Research on "who" you felt like in Amnesia

[Paddy™]

Thomas,

Most of the time I felt that I was guiding myself through the game. Sometimes, usually after some kind of revelation or story progression involving the main character(s), I'd feel that I was guiding the character through the game and that I felt kind of "responsible" for his well-being (as opposed to my own). In other words, I never really felt that I was Daniel, I either felt that I was myself or that I was responsible for Daniel as a separate person for certain sections of the game.

Because I felt that I was the one in the castle rather than Daniel I felt slightly "cheated" by the revelation that Daniel was, at least at one time, an enthusiastic murderer/torturer. It was as if the character I projected into the game (i.e. myself!) was "sullied" but in a way that was obviously impossible to anticipate. It wasn't a negative experience though, it just made the game even more depressing than before!

That's a good point actually - I felt stressed and frightened almost all of the time, but the one emotion I rarely hear mentioned in relation to this game is despair/depression. It's an emotionally draining experience, like watching Schindler's List 10 times in a row. Not because of the story per se, I think it's just an offshoot of the "vulnerability = horror" thing. The incessant feeling of vulnerability doesn't just make you afraid, it makes you feel impotent/demoralised. And I friggin' love it.