[josephg]

Even reading that I stand by my impression of him. In that passage I hear about how much he loves the impact his games have had on others. (Cynically through the lens of all the compliments he’s gotten on his work). But nothing about what his work means to him.

Forget his fans. Does he like his games? Does he play them? It’s hard to tell from that passage, just as it was hard to tell from the talk of his I saw all those years ago. I don’t know if that’s something he really cares about. In contrast, I don’t think Jonathan blow or Hayao Miyazaki really think about their fans much at all when they look back on their work. They both seem much more focused on their own direct relationship to what they’re making.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with that. But personally I find artists who make art for themselves, according to their own aesthetic to be more fascinating people to follow. I loved Deus Ex. But games like The Witness or even Stardew Valley somehow feel like they have more soul in them. It’s an oblique criticism though. I have made neither kind of game.

[TerrifiedMouse]

He just told you what his work means to him. The part that he enjoys the most, the part that makes it worth it, is that his work in some way leaves an impression on other.

As you said, he is a creator that makes games for his audience rather than himself. As he himself has stated multiple times that his games are to let players tell their own personal stories hence his emphasis on player freedom and letting players have unique (as possible) paths through the game - as opposed to to the “players must experience everything we created” philosophy.

That doesn’t mean his work has no “soul”, frankly it has multiple souls in them as they are the collaborative work of an entire team.