TRCK

I gave Chronicles of Benry another look-through after watching HL2VRAI act 2, and is it just me or is there foreshadowing for HL2VRAI in here

the goofy joke(?) opening starts with Benrey dying, followed by a machine advertising train tickets, and ... the joke is obviously that that's Bubby's character model misidentified as Coomer's, but something happening to Coomer allegedly

(also something happening to Gordon, but that's a given)

Saw reference parallels the Saw sequence in act 2, menu card advertising food and "poo" could be a reference to Stain's bar in the sewers in act 1. Scorpy says something to the effect of "if Benrey died, how can there be more?", which is arguably the driving question in HL2VRAI (even after they "beat the game", the game is still running)

dead TF2 soldier with an Among Us crewmate = Leonard as an "imposter" combine soldier who got shot in the head? dead blue pyro might be another dead Benrey reference, since his signature color is blue and he's apparently a pyro main. cross motif everywhere presumably for Grigori

now I'm getting into the Benrey->Stain theorizing - after the jokey gmod segment, there's the surreal part with the conflicting text ("you are so funny, you cannot stop, you are so nice, this may be your last chance"), followed by Benrey shattering and the text apparently asking him if he now "feels better." some kind of internal conflict->transformation/loss of identity? maps to his being unhappy with being the villain of the original series and potentially gaining a second chance to befriend Gordon and be a "good guy" as Stain

Stain's big moment of deciding to stay with the new team in HL2VRAI act 2 even takes place at sundown overlooking water, just like the nightlight segment background here^

the nightlight segment has themes of identity, personal sacrifice, clinging to something, and deciding who you want to be. the childlike phrasing of "when I grow up" could be a reference to rebirth, with Stain claiming to have been born as an adult, thinking the Rugrats theme is "his" song, and needing to learn a lot of things from scratch when he leaves his room for the first time.

a lot of things still don't match 1:1 with the new series, but the new series has also only just begun! plenty of time for more parallels to appear if that really is what they're doing

also I'm just gonna take the opportunity to speculate a little ...

there's a part in the gmod segment where Scorpy says "I have to destroy all the hats, maybe there's a clue to something" and uses explosives to try to destroy all the crewmates(..?)'s little clay pot hats, which reveals they have human skeletons inside (skeleton motif!!). in the transformation segment, there's a shot where Benrey's helmet is missing.

and you know how Stain's character model has a pale patch on top of the head? I think it's meant to look like a bald spot at a glance, but it also kind of resembles a part of a model (video game render or a physical action figure, either comparison works) that's untextured/unpainted because that part is supposed to be covered. or alternatively a surgery scar ... it's like his model was supposed to have a hat that was removed. I think this must've been added to Stain's model on purpose, because I don't believe any version of the Barney character model has either a bald spot or a hat.

and of course the design quirk that sets Benrey apart from the standard security guard design (in some official art and in merch) is that his helmet casts a dark shadow over his face:

something something loss of identity/the missing piece that "makes you you"/the clue to the puzzle?

I think if Stain finds a funny hat lying around somewhere later, he probably shouldn't put it on, because I think he might remember some things he'd rather forget. or he'll get possessed. or rebooted. or a fourth weirder thing.

Vague idea I had for a Dr. Coomer distortion. Tried to go for a "videogame boss" with the low-poly look, like him giving into the realization he is just an AI. Could probably be better but I am not a character designer

Yes help me! [HLVRAI] (spoilers)!

GIANT hlvrai doodles from the past months DAYS, pt.5