Male Characters

[lovest harding]

First off: Forgive me if this has been done. I searched, but didn't find anything (I'm also new to creating Topics, so I'm a bit ignorant).

So I've seen a lot of these "women characters in games" threads. And I like the discussion. But I kind of feel that male characters are being neglected in this. There are a lot of failed male characters, even characters that had potential and fell flat on their faces.
For instance: A lot of people tout that the female Shepard is one of the best female characters, because of her mannerisms and voice acting and general toughness. But the male Shepard is almost identical and, at least to me, he comes off as pretty generic. He's ruggedly good-looking (when using default Shepard). He's tough and doesn't take nonsense. He's pretty non-special in a lot of departments.

In any case, I'll share a few of my own favorites.
Deadly Premonition's Francis York Morgan (Zach is pretty neat too). He's got wonderfully quirky personality traits (his love of 80's movies, his almost psychotic connection to Zach, even the way he talks). The way he reacts to Emily tends to rub off as adorably awkward, at the very least he's obviously not a suave lady's man. And the fact that he has real emotional problems (that are explained at the end) makes him that much better.
Lost Odyssey's Kaim. His daughter and grandchildren and Sarah all add a lot to him. And the incredibly well-written Dreams create something even deeper. He's wonderfully human despite being Immortal.
EDIT: To clarify, I don't love these character simply because they're emotional, I love them because they have emotional elements in them in addition to other things. York has a great detective mind and knows his job and does it well, even when it leads to strange things. Kaim is undeniably powerful and wise. His emotional side only enhances the rest of him. I like that they are emotional, because it gives them a human quality rarely seen in video games.

I would like to know what your favorite male characters are.
Who do you think was characterized well or brings something special?
What is the epitome of a male character for you and what does a 'good male character' mean for you?

 

[migo]

Well, to talk about this we have to realise why this discussion about female characters comes up. Basically, guys like scantily clad girls, and girls don't like guys who are into them for tits and ass. Gamer guys already aren't that popular, and they twig that liking Lara Croft or Bloodrayne makes them come off as lecherous, so they talk about "good" female characters, who aren't overly sexualised, but you'll still only see mention of attractive ones, just that good female characters aren't overtly slutty. These guys don't actually know what women are like, so what they identify as a good female character is a character that's roughly like a man, but has tits, a higher voice and some curves. This is pretty much the same pitfall of a certain type of feminist who thinks the only successful or liberated woman is one who takes on male roles.

Of course if you're thinking about good female characters as women who behave like men but happen to look like women, then the only good male character is a man who behaves like a woman but looks like a man - and that makes gamers, very, very uncomfortable.

The other thing comes in with the popularity of Gordon Freeman - the silent protagonist - or simply the popularity of customisable characters. Just like fan fics, gamers like to engage in some self insertion, and if the character has no character, it's easy for them to imagine themselves in the game. Take Gears of War and you've got some characters that are very different from typical gamers, and you'll see guys complaining about them being roided up and having broad chins (which makes sense, if you have a world ending war you're going to as a soldier pump yourself with anabolic steroids and HGH to give yourself an edge). A good male character is one that has no defining characteristics to make for easy self insertion.

 

[pretentiousname01]

F A lot of people tout that the female Shepard is one of the best female characters, because of her mannerisms and voice acting and general toughness. But the male Shepard is almost identical and, at least to me, he comes off as pretty generic. He's ruggedly good-looking (when using default Shepard). He's tough and doesn't take nonsense. He's pretty non-special in a lot of departments.

The big problem I have with male shep is that femshep is so much better voiced. That if maleshep was as well done as femshep you wouldn't get that comparison as often.

I really liked Sazh from ff13. In fact he was the only character from that abomination that I enjoyed.

I also liked eddie riggs from brutal legend alot.

 

[lovest harding]

migo:
I didn't mean to imply that that's what I felt about good female characters. I was just trying to paraphrase the arguments I've seen for female Shepard (the fact that she isn't over sexualized in how she acts or portrays herself, that she's a tough Commander that isn't taken to fits of emotional breakdowns or perceived weakness, that she knows her job and does it well).
The line I drew to the male Shepard was to show that when applied to the male character he just wasn't unique compared to other male characters (as they both have almost entirely identical scripts and motivations and animations).

