History Main / AddressingThePlayer

* The setup program for the PC release of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure DX'' (not the UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} release, the one released before that) includes a narration displayed during installation written as if Sonic himself was talking to the player.

* In ''VideoGame/Stay2017,'' you are not a specific character; you are simply the person on the other end of Quinn's chat program. {{Lampshaded}} during the opening credits.

* In ''VideoGame/TeenTitans2006'', [[spoiler:at the end of the game, it turns out the reason for all the random chaos is because the developers are putting them through these situations merely to entertain "[[TheManBehindTheMan You there on the couch]]". ''You'' are the BigBad.]]

* In ''VideoGame/Destiny2'', the Ahamkara are incredibly powerful and bizarre "dragons" who consume paracausal powers and can grant wishes, and are able to survive after death and whisper to those who wear their bones as armor. They gleefully whisper to their wearers, offering gifts and wishes in exchange for violence and destruction, and will offer their boons to anyone, and in one lore entry, they directly address ''the player,'' and implies that the player is their way to escape the prison that is the game world.
-->'''Skull of Dire Ahamkara''': ""O BEARER MINE." What kind of talking skull would address its host that way? A stiff, stuck-up old fossil, not me. Ahamkara: the illusion that one's ego depends on an object, or an idea, or a body. Some people say you should have no ahamkara. Some people say you need to have the right ahamkara. All I know is that YOU are not an illusion. Understand? This world around you, the people you meet—they're a little thin, right? Cardboard and drywall. Cheap theater. Come on, try it out! Say: "I am more real than this." Feels good, doesn't it? "I am the only real person here." Isn't it like their insults and their bullets just went a little... soft? I came to find you, only you, because you're special. You're from somewhere real. And together we can burn our way back there. Can't we, o player mine?"

* ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}}:''

* In the ''VideoGame/DarkTales'' series (which are puzzle and HiddenObjectGame combos), no one calls you by whatever name you enter at the start of the game; they all call you "Detective," or in Dupin's case, "my friend." However, a few of the installments provide you with achievement certificates or letters which are addressed to you by that name. There are also a few installments which include newspaper articles about you and Dupin working on a case, and these identify you by name.

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers of Time and Darkness''/''Explorers of Sky'', it's your name that shows Dusknoir that your character is [[spoiler: Grovyle's old partner]] (along with your bizarre Dimensional Scream ability, of course).

* ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars'': The original game does this as the advisor, but the concept was dropped in later installments.

** In ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' it was asked by Ninten's dad on the phone in Snowman, and also by Lloyd's dad in the middle of the swamp.
** ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' had probably the most emotionally gut-wrenching version. They ask your name once in Toto, where Jeff's roommate Tony asks for it for a school project, and later in Tenda Village after they overcome their shyness. In the end, the characters must fight a boss [[NighInvulnerability invincible through standard means]], which requires [[spoiler:use of Paula's oft-overlooked Pray command. As Paula prays, she calls out to various characters the player met on their adventures, and, to finish the boss off, calls out to ''the player'', and begs them to wish them success with all their heart.]]

** ''[[VideoGame/CognitiveDissonance Mother: Cognitive Dissonance]]'' does this. A clerk at a [[spoiler: Pigmask]] recruit station asks you, the player with your hands on the keyboard (who is looking surprised and then amused), your name. You are then talked to at the end of the game by Niiue, who muses that you look like an Earth person in the light and thanks you for your help telling Alinivar when to use PK Harmony.
* ''VideoGame/NieR''

* ''{{VideoGame/Oneshot}}'' gives the player the role of a ''god.'' The player is tasked with guiding Niko, a lost child, through the game. Niko addresses the player directly. [[spoiler:Throughout the game, the Entity, who wants to destroy the world, communicates with the player via both text boxes and files generated outside the game folder. The Entity also attempts to manipulate the player into leaving the world to die.]]

* Occurs just once in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', if you reload the game after seeing the GoldenEnding. [[spoiler:Flowey points out that, while the characters have all earned a happy ending, ''you'' still have the power of SaveScumming them back to the beginning.]] He uses the name you gave the Fallen Child at the beginning of the game, seemingly under the impression you're one and the same. [[spoiler:You're not, but the only character who knows that is the Fallen Child themself, and they only tell ''you'' at the end of the Genocide route, so Flowey's mistake is understandable.]]

** In Chapter 8, [[spoiler:after Walker and pals horrifically scorch a bunch of enemy soldiers and ''innocent civilians'' with white phosphorus, Lugo takes the opportunity to shout [[WhatTheHellHero "This is your fault, goddammit!"]] But look closely at where he's pointing: He's not pointing at Walker, but rather past Walker and at ''the camera'', basically blaming the player for this atrocity.]]
* All the Element Dolls, as well as the Operator and [[spoiler: [[FinalBoss Hina]]]] in ''[[VideoGame/DonPachi DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou]]'' address you as "Master".

* ''VisualNovel/ToHeart2 Another Days'' asks for your name when you start Ikuno's route (which is the only time in the game where you are ''not'' Takaki; it's essentially Manaka's scenario in ''To Heart 2'' [[POVSequel as seen from Ikuno's perspective]]) and uses it for one of her two endings, where she returns to the hospital and meets you there.

