Why Aren't You The Villain In More Games?

[Bostur]

You should play Stubbs the Zombie.

Come to think of it, you're technically a villain in pretty much every Rockstar game.

Actually in most rockstar games your the good guy but your working outside the law.
its exactly the point being made in this forum, your a complete asshole but your still saving the world/making it a better place. the best examples of those are probably bully and San andreas.

In the GTA series the main characters are more like anti-heros. Likeable but working outside the rules of society.

The reason we don't have villains in movies and games is because villains are meant to lose. Because of this they have unlikable traits that wouldn't work for the main character.

Most stories in western games and movies have 'lawful' characters, that preserve the rules of society. I think Hollywood has had a big influence on this since the 50's. European games and movies tend to be more liberal in this aspect, having heroes that are shady in some aspects. Gerald in The Witcher is a good example of the way Europeans more often like to see their heroes. Deep down he is probably a good guy, but theres a lot of layers hiding it. The roles of Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's Westerns is a similar example.

Mass Effect is quite opposite. Shephard always represents society and stability even if he/she may have to take some detours. The player can make him/her into a dick while doing it, but never strays from the path of the good guy/gal.

Good or bad depends on perspective, but for a hero there must be some likeable traits.

 

[Thecard]

The only games I know where you can effectively be a "villain" are Simulation Games like Roller Coaster Tycoon (Where you can be the deceptively sadistic park manager who traps hapless victims in a seemingly-fun park, and turns what's supposed to be an afternoon of fun and relaxation into murderous, nightmarish hell) and Sim City, where you can be a tyrannical overlord.

So I'm not the only one.

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

The reason for this is probably because people find it more comfortable to do morally good actions, or at least "we had to do it because the end goal is good," than to do evil for evil's sake. I'm not sure why there hasn't been a game where destroying the world is the only option.

Also, no one likes downer endings. They're good for Deep Meaningful Stories, but most people seem to want a sense of accomplishment at the end, the idea that you've conquered something and righted wrongs, and that now everything is at least mostly okay. An ending where you beat up the world and now it's yours and life sucks for everyone else, or where you destroy the planet, or something, is going to leave some people with a sense of disappointment.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

Because it would suck.

You're already the badass. You are already at the top. Where's the fun?


Now, at least City Of villans allow you to become the badassess ************ that ever lived. Then there is Soul Nomad: Demon Path.


That is the evilest path That I ever played.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

The only games I know where you can effectively be a "villain" are Simulation Games like Roller Coaster Tycoon (Where you can be the deceptively sadistic park manager who traps hapless victims in a seemingly-fun park, and turns what's supposed to be an afternoon of fun and relaxation into murderous, nightmarish hell) and Sim City, where you can be a tyrannical overlord

In Roller Coaster Tycoon, I usually drowned anybody who wasn't enjoying my part. Anyone with a frowny face, dead. They got what they deserved.

I always enjoyed no-exit signs over the entrance. They just obey them, it's brilliant.

Thing is, I usually enjoy being the villain for a bit, but then I get bored quickly. I'd rather the game didn't have a defined good or evil side, just two (or more, I guess) conflicting sides.

 

[dickywebster]

Infamous 2?, you do actually end up (on the evil ending) basically wiping out the majority of the worlds population.

 

[Nomanslander]

You want a game where you're unquestionably the bad guy through and though? Play the God of War series after 1...lol

 

[Kopikatsu]

Soul Nomad and the World Eaters. If you go down the 'Demon Path', you end up murdering your foster mother, killing your best friend, then assembling the game's villains to take over the world. And you do. Interestingly, some of the people you force to be your allies start to go insane. There was this one really noble Knight that you force to join by holding his son hostage, then later kill the son. He's so broken after a few months that he literally can't stop himself from murdering anyone who comes near your castle.

You also hold a mass public execution of Angels just to get the rest of them to come out of hiding. Then you slaughter them all, but take the leader of the rebels (Whose girlfriend/wife you just murdered) and force him to join your merry band as well.

Edit: CRAP. Dr. Wonderful ninja'd me. Noooooo Dx

 

[AlloAllo]

Oh God, I'd love to play one. Seriously, in all of the games where you play as a "villain" you end up with some kind of bullshit heartwarming thing- look at Disgaea. It was so GOOD before Laharl started being nicer- that goddamn girl angel thing, whatever it was her name...

Yes, it would be lovely to play as a guy that from nothing starts building his evil empire... oh God, then you'd have to get the Dragon, and the Dark Chick, and... Oh. OH.

I'd have to find an honest to God evil Mad Scientist for my party.

