Quit It, Gaming Edition

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Agreeing with most of what you say here Bob. There is some trouble with that thing you said about so many main characters just being blank slates though...

Trouble is, in order to give your protagonist a fleshed out personality (which includes subtle movement and facial expressions as well as dialouge) and back story of their own, you would have to present most of it in the form of cut scenes. And as we all know, this would lead to all the Valve fanboys running back and forth across the internet screaming "WAAAHHH! IT HAS CUT SCENES WAAAAHHH! IT'S NOT HALF LIFE OR PORTAL WAAAHHH!" Don't get me wrong, I love portal and am fond of half life as well, but Jesus these guy's annoy me.

Also, that whole thing you said about MC and Cortana's relationship being chaste because "to do otherwise would make him weak and her tainted"... Umm, I think it might have slightly more to do with the fact that she is a computer chip, so sex would be pretty impossible there. Think you might have over thought that just a little bit... again.

 

[DTWolfwood]

The Russians are the new Nazi's, both can be universally hated on without. Everytime they try to make the Bad Guy someone else, they get yelled at, i.e. the Medal of Honor debacle. Even Homefront is more or less the russians. XD except in the case of Homefront, making them Russian actually makes more sense than the completely defunct/broke nation of North Korea. Kudos to Kaos for thinking outside the box tho.

Pipe Dream in Bioshock was retarded. Lockpicking in Oblivion was Brilliant.

every else Sure i can use without. Not that im all that peeved that they are there right now XD

 

[Nocta-Aeterna]

Your prophecy example sounds like a a self-fulfilling prophecy. Though I don't have a concrete example at the moment, I don't think they're all that new.

As for a weapon''s light trails: how about swaths of blood trailing a strike when hitting enemies? It might add a nice visceral/brutal touch to combat.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

I'm not sure why you picked Infamous as an example at the end. That guy seemed like he had pretty good reasons to be angry and distrustful: He got framed for blowing up the city, three different super-powered secret organizations wanted him dead, and the various covert government agencies wanted to use him in their internal political struggle. He certainly didn't seem like he was just being angry and waving a cause around while ignoring reality to me.

 

[Sabrestar]

Fair enough, but what seems to be implied by the song and your comment is that you don't believe in any causes at all. which is both impossible and a very sad point of view from which to lead your life (i.e: nothing i do matters anyway)

Granted, that's a fair criticism. Honestly, I use the line more to get out of an uncomfortable discussion. I have my causes, I just prefer to fight more quietly, from the shadows, as it were. But it could easily be taken too far, as you suggest. And it's good to be reminded not to give up. Thanks.

Also, i really don't see that many of these types of characters. for example, i can't speak to infamous' protagonist as i haven't played that (though i believe you could chose whether he was evil or not.), but i always interpreted alex mercer (prototype) more as an evil bastard and psychopath than a very principled individual.

I don't see many of them either, honestly. Perhaps that's why FF6 is still the high point of the series for me, particularly in Celes' emotional struggles. I haven't played many recent games, to be truthful, so I'm not the best person to talk. I still find gems in odd places though, such as [a href="http://www.remar.se/daniel/iji.php"]Iji[/a], which for an indie game has some pretty darn involved characterisation (and I haven't even finished it yet!) I feel very involved in her character when I pick up the game, and I can feel how uncomfortable she is.

 

[Mysnomer]

If games stopped doing the following things, MovieBob would be very, very happy.

See this, Bob?

I'm not sure why you picked Infamous as an example at the end. That guy seemed like he had pretty good reasons to be angry and distrustful: He got framed for blowing up the city, three different super-powered secret organizations wanted him dead, and the various covert government agencies wanted to use him in their internal political struggle. He certainly didn't seem like he was just being angry and waving a cause around while ignoring reality to me.

This is my point exactly. I tried thinking about Cole, and how he was just an angry you man, mad at the world...but he really isn't. Before the explosion and quarantine, he had a normal life as a parcel runner, had hobbies, and even had a girlfriend. Then everything goes to hell, so he gets mad. But he is still able to work with people, and there's plenty of justification in his story for the anger he feels. Another point is that his anger is directed. He knows who's responsible, and he is mad at them, not the world. I think he get's mad at fate, though, but I don't think that counts.

