Puppetmaster's Love

I've always known that games are special. You cannot replace interactive fiction with non-interactive fiction and get the same experience. But here we have the proof in the pudding, something that does not exist in any other medium: The puppetmaster's love for his or her puppet.

In a movie, the character's actions and fate directly shape your opinion of them. In a typical FPS, your opinions directly shape your avatar's actions and fate. And then there are the games where both things happen. Your opinions shape your avatar's fate, and that fate shapes your opinions.

Max looking at you.

Admittedly it doesn't happen in many games, but it does in Life Is Strange. There are many characters to grow fond of in LIS, but the one I love the most is me. Max Caulfield, Time Warrior. It's the strangest narcissism.

The most important decision I made in the game was based on several reasons, but perhaps the biggest one was the feelings I had for my puppet. It was the result of a feedback loop. My opinions go in, events come out, my opinions are reshaped. In the end I was making different decisions than I would have at the start. It was no longer what choice I would make, but what choice we would make.

The puppetmaster's love is an interesting concept, but it doesn't seem to have been explored much. However, the first step to exploring anything is acknowledging that it exists, so here is that akcnowledgement.

I don't have much more to say about it, other than that it's a good thing. The narcissism I experienced in the game gave me healthy dose of it in the real world as well. It's important to love oneself so that one can give of oneself.