Too One Sided

[Lightslei]

Looking through catalogs upon catalogs of games you usually are either given a choice to play as a Hero, A Villain, or a generic character that you choose which of the two.

The first is the easy staple, your Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, etc fall into this category.

The second is a bit rare but seen once in a while although it seems extremely similar to the hero, although I can't recall any games off the top of my head that do this.

And the last would just be your GTA.


My problem that I find recently is that besides raiding peoples houses Heroes never really show a darker side, nor do villains show a good, lighter side; of course both would be situation dependent.

Would it be possible to make a good game that shows the alternative personality traits to a character?
What difficulties do you think there would be in making a game like this?


*I am not touching platformers because frankly I never understood a reason for a story, or Japanese crack like Katamari.

 

[FalloutJack]

It is not possible for current game developers to make such a game. Because they're not after that sort of innovation. They're after money.

 

[Lolth17]

Erm... Kratos? He does some heroic stuff while being thoroughly anti-heroic. At least he did, like, back in the first game (disclaimer because I haven't played the other two).

 

[Judgement101]

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker is sort of good in that aspect because you killed your boss in a previous game and you are constantly questioning yourself for it and eventually he becomes a boss in a later game.

 

[Littlee300]

It is not possible for current game developers to make such a game. Because they're not after that sort of innovation. They're after money.

Eh, don't underestimate the passion of game developers.
Publishers are greedy 99% of time though...

 

[Jodah]

You play the villain in Overlord though that is supposed to be satirical.

Mass Effect and Dragon Age attempt to do that though you still have to save the world, even if you are an ass. Fable is probably the closest atm.

 

[Sanguinius- The Angel]

Spoiler

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker is sort of good in that aspect because you killed your boss in a previous game and you are constantly questioning yourself for it and eventually he becomes a boss in a later game.

Spoilers? What are those?!

OT: Never really seen one of those, no.

fable?

That was OP's third option, generic character that lets you choose.

 

[MercurySteam]

The second is a bit rare but seen once in a while although it seems extremely similar to the hero, although I can't recall any games off the top of my head that do this.

Prototype perhaps and maybe even Saints Row 2. It's stretching it I know, but they aren't very common.

 

[FalloutJack]

It is not possible for current game developers to make such a game. Because they're not after that sort of innovation. They're after money.

Eh, don't underestimate the passion of game developers.
Publishers are greedy 99% of time though...

Well, if all was fair in the game-making world, we wouldn't be having this discussion, I think.

 

[thethain]

Hitman..

You are a paid killer, even if the people you knock off aren't mother teresa, neither are the people paying you. Or you know.. You.

However, as a killer for hire you can choose to not kill any innocents, or be a maniacal mass murderer.

Mass effect really you are a hero, you can just choose to be a gigantic A-hole on your way to saving the universe, but ultimately you do save the universe. *SPOILER ALERT!*

Civ/Total War - Up to you again, you can be an underhanded jerk face, or just the most polite peace loving empire you can be.Altho to win TW you will have to attack eventually.

Army of 2 - Yea.. again you are paid killers, ultimately you are going after the worse guys, but you are sunshine and daisies yourself. But you can choose to save civilians or just go for the money.

 

[Lightslei]

Hitman..

You are a paid killer, even if the people you knock off aren't mother teresa, neither are the people paying you. Or you know.. You.

However, as a killer for hire you can choose to not kill any innocents, or be a maniacal mass murderer.

Army of 2 - Yea.. again you are paid killers, ultimately you are going after the worse guys, but you are sunshine and daisies yourself. But you can choose to save civilians or just go for the money.

Hitman & Army of 2 suffer the same problem. They are both from the views you look at it, but still doesn't show both sides. From the viewpoint of the people you're killing you're playing the villain, the people paying you the hero, which is just two sides of the coin, not a mix and blend of paint.

The rest still force the card on you without really allowing the other side to truly exist.

 

[MR.Spartacus]

fable?

They certainly tried but It still winds up too cartoonish for me to care either way. inFamous is another bad example that might at first seem good. You had either go all the way evil or good to fully upgrade the powers. Fallout 2 is the only one I can think of. What with how you could effect different towns in wildly different ways.

 

[SimuLord]

Erm... Kratos? He does some heroic stuff while being thoroughly anti-heroic. At least he did, like, back in the first game (disclaimer because I haven't played the other two).

Watch Extra Credits "No Redeeming Value". You didn't miss much in the way of character development with Kratos in God of War 2 and 3.

 

[Turbo_Destructor]

Jackie Estacado in "The Darkness" was a kind of Anti-hero - he was deep down a hero but not very nice and he struggles to gain control of the Darkness inside of him

 

[thethain]

Your original post asked for flawed characters, such as repentant badguys or troubled good guys, hitman, splinter cell, army of 2, mafia, all have that.

Now you are asking to see the conflict from another point of view.

Kessen for PS2. You choose either Lord Tokugawa or Lord Ishida and the game plays out based on your perspective. Really any strategy game does this, but this one has a much more emotional appeal to it with the way the campaign plays out.

*SPOILER ASSASSINS CREED*
I am pretty sure that on assassins creed at the end you learn your character, while seemingly doing right the whole time was actually working for the bad guys, that definition of seeing both sides.
*SPOILER MAFIA*
Two parts of mafia 2 fit your bill also, at one point the main character tries to give up the life of crime. At another point you spend a great deal of time fighting for the honor of a loved one, who when she finds out is absolutely mortified that you are a cold blooded killer, even tho your perspective has been "we have to deal with these people" she jerks the perspective back to what you look like to average citizen. A criminal.
*SPOILER SPLINTER CELL*
In double agent (not the latest of series) you spend a lot of time working with the "bad guys" you are infiltrating, you learn about the crap that your bosses at third eschelon are behind too. The entire game is about learning the many shades of gray. I mean the name gives it away.

*end spoiler*

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Would it be possible to make a good game that shows the alternative personality traits to a character?
.

Play:

Dragon Age
Mass Effect
Fallout 1, 2 and 3
Red Dead Redemption
Bioshock 2
Alan Wake
Mafia 2
Bully

All of these games have main characters who exist in morally grey areas.

 

[Deguasser]

Just play Dead Rising, you can either save everyone, just figure out what happened, do both, or kill all the survivors.

 

[DustyDrB]

Red Dead Redemption did a good job with this. The Marston's motivation was never to serve good or evil, but to serve his own interests, which may or may not happen to fall on a noble path.

Of course, in the Mass Effect games, you fight to save the galaxy. But you can be a dick or a total good guy or anything in between. Just because you were a jerk to one guy doesn't mean you have to be a jerk to everyone. I like that, because I can make up my character's on biases (like if he doesn't like turians he'd be less kind to them and more decent to everyone else).