Upon The Mary Sue Character in Video Games

Yahtzee Croshaw

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Upon The Mary Sue Character in Video Games

I think Freedom Planet offers a usable example of what a Mary Sue is to a video game story - even though I dismissed that possibility before.

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Made in China

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I think it's in large part due to the console wars. Choosing SEGA meant choosing Sonic, and by taking a side they became vehemently attached to it. This was exacerbated when SEGA eventually lost the console war, leaving them yearning for more and wandering "what if?", even if it was all shit.

If Nintendo had lost, I'm sure you'd have Plumbies who'd have a mustache fetish. Personally, I think it's the weirder of the two, when compared to anime anthropomorphic bunnies.
 

Neurotic Void Melody

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I only know of two real-life Sonic fans; one was an old friend who I find out is in prison for pedophilia based offenses (no, really), while the other doesn't speak to me because I think I indirectly insulted her by denouncing all Sonic fans pedophiles. Ok, not really that. But I did perhaps unintentionally insult them jokingly, yet evidently harsh enough to lose a second sonic acquaintence. I make friends good!

Ok, so I played your game and here is the result (imagine the words "tada!" upon opening):


Ehh, it doesn't creep me out as much as the others here. Looks more like Dante the Hedgehog. Still weird pretty though. And i am apparently crying, i'd imagine the two to be linked.
 

loa

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I didn't play the game, so the freedom planed characters are annoying, unrelateable self-insert mary-sues and the story is bad?
The article just kinda stopped when going into sonic weirdness and didn't bring any concrete examples besides a bunny-dog thing having no place in the narrative up.

I keep hearing it's a good game.
 

Llarys

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See, I think you're going too far to one side of the spectrum with the "since the story is in the game, it's taking away from more gameplay." Rather, I feel that all the /bad/ fanfic writing in Furry Planet detracted from what could have been a relatively enjoyable story. I suffered through the story, not because I particularly enjoyed it, but because I 100% enjoyed Lord Brevon as the villain. And without the plot to give context, these things don't really have meaning. You're just kind-of thrown from one set piece to another (which isn't entirely a bad thing, considering how well made the game is). It just kind of loses that extra punch, especially during the final boss fight. You wouldn't quite grasp how insane the boss is. And that's why bad stories are especially irritating: you CAN'T just skip them, or else it does hurt the game in the progress.


Although, just for argument's sake (because I KNOW for a fact Furry Planet is bad when it comes to the writing and Mary Sue-ness): Are we more critical of the writing of games with furry characters/ furry protagonists because of the stigma attached to them because of their...let's say...zealous fan-installments? Mary Sues are a lot more common than you think; in books, TV, and video games alike, but we always seem eager to point them out when it's the furry.


Edit:
loa said:
I didn't play the game, so the freedom planed characters are annoying, unrelateable self-insert mary-sues and the story is bad?
The article just kinda stopped when going into sonic weirdness and didn't bring any concrete examples besides a bunny-dog thing having no place in the narrative up.

I keep hearing it's a good game.
Nearly every Extra Punctuation ever is in reference to the previous week's Zero Punctuation. Always watch that before/along side for more context.
 

RJ 17

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Nov 27, 2011
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Huh...apparently (My Name) the Hedgehog is part of the X-Men. o.o



Yeah, gonna have to go with Yahtzee on this one: Sonic fans are indeed a bit..."odd".
 

VanQ

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Oct 23, 2009
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This was half video games and half unnecessarily ripping on furries.

I can get behind this kind of content.
 

MiskWisk

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On a side note, the most commented image on knowyourmeme is this lovely thing.


So yeah, that was a fun little game to look through the cringe. Sometimes you get lucky and find "your name" the hedgehog is actually not that bad but mine is this cringey little number...


Well, if Yahtzee's comment wasn't enough schmuck bait, hopefully this is.
 

Transdude1996

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I grew playing the Sonic games on the GameCube, so that's how I became a Sonic fan. However, I never really considered the whole idea of self-insertion into the Sonic series. One of my friends did sort-of do that, and I noticed how rabid the fanbase was with it when I grew older, but I never really saw the point of self insertion in something like Sonic. Stuff like Stargate and Star Trek I thought about being a cool idea because, well, you're stepping through a f***ing stargate or go trekking across the stars with Spock or Neelix. And, outside of daydreams, I never really saw the whole idea of creating a "self insert" story.

As for today, with my current attitude, I have commonly considered the idea of self-insertion in some of stories I want to write (Whether it be just a quick quip or an almost complete copy). However, I have realized that the problem with that is that I'm full of flaws and that no one thinks like me, except for me. So then I have to find a way for the character to have a damn good excuse as to why they would make such a statement similar to my own, or actually take note of my flaws and attitude and make sure that my in-story version of myself exhibits the same attitude and flaws, and make sure the response from other characters is an appropriate one instead of how I'd like things to be.

