Summary
Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have a cameo inControl, Remedy Entertainment’s hit 2019 action adventure. But while her likeness seems to have been used for one ofControl’s assets, the game does not depict the now-presumptive Democratic presidential nominee as her real-world self.
Harris’s lookalike can be seen inControl’s Oldest House, a mysterious New York City place of power central to the game’s story. Found in one of the skyscraper’s halls leading up to an elevator is a whiteboard that contains posters of a dozen missing persons. One of the three larger placards from this bunch depicts a woman that looks extremely similar to Harris, although it identifies her as Jane Farland.
Kamala Harris’s Control Doppelganger Was Already Spotted Back in 2019
The image was plausibly derived from Harris’s official senate portrait, which was taken after she was sworn in as aUS senatorfor California in 2017. Her pose and facial expression in the photograph are near-identical to the ones seen inControl, although Remedy appears to have altered the image in several ways. For one, the background featuring her senate office with the US and California flags has been masked out of the in-game missing person poster. Secondly, while Harris is looking straight at the camera in her portrait, Jane Farland is shown glancing slightly to her left. Farland’s hair is also depicted as slightly more voluminous. Both the hair and eye differences could have easily been edited with something like Photoshop’s Liquify tool.
Kamala Harris Isn’t the Only Former US Senator Spotted in Control
Remedy did not respond to Totilo’s request for comment on Harris’s curiousControlcameo. One potential explanation for her inclusion is that the developer opted to utilize her image because the vast majority of photographs published by the US government, including official senator portraits, are public domain and therefore free for commercial use. This theory is substantiated by the fact that right next to the poster of Harris’s lookalike is one of Steve Fair, who happens to be a spitting image of former Pennsylvania senator Pat Toomey.
Both Harris and Toomey’s doppelgangers hence appear to be part of theRemedy Connected Universe, which is confirmed to encompassControland theAlan Wakeseries. Be that as it may, neither of the characters that they had inspired are meant to represent their real-world selves or serve as any kind of political statement. That’s suggested byControl’s credits, which conclude with a fairly run-of-the-mill disclaimer stating that “the characters and events depicted in this video game are fictional” and that any similarity to real-world persons is “coincidental and unintentional.”
Control
WHERE TO PLAY
Winner of over 80 awards, Control is a visually stunning third-person action-adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Blending open-ended environments with the signature world-building and storytelling of renowned developer, Remedy Entertainment, Control presents an expansive and intensely gratifying gameplay experience.A corruptive presence has invaded the Federal Bureau of Control…Only you have the power to stop it. The world is now your weapon in an epic fight to annihilate an ominous enemy through deep and unpredictable environments. Containment has failed, humanity is at stake. Will you regain control?Can you handle the bureau’s dark secrets? Unfold an epic supernatural struggle, filled with unexpected characters and bizarre events, as you search for your missing brother, and discover the truth that has brought you here.
