Aiddon said:
This entire debacle has actually made me wonder if the whole player-avatar idea was a good thing to begin with.
Well...
They're blocks we project our wish-fulfillment fantasies onto and who have NOTHING resembling discernible character flaws and because of that we seem to have been STARVED for actual three-dimensional characters with human flaws and insecurities.
These are not books or movies, they're an interactive medium and we need to remember that.
There's a reason most player characters have no personality or character development, but it isn't because of "wish-fulfillment", maybe for some, however it's so that we, the player, are immersed into the world the video game has created.
Without being interrupted or reminded by the writers that we, the player, have no real bearing on the story.
To me personal, it just seems you're carting the character from one place to the other if this ends up being the case which is why I personally don't like most JRPGs and even then the character don't seem all that interesting.
However, it doesn't mean that we're
"STARVED for actual three-dimensional characters."
That's just silly, we have plenty of those in games.
Just because the
player character is a blank slate, it doesn't mean he/she is the
only character in the game that can have flaws, a personality, or a voice.
Valve have pretty much nailed this with the Half-Life series. They know Gordon Freeman has no personality and aren't willing to try and fix that, instead they build the characters
around him, such as Alyx Vance, Barney, Kliener, and Dr. Breen without casing a detachment with the character by having Gordon Freeman constantly talk back to them, it would be a disconnect to the player.
Another good example of this is the Mass effect series. Sure, Commander Shepard isn't a completely developed character and really
is the personification of the player, but it's only so that it allows the player to experience the world and meet interesting characters such as Tali, Wrex, Legion, Garrus and a multitude of others.
We've turned into a bunch of spoiled brats who plug our ears and go "lalalalalala!" whenever negative emotions are brought up in a game's hero even if it is REQUIRED for the narrative and the character.
Again, that's just silly and over exaggerating.
If the player's character were to go through this, there would be a large disconnect because it brings attention to the player that they're just piloting a character from one scene to another. It makes the player feel like they aren't contributing much to the story, which most games try to do for the player, it's a game, they want the player to feel a sense of accomplishment themselves and not just another character's accomplishment.
Again, my personal opinion.
However, for the case of Samus Aran, no one likes her new found personality, not because they gave her one, but because...well, it's
horrible.
However, most of us wouldn't have minded
all that much if it wasn't for the fact that her new personality was poorly executed, voiced, written and just jarring compared to previous games in hindsight. I feel everyone has gone in depth into
how her personality isn't a good one or an interesting one, so I won't waste my time repeating them.
This strikes me as players always wanting THEIR wishes while having no concern for the writers or creators. If we want to have better narratives and deeper characters in gaming we as gamers need to learn to let go of control so someone can tell a story.
Again, this is an interactive medium. A lot of people don't like having control pulled away from the character they're controlling so that the creator and writers can make you sit and just watch. No matter how well written, it's still kind of annoying, which is why
some people, me included, don't like games like Final Fantasy or Metal Gear because they constantly do this to the player.
It's a video game, the player should have at least have control the majority of the time.
Again, just stating, my opinