Player (IBAD 1)

"[WARNING: This page contains spoilers for the first and second game, but more so for the story and endings than solutions to puzzles. If you haven`t played the game and don`t want to get spoiled, it is recommended to not read this page.]"

The Player is the main protagonist of I Became a Dog and appears as a supporting character in I Became a Dog 2.



Appearance
As a dog, the Player is a reddish-brown dog with sparkly black eyes, red blush, pointy ears, and a short tail. In the second version, the Player is seen shortly after you unlock the cage. (key given after giving Sam the dynamite) If you share bugs, he ought to be alive, if you don't, he is most likely to be dead.

As a human, he is a man with light skin and short, brown hair parted in the middle. He is seen wearing an orange long-sleeved shirt with a white stripe across the middle, blue jeans, and brown shoes.

The Player is most likely an adult in his human form; him being married and drinking alcohol are indicators for this. The dog`s age on the other hand is unknown, though it can be assumed it`s a younger dog, as it`s new to the house.

Personality
(There are two characters that fall under “The Player”: the protagonist, and the dog he swaps places with, both of whom have different personalities. Both will be discussed here.)

Human (turned dog)
The player is assumed to be quite irresponsible. This is supported by endings 4 and 5, as his wife (who is revealed to have been the one feeding the dogs the whole game) gets mad at him for getting drunk and never feeding the dogs. Though it is true that he was unable to feed the dogs, it is implied that this happens often, and that he does not have a job. After getting scolded by his wife, he goes to the bar to get drunk yet again. He realizes in several endings of the game that he enjoys being a dog more than a human, because he never got scolded as a dog, and likes not having any responsibilities. This is shown whether he’s glad that he stayed a dog in endings 3 and 5, or regretting that he ever went back in ending 4.

He also has the option at one point to cruelly say “just die”, deliberately letting Sony die of exhaustion instead of helping him stop jumping, which indicates that he isn’t a good person. He’s also greedy himself. In the third ending, as soon as everybody else is gone, he realizes he enjoys having all the dog food to himself and is glad to be alone, even though that means the other dogs are all dead or locked away. However, the third ending is not the true ending, nor are any of the endings where Sony dies (even though the fifth, one in which Sony dies, is labelled the “happy ending”), so this may be dismissed as an alternate universe and not representing of his true character.

Dog (turned human)
On the other hand, the dog that the player swaps places with is mischievous and, unlike the player character, very much prefers being human over being a dog. He says that he looks up to humans, and even seems to look down on dogs, calling the player in his own body a “mutt”. As a human, he runs away from the player in the first game, because he doesn’t want to go back to his old body. He is even locked away in the second game because he kept determinedly trying to swap bodies with humans.

Pre-I Became a Dog
The Player is a human living his wife and their four dogs, James, Chris, Tomy, Julia and her deceased puppy, as well as the new dog he adopts the day before they swap bodies. One of their neighbour’s dogs, Sony, often comes over and stays with them as well. Before the events of the game, the player locked Julia in a cage, thinking she was bullying Tomy.

I Became a Dog 1
The player, after coming home drunk one night, accidentally swapped places with his new dog and now has limited memories. He sets off to become human again, but there are challenges along the way not limited to his current form.

Sony is very helpful to the player, as he can speak the human language too, being a human-turned-dog himself. He teaches the player how to bark, fart, and swim, as well as upgrade his speed. In some endings, the player character lets Sony die, even though all he ever did was help him, while in others (including the true ending) he saves his life. The player doubts that Sony is human until he sees him come back as a human himself (Ending 4 and 5).

Chris is also a helpful character, and gives the player useful information when he needs it the most. The player thinks Chris is weird because he eats mice, but gives him one when he asks for it because he says he will help him in return.

Through the majority of the story, the player seems to be annoyed by James, as he is constantly being rude and bossing him around. However, he feels bad after he dies, remarking that all he ever did was love Tomy, and after the player becomes human again he thanks James for being so loyal and protecting the room where his human form lay (though James is a corpse by then).

The player locked Julia up as a human, but later feels bad for it and frees her as a dog to get revenge on Tomy after learning the truth. However, in the third ending (one in which he stays a dog), he once again imprisons Julia, as she begins following him around and hinting that she wants to kill him.

As a human, Tomy had always been the player’s favourite dog. She was the cutest, and he always gave her the most love. As a dog though, he realized how brutal she was and aided Julia in locking her up. Looking back, he does remember her being quite greedy about food.

In the true ending, the fourth one, the player turns back into a human and looks at all the dogs differently now with his old and new memories. Then he gets scolded by his wife, and thinks that maybe it would have been better to stay a dog, before leaving to start drinking again.

I Became a Dog 2
In the second game, the player's dog appears. He’s now locked in a cage in the neighbour’s house, because he kept trying to kiss people so he could become human. The player character of the second game can feed the dog bugs to keep him alive, but if he ignores or forgets about him he will die, which changes the outcome of the game.