Ugly Protagonists

[Chibz]

I don't mind ugly protagonists, as long as there's a reason for them to be that way.

Ugly characters didn't stop me from playing Oblivion, after all!

 

[mjc0961]

So Discussion question: Can you provide any more unattractive protagonists? Bonus points if you give a reason for why they work.

Can I pick one that doesn't work at all? Because that Lightning thing from FF13 is butt ugly (it looks like a man with huge boobs), and it doesn't work. It's just a matter of Square Enix being really bad at what they do.

Anyway, I don't think the look of the protagonist is that important. John Marston isn't a good protagonist because he's kinda ugly, he's a good protagonist because he's a fairly well written character. Cole McGrath isn't a bad character because he's just kinda average looking, he's a bad character because he's poorly written and his personality has only two settings: extra whiny douchebag or kinda whiny douchebag. Nathan Drake isn't a toss-up among people because he's relatively good looking compared to other characters mentioned, but because some people find his wisecracks to be funny and some find them annoying and maybe even feel they make him come off as some kind of psycho.

No, I'm not tired of pretty boy characters. I'm just tired of poorly written characters in games where the story is supposed to be important. The only time appearance is that big a deal to me is when it's a game that lets you customize (meaning I'm going to put forth the effort to make this character look how they look, might as well make something awesome) or when it's something like that Elizabeth thing from that Bioshock Infinite trailer that needs to have its extraordinarily creepy ass beaten over the head with a frying pan and then dragged back to the depths of the uncanny valley from whence it came.

 

[Greatjusticeman]

John Marston. I wouldn't say he was "ugly" per se, but he isn't the handsomest cowboy around. It does add to his character, the scars on his face, the constant look of him being a tired old man just wanting to be at piece. It really adds to his character, and to why Red Dead Redemption is one of the best games ever in my opinion.

I agree. He was a rugged looking guy which I think fit his character very well. He didn't have model looks like most characters, but wasn't ugly enough where I cringed at every scene. It was actually hard for me to go back to playing a game where you play as this fucking great looking bro afterwards.



Gordon Freeman though for my pick. He's not ugly, but he doesn't have the typical protagonists looks of a male. And he wears glasses.

 

[triggrhappy94]

I think just about every charactr from Far Cry 2 looked pretty bad.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

It's funny that you bring up Geralt as an exemplar of the "unattractive (but still visually interesting) protagonist", because for a while there CDProjekt had a version of the character that was far more of a pretty-boy: the early pre-release screenshots featured a very different "Geralt", and looking through reviews online you can tell which ones took their own screenshots and which ones were just re-posting the official preview screens that CDProjeckt released earlier if they ever feature a close-up view of Geralt's face; most reviews that I've seen still have the old and now inaccurate version, it's actually kind of hard to find accurate screenshots of Geralt's current in-game appearance from press sources, and Google image search is all but worthless, the old screens are everywhere (the box art the OP posted isn't quite what Geralt looks like in-game, since that's artwork and not a screenshot).

Now that I've seen the game in action, I can barely even recognize the original design of that character as Geralt, my brain sees those pictures and thinks of someone cosplaying as the character; it just isn't him, couldn't possibly be him - for all the superficial similarities the over all product is simply wrong.

Thankfully the fan reaction to that vision of the character was overwhelmingly negative, and thus we got the grizzled redesign we have now, which improves upon the original character design from the first game without retconning out his scars or changing the profile of his face to the point where he looks like a completely different person.

Spoiler: The original version that fans hated.

The original version that fans hated.

Spoiler: Geralt's actual in-game appearance now.

Geralt's actual in-game appearance now.

 

[lovest harding]

Erm.. GTA4? Well hes not ugly, but hes not a steroid filled pretty boy either.

Niko IS ugly (not that that's a horrible thing, but on all fronts of what is generally viewed as a attractive, his is completely lacking). You also have to look as his model in game for his unattractiveness as all the box art seems to try to put him in an attractive light (not that you were talking about the bow art, I just wanted to point out the major differences in art and actual character model). I disliked playing him as he looked a lot older than he played. It was a big disconnect for me and I couldn't get a hold of who he was supposed to be beyond an immigrant and really really fond of hanging out with his friends and girlfriends. One of those games where I know I should like it, but I just can't. But I digress.

Geralt is more rugged than ugly. xD

Anyway...
-Fable and Fable II main characters. Seriously. Why didn't anyone say "do we really need THAT much chin?" before the third game?
-The Darkness's Jackie. He's very much built for who he is rather than his looks (which works incredibly well as that game has some of the best characterization in any video game I've ever played). Plus, if he was real I'd tell him to cut his hair or at least tie it back. Long hair doesn't suit him.
-The main character from Risen. Mostly because he's just horribly designed. But it still counts.

That's all I can think of for now.

