You can get into some weird, loopy situations when people reflect enough to lift up the floorboards, infer some “player-level” motivations, and then go around talking or thinking about them at the “character level”. Especially if they’re lacking in tact or social sophistication. I remember as a kid being so confused about charitable giving—because, doesn’t everyone know that giving is basically just a way of trying to make yourself look good? And doesn’t everyone know that that’s Wrong? So shouldn’t everyone just be doing charity anonymously or something?
Luckily, complex societies develop ways for handling different, potentially contradictory levels of meaning with grace and tact; and nobody listens too much to overly sincere children.
You can get into some weird, loopy situations when people reflect enough to lift up the floorboards, infer some “player-level” motivations, and then go around talking or thinking about them at the “character level”. Especially if they’re lacking in tact or social sophistication. I remember as a kid being so confused about charitable giving—because, doesn’t everyone know that giving is basically just a way of trying to make yourself look good? And doesn’t everyone know that that’s Wrong? So shouldn’t everyone just be doing charity anonymously or something?
Luckily, complex societies develop ways for handling different, potentially contradictory levels of meaning with grace and tact; and nobody listens too much to overly sincere children.