Obviously spoilers in this thread
I was thinking today about protagonists in video games. I thought for a while and realized that in most games today the character development is broken either by bland characters or by schizophrenic reactions to different scenarios by those characters. Take, for instance, Mass Effect 2. You can take your squadmates on a mission where they go for one vendetta or another, and afterwards they just shrug it off. This was especially apparent in Thane's mission, where he draws his gun on his own friggin' son and then goes back to the ship and sits around. Yeah, you can talk to him about it, but after that any mention of his conflict with his son is just absent from his story arch. That is an example of character development where the character just seems to forget about past events. Also, for instance, think of Call of Duty: Black Ops. I think that the voice acting in that game is fantastic, but the writing sort of lets it down. Remember when Hudson was almost blown up, or when his interrogatee (I guess that's what you would call Clarke) is shot in the head? Literally every assignment of his ends up in failure over the course of the game, yet he doesn't really seem to give a shit. That's an example of where the character is not given any sort of reaction at all.
However, there are some good examples in today's games. Assassin's Creed 2 has Ezio making decisions based not on one character trait (ie, Kratos's anger issues) but instead on the events around him. He starts out as an uninterested noble, but upon seeing the injustice of the Pazzi rule hit him personally he takes up arms against them. The point of that is that it makes sense. Uncharted also has a good arch for Drake, having him base his decisions not on the most "moral" choice, but instead on what he wants or needs to do to survive.
My personal favorite example of a story arch, however, is that of Far Cry 2. Though the game starts out a bit slow, there are two interesting archs to watch for in Far Cry 2: that of the Jackal and that of yourself. The Jackal starts of as an amoral arms dealer, but upon seeing the North destroyed by his trade he decides to help the country instead of his bank account. As you go on, you notice that he seems to take less note of his favorite book, "Beyond Good and Evil", and instead become more of a reluctant rebel against his former clients. At the end of the story you see him standing in a shack while you choose how you want to die. It's a pretty akward and depressing scenario, and all he says is "Africa wins again". This is another example of a character reacting to the events around him- he sees how hopeless his situation is (for those who can't remember or who didn't take note, he has cancer in the story) and gives a little squeak of self-pity. Most games don't have that today- no matter how many enemies are thrown at you in Call of Duty or Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid 4 no one reacts to it. Your character evolves with the Jackal, though his arch is a little harder to pick out. You might notice that at the beginning of the game you start out killing random people, focused only on working your way up to the Jackal. As the game goes on, your character is betrayed and left for dead. Naturally, he takes revenge- that is to say, you take revenge. You can't help but feel a little angry when the guy you helped out goes to kill all of your buddies. At this point, he goes to the South and works for the higher-ups- though you are still concentrated on the Jackal, it is natural to find yourself wary of the guys who have betrayed you before. The moral choices get harder, though there is no way out of taking them- cutting off water to a neighboring country, etc. You will find yourself wanting to work for these guys less and less. Eventually there is a chance at a cease-fire that is completely cocked up and you are once again betrayed and thrown in prison. The entire last act of the game is focused on revenge and taking charge yourself. In this way, you and your character evolve as the game makes you evolve- it essentially plays out in a way that manipulates how you think. At the end, as you are dying of malaria, you are forced to choose how you want to die. I can almost guarantee that at this point no one was thinking of shooting the Jackal (though the game doesn't let you). At no point in the story does your character talk- you feel completely in control of the action. Remember how in Half-Life 2, though you don't talk, you get ordered around like everyone's *****? Far Cry 2 gives you a choice to betray factions, help them out, or just not take the payment- pressing a button to accept the diamonds paid to you may seem odd, but it is strangely empowering when you think about it. Unlike games such as Uncharted where the character you play speaks for you, Far Cry 2 strings you along by having you make your own decisions.
I am almost certainly overanalyzing this, but please at least think about it. Though most games today don't have any sort of character development, these are a few examples of those that do, in my opinioin.
Anyway, feel free to discuss whatever you want to here about character development. Want to argue my points? Go right ahead. Want to list some games that you think have bad/good character development? Do so if you please. Want to list you own opinions? Feel free. I was just kind of listing my own thoughts on the state of it today.
