@cyber-flow This is amazing and makes me wonder if he would have gotten the "not do anything fancy with computers" from Mia, because I remember some flavor text from the first game mentions she wasn't great with computers either and I can see him thinking that if she could get by without depending on them that much then why shouldn't he?
Okay, on the one hand, that is a super-fun bit of flavour and characterization! On the other hand... speaking as someone who’s at least four years older than Phoenix (he was canonically born in ‘92/3, and I’m a 1988 model myself), this concept holds absolutely no water with me. By the time I was in elementary school, computers were starting to be pretty standard in well-to-do elementary schools, and by the time I graduated it was mandatory to know how to use one just to get your schoolwork done, even if you had to go to the library because you didn’t own one. Phoenix knows how to use a computer and he knew that this would be an important life skill in the future, there’s no way he would have been able to avoid that knowledge. He doesn’t have to be great with them, heavens know I’m not (heck, I’m the only person in my family, parents included, who doesn’t have a smartphone), but he’d have the basic necessary skills if we want to go for a realistic take on this. We knew basic computer skills were going to be necessary life skills in that era, trust me on that one.
THAT SAID! If someone wanted to go with the take you’re suggesting for Phoenix and his level of computer skills in a story, I see no reason why they shouldn’t, like I said, it’s a fun bit of character background. Something that would be a neat addition to that would be a little look at what Phoenix actually considers ‘fancy.’ He definitely knows how to use Word, e-mail, and a basic internet search, but what else can or can’t he do beyond that? Can he make a spreadsheet? Does he remember how to do a powerpoint? How good is he at making the internet spit out what he wants it to? When did he learn about YouTube? Does he have any sites he’s a member of, did Larry have an old dA account that Phoenix used to follow? When Phoenix was born, we had cassette tapes and video cassettes - does he still have his old collection? Does he know how to use a bluray player? Did he ever have a cassette or cd player, does he have an mp3 player now? Technology has developed at almost sci-fi levels of speed within his lifetime, what surprises him most? When he was a kid, they stamped the check-out date and return dates on a card in the back of the book at libraries, now they use hi-tech laser things to scan the barcodes! (I personally still love this development, it feels so hi-tech and space-age and cool!) There’s so many fascinating ways for Phoenix to interact with technology and be bad with or confused by it beyond ‘yeah, can’t use computers well,’ it’s really a topic we don’t explore with him to its fullest ability. I mean, heck... Phoenix lived through the furby craze. Why aren’t we doing anything with that, that would be an amazing little oneshot right there to explore in some manner!
I seem to have distracted myself, I’ll stop now.
