Example that just came up in a discord I'm in: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. I havent played this game but someone who had said the game's story of "Roxas hates his day job but tolerates it because afterwards he can hang out with his friends" is enhanced by the gameplay being "player hates the mission structure but they tolerate it because the story cutscenes are amazing"
Someone else said they doubt that was intentional, and I agree. But I asked the question of whether Death of the Author applies to game mechanics.
I say yes. But its something I hadnt considered before for sure.
The whole "death of the author" thing is one school of media criticism / interpretation. No instance of its invocation is any more or less applicable. It's just a framework a critic can use when discussing the work.
If you think that's a cool detail that arose either without or completely against the artist's intentions, there's no reason to avoid discussing it as such.