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There is a term used quite frequently in film: 'breaking the fourth wall.' Without doing any research whatsoever on the subject I surmise it to be derived from theater, where (usually) three walls enclose the performers and the audience views the proceedings from the seating area. As the actors do not acknowledge the audience's existence, an invisible fourth wall is surmised to be present. When this invisible fourth wall is taken down, traditional narrative structure is abandoned. Films cannot reach out and physically grab the audience, but they have their own ways of breaking the fourth wall: 3-D is but one means of achieving this. An intrusive method of the 1960's (mainly) had many New Wave pictures from Europe throwing any effort at enmeshing the audience in a story out the window in favor of constant reminders that the viewer is, in fact, watching a movie.
What does any of this have to do with RPGs? Well, the means of achieving it may be different, but breaking the fourth wall can be done in an RPG as well. The means by which it is achieved varies quite a bit, naturally. Making silly pop-culture references when NPCs speak (as Working Designs was wont to do) does not count to me. No, breaking the fourth wall in an RPG is a bit harder to do because one is always aware of playing a game (at least I HOPE everyone realizes they're games...). The method by which the fourth wall can be breached in an RPG is seldom-seen, for it means the player must be affected by the game directly. And I do not consider rumble to serve as a means of achieving this.
One game I have played relatively recently illustrates how to go about this. In Tengai Makyou Zero there is a boss by the oh-so-intimidating name of Sara, and she casts a spell upon the beginning of the battle that obscures character status. HP is ??? for the duration, and any status ailments incurred (because she likes to charm) are invisible. Then her stupid sister Juri has to rescue her so they can later combine and be an even bigger pain... but I digress. I have heard of a similar occurrence in Xenosaga Episode II but obviously have not played it.
What other methods of directly affecting the player exist in an RPG? Plenty; the problem is that quite a few of the potential properties would put the developer at risk of a lawsuit. Flashing lights of any variety, designed to confound the player, would bring back memories of those Pokemon episodes that induced seizures in Japanese children. Using sound to inhibit the player is equally dangerous; while a piercing whine would most assuredly cause the player distress it would also cause distress to anyone else unfortunate enough to hear it and could be blamed for hearing loss. Short of electric shock, which is not an option, there aren't many ways to use tactile sensation other than the already-extant rumble. Perhaps something along the lines of Eternal Darkness's sanity issues? Mine is but to suggest, and let the development process proceed.
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