Here’s an interesting question I just thought of: If the human is supposed to be a reflection of us, the player, why does the human have a name? By giving the human a name, you are creating an entirely new character that we know nothing about. That kinda breaks the immersion of the game if you ask me.
(undertale spoilers)
From the start, the game instructs the player to “name the fallen human.”
What players do not realize is that the fallen human in the game’s intro is not the same human that the player controls in the game.
It’s a common practice among players to use their own name or an alias when naming the main character of the game, especially if that character is perceived to be an avatar for the player. Naming the avatar with your own name tends to help people be more immersed in the game.
While naming the fallen human actually names the first fallen human, using your own gives certain scenes misdirection or more meaning.
In the pacifist route, Chara’s name is first mentioned in the VHS tapes found in the true lab’s. To those who think they are playing the character they named, these VHS tapes are confusing and seem to imply that the player’s character was somehow friends with Asriel before.
At the end of the pacifist route, Flowey urges “Chara” to not reset. Unless the player has played (or heard about) the genocide route, the player may think Flowey is speaking to them, especially if the name used is their own. Before the genocide route, the player wouldn’t know that Chara has returned.
Considering the fact that the player’s avatar turns out to be an entirely different character with a name, immersion was probably not the point of the game. While it does happen, it’s due to misdirection.