 

[Warachia]

These aren't really cliches, as this affects maybe 20% of videogames out there. Aside from that, again it comes across as one man whining because you offer no alternative solutions or give any examples of better products.

 

[cthulhumythos]

Well he has been brain-washed to kill things and not much else since age 6! and she is a computer progra-HRK

alright, the halo fanboy section of my brain has been suppressed, time to go about things civilly.

i agreed with alot of this surprisingly. the only one i don't really mind was the hail-mary one; i've already mentioned that i'm a halo fanboy, and this doesn't bug me as much; unless it's incredibly gratuitous *coughHalo1*cough.

 

[Robyrt]

I think the Angry Young Man trend in modern third-person games can be traced directly back to Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. The hero's nuanced personality was replaced with generic rage, the soundtrack was thrash rock, and everything was as "hardcore" and "awesome" as possible. Sales increased by over a million.

 

[Moeez]

Oh, how I hate Nathan Drake in so many ways. Not only is he annoying, but he's also one of the more sadistic and ruthless videogame protagonists you'll find.

 

[omicron1]

Apocalyptic narratives sometimes need Mary Sues. They represent counterpoints, valued more for their action - defeating the abominable Big Bad, being the Archangel from Heaven offering salvation from great peril - than for who they are.

But when you play as the Mary Sue, yeah, things get difficult. You're around for the whole narrative, cutting a swath through the bad guy's forces, unstoppable, providing that counterpoint far too early. Instead of letting the scale tip farther and farther to the side of "evil" before slamming your Feather of Truth down on the other side, you have at best an almost-perfectly-balanced equation right through to the end, and at worst a story where the outcome is never in question. This might be a flaw in the nature of game narratives - how do you lose the war when the player wins every battle? Or it might just take a particularly clever writer...

 

[shogunblade]

I think I can definitely agree with that whole "Russians" thing, because even when the villains aren't Russians, Videogaming will find someway of making them Russians, say if you use Aliens. You will find a character (that's alphabetic characters, not NPCs) written in the same way as one particular letter, or giving the characters (That's NPCs, not alphabetic characters) some kind of obnoxious trait that invokes a stereotype of that country (I actually wasn't very good at Geography, is Russia a Country?).

Having Played inFamous quite recently (Seriously, the Demo, like an hour ago) I don't think I have picked up on anything more than a taste of Cole McGrath and his "Bad Boy" attitude. But the more I think about it, the whole "Shaved Head Bad Boy" is more annoying as such. I can't say I've played too much of Star Wars Unleashed, but seriously, McGrath could be traded for that character and you wouldn't have a real difference (Seriously, Force Lightning to Electricity?)

I can't say much more on that, but I get where you are coming from, Moviebob, And in most of those cases, I think I can agree with you.

 

[mireko]

1. I think/hope Vanquish was joking with the Space Russians. Yes, I know it's Shinji Mikami, but there were so many in-jokes and references that I can't quite take it at face value. The CoD games still play this straight, of course, but that's because they're fucking stupid.

2. This is true. The very worst part of it is that a lot of developers have the weird idea that the "default" protagonist has to be white, straight and male.

Oh, how I hate Nathan Drake in so many ways. Not only is he annoying, but he's also one of the more sadistic and ruthless videogame protagonists you'll find.

I really don't get the hate for Nathan Drake. Okay, I can see how someone could find his quips irritating, but "he's also one of the more sadistic and ruthless videogame protagonists you'll find"?

Have you ever played a game before? Because I'm having a hard time thinking of a character I've played recently that didn't do more cruel things than him.

 

[Moeez]

1. I think/hope Vanquish was joking with the Space Russians. Yes, I know it's Shinji Mikami, but there were so many in-jokes and references that I can't quite take it at face value. The CoD games still play this straight, of course, but that's because they're fucking stupid.

2. This is true. The very worst part of it is that a lot of developers have the weird idea that the "default" protagonist has to be white, straight and male.

Oh, how I hate Nathan Drake in so many ways. Not only is he annoying, but he's also one of the more sadistic and ruthless videogame protagonists you'll find.

