Line #27 Main/ThePlayerIsTheMostImportantResource


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6	->''"You are the lifeblood of the company. Without you, there is no Platform/{{PlayStation}}."''
7	-->-- '''Jack Tretton''', The President and CEO of Creator/SonyComputerEntertainment America, to their customers at [[UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo E3]] 2011.
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9	A specific form of BreakingTheFourthWall applicable only to VideoGames.
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11	This is when game characters directly acknowledge that it is because of the player's participation that they are able to achieve success at whatever they do.
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13	They might acknowledge it via narrative in [[AllThereInTheManual the game's manual]], or at the end of a completed quest/task/assignment/whatever the case may be in the game itself. Bonus points if you, the player, are directly thanked by any of the game's characters at the ''end'' of the game, when all the major objectives are met, at which time the characters will likely say that they couldn't have done it without your help.
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15	Contrast VideoGameCrueltyPotential, where you can do [[JerkAss some very outrageous things to game characters]] [[ForTheEvulz for the sake of being a douche]], and WhatTheHellPlayer, where you get called out for it. Also compare AddressingThePlayer, ItsUpToYou, ThankingTheViewer. Can often overlap with NonEntityGeneral if the line between the player and the player's commander is blurred.
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17	An inversion of DudeWheresMyRespect, for the player. Not to be confused with AnEconomyIsYou.
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19	----
20	!!Examples:
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22	[[AC:Video Games]]
23	* In the first ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars'' you, as the tactician, get frequently commended by the Commanding Officers you play as for allowing them to win.
24	* In both ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'' games, the player is Kalas/Sagi's "Guardian Spirit", which, in-story, grants them wisdom and strange powers. Both games milk this for all it is worth, using it for some very powerful plot twists.
25	* Villainous example. In ''VideoGame/BlazblueContinuumShift'' Hazama will thank you for defeating him in arcade mode, and showing him a new possibility of the titular continuum shift.
26	* In the game ''VideoGame/{{Bleed}}'', Wryn thanks the player for their help in getting her inducted into the Hall of Heroes.
27	* The ''Chocolatier'' series of games, particularly at the end when the Baumiesters' firm is rebuilt, and when major human relationships get patched up (between two sisters in the first game, between the boss's daughter's boyfriend and the boss, rescuing the same boyfriend-cum-husband from captivity after WWII).
28	* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'':
29	** In ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2 Red Alert 2]]'', the video cutscenes after the final mission acknowledge that the success of the final battle was due to your leadership.
30	** In ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn Tiberian Dawn]]'', winning the Nod campaign results in Kane praising the player's skills, and allowing you to decide what target to use the captured GDI ion cannon on.
31	* The ending of the fourth episode of ''VideoGame/CovertFront'' has Kara thanking the player.
32	* The "Welcome, Ace" segment in the ''VideoGame/EagleEyeMysteries'' game manuals, where you're introduced to Jake and Jennifer Eagle before you actually start playing the game, has an example of this. According to their speech, you are invaluable as an Eagle Eye Detective Agency member because you can pick up clues that they might have missed during the course of sleuthing.
33	-->Our most important resource is you. You're our partner in all the Eagle Eye cases, and we depend on you to notice things we might miss and help us out during the course of our investigations. And in the end, it's up to you to point to the guilty party.
34	* Used in the FinalBoss battle of ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'', [[spoiler:to the extent that you, the player, implicitly destroy Giygas with your faith in the characters]].
35	** Also happens if you [[spoiler:[[TheEndOrIsIt stick around after the end credits]]]] in ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER 3}}''.
36	* During the ending of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', the game displays its "cast list" of the approximately 14 player characters along with their pertinent scenes, concluded by "And You..."
37	* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'': The characters of your party will be stunned at your great abilities upon victory, and especially grateful at the end of the game. However, this is optional--you don't need to "create a tactician" for the main characters to address.
38	* ''VideoGame/TheHex'' contains a much darker example than usual. [[spoiler:The characters need the player to open The Hex and kill Lionel Snill.]]
39	* At the end of ''VideoGame/HotelMario'':
40	-->'''Luigi, Mario, [[spoiler:and the Princess]]:''' [[spoiler:'''You're''' the ''best'' player '''ever'''!]]
41	* {{Invoked\|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfKyrandia 3: Malcolm's Revenge''. Throughout the entire game, Malcolm (the player character) is followed around by his GoodAngelBadAngel duo, who try to influence his decisions. Near the end, Malcolm gets completely fed up with their antics and yells at the player ("Yeah, ''you''!") to decide whether he has to continue dealing with one, the other, or both. He says that he's willing to go along with whatever you choose, because you're the one pulling the strings anyway.
42	* The intro scene of ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}} 2'' shows this.
43	-->'''Lemming:''' Evacuation? All our tribes?? But how???\
44	'''Other Lemming:''' Ah, by the very guiding force that helped us before and as written, will once again. The guide who saved us before.\
45	''(AsideGlance to the player)''
46	* In ''Videogame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'', the player character is a SHIELD agent just out of basic training, but the other Marvel heroes start acknowledging your importance almost immediately.
