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Generic video game protagonists


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#1
MacCready

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I am of course referring to the shaved headed soldier/space marine. You know the type, white, shaved head/mohawk with 5 o'clock shadow and a chiseled jaw that could break rocks. For example:

Infamous
Most Call of Duty games
Mass Effect (default character)
Killzone
Dead Space
Gears of War
Resistance
Assassin's Creed (Desmond)
Dead Island
Red Faction

And various others. It wouldn't be so bad if they had some personality but they're usually pretty bland characters as well. 

I have no idea why this design by committee character design is so popular? 

Modifié par MacCready, 14 juillet 2011 - 05:23 .


#2
88mphSlayer

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it's like the doom guy philosophy in that giving players a blank, uninteresting slate will somehow let them inhabit the shoes of the character more...

really it's just because it's hard to do good looking hair, especially in unreal engine games, so at some point somebody decided to just skip making hair and that caught on

as for personalities, it's all about the "blast hardcheese" and "thick mcrunfast" types this generation for some reason

in 10 years this generation of characters will be largely forgettable

Modifié par 88mphSlayer, 14 juillet 2011 - 05:29 .


#3
GodWood

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Image IPB
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Modifié par GodWood, 14 juillet 2011 - 05:36 .


#4
MacCready

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Frankly I'm finding video games to be too much of a sausage fest anyway, I call for more female protagonists. If there's a character creation system in a game I'll always choose to be a woman, a nice break from the norm.

#5
shepskisaac

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Sad even Mass Effect is on topic here with its super-generic Sheploo advertising the whole thing...

Modifié par IsaacShep, 14 juillet 2011 - 05:51 .


#6
Volus Warlord

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MacCready wrote...

Frankly I'm finding video games to be too much of a sausage fest anyway, I call for more female protagonists. If there's a character creation system in a game I'll always choose to be a woman, a nice break from the norm.


I WONT BUY GAMES WITH FEMALE PROTAGANISTS

No, I really don't care about female protanganists. However, most of the females in video games are oversexualized scantily clad bimbos and it is harder to make excuses for that rather than a horse-juicing skinhead.

So, less excuses for me to make about playing a game when the protaganist is male. I'm not saying it's right or that's the way it should be or dadada.. I'm just saying what it is.

#7
Dreadstruck

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Female Snake? I honestly don't see that working.

#8
MacCready

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You're not using your imaginations here. Female protagonists can work if they were given a bit more forethought other than sex objects. It's just that the industry is cashing in on what they think their major demographic find appealing.

It would be nice if developers tried a bit harder to come up with likeable female leads. So far the only example I can think of is FemSheps or any character I've created through a character creation system.

#9
Volus Warlord

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MacCready wrote...

You're not using your imaginations here. Female protagonists can work if they were given a bit more forethought other than sex objects. It's just that the industry is cashing in on what they think their major demographic find appealing.

It would be nice if developers tried a bit harder to come up with likeable female leads. So far the only example I can think of is FemSheps or any character I've created through a character creation system.


I dare say that up until relatively recently the biggest demographic was mischievously horny 12 to 15 year old males.

#10
GodWood

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MacCready wrote...
It would be nice if developers tried a bit harder to come up with likeable female leads. So far the only example I can think of is FemSheps or any character I've created through a character creation system.

Probably my favourite female videogame leads of all time.

Image IPB


Until of course Nintendo completely destroyed her character by turning her into some kind of space barbie whose armour falls off at every given moment, runs around in a catsuit and literally has an emotional breakdown at the sight of Ridley (the monster she has beaten countless times) until she is saved by a male character

>.>

#11
MacCready

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Volus Warlord wrote...

MacCready wrote...

You're not using your imaginations here. Female protagonists can work if they were given a bit more forethought other than sex objects. It's just that the industry is cashing in on what they think their major demographic find appealing.

It would be nice if developers tried a bit harder to come up with likeable female leads. So far the only example I can think of is FemSheps or any character I've created through a character creation system.


I dare say that up until relatively recently the biggest demographic was mischievously horny 12 to 15 year old males.


Yep, that's exactly right. I guess it just isn't as appealing to have a female character running around in a jumper and baggy trousers? But even when I played the first Tomb Raider at 14 I was confused as to why Lara was wearing shorts and a t-shirt in snowy Peruvian mountains?                                      

#12
88mphSlayer

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Avalla'ch wrote...

Female Snake? I honestly don't see that working.


kinda already been done, just not playable

Image IPB

#13
MacCready

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GodWood wrote...

MacCready wrote...
It would be nice if developers tried a bit harder to come up with likeable female leads. So far the only example I can think of is FemSheps or any character I've created through a character creation system.

Probably my favourite female videogame leads of all time.

Image IPB


Until of course Nintendo completely destroyed her character by turning her into some kind of space barbie whose armour falls off at every given moment, runs around in a catsuit and literally has an emotional breakdown at the sight of Ridley (the monster she has beaten countless times) until she is saved by a male character

>.>


And the best thing is you didn't even know she was a woman at first and she spent most of the time covered up. But yeah, they ruined the character now.

Frankly, I want a female protagonist like Ripley or Sarah Connor. Tough but sympathetic. And tough does NOT equal being a **** game developers!

#14
MacCready

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88mphSlayer wrote...

Avalla'ch wrote...

