Old characters in videogames

[LGC Pominator]

In a news post I made on my old site, I made the point that old characters always seem more human than younger ones, I came to the conclusion that this is down to the level of wear and tear on the characters face that has to be shown to make the character believable, thus, older characters, who bear the marks of a long and punished life give off the vibe of being actual real characters, rather than CGI creations, for example:

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Adam 'Kane' Marcus (Kane and Lynch: Dead Men)

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Captain James Gregory Cutter (Halo universe)

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Colonel Victor S. Hoffman (Gears of War Universe)

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Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson (Halo Universe)

Would you agree that they look more realistic than these other characters from recent videogames?

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Corporal Damon Baird (Gears of war Universe)

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Captain 'Soap' MacTavish (Modern Warfare universe)

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Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck (Halo Universe)

What Do you people think?

Do the older characters have a more "real" quality to their appearance due to their advanced years and greater marks of war?

This is in no way a scientific look at it, it is simply a personal observation that I have found seems to ring true across most modern video games.

 

[Marter]

I think there is often more that the developer can do to their face, detail wise, that can make the character look more realistic. I think it's on a game by game basis, as I would argue that Nathan Drake in Uncharted 2 looks far more "real" than an of the examples you gave.

 

[manythings]

Well they could simply be trying to make "pretty, fresh faced" heroes and heroines who are young that we can identify with since we are incapable of doing something as insane and horrifying as viewing the world from someone elses position.

 

[Waif]

I understand what you mean. That is to say I understand how our humanity is reflected in our appearance. Young characters can seem very humanistic if the correct formula is applied. With older characters, it is easy to seem real and vivid because there are few perspectives with old people. Much less than there are with younger people. The matter of humanity is based on our perceptions of young and old, and how they fill that mold. This mold is crafted by each person, based on their life experiences. Much of the old generation is pretty easy to predict, and simplistic to look at. Whereas with youth there are many more perceptions, and molds to fit making these characters harder to emulate in a way that seems real. Then we have shifting paradigms within a culture/society (varying national identities as well), which is divided even further geographically and psychologically. There is more at play here than can be elaborated on in short time, but I think I have clarified one point sufficiently.

So yes I agree with you, but only in the capacity that we have a similar perspective. Which may be based on similar experiences, external influences, and cultural identities.

 

[viking97]

your right! i'd never thought of that before.

 

[Vampire cat]

Colonel Victor S. Hoffman (Gears of War Universe)

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HOW is he human?!