I really don't get the hate for Nathan Drake. Okay, I can see how someone could find his quips irritating, but "he's also one of the more sadistic and ruthless videogame protagonists you'll find"?

Have you ever played a game before? Because I'm having a hard time thinking of a character I've played recently that didn't do more cruel things than him.

Name me one videogame protagonist who makes JOKES over dead human enemies? Not even Kane and Lynch are that sociopathic.

 

[Ap0ca1ypse]

I actually think Cortana's alright for the Hail Mary thing. You want a worse one: The Guardian Angel from Borderlands. I like the game but she is so annoying. She may appear less than Cortana, but all of her lines are like, "Good job! I knew you could do it! Now on to the next bad man to kill".

 

[Darkpanix]

Nice article. but think using Infamous as an example was a bad idea. His anger was more directed toward certain individuals and groups more than the "world" itself. His anger was also justified considering the stuff that happend in the game. He was an average joe, but i liked him

Anyway the hole prohecy thing is basicly just a cop-out from a bad writer, that can't figure out how to justify their main character, being the center of the conflict that always happens in such stories.

 

[mireko]

1. I think/hope Vanquish was joking with the Space Russians. Yes, I know it's Shinji Mikami, but there were so many in-jokes and references that I can't quite take it at face value. The CoD games still play this straight, of course, but that's because they're fucking stupid.

2. This is true. The very worst part of it is that a lot of developers have the weird idea that the "default" protagonist has to be white, straight and male.

Oh, how I hate Nathan Drake in so many ways. Not only is he annoying, but he's also one of the more sadistic and ruthless videogame protagonists you'll find.

I really don't get the hate for Nathan Drake. Okay, I can see how someone could find his quips irritating, but "he's also one of the more sadistic and ruthless videogame protagonists you'll find"?

Have you ever played a game before? Because I'm having a hard time thinking of a character I've played recently that didn't do more cruel things than him.

Name me one videogame protagonist who makes JOKES over dead human enemies? Not even Kane and Lynch are that sociopathic.

I just played Bulletstorm. So.. yeah.

Hell, even some of the characters in Valkyria Chronicles crack jokes when they kill soldiers.

 

[Moeez]

1. I think/hope Vanquish was joking with the Space Russians. Yes, I know it's Shinji Mikami, but there were so many in-jokes and references that I can't quite take it at face value. The CoD games still play this straight, of course, but that's because they're fucking stupid.

2. This is true. The very worst part of it is that a lot of developers have the weird idea that the "default" protagonist has to be white, straight and male.

Oh, how I hate Nathan Drake in so many ways. Not only is he annoying, but he's also one of the more sadistic and ruthless videogame protagonists you'll find.

I really don't get the hate for Nathan Drake. Okay, I can see how someone could find his quips irritating, but "he's also one of the more sadistic and ruthless videogame protagonists you'll find"?

Have you ever played a game before? Because I'm having a hard time thinking of a character I've played recently that didn't do more cruel things than him.

Name me one videogame protagonist who makes JOKES over dead human enemies? Not even Kane and Lynch are that sociopathic.

I just played Bulletstorm. So.. yeah.

Hell, even some of the characters in Valkyria Chronicles crack jokes when they kill soldiers.

I'm pretty sure you don't kill humans in Bulletstorm...oh wait. Damn, forgot about the grunts. Was thinking of the poisonous dudes.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Technically, a branch of the United States Military was behind it all in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, but the Russians were still in it. And they were behind the plot in Black Ops. Okay, I see your point.

Other stuff I agree with, but I'm glad you called out the Angry Young Man thing. This is why I don't pick up games like InFamous. I don't want to play as a scowling, I-hate-everyone-but-I'm-still-(possibly)-a-good-guy. Shut up. I'm nothing like that in real like, and playing a character who, to me, comes off a a self-absorbed jerk just isn't worth my time.

 

[mireko]

I'm pretty sure you don't kill humans in Bulletstorm...

It's about 50/50 mutants and humans. Yes, the humans are presumably deranged, but what difference does that make?


EDIT: Damn it, didn't see your edit.

Still, he never kills anybody who isn't currently trying to kill him, and he doesn't do so in especially gruesome ways. There's gallows humor, sure, but it's not the same as being sadistic and cruel.