I was thinking today about protagonists in video games. I thought for a while and realized that in most games today the character development is broken either by bland characters or by schizophrenic reactions to different scenarios by those characters. Take, for instance, Mass Effect 2. You can take your squadmates on a mission where they go for one vendetta or another, and afterwards they just shrug it off. This was especially apparent in Thane's mission, where he draws his gun on his own friggin' son and then goes back to the ship and sits around. Yeah, you can talk to him about it, but after that any mention of his conflict with his son is just absent from his story arch. That is an example of character development where the character just seems to forget about past events. Also, for instance, think of Call of Duty: Black Ops. I think that the voice acting in that game is fantastic, but the writing sort of lets it down. Remember when Hudson was almost blown up, or when his interrogatee (I guess that's what you would call Clarke) is shot in the head? Literally every assignment of his ends up in failure over the course of the game, yet he doesn't really seem to give a shit. That's an example of where the character is not given any sort of reaction at all.
However, there are some good examples in today's games. Assassin's Creed 2 has Ezio making decisions based not on one character trait (ie, Kratos's anger issues) but instead on the events around him. He starts out as an uninterested noble, but upon seeing the injustice of the Pazzi rule hit him personally he takes up arms against them. The point of that is that it makes sense. Uncharted also has a good arch for Drake, having him base his decisions not on the most "moral" choice, but instead on what he wants or needs to do to survive.
My personal favorite example of a story arch, however, is that of Far Cry 2. Though the game starts out a bit slow, there are two interesting archs to watch for in Far Cry 2: that of the Jackal and that of yourself. The Jackal starts of as an amoral arms dealer, but upon seeing the North destroyed by his trade he decides to help the country instead of his bank account. As you go on, you notice that he seems to take less note of his favorite book, "Beyond Good and Evil", and instead become more of a reluctant rebel against his former clients. At the end of the story you see him standing in a shack while you choose how you want to die. It's a pretty akward and depressing scenario, and all he says is "Africa wins again". This is another example of a character reacting to the events around him- he sees how hopeless his situation is (for those who can't remember or who didn't take note, he has cancer in the story) and gives a little squeak of self-pity. Most games don't have that today- no matter how many enemies are thrown at you in Call of Duty or Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid 4 no one reacts to it. Your character evolves with the Jackal, though his arch is a little harder to pick out. You might notice that at the beginning of the game you start out killing random people, focused only on working your way up to the Jackal. As the game goes on, your character is betrayed and left for dead. Naturally, he takes revenge- that is to say, you take revenge. You can't help but feel a little angry when the guy you helped out goes to kill all of your buddies. At this point, he goes to the South and works for the higher-ups- though you are still concentrated on the Jackal, it is natural to find yourself wary of the guys who have betrayed you before. The moral choices get harder, though there is no way out of taking them- cutting off water to a neighboring country, etc. You will find yourself wanting to work for these guys less and less. Eventually there is a chance at a cease-fire that is completely cocked up and you are once again betrayed and thrown in prison. The entire last act of the game is focused on revenge and taking charge yourself. In this way, you and your character evolve as the game makes you evolve- it essentially plays out in a way that manipulates how you think. At the end, as you are dying of malaria, you are forced to choose how you want to die. I can almost guarantee that at this point no one was thinking of shooting the Jackal (though the game doesn't let you). At no point in the story does your character talk- you feel completely in control of the action. Remember how in Half-Life 2, though you don't talk, you get ordered around like everyone's *****? Far Cry 2 gives you a choice to betray factions, help them out, or just not take the payment- pressing a button to accept the diamonds paid to you may seem odd, but it is strangely empowering when you think about it. Unlike games such as Uncharted where the character you play speaks for you, Far Cry 2 strings you along by having you make your own decisions.
I am almost certainly overanalyzing this, but please at least think about it. Though most games today don't have any sort of character development, these are a few examples of those that do, in my opinioin.
Anyway, feel free to discuss whatever you want to here about character development. Want to argue my points? Go right ahead. Want to list some games that you think have bad/good character development? Do so if you please. Want to list you own opinions? Feel free. I was just kind of listing my own thoughts on the state of it today.