breaking the 4th wall

[TPMdm]

I'm not sure if this belongs here or in General Discussion but I'll drop it here for grins and giggles.

Firstly I'd like to say that I've never been in any 25-man content (just to get that out of the way). I noticed when doing the Dead Scar bombing run quest and you drop a bomb on Brutallus he yells "What pathetic magic is this, <class>? Come back here with 24 of your friends and try again" or something very similar. Does this classify as Breaking the 4th wall? and does this bother anybody else?

I like the Smacktalk dialogue Brutallus has with the Dragon (for got his/her name). But Brutallus making implied mention of the "artificial" Raid Player Limit strikes me as a little "off". I mean from a RP or lore standpoint there isn't a reason given why you can't gather 39 of your friends and try again (I know it's a 25 man raid btw).

For some reason this bothers me more than the dwarf archeologist who talks about his theory that "we're all just part of some cosmic game" or some such....

----EDIT-----
In case 4th wall is a new term to some folks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_wall

[Aerath]

It's not the first time in the game, one need only think of all the pop (as in, popular culture) references strewn throughout WoW.

Your particular example doesn't (to me) at least seem as though it's breaking the fourth wall - it's an in-game encounter talking about in-game specifics, rather than something happening outside of it. In that sense, the dwarven Archeologist in the Bone Wastes is far more 'destructive' to the immersion. I will agree it, to me, would've felt better if he had just said "gather a couple of your friends" rather than such a specific number even if the first time a smirk did flutter round my lips.

At any rate, I could well understand if this was the only encounter of the type, but when you meet Olivia, Newton and John as Stormwind Bankers or a Shauly Pore standing inside a Biodome... or do quest lines such as "You, Robot!" I honestly feel it would be nit-picking to fall over that exact line as breaking the 4th wall.

[TPMdm]

Good points. And it's not like I'm all riled up about it. The pop culture references (Harris Pilton) don't bother me because it's a bit like real life story being made into game story. The "gather 24 friends" was a bit more jarring, a bit like if he would say "maybe you should get a logitech G5 mouse cause you sure didn't target me very fast using tab" upon a player death.

Don't get me wrong it's not a big deal, just wondering if anybody else agreed :)

[Justinledwards]

Hmm that made me laugh, I thought it was very funny.

[Zachariah]

Dammit, don't give them ideas about in-game advertising! Next thing you know we'll be riding epic Toyotas!

....wait....

[jschild]

IF you want to see the very best of breaking the 4th wall, read some She-Hulk or Deadpool comics. She-Hulk is great with a good writer because then no one knows who she is talking about when she talks to the "readers".

[Aerath]

Come to think of it - a large portion of Blizzard's joke and puns in this game are directly from breaking the fourth wall.

[det]

I suppose this would bother players on RP realms more than on others..and the game wasn't exactly made with only RP in mind...or people who are "addicted" to the original lore.

[TPMdm]

Come to think of it - a large portion of Blizzard's joke and puns in this game are directly from breaking the fourth wall.

See, jokes and puns are troubling to me. I see them as sort of an homage to real life. If brutallus would have said "come back here with a couple dozen friends" that would have been "acceptable" to me. I mean mentioning the exact number for the raid encounter is where it twinged my nerves. Maybe it shouldn't, I mean afterall my lock goes shopping looking for gems with "+8spellhit" as a description rather than "increases the effectivenss of your spells against stronger foes more than those other yellow gems which are cheaper"


"Try lowering your graphics settings <class> because you sure have low fps and will never defeat me that way!" --- Brutallus breaking the 4th wall for sure

[Aerath]

If brutallus would have said "come back here with a couple dozen friends" that would have been "acceptable" to me.

Semantics. Couple dozen = 2 * 12 = 24.
The exact number he mentions.

:laugh:

[TPMdm]

Semantics. Couple dozen = 2 * 12 = 24.
The exact number he mentions.

:laugh:

Indeed! :)

[Justinledwards]

I mean, as long as we are out looking to get offended, then why no mention of the diablo mini-pet(s)... i think my http://www.wowhead.com/?item=10503 fit me just fine :D

[Twoflower]

if he breaks all 4 walls, doesnt the roof fall on his head ?

[Wintrow]

Sure, but he's Brutallus, the roof would break, not his head.

I refer to the Mag'theridon encounter off course.

[Shellar]

Thanks to Kael'thas's defection and the information gathered by spies of their own, the Legion's commanders are well aware of the structure of Shattrath's military forces. Specifically, they know that elite champions of the Naaru prefer to operate in either small five-man diversionary teams ("parties") or twenty-five-man armed companies ("raids"). This system has served them well during their assaults against Illidan's strongholds in Outland, so it would make sense for the Legion to expect SSO to utilize the same tactics during the battle for Sunwell.

Given that Brutallus is one of the Annihilan warlords, a walking incarnation of chaos and violence, it shouldn't be surprising that he would hold such ordered strategies in great contempt, and take every opportunity (like, say, an incoming attacker flying under Shattered Sun's colors) to mock them mercilessly.

[surodat]

I honestly don't understand how you can "break the fourth wall" in a video game. To play the game, to move your character, to click on things, are all interactive. "Breaking the fourth wall" is to actively engage a passive viewer. The first mob that attacked you broke the fourth wall...

Perhaps you mean "Brutallus Employing Metafictional Devices."

[QitelRemel]

I noticed when doing the Dead Scar bombing run quest and you drop a bomb on Brutallus he yells "What pathetic magic is this, <class>? Come back here with 24 of your friends and try again" or something very similar.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_wallIIRC, it's "What pathetic magic is this? Come back here with 24 of your best friends and try that again, <race>!" (He addresses my main as "draenei;" it's the Sunblade blood elves who yell "Shoot the shaman!") But that's a mere quibble.

And yeah, I saw it as breaking the fourth wall a bit...but I thought it was funny. Oh, well.