Player identity theory? (updated with new info from ch4)

[Hopefully if I’ve done this right this text should all be spoilered, but if not, SPOILERS!]

I know that this theory has been around a while and is probably getting talked about a lot, but does anyone else here think that the new ch4 vhs tapes (and taunting from Sawyer) seem to be hinting pretty heavily that our player character is Rich? [if anyone has forgotten, he’s that gruff employee that showed up in vhs tapes from ch1, 2, 3, and now 4]

[Explanation of the tape, for those who haven’t seen it] (skip this paragraph if you have)

for anyone who hasn’t seen it (and doesnt want to watch it before reading this) the new tape follows on from ch3’s one. Rich is promoted and is now a lot less gruff, and seems to be in charge of other workers. In the tape, he is heard talking to a younger employee about a complaint they received because they had a verbal fight with another worker, and Rich wanted to hear his side of the story. The ‘kid’ apologised for making Rich do extra work, but tries explaining their behaviour on how stressed and on edge the companies policies and rumours about people ‘disappearing’ were making everyone. Rich acts resigned but sympathetic and agrees that the company isn’t the greatest, but that the ‘kid’ should come to him if he had any more issues instead of causing fights, because Rich was in a position of power now and could look out for the needs of employees like him. The tape ends with the ’kid’ apologising to Rich and agreeing he‘d come to him if he needed help. (*Note, Rich calls him ‘kid’, but it seems like he’s older teens/college age, so 18/19 maybe)

[Theory]

Overall, Rich is set up in the tape as a minor authority figure who genuinely cared about the wellbeing of the other employees and questioned the company’s policies, who the employees under him (like the ‘kid‘ in the tape) looked up to. And honestly, this kind of feeds in directly to what we know about the player;

Rich:

- was an authority figure, someone who might have had their own office like the one shown in ch3, and might have been well known enough for experiments like Mommy to recognise them

- ^however, probably wasn’t high ranking enough for higher-ups like sawyer to know who they are, which would explain his lack of recognition of us in ch4

- seemed to genuinely care about and look out for the wellbeing of the other employees under him (who are implied to have trusted him), so could realistically feel guilty for leaving them behind to suffer

- shows up in every chapter in a VHS tape, with each one being chonologically next from the last - as if we‘re being told his story for a reason

- was one of the few employees who actively questioned the company’s practices and ethics from the beginning

- in ch4, sawyer taunts us that there must have been ’someone special’ we felt particularly guilty about leaving at the factory and we were hoping to find out what happened to them - it could be the trusting ‘Kid’ from the vhs, or aside from that, Rich would have had the time and the clearance to form bonds with different members of the staff, possibly even the orphans

The one snag to this theory that bothers me is that Rich is said to have a wife in the ch3 VHS. If that’s still the case, surely he wouldn’t knowingly go on a dangerous expedition into the factory if she was still on the outside with him? Unless they split up/she was the ‘someone’ that the doctor was hinting at, which I guess is plausible.

Again, I’ve heard this talked about before prior to ch4 On YouTube and I’m sure there are theory crafters over there talking about this now lol, but I haven’t seen anyone post about the new info on here yet, so- anyone agree? Pls lemme know your thoughts, or if you have a different theory!