[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.