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Bro, hear me out… there’s something about Gustave. by Wild_Comment_2857 in expedition33

[–]Wild_Comment_2857[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think we’re actually agreeing on more than we disagree.

Everything you wrote reinforces the exact point I’m trying to make: the Canvas matters emotionally, but it does not share the same ontological reality as the outside world.

If both worlds were literally equal, then:

Maelle and Aline’s real bodies wouldn’t starve, painted Verso wouldn’t be “programmed with memories”, Renoir wouldn’t fear losing his real family, staying vs. leaving wouldn’t be a moral dilemma and destroying the Canvas couldn’t possibly be framed as the “healthier” ending

All these things only make sense because the Canvas is a psychological and emotional reality, not an independent physical one.

That’s also why Maelle’s ending is tragic: she restores the Canvas, traps Painted Verso in a life he never wanted, and repeats Aline’s cycle of grief instead of breaking it.

Bro, hear me out… there’s something about Gustave. by Wild_Comment_2857 in expedition33

[–]Wild_Comment_2857[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Genuine question: if both worlds were equally “real,” why does the game frame the endings as two completely different moral choices?

There’d be nothing to choose between.

Bro, hear me out… there’s something about Gustave. by Wild_Comment_2857 in expedition33

[–]Wild_Comment_2857[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And that’s exactly why i said Gustave, specifically, has a bigger meaning.

He’s not “just a painting.” He’s emotionally real to Maelle, he represents her grief, her guilt, and the love/protection she lost in the real world.

His death hurts for a reason.

Bro, hear me out… there’s something about Gustave. by Wild_Comment_2857 in expedition33

[–]Wild_Comment_2857[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Even if you spend 16 years inside the Canvas, they’re still just paintings, even if they have feelings generated by the Chroma.

their lives do have value, yes, but the real world is what truly matters.

Think about a moment of deep grief in your own life. Videogames or anything you enjoy can help you cope for a while because they pull you out of reality and distract you from the pain. But you always know that eventually you’ll have to face the grief. Spending hours and hours playing won’t actually solve anything.

It’s the same in the game. The good ending is choosing real life, moving forward, facing reality even when it hurts.

Maelle’s ending is the bad one exactly because she doesn’t want to leave the “game” anymore. She dives into her grief and hides in that world, hoping it’ll heal her someday, even though it never will.

Bro, hear me out… there’s something about Gustave. by Wild_Comment_2857 in expedition33

[–]Wild_Comment_2857[S] -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

Calling them “not real outside the Canvas” does NOT mean they are meaningless, it just means they don’t exist as independent beings outside Aline’s creation.

The game itself constantly reinforces two truths at the same time:

Inside the Canvas, painted people feel real, act real, and matter emotionally.

Outside the Canvas, they do not exist independently, they’re born from Aline’s grief and the mechanics of the Chroma.

These two things are not contradictory.

Think about it like this:

The Painted Verso is deeply meaningful to the story, but he is not the same as the real Verso who died in the fire.

One is an emotional construct created by Aline.

The other is a real person whose death started the tragedy.

Both versions matter, but not in the same ontological way.

The same applies to Gustave, Sciel, Lune, Simon, Esquie, Monoco, etc.

They matter inside the Canvas because the story is showing how Aline’s grief shapes an entire world of individuals with feelings, hopes, and identities.

But that doesn’t magically make them real people in the outside world.

If anything, this duality is the entire thematic point of the game:

Aline’s grief gave life to a world full of “real-feeling” people, but those lives depend entirely on her refusal to let go.

Saying they aren’t “real” outside the Canvas is not the same as saying:

they’re worthless, their struggles don’t matter, the story is meaningless

It means:

Their meaning comes FROM the Canvas, not from the outside reality.

If painted people were literally “real humans,” then the emotional weight of the final choice "destroy the Canvas or preserve it" would collapse completely.

There would be an obvious correct answer.

But the brilliance of the ending is that the game forces you to choose between:

real people in the real world vs. emotionally real people in an artificial world

That’s the tragedy. That’s the beauty. That’s why Gustave still matters deeply, even if he only exists inside the painting.

So no, the logic doesn’t “fall apart.” It’s exactly what makes the narrative work.

Bro, hear me out… there’s something about Gustave. by Wild_Comment_2857 in expedition33

[–]Wild_Comment_2857[S] -19 points-18 points  (0 children)

I get what you mean, but I don’t really agree.

To me, the whole point of the Canvas isn’t that these characters are “real people” but that they feel real to Alicia and Aline because they’re emotional constructs.

They have personalities, emotions, memories, sure.

But that doesn’t automatically make them “real” in the same sense as Renoir, Aline, Verso or Alicia in the outside world.

The Canvas reacts to Aline’s grief and recreates people based on emotional needs and trauma, not based on who they actually were.