What Makes a Great Villain?
- Thread starter DreamerM
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A strong personality is what I covet the most. The average villain has about as much personality as a toaster, at most grunting a crappy one-liner now and then and seemingly uninterested by their assigned motivation. That's the second part; a strong motivation often helps to flesh out the character, preferably something deeply personal.
I think the best villains are the ones that you can actually relate to on some level, only with a little bit of insanity on top. Kira from Death Note for example. At first he simply wishes for a better world, but as time goes by that becomes less and less relevant. In the end the only thing that matters to him is winning the game. That's another part of it; a static villain is rarely as interesting as one who has his values challenged, defining him/herself by either changing them or retaining them.
As for a villain being frightening... I guess Shodan did a good job there, but for a villain to be frightening it needs to communicate a sense of despair; that you are indeed screwed, and that your pathetic attempts to fight back are pointless. Most games don't communicate that very well. BioShock for example, where dying is more annoying than anything else. I guess there's the villain type of Pyramid Head, but it's not really a character, although scary. : P
Another thing that can help make a villain scary is that it's way of thinking is very foreign. An enemy that acts seemingly randomly can be frightening. It might act as an ally for a long time, then betray you and then suddenly revert back as if nothing has happened. A motivation hidden in plain sight is also good for this, like Ultimecia in FF8. You never really find out just what it is, or what its purpose is. The ending even suggests that you did not truly win...
But really, villains are rarely frightening unless accompanied by a frightening game experience and a feeling of hopelessness. Most are simply interesting or uninteresting : )
I think the best villains are the ones that you can actually relate to on some level, only with a little bit of insanity on top. Kira from Death Note for example. At first he simply wishes for a better world, but as time goes by that becomes less and less relevant. In the end the only thing that matters to him is winning the game. That's another part of it; a static villain is rarely as interesting as one who has his values challenged, defining him/herself by either changing them or retaining them.
As for a villain being frightening... I guess Shodan did a good job there, but for a villain to be frightening it needs to communicate a sense of despair; that you are indeed screwed, and that your pathetic attempts to fight back are pointless. Most games don't communicate that very well. BioShock for example, where dying is more annoying than anything else. I guess there's the villain type of Pyramid Head, but it's not really a character, although scary. : P
Another thing that can help make a villain scary is that it's way of thinking is very foreign. An enemy that acts seemingly randomly can be frightening. It might act as an ally for a long time, then betray you and then suddenly revert back as if nothing has happened. A motivation hidden in plain sight is also good for this, like Ultimecia in FF8. You never really find out just what it is, or what its purpose is. The ending even suggests that you did not truly win...
But really, villains are rarely frightening unless accompanied by a frightening game experience and a feeling of hopelessness. Most are simply interesting or uninteresting : )
Kefka from Final Fantasy VI is my favorite villain, He's not a "Death Lord" per se but he does cause the end of the world, he's just really nasty, he's a worm that works his way up the ladder and stabs the king in the back. He's Iago from Othello nasty; he'll do something just to spite you even if it will hurt him more. He's not invincible or all that skilled, but he will always be one step ahead and completely insane. He'll break up with his girlfriend and the next day go to her apartment and cover every inch of stuff in that place with Post-it notes that say "I hate you" , he's evil and determined to prove it.
A truly great villain is one that has you beat before you even face them, one you think you would have no chance of winning against, one that makes you say "oh crap oh crap" when you run into them. Although in video games, I'd say the best villains are the ones that you can kill as easily as they can kill you, and it's their skill that you loose too, not their massive health bars or giant weaponry.
Well since I'm reading the Eisenhorn trilogy from the 40k universe I'd have to say that something that makes a villain scary is power beyond the hero's abilities but who is for some reason letting them live or under the hero's power (for now) *cough Cherubael cough*. You know that things could change and when they do you are truly fucked.
As Dectilon has said, villains whose choices you can understand and relate to are very scary. In Eisenhorn again, a (very underdeveloped) villain's stated goal is so understandable it's scary. If this guy had really been able to complete his goal I wouldn't have stopped him. I might even have become him. Also, Watchmen.
As Dectilon has said, villains whose choices you can understand and relate to are very scary. In Eisenhorn again, a (very underdeveloped) villain's stated goal is so understandable it's scary. If this guy had really been able to complete his goal I wouldn't have stopped him. I might even have become him. Also, Watchmen.
Yet still, no one in that world really knows (or cares) where he came from and what kind of life he was living before joining the army (or what his life was like during). Perhaps he saw such horrible things that he sort of snapped? Since nothing is revealed about him it's popular practice to just say that he's arbitralily evil, but maybe there are some hints here and there as to why he does what he does. I haven't really scoured the lands for plot, so I'm not sure : PDo4600 said:
someone/something who manipulates you, kills your entire family and friends, makes you his *****, and still makes you think he/she/it's an awesome guy/gal/thing.
Also, he must be really, really hard to kill.
Or someone like kefka. that'd work too.
Also, he must be really, really hard to kill.
Or someone like kefka. that'd work too.
Control is always important, to appear completely calm(permitting sadism) when exercising one's power. Then make you freak by the end when he reveals that he's a complete nutter. (Zant)
The best evil villains don't nessicarily need to be evil. They usually have a noble reason for doing what they do (Magneto wants to protect mutants and Ra's Al Ghul wants to save the enviroment) but are misguided in how to accomplish their means. And they're charismatic, making you want to live on the wild side for once without any regard for consequences or human life.
Dhaos from Tales of Phantasia is trying to save his own planet by taking the magic from the protagonists' world. Actually, if he had explained his position rather than declaring war he might not have been a villain to begin with : PKhell_Sennet said:
The example you took is quite the classic. Seymore in FFX is very close to your example actually : P
GlaDoS is a comedy villain though : P
I always liked Vicious from 'Cowboy Bebop'. He was a cold-hearted, cruel bastard. But yeah, Spike stole his girlfriend from him. That'll bring out the worst in people.
Plus katanas. Any good villain needs a distinct weapon and they know how to kick ass with it.
Plus katanas. Any good villain needs a distinct weapon and they know how to kick ass with it.
A good villain needs a good mustache, everything else is secondary. An evil cackle, possibly a top hat. And an underling close at hand that he/she can berate for comic effect.
Depth is good though. Andrew Ryan is the best villain in Bioshock, even if he isn't the main one. Kerrigan (Starcraft) is another. Despite the Overmind being the main opponent in the game, she is the one who makes her mark (and the expansion pack goes on to show her off even more).
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Probably the best villain I've seen in anime form was Legato Bluesummers, because he was ruthless, had absolutely no morals, demanded complete obedience, and caused Vash to
*spoilers*
Kill him, for no reason other than to **** with his mind. Someone who is willing to go that far just to make a point is automatically an awesome villain, but Legato also had the skills to cement himself as an awesome villain. I gues what I'm trying to say is that a great villain should have skills, no morals, and be willing to go as far as necessary just to screw around with the hero.
*spoilers*
Kill him, for no reason other than to **** with his mind. Someone who is willing to go that far just to make a point is automatically an awesome villain, but Legato also had the skills to cement himself as an awesome villain. I gues what I'm trying to say is that a great villain should have skills, no morals, and be willing to go as far as necessary just to screw around with the hero.