"Once upon a time, there was a player. The player was you, [player name]. Sometimes it thought itself human, on the thin crust of a spinning globe of molten rock. The ball of molten rock circled a ball of blazing gas that was three hundred and thirty thousand times more massive than it. They were so far apart that light took eight minutes to cross the gap. The light was information from a star, and it could burn your skin from a hundred and fifty million kilometres away. Sometimes the player dreamed it was a miner, on the surface of a world that was flat, and infinite. The sun was a square of white. The days were short; there was much to do; and death was a temporary inconvenience. Sometimes the player dreamed it was lost in a story. Sometimes the player dreamed it was other things, in other places. Sometimes these dreams were disturbing. Sometimes very beautiful indeed. Sometimes the player woke from one dream into another, then woke from that into a third. Sometimes the player dreamed it watched words on a screen."

"Let’s go back. The atoms of the player were scattered in the grass, in the rivers, in the air, in the ground. A woman gathered the atoms; she drank and ate and inhaled; and the woman assembled the player, in her body. And the player awoke, from the warm, dark world of its mother’s body, into the long dream. And the player was a new story, never told before, written in letters of DNA. And the player was a new program, never run before, generated by a sourcecode a billion years old. And the player was a new human, never alive before, made from nothing but milk and love. You are the player. The story. The program. The human. Made from nothing but milk and love. Let’s go further back. The seven billion billion billion atoms of the player’s body were created, long before this game, in the heart of a star. So the player, too, is information from a star. And the player moves through a story, which is a forest of information planted by a man called Julian, on a flat, infinite world created by a man called Markus, that exists inside a small, private world created by the player, who inhabits a universe created by… Shush. Sometimes the player created a small, private world that was soft and warm and simple. Sometimes hard, and cold, and complicated. Sometimes it built a model of the universe in its head; flecks of energy, moving through vast empty spaces. Sometimes it called those flecks “electrons” and “protons”. Sometimes it called them “planets” and “stars”. Sometimes it believed it was in a universe that was made of energy that was made of offs and ons; zeros and ones; lines of code. Sometimes it believed it was playing a game. Sometimes it believed it was reading words on a screen. You are the player, reading words… Shush… Sometimes the player read lines of code on a screen. Decoded them into words; decoded words into meaning; decoded meaning into feelings, emotions, theories, ideas, and the player started to breath faster and deeper and realised it was alive, it was alive, those thousand deaths had not been real, the player was alive You. You. You are alive."

"and the universe said I love you and the universe said you have played the game well and the universe said everything you need is within you and the universe said you are stronger than you know and the universe said you are the daylight and the universe said you are the night and the universe said the darkness you fight is within you and the universe said the light you seek is within you and the universe said you are not alone and the universe said you are not separate from every other thing and the universe said you are the universe tasting itself, talking to itself, reading its own code and the universe said I love you because you are love."

"Jens “Jeb” Bergensten at Minecraft Live 2020"

"I like this player. It played well. It did not give up."

"Words make a wonderful interface. Very flexible. And less terrifying than staring at the reality behind the screen."

"Take a breath, now. Take another. Feel air in your lungs. Let your limbs return. Yes, move your fingers. Have a body again, under gravity, in air. Respawn in the long dream. There you are. Your body touching the universe again at every point, as though you were separate things. As though we were separate things."

"Who are we? Once we were called the spirit of the mountain. Father sun, mother moon. Ancestral spirits, animal spirits. Jinn. Ghosts. The green man. Then gods, demons. Angels. Poltergeists. Aliens, extraterrestrials. Leptons, quarks. The words change. We do not change."

"We are the universe. We are everything you think isn’t you. You are looking at us now, through your skin and your eyes. And why does the universe touch your skin, and throw light on you? To see you, player. To know you. And to be known. I shall tell you a story."

"If you want to crawl under the bongo berries, use the down arrow and the jump button or key at the same time."

"You need to be an expert at finding the numbers, so that you can escape Boulder bonanza, and continue your quest to retrieve the Book of Knowledge."

"All is well in Rayman's world. The sun shines brilliantly and the clear water of the rivers bubbles and sings as it flows. Every day is a happy day here. Deep in the forest, the wizard's cottage sits in the shelter of a peaceful green clearing. Knowing and learning, this wise man guards an ancient tome, which contains the wisdom of the world. Alas! All of this is but a distant memory. Today our world is at the mercy of the terrible Mr Dark, who once again, has overpowered us. Just a few days ago, when Betilla the Fairy was visiting, Mr Dark invaded my home. He headed right for the Book of Knowledge. Despite our efforts to resist him, he stole all of its contents and escaped with them. Before leaving, he even destroyed the map to his hideout, which I have kept just in case. Whatever shall we do? Who can we ask to retrieve the stolen Book of Knowledge for us? Rayman! All our hopes are on this one hero who so many times before, has shown his bravery in face of the most daunting tasks. This will be a long, hard adventure. The quest to retrieve the lost Book of Knowledge will be dangerous. Go Rayman! Let your courage and cleverness lead the way!"

"To choose the right letter or the right word, plant the magic seed on the little piles of dirt you will find underneath the letter or words."