Now that I actually think about it after writing that, I feel like that's part of the reason why some of these people are so rabid in creating their own fan characters in something as carefree feeling as Sonic (Or any other series). It's because they want to use it as a form of escape from their real lives because they don't want to handle the troubles in their own day-to-day lives, so they create these personas in these worlds that they feel safe in because their familiar for them.

Also, I just realize I'm getting into the territory of pointless babble, so...let's see what pops up for the I search "[My name] the Hedgehog". Oh dear god, why?
 

Maphysto

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My favorite theory on why Sonic fans tend to be THAT GUY or THAT GIRL is that the franchise is incredibly attractive to Aspies. With their big animu eyes and faces, over-the-top body language, and tendency to express their emotions in simple ways (GRUNT! That makes me MAD!), it's easier for someone who can't read body language or social cues to understand these characters and empathize with them. This same thing tends to be found in a lot of anime fans as well.
 

Steve the Pocket

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Could it be that Sonic fans are especially prone to palette-swap Mary Sue characters because the franchise itself is? That was always my impression.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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I don't know what's the deal with Sonic fans. I think MLP attracts a similar crowd though, what with the self-insertion and such.
 

Hugga_Bear

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The Mary Sue is an interesting thing. I'm an avid D&D player and Mary Sues are rare if unseen in my circles, though I hear horror stories. Most people willingly insert flaws and having watched several players over numerous campaigns I've had the good fortune to watch them adapt and grow in terms of character development. People go from bizarrely specific characters to nuanced, fleshed out individuals after a few sessions and a lot of rp time in and out of game as well as philosophical discussions (can't be helped, it's my field) about what the characters are like and their relationship with the world.

My point being, in writing, D&D, games I often see that people Mary Sue when they're novices. They think it's cool when their awesome character haxx0rz their way through life, defeating the ultimate uber big bad of evil evilness with barely any effort. I find those who've been writing or playing or working for longer in those areas tend to make more complicated characters who have genuine problems, as all humans do but aren't "omg so, like, dark".

Real characters are vastly more interesting, I don't think everyone needs a rampant mental disorder or daddy issues or whatever but it is nice when we're not perfect, especially because it facilitates the easiest character developments. Recovering from a failure to overcome whatever caused it or working past a flaw can be fascinating and interesting...

Mary sues suck outside of some extremely niche points.
 
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In case anyone else was curious

Oh my god...


Sonic fans are weird.

Other than that, I really like that quote. To much writing is needlessly verbose, or stretched too far. Oddly enough though, I'd say that the opposite is true of a lot of visual art. Whenever I watch someone doing digital art every 5 minutes I think "I would have stopped adding details now". Then they refine the lighting some more, I think it again, they refine the shadows, again, add texture, and so on...
 

SlumlordThanatos

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Maphysto said:
My favorite theory on why Sonic fans tend to be THAT GUY or THAT GIRL is that the franchise is incredibly attractive to Aspies. With their big animu eyes and faces, over-the-top body language, and tendency to express their emotions in simple ways (GRUNT! That makes me MAD!), it's easier for someone who can't read body language or social cues to understand these characters and empathize with them. This same thing tends to be found in a lot of anime fans as well.
Individuals who have Aspergers are usually high functioning enough to recognize body language. It's not that they can't read body language, it's that reading body language is harder, it requires concious effort, and is easier to get wrong.

It's like having dyslexia, but with body language. I doubt that Sonic's art design has anything to do with it.
 

Jacked Assassin

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VanQ said:
This was half video games and half unnecessarily ripping on furries.

I can get behind this kind of content.
I thought all the ripping it did on furries was purely Sonic Like in nature. Why do people assume all furries like Sonic? I Hate Sonic & would still be defined as furry due to my Flash Yiff Collection.
 

DEAD34345

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My god... That 'Mengele the Hedgehog' thing wasn't a joke.

I can't stop laughing.

I live in a world where that image exists. It's amazing.
 

BeerTent

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May 8, 2011
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I have a joke, but last time I made a joke about ponies I got warned.

I'm, not sayin' anything! Just noticing some similarities!

Although, I've tried "Inflatable the hedgehog." and found nothing on deviantart. "Tent the hedgehog." and found nothing... But, "Beer The Hedgehog" produces some pretty funny image results. My real first name is too common, so you'll find just about everything if you search "Michael the X" And I'll promise that at least half of it will be badly drawn on Deviant Art.
 

Silence

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I will not post mine [...] the hedgehog, because it is an embarrasingly extremely shit drawing. Yes, it's like triple as bad as the one MiskWisk posted.

:(

Wow, this is worse than I thought.
 

Blazing Hero

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Okay I just did the google search...

I had about 20 freaking images pop up and my name isn't even common. That is honestly a tad bit creepy...