I think though, that there are some games where it's not about you. Or, it's about your - it's about the kind of alchemic relationship you have with a set avatar. Uh, and that also is a very interesting relationship. It's like, they're not 100% me. I'm not 100% them. But, the ambiguity of that relationship is interesting. Just to give Metal Gear as an example, Snake has his own voice. He has his own personality. Snake the person is not me. Snake the soldier is me. So, I am - I specifically occupy a part of his consciousness. And, only when those two parts come together. And, you know, does the - the kind of story work. Uh, because really, the decisions I make as a soldier are things that his personality reacts to, in ways that I can't control. And, that's actually kind of interesting. I am the soldier inside him. Uh, and to the extent to which we have different personalities functioning in our own lives, and we're different ways to different people at different times, um, there's a certain kind of truth, I think, to a game where you - you kind of share a consciousness with an avatar. I think, probably one of the best examples of that, is this game Deadly Premonition. Which is this kind of like, I've heard it described - the best description I can think of, is that it's a Japanese cover of Twin Peaks. It's like the anime remake of Twin Peaks. Uh, but it um, it's really wonderful. Because, the main character keeps talking to his imaginary friend called Zach over the course of the game. And, any time he has to - any time he's in a conversation, he says, let me ask Zach about what he thinks. And, everybody's like, what? What is he talking about? And, then he says, Zach, what do you think? And, then a button appears on the screen, where you can make a dialogue choice. And, eventually what you realize over the course of the game, is that you're Zach. You're his other personality. And, you're the personality that's good at driving and shooting. And, he's the personality that's good at talking. And, he actually has a split personality. And, his split personality, and how he got his dissociative disorder is actually what the story's about.