47	* This is a major theme in ''[[VideoGame/OneShot OneShot]]''. You, the player, are the god of the game world. Characters often call you by name (even though [[INeverToldYouMyName you never gave it]]) and acknowledge your role of guiding the PlayerCharacter, Niko. Too young to understand and solve the puzzles alone, Niko regularly expresses appreciation for your help.
48	-->'''Niko:''' ''(reading a page of technical instructions)'' I... don't know what half of these words mean... It's a good thing you're here, [your name]!
49	* The computer game series ''Royal Envoy'' has this; you go from one town to the next on a series of islands directing repair/reconstruction work. You're accompanied by a clerk named Cedric, who praises your efforts from time to time (particularly when being awarded a trophy and at the end of the game).
50	* The ''VideoGame/SimCity'' series and its various spin-offs, where you are the one behind the creation and maintenance of cities and civilizations.
51	** Ditto with ''VideoGame/{{Pharaoh}}''. What would the Egyptians do without you...
52	* In the commercial for ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves''. Bentley remarks, "The whole operation is blown -- if we don't have someone at the controls." It shows an empty chair with a Platform/PlayStation2 controller. And then Sly taps on the screen with his cane -- complete with glass sound -- in a manner reminiscent of the "Mr. Opportunity" series of commercials from Honda, while saying, "So. You in?"
53	* ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable'' [[MetaFiction is all about]] exploring the connection between narrative, the PlayerCharacter (in this case, the titular Stanley), and the player who makes the story decisions. This particular dynamic is explored the most in the "Real Person" path, where [[NoFourthWall the narrator has finally had it with the player being unable to follow story instructions]] and expunges them from Stanley in an effort to get things back on track. [[DidntThinkThisThrough Unfortunately for him]], a PlayerCharacter without a player ends up accomplishing nothing, and with Stanley being completely unresponsive to the story's presented options, the game is left at a total standstill.
54	* PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', where a couple of characters assert that the almighty being that watches over them from another dimension is the only one who will understand the [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth-wall breaking]] [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits control instructions]].
55	* ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter'': In a post-credits scene, Gabe speaks directly to the player, after which you are treated to a message from all doctors thanking you.
56	* In ''VideoGame/{{Vangers}}'', after you beat the game, your misterious allies the Watchers, [[spoiler:address you, the player, and tell you that the apocalyptic catastrophe that kickstarted the game's events ''is going to happen for real'', in our future and their past, and that they had orchestrated the game's creation in our time, so that through it we could take control of the real vangers (road warriors and traders) who are normally locked in an endless cycle of routine activities, and send them to explore the world and achieve the Watcher's goals]].
57	* This is a central plot point in the IntercontinuityCrossover game ''[[https://www.bigfishgames.com/games/15235/worlds-align-beginning-ce/?pc Worlds Align: Beginning]]'' from [[Creator/ERSGameStudios AMAX Interactive]], where the fourth wall is [[BreakingTheFourthWall completely shattered]]. C. Auguste Dupin, from their ''VideoGame/DarkTales'' series, walks into the scene as soon as the player finishes creating their game profile and literally shoves the game information off of the screen before addressing the player and asking for help. As a resident of the "real world," the player is in the best position to help him and his friends from other parallel universes (meaning other games by the same developer) prevent [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End of the Worlds As They Know Them]]. Even the BigBad acknowledges that the player is the ultimate SpannerInTheWorks because he didn't count on interference from a real person whom he could not affect.
58	* ''VideoGame/WorldsEndClub'' mentions there are certain people who can see "Otherworlders", known as X-Types. [[spoiler:Pochi is an X-Type who, on the path to the GoldenEnding, speaks to an Otherworlder who has been watching the group the whole time, the player. He also acknowledges that the times you controlled a character was when you were directly involved, and those Game Overs you've got were all bad timelines. The player has to give him crucial information that could only be found in different story branches in order to locate Vanilla and [=MAIK's=] whereabouts. In the end, Pochi gives one last thanks to the player.]]
59	* In Firaxis and 2K Game's take on ''VideoGame/{{XCOM}}'', ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' and ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', Bradford and the rest of XCOM acknowledge you as the player and Commander to be vital for your planning and leadership capabilities. The prologue to XCOM 2 features you getting rescued from enemy hands because you're the resistance's only hope of winning the war, and by the endgame, you do indeed play a vital role in the final mission of the campaign. The ''War of the Chosen'' content also shows that the Commander plays a vital role in helping coordinate the other resistance groups so that everyone gets along to a level sufficient to present a united front in the war to defeat ADVENT.
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61	[[AC:Non Video Game Examples]]
62	* An odd non-videogame example is [[Characters/DrowtalesVelVlozRess Kiel'ndia]] from ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' using her fans as a resource directly, manifested as a swarm of black demon things, on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_XpsY_zczU Netherworld TV]].
63	* The popular Platform/PlayStation3 ad "Michael", where numerous video game characters share stories of how their player led them to victory. Also seen in a teaser trailer for ''VideoGame/PlayStationAllStarsBattleRoyale''.
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