 

[ServebotFrank]

Well Frank West was pretty ugly in Dead Rising. Still is in the second one just wears sunglasses and grew a beard. Chuck (From Dead Rising 2) looks better but lacks any sort of personality besides tough, grizzled biker. Frank at least has personality. He's a sarcastic jerk at first but turns out to at least have a heart when talking to Isabella. Chuck on the other hand makes too many one liners for me to like him even if he does show sadness.

I'm probably making Chuck sound like a terrible character but I'm comparing the two lead characters. The ugly reporter (Frank) and the grizzled, 30 something man we see so often in games.

 

[Vivace-Vivian]

The Prince in the Sands of Time trillogy just keeps getting uglier...

 

[Kahunaburger]

None of these guys who've been named are ugly. They're just rugged and manly.
Either that, or their look is very interesting, and integral to the story.

The Nameless One is

Spoiler: pretty ugly.

Really, the box art that turned people off the game is a prettified version of how he looks in-game.

But I will agree with you that the look is interesting and integral to the story.

 

[sketch_zeppelin]

Actually i like playing ugly characters...mostly because i like playing as monsters (go skeletons!) but i think it would be neat to play as a portly fellow or an old twisted man...perhaps a chubby goth girl...or Rosie from the Jetsons...okay scratch that last one. there are some things that just shouldn't be tried. trying to get into the pantyhose of that fucking montrosity is about 10 of them.

 

[Mallefunction]

Geralt isn't really ugly. He does look like most male protagonists, but he's not ugly at all. He's got a strong jaw and outside of the scars, a symmetrical face, high cheek bones, and a thick, but not overly large nose and brow.

Anyway, I've never seen ugly protagonists. Even in games where the art design is weird like Psychonauts, the lead is still the best looking of the bunch of freaks.

 

[Raziel_Likes_Souls]

Raziel and Kain, but that was kind of the point. I'd say they work, because they're not supposed to look human anymore and that's integral to the plot and their character development. Also, they just look really damn cool.

It's still also the only series I've played where you switch to playing as the boss halfway through a boss battle.

On-topic. Frank West. He's just very average looking, your generic American with a mild East Coast accent.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

He looks more younger in the early version, not so much "prettier".

Younger and prettier - that draft of the character is just straight up unambiguously handsome, and that just doesn't work for the design of Geralt of Rivia, a badass who leads a life where he routinely gets the crap beaten out of him in spite of the bit where he's a badass.

This does though!

 

[Biosophilogical]

I don't think he's ugly. He resembles the same gritty look that Aragorn has in LOTR, bitches love Aragorn...

Aragorn has that 'dedicated soldier' look, plus he just looks nice, so it is a double whammy. If Aragorn was old and scarred (old-looking, I know the character is technically 'old', but he doesn't look it, so it doesn't count) I doubt people would find him as attractive. I'm not a big fan of Geralt, to be honest. Even if he was just younger, he'd look better, even if they kept the scar. I just don't find grey hair that appealing I guess (or wrinkly skin)

 

[Ice Dragonhawk]

I'll just leave this here. (Brace your childhood)

Spoiler

Somehow the Shrek designer responsible for this somehow made a DRAGON look uglier than an ogre.

 

[Ice Dragonhawk]

I'll just leave this here. (Brace your childhood)

Spoiler

Somehow the Shrek designer responsible for this somehow made a DRAGON look uglier than an ogre.

...What the fuck happened to Spyro!?

I do believe he got Activision'd.

 

[Wuvlycuddles]

"You're the ugliest creature I've ever seen in my life."

"I'm shocked that you've never gazed at your wife."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Skinny, ugly & has a stupid name.

But Guybrush Threepwood is STILL one of the greatest protagonists ever!

 

[Hafnium]

"You're the ugliest creature I've ever seen in my life."

Spoiler

"I'm shocked that you've never gazed at your wife."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Skinny, ugly & has a stupid name.

But Guybrush Threepwood is STILL one of the greatest protagonists ever!

You just beat me to it! Apart from some artwork, there hasn't been a pretty Guybrush, even though he has changed his look quite a lot, one of his defining features is his scrawny, unappealing appearance. In the early games I can't tell (not enough pixels!), but in the 3rd, 4th and Tales of MI, he's pretty unattractive.

Geralt is tough, masculine, and of average to slightly ugly appearance, and therefore relatable to us gamers (we're just being creative with the two first traits) in a way that a pretty protagonist can't be. That's why we don't really like 'em.

 

[Con Carne]

The main character from GTA3

 

[Kahunaburger]

ot: some variety is nice every once and while also how old is the witcher also i think he has chiseled body if that game play i saw of him in a dungeon is true

Both in the sense of being muscular and in the sense of "it looks like someone attacked him with a chisel."

Age-wise, sources differ. He's a lot older than he looks - spellcasters and mutants in the witcherverse don't age, or at least don't age the same way other humans do.