View source for Triangle of identities

A term invented by [[Graham Nelson]] to describe the nature of a [[player]]'s interaction with a game:

: 'There are at least three identities involved in play: the person typing and reading ("[[player]]"), the main character within the story ("[[player character|protagonist]]"), and the voice speaking about what this character sees and feels ("[[narrator]]").  There is a triangle of relationships between them, and it's a triangle with very different proportions in different games.'

: &mdash; Graham Nelson, ''[[The Inform Designer's Manual]]'', Fourth Edition, p.368

There is some discussion of the 'different proportions' in the glossary entries linked above, and a more detailed exploration in Nelson's article.

==Games==
The following games subvert the triangle of identities or present it in unusual ways:
* ''[[Bellclap]]'' ([[Tommy Herbert]]; 2004; [[Z-code]]).
* ''[[Fail-Safe]]'' ([[Jon Ingold]]; 2000; Z-code 5).
* ''[[LASH]]'' ([[Paul O'Brian]]; 2000; Z-code 8).
* ''[[The Milk of Paradise]]'' ([[Josh Graboff]]; 2009; Z-code).
* ''[[Pantomime]]'' ([[Robb Sherwin]]; 2006; [[Hugo]] 3.1).

[[Category:Glossary]]

<!-- Note: The original pre-IFWiki author of this glossary page was [[Tommy Herbert]]  - 29 Oct 2002 -->