Female Snake? I honestly don't see that working.


kinda already been done, just not playable

Image IPB


A perfect example of what a great female lead could be like. Shame you had to (spoiler) her.

#15
Seagloom

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GodWood wrote...

Until of course Nintendo completely destroyed her character by turning her into some kind of space barbie whose armour falls off at every given moment, runs around in a catsuit and literally has an emotional breakdown at the sight of Ridley (the monster she has beaten countless times) until she is saved by a male character

>.>


That game should have gasoline poured on it before being thrown into a pit of bubbling magma. Samus was one of my favorite game characters going back to childhood, and they completely destroyed her with one bad narrative. Unbelievable. :mellow:

As for the topic itself, I thought it was about all generic video game protagonists. There are some that fall outside the space marine category. But yes, generic bald guy who chews nails and spits bullets with his manliness is a tired cliche.

#16
Ghost Lightning

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but...Mactavish has a mohawk.

#17
Dreadstruck

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88mphSlayer wrote...
kinda already been done, just not playable

Nah, I meant personality-wise. Boss is badass and all but there can be only one Snake for me.:wub:

#18
Ryllen Laerth Kriel

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Seagloom wrote...

GodWood wrote...

Until of course Nintendo completely destroyed her character by turning her into some kind of space barbie whose armour falls off at every given moment, runs around in a catsuit and literally has an emotional breakdown at the sight of Ridley (the monster she has beaten countless times) until she is saved by a male character

>.>


That game should have gasoline poured on it before being thrown into a pit of bubbling magma. Samus was one of my favorite game characters going back to childhood, and they completely destroyed her with one bad narrative. Unbelievable. :mellow:

As for the topic itself, I thought it was about all generic video game protagonists. There are some that fall outside the space marine category. But yes, generic bald guy who chews nails and spits bullets with his manliness is a tired cliche.


Yeah I agree so much with both of you on this. Samus was hardcore and badass. The original Metroid on the NES was ahead of it's time in it's dark sci-fi setting and suprise female protagonist at the end. Nintendo really screwed up with Samus in the last game (from what I heard). I haven't played the last few Metroid games actually since I gave up on consoles. But I remember a day when Samus was an interesting concept, and those days are long past.

#19
Seagloom

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Ghost Lightning wrote...

but...Mactavish has a mohawk.


Details!

@Ryllen

"Metroid" was one of the first NES games I mastered. It was also so different from anything else I played at the time. I might not have been as impressed had I played "The Legend of Zelda" first, but as it stood "Metroid" was my first exposure to real exploration, finding the right items to advance, and an actual soundtrack. It raised the bar. After that I no longer saw games as being about mindlessly killing for points, or trying to reach the end of a level. I saw it as playing through an adventure.

The female character reveal was icing on the cake after all that. Then "Super Metroid" came along years later by doing everything its predecessor did and fine tuning it to perfection. Easily one of the best games ever made. *Ever*. That is how I try to remember the series. "Other M" is a travesty.

#20
Ryllen Laerth Kriel

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Oh yeah, Super Metroid was awesome...Nintendo was still making excellent decisions for that platform, continuing it's main series but improving on them with technology. Super Castlevania and Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past were both quite good too.

Hey, now that I think about it, they recently almost killed Castlevania too with that terrible fighting game a couple of years ago. Here's to hoping that they won't ruin Skyward Sword as well.

#21
Boiny Bunny

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I'm quite happy to play a game as virtually any protagonist - as long as their existence is plausible. I tend to play games in the 3rd person rather than the first person, speaking from a roleplaying perspective.

What I don't like, or even despise, is characters who do not belong in the game, and feel like they had just been chucked in, in the last month of development, because the game producers only just realized that there were no [insert traditional minority/underdog group here] people in the game.

As for the use of generic looking male template characters (bald space marine), I guess that their looks are a result of market research on the primary target audience.

The trouble is, normal looking characters are exactly that. There is nothing that stands out about them, thus they become forgettable. Thus we get a rest deal of characters at exact opposite extremes: bald space marines oozing stereotypical 50's manliness, and anorexic emo characters with insane hair (think FF characters).

IMO a good example of a 'normal' character who is very memorable in appearance, despite never once seeing him in game, is Gordon Freeman. He's a normal looking guy for hebmost part. If I saw him walking down the street I doubt he'd stick out a great deal - but I would venture to guess that a vast majority of gamers who have ever played any of the Half Life games have a very clear image of him in their minds...

#22
Fishy

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So someone who shave his head = a generic human being?
Someone personality/human side goes beyond his haircut ..

I know what you mean . But we play mostly ppl in the army . I really doubt anyone in the army would start dressing like the singer of kiss.

Modifié par Suprez30, 14 juillet 2011 - 10:35 .


#23
Homebound

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you forgot the constipated voice over work. You cant have a generic game protagonist without the constipated voice acting.

#24
Wicked 702

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Ryllen Laerth Kriel wrote...

Hey, now that I think about it, they recently almost killed Castlevania too with that terrible fighting game a couple of years ago. Here's to hoping that they won't ruin Skyward Sword as well.


Which game is that? You're not talking about Lords of Shadow are you? There was a Castlevania fighting game?

#25
GoG ToXiC

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You guys are making me really glad that I sold my wii in time to beat corruption, but before other M came out. I was actually considering renting one just to play that game, but I don't really want to now. To many other games I enjoy have been wrecked by reboots.