> The striking Japanese film Avalon (2001) had players gradually becoming aware that the environment they are inside is a videogame simulation.
This film was made by Mamoru Oshii, director of Ghost in the Shell. It was the next film he did right after it. I loved this movie when came out. He filmed this movie in Poland and all the actors in it are Polish. Highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.
Excellent movie with an absolute brilliant score from Kenji Kawai. I love the elements of applying an anime-style (i.e. the set design and how background characters physically behave) to live action. The ending also hits hard with a kind of magical indescribable feeling I don't know how to articulate.
Probably not the most important anecdote, but IIRC his dog (Basset hound) also features in this film, like he did in Ghost in the Shell (inserted as Batou's dog I think). It seems he has a thing for adding it to every film.
This film was made by Mamoru Oshii, director of Ghost in the Shell. It was the next film he did right after it. I loved this movie when came out. He filmed this movie in Poland and all the actors in it are Polish. Highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.