Gordon, the Idea vs. Gordon, the Man
Thinking about Wayne's recent explanation of Gordon's... state of being, I suppose? which is summarized as "Wayne | -> player -> Gordon". Wayne explained that he himself is removed from the canon, but Gordon does have an actual "player" playing as him, an anonymous "real person" in this world that embodies Gordon Freeman for the sake of the NPCs.
Its unclear then how much of the personal details and expressed experiences apply to "the player" or to "Gordon".
Maybe "the player" is entirely removed, sharing no traits or feelings to "Gordon", and is simply an actor playing a character.
I've seen this interpretation before, and while its canon-compliant (and likely the view Wayne himself has), I feel it's boring. It leaves few stakes for "the player" and introduces this unknowable person into the story that hypothetically exists with a real name, personality, and life outside of the game, but we will never get any of this information.
Maybe— and this is the interpretation I prefer— "the player" is very much playing as himself, but still pretending to have sensory experiences in the world that he just doesn't have.
In an "expanding-on-canon" way, I interpret that the "player" does have some of these sensory experiences; phantom sensations of what he's seeing + hearing + experiencing psychologically but not physically. The player doesn't realize its happening as its a slow process, but he becomes enmeshed with the character he plays. Tetris effect to the extreme.
Specifically nowadays I prefer "'The player' was already psychologically fragile and had a tenuous connection with reality, therefore this highly immersive VR experience with sapient AI and long-term dynamic experiences shattered the barrier between fiction and reality in his mind. Now he doesn't know where 'the player' ends and 'Gordon' begins" over how I used to interpret it as "The game infests his mind like a parasite, either through sci-fi tech or alien shenanigans". Both can be cool though!
Back on the topic of personal details for "the player": I like to think "the player" did have his own name, but after becoming enmeshed with the game, he now considers Gordon Freeman to be his true name.
This idea is extra fun to me if "the player" originally thought he was a woman, but after experiencing manhood via this game, it cracked his egg. He can't go back now that he knows what he could have. Adds another emotionally significant reason for "the player" to prefer and embody his game self over his real-world self
Tl;dr: HLVRAI is about the paper-thin barrier between your real self and the fake persona you've been embodying being shred apart and you no longer know who you are or which experiences are reality/illusion
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