So what is roleplaying in Final Fantasy games, and in video games? Whose roles are we playing? And how do we play and experience those roles?
Final Fantasy I (remake) screencap. Who are “you”: the character? the player? the author? an observer? Also, who defines/names the character? Who IS the character: a believable person, or just an avatar, a cursor?
Final Fantasy XIII screencap: Same questions, different answers. Also, notice who’s asking: in-game’s “you” is simultaneously an out-of-game “she” or “they.” Pronoun shift means a POV shift. The double-vision “you” of RPGs makes for a complex experience.
Roleplaying is, at its fundamental level, a giant game of “let’s pretend,” toying with the question, “Who are you?” Roleplaying games are systems that codify and expand our ability to define that “you.” At the same time, roleplaying games are about them: the characters we roleplay.
