Metagaming

Our discussion of metagaming was our interpretation of DDLC and its characters' awareness of a world beyond the game whether it was aware literally through the characters direct 4th wall breaking or just because of its recognition of the genre and the tropes that come with it. In general, metagaming is just a player's use of outside knowledge to impact the game or gameplay and the mix of the two as they bleed together. DDLC uses metagaming as a powerful tool with the assumption that the player (and player character) understand the world outside of the game alone. That way it can reference tropes with a casual wink to the audience (the player) and continue with the assumption that it is understood. I think that is a large reason why the game makes us so uncomfortable as players. Of course, its treatment of touchy subjects is dangerously bordering on offensive if not just blatantly incorrect or triggering, but I also felt uncomfortable because of how "real" the game was. I don't mean real as in realistic but more very directly subverting my genre specific expectations and making me question them. It asked for choices from the player about which girl they wanted to first talk to or impress most with their poem, but there was no real difference in the end. The game essentially laughed as I tried to veer off into a normal visual novel/dating sim playthrough in favor of its own message and presentation regardless of my choices. DDLC frames the story with an assumed lack of suspension of disbelief.