In a surprising twist for gamers and political followers alike, Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have made an unexpected cameo in the 2019 hit video game Control, developed by Remedy Entertainment. This occurrence has sparked interest due to the use of a character that remarkably resembles Harris, albeit not portraying her as her real-world self.
Control is set in a mysterious building known as the Oldest House, located in New York City. This pivotal setting is characterized by its ever-changing architecture and mysterious, supernatural phenomena. Within this complex backdrop, players encounter a whiteboard displaying posters of missing persons. One poster, in particular, catches the eye: it features a woman named Jane Farland, who bears a striking resemblance to Harris.
Vice President Kamala Harris Reportedly Spotted In Control Video Game
The discovery was first made by a player in 2019, just after the game's release and notably before Joe Biden selected Harris as his running mate in the 2020 presidential election. This early sighting led to a flurry of discussions and speculations within the gaming community, particularly as more players began to recognize the likeness.
Stephen Totilo, a prominent gaming journalist, took an analytical approach by using a facial recognition program to examine the image of Jane Farland. His findings suggested a significant match with Harris’s official Senate portrait from 2017, where she is depicted in a formal setting with the U.S. and California flags. Remedy Entertainment subtly altered the portrait for the game, changing the background and modifying Harris's expression slightly, thus crafting a character that is similar yet distinctly part of the game's universe.
Kamala Harris apparently exists as a different person in the Control universe.
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Despite multiple inquiries, Remedy Entertainment has not commented on the inclusion of Harris's likeness in Control. This has left room for speculation among the game's fans and observers. One widely accepted theory is that the developers utilized Harris's image because it is part of the public domain, a status often granted to official photographs released by the U.S. government.
Remedy's Use of Political Figures' Likenesses Blurs Lines Between Fiction And Reality
This practice is not isolated to Harris's character; another missing person poster in the game depicts a man resembling former Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey. This pattern suggests that Remedy might be employing public domain images for creating multiple characters within their games, lending a touch of realism to the fictional settings.
The game developers have intertwined these real-world likenesses within the Remedy Connected Universe, which encompasses both Control and the Alan Wake series. This shared universe is lauded for its intricate plots and interconnected narratives that enhance the gaming experience.
However, Control includes a disclaimer in its credits, stating that the characters and events depicted are fictional and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental and unintentional. This standard disclaimer underlines that the inclusion of a character resembling Harris is not intended as a political statement or a representation of Harris herself.
The use of real-world likenesses in video games is a topic of interest and debate, touching on issues of privacy, public domain, and the creative freedom of developers. In the case of Control, the addition of characters that mirror public figures like Harris adds a layer of intrigue and prompts a closer examination of the boundaries between reality and the fictional worlds created in video games.
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