Would you say the same thing about a female character (that the best is customizable)? If not, why would a female character deserve more characterization and development than a male character?
If so, then I agree that customizable characters are wonderful, but kind of out the point of the question as most characters like that (the Fable series and the Elder Scrolls series) aren't all that characterized or aren't meant to be characterized by the game, story or events or are simply characterized in the simplest way (you were a homeless child or you're parents are murdered or you're in prison for some reason that's unexplained or you're a stranger in a new land).

pretntiousname01:
Eddie was going to be another example, but I just didn't feel like adding more. He's a great character. ^^

 

[migo]

Just the general attitude is that people will say that a good female character is one that has no identifiable female characteristics or where it doesn't even matter. On the other hand they'll say that a character who isn't overtly slutty isn't sexualized.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I always thought Squall from Final Fantasy VIII was a good male character. Before people fly off the handle and say he was a tool or whatever you want to call him, I must disagree. He was a teenager who grew up without parents, the only person who looked after him disappeared and his memories of her were replaced, and he eventually ended up in what is a military school for young adults. How did you expect him to turn out? Normal? His reaction to everyone is understandable. He's been abandoned repeatedly, so he doesn't bother getting close to anyone. When someone does try to get close to him, he doesn't know how to act, so he pushes them away. When he realizes that someone actually wants to be around him, he opens up. When he realizes that he loves Rinoa, he flips out about the fact that he might lose her. Typical reactions for someone who wasn't raised by a normal family. Zell is the exact opposite of him because Zell was raised by a family.

 

[lovest harding]

migo:
I can definitely see that as well.

Sniper Team 4:
Can't say I've played it, but he sounds like an interesting character.

 

[LogicNProportion]

While everyone already loves him, Big Boss takes the cake for me in this department.

Everything about him is just...so sad and heart-tugging...you can't help but feel he might have a real person at one point.

 

[Kenko]

Kain from Legacy of Kain as well as Raziel. They are both wellwritten have legendary voice-actors. And well, no matter how much praise I write about those two characters I would do them no honour. They are such great fricking characters that words cannot describe them. Playing the series is the only way to fully understand and appreciate both.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I always liked Solid Snake/Big Boss (they have pretty similar personalities if we're talking MGS3 Big Boss). He acts like a normal person, which I like (ie, look at female characters' chests during cutscenes, occasionally cracking a joke but not overdoing it etc), rather than other characters that go over the top (Gears, Bond in Nightfire etc).

 

[Neuromaster]

I liked Tychus Findlay from SCII.

He's a space marine, but done so much better than any other space marine I can think of. Also, I could listen to that voice for hours.

Alistair from DA:O too. Again great writing, great voice acting.

I think it's fine to go for an archetype (see above space marine), but the trick is to avoid cliche in characterization. To do something unpredictable with the character's personality, even if they're playing a well-established role in a fairly predictable story.

Honestly though, I don't think that's unique for male characters. There's nothing special about male characters - they come in all shapes and sizes, and tend to be the default since most game writers are male. I feel like some of this is just backlash against all the zomgfemalewhatever threads, mebbe?.

 

[Sarah Kerrigan]

Jim Raynor from Starcraft II

One, he's hot. Two, I love his voice, and Three, he's a fricken space marine.

Monkey from Enslaved.

Same reasons for Jim Raynor cept for the 3rd. He is a giant beast.

 

[Gladion]

snip

I've noticed that, too. Just give your character regular gender clichés of the opposite sex, and everyone will be happy.
Ugh...

 

[hazabaza1]

Lloyd from Tales of Symphonia.

Well, actually, now that I think about it... this.
Lloyd's a brat, he's obnoxious, irritating, and on first impressions is a pain. But actually, the game does make you feel attached to him. He's got strong friendship values, dedicated, keeps a promise, and is actually a pretty damn good character.
Se yeah, Lloyd's up there.