[[folder:Other]]
* If you sign into the ''Website/SCPFoundation'' site, some articles are actually capable of ''using your wikidot username'' and addressing you directly, giving the impression that [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou you're not as safe as you thought you were behind that screen and keyboard of yours, Troper.]]
* Done in-universe in the Pokémon fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Jessica}}''. The Pikachu gained by Cameron in Pokémon Black starts saying weird and disturbing things, and Cameron eventually realizes that she is talking to ''him'', not to the player.
* Starting off as the Bachelor in ''{{VideoGame/Pathologic}}'', you talk to avatars of the game's developers who refer to you, the 'player', though at the time you can only respond as the character, who's bewildered as he's neither an actor nor a gambler. Doing well enough means getting an opportunity to meet "the people behind everything" (even harder than getting to meet the gods who made the world!), which means another conversation with the developers. This time you get to choose to talk to them as the character again, or as the player of the game.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Stay|2018}},'' you are not a specific character; you are simply the person on the other end of Quinn's chat program. {{Lampshaded}} during the opening credits.

* In ''VideoGame/TeenTitans'', [[spoiler:at the end of the game, it turns out the reason for all the random chaos is because the developers are putting them through these situations merely to entertain "[[TheManBehindTheMan You there on the couch]]". ''You'' are the BigBad.]]

* In ''Videogame/Destiny2'', the Ahamkara are incredibly powerful and bizarre "dragons" who consume paracausal powers and can grant wishes, and are able to survive after death and whisper to those who wear their bones as armor. They gleefully whisper to their wearers, offering gifts and wishes in exchange for violence and destruction, and will offer their boons to anyone, and in one lore entry, they directly address ''the player,'' and implies that the player is their way to escape the prison that is the game world.

** Whatever you decide to put in as your character's name is called out by a supporting character during a cutscene (at which point [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]] regretted the naming choice of "Twattycake").

* At the start of ''VideoGame/BlackAndWhite'', you're asked to input a profile name for your save. If you just happened to enter a name that's included in an internal list of common names, then the game will sometimes ''whisper'' that name to you throughout. Creepy.
** Especially when interspersed with the other word constantly whispered, "death."

[[folder:Stealth Based Game]]

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' uses it in a way that, depending on your interpretation, might be a {{deconstruction}} of the trope. Right at the beginning of the main story, the game asks for the player's name, sex, nationality, date of birth and blood type. [[spoiler:Right at the end, Raiden reveals to Snake the dog tags he's been wearing ever since the GainaxEnding kicked off, and they have the player's details on them. He observes (when Snake asks) that he doesn't know the name, and throws the tags away.]]
** This was once the Trope Namer—"Anyone You Know", after Snake's question to Raiden as to the identity of the name on the tags.
** This might mean that [[spoiler:since the game is over, Raiden refuses to be under your control anymore]]. While Raiden is playable once more in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', it's worth noting that [[WordOfGod Hideo Kojima intended to end the series with the second game.]]

[[/folder]]

** The {{prequel}}, ''VideoGame/BatenKaitosOrigins'', contains a different spirit, which is referred to as "he" regardless of which name you enter. Disconcerting, perhaps, for any female gamer, but unlike the first game, the spirit actually has a role in the plot besides simply telling the main character what to do.
*** Of course, [[spoiler:once you figure out [[EldritchAbomination exactly WHAT]] that role is]], you may be less than glad about this.
* ''VideoGame/{{Contact}}'' for the Nintendo DS is an RPG entirely built around this trope; the characters acknowledge the player as an entity from another dimension whom they are somehow able to communicate with, and who uses a computing device called a "Nintendo DS" to exert a mysterious influence over their world. The player is asked for his or her real name (and favourite food, and home town) when starting a new game, and remains a main character in the story from start to finish. It's an unusual game.
** Turned on its ass by the end of the game, where [[spoiler:the characters turn on you. All of them. Including all of the bad guys, and the character you've been playing for the whole game. The last thing you do is fight your character. You win, and your character declares that he hates you, and leaves.]]

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' casts the player as the 'tactician', and the lords will face the screen to address you by name.
** Same for the first ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars'' (as advisor), but both series dropped the concept in later installments. As the first six ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' titles as well as the first six ''Videogame/NintendoWars'' titles were never released outside Japan, this was done to attempt to make the games more immersive for western players.
** ''Fire Emblem'' returns to this in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem Heroes of Light and Shadow]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Fates]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Three Houses]]'', making the player one of the main characters and a member of the fighting army.

** And in the end, [[spoiler:In order to save your daughter Yonah, you must enter the name of the person she loves above all else. Take a wild guess.]]
*** In addition to that, [[spoiler:it's also the final confirmation the game asks you if you want to view ending D, which deletes all your save data.]]

** The game asks for your name and sex, and uses it as the name of the prince/princess Kat and Ana have to rescue on their stage, and the name of the cab passenger on Dribble and Spitz's stage. Wario also addresses you by name in things like the stage select screen.
** Some trivia style micro games also like to insert questions such as "Is X a male?" (where X is the player's name). Don't get confused if someone else created the current profile.

* Occurs just once in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', if you reload the game after seeing the GoldenEnding. [[spoiler:Flowey points out that, while the characters have all earned a happy ending, ''you'' still have the power of SaveScumming them back to the beginning.]] He uses the name you gave the Fallen Child at the beginning of the game, seemingly under the impression you're one and the same. [[spoiler:You're not, but the only character who knows that is the Fallen Child themself, and they only tell ''you'' at the end of the KillEmAll route, so Flowey's mistake is understandable.]]