Are people turned off by meta explanations and mechanics? Their immersion ruined? I don't see why it's that hard. Fiction has long served to make out of our imaginations what we think we should have, and life has no good explanations or mechanics to explain why reality even exists, why reality is as it is, etc, why wouldn't we make up for this in fiction more often? I often wonder, why am I able to experience this game? How am I this disconnected and nearly omnipresent entity in this game's world? How does this game's world exist, in relation to ours? Why am I experiencing this game? Why can I start over when I die? I like how in Bloodborne, you can explain it all away as a lucid daydream. That explains everything and completely justifies the game's everything. I could give more examples, but this pretty much explains what I'm going for. Games that don't justify everything and make it all make sense just feel hollow. Another problem is, the lack of connection to reality. The vast majority of games don't even go as far to include a moral to the story, much less some deep/intricate philosophizing that isn't a pointless rehash of some famous philosopher or two. You don't really gain anything from the vast majority of games, aside from wasted time. I like what NieR: Automata did, being a celebration of humanity and the human experience, 3000 years of history and thought, and in people who are stuck suffering, it can kindle a love for the human experience, something many lack, among many other things. In a medium limited only by the imagination, much like books, art, and animation, it's sad to see so many creatives stop short of being a complete experience. Eh.
