In Chao Bandstand, one of the most brilliant SM64 mod demos I've played, this sign can be found next to a 10-ring box above the spawn point in the action stage. (I actually hate that my occasion to talk about a game I like so much is a low note like this, but this was my first impression of it too, as this happened to be the first place I went upon entering the level.)
Like, setting aside that the sign says "mister" - Cream is a girl, so clearly this is an un-earned fourth-wall break addressing specifically male players - this is a 3D platformer, the reason I'm playing this thing is to see a thing somewhere and challenge myself to go get myself over to it. It betrays such a lack of confidence in the premise where it really, really didn't need to. This sign didn't even have to be there! The 10-coin box behind it literally says, without words, everything this sign says, but without it pulling me right back out of the game I just started getting into.
Evidently I wasn't alone in this distaste: In versions 1.2.1 and after, the sign is changed to say this:
Much better!
Really, anyone who's spent time in the world of amateur games and ROM hacks and such has surely met their share of in-world characters that call the author lazy for reasons only known by the author's low self-esteem. I can be completely vibing with some game, meeting it at its expected level of un-polish, but if the game turns around and says "hahah wow I sure do suck for not being even better than this, right?" then I question why I'm taking a break from socializing by engaging in a single-player experience, if I'm suddenly thrust into the position of wanting to reassure a dang IPS patch on my hard drive. Be proud of your own work!
As Forspoken itself goes, I think ProZD outlined the issue nicely here:
This heavy-handed pointing at basic premises of the world you've already accepted and saying out loud "Look! Look at this weird thing! It's different from real life, and that's because this is a work in the fantasy genre, taking place a fictional world!" feels like the dialogue-writing version of moving the player from setpiece to setpiece and scripting the camera to look at each lovely expensive HD asset.