...*squee!*

And then you'd have to choose what you should be- Lawful Evil? Chaotic Evil? Neutral Evil? Just an Anti-Hero? Or do you just want to see the world burn?
God, it'd be AWESOME.

Surely it'd have to be incredibly over the top for society to accept it- I mean, oh, you're not fighting for Love and... Happiness... and... Children and... whatever it is, so it's obviously making our high school students go crazy and kill everyone, OF COURSE...

But if done well, over the top can be good.

...Oh, I must make this gaaame...

 

[badgersprite]

I think the main reason is empathy. I personally love villains and find them to be interesting and complex characters, but I don't think the majority of people would particularly enjoy playing an unsympathetic, 'evil' character unless it was by their own choice that the character acted that way.

Look at Alex Mercer, as an example. A lot of people utterly hated him as a character because he was such an evil dick and you had no control over it. There wasn't any way to not be an evil jerk. I've heard a lot of comments on this very site about how many people found him impossible to sympathise with, care about or relate to.

I guess another problem is with writing. If you're presenting the villain as your protagonist, that often dispels much of the mystery and intrigue that makes villains so cool. You won't just be playing the villain at the cool moments, you'll be playing them when they whine about their petty motivations that make no sense, you'll be playing them when they're stupid and incompetent, and you'll end up knowing every little thing about them which eliminates much of the appeal of such characters in the first place.

For example, look at The Dark Knight movie. Would that movie have been anywhere near as appealing if it followed the Joker and told you absolutely everything about him including his origins and what he was really thinking and showing you how he executed all his plans? I think that would have made his character much less effective and given the film much less impact.

 

[Al-Bundy-da-G]

I'll just stay the good guy in CoD, at least until there's no repurcussions for shooting you commanding officer in the face when he makes you take point every mission.

 

[Duck Sandwich]

There is the Legacy of Kain series. You play as a vampire who has no qualms about killing random bystanders (and draining their blood to regain health if necessary). Then again, I've only played Blood Omen 2 and part of Blood Omen 1, so I'm not sure if there's any heel-face turn that Kain goes through at some point in the series.

 

[Bad Jim]

I wish there was a politician path you could take in games: acting on the outside good and great to the general populace, while, behind the scenes, bribing and cutting throats to get the "real" work done.

Have you ever heard of a game called Floor 13? In that game you're not a politician, but you are an officially nonexistant official charged with keeping the Prime Minister ahead in the polls. Cutting too many throats is a bad idea but you're definitely not a nice guy.

 

[superstringz]

I sometimes play a genocidal game of Civilization, burning down every city, wiping out civilization after civilization: happily turning the entire planet into a wasteland because it hurts my people slightly less that everyone else's people.

I'd say I make a terrifying villain.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

PLANESCAPE:TORMENT. Seriously this is one of the few games where you play a villain who knows not of why he's hated. PLAY THIS GAME.

Also Kain from legacy of Kain is a true villain protagonist.

 

[Fingers O'Toole]

Personally, I think variation is more of an issue than just being able to be a villain; granted, evil roles are far and few between in video games, but every good/evil game I've played is spelled out in black and white.

For example, if (in a generic RPG) you come across a petty thief just trying to survive, you guarantee the options will be drawn as good (e.g. help him) or evil (e.g. punish him). Whilst instances like this are understandable, it is frequently like this all through the game; as I personally like to play as an Übermensch of sorts, I'm frequently treated to a good or evil ending I barely qualify for.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Oh God, I'd love to play one. Seriously, in all of the games where you play as a "villain" you end up with some kind of bullshit heartwarming thing- look at Disgaea. It was so GOOD before Laharl started being nicer- that goddamn girl angel thing, whatever it was her name...

Yes, it would be lovely to play as a guy that from nothing starts building his evil empire... oh God, then you'd have to get the Dragon, and the Dark Chick, and... Oh. OH.

I'd have to find an honest to God evil Mad Scientist for my party.

...*squee!*

And then you'd have to choose what you should be- Lawful Evil? Chaotic Evil? Neutral Evil? Just an Anti-Hero? Or do you just want to see the world burn?
God, it'd be AWESOME.

Surely it'd have to be incredibly over the top for society to accept it- I mean, oh, you're not fighting for Love and... Happiness... and... Children and... whatever it is, so it's obviously making our high school students go crazy and kill everyone, OF COURSE...

But if done well, over the top can be good.

...Oh, I must make this gaaame...

Personally, I'd like to play a game that lets me be this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cLFd5ueQPM kind of villain at least once.

 

[jakjay1995]

I personally would like to see a game where you rise to power with everyone thinking your a hero and then when you achive supreme power you turn on the people and become worse than the evil overlord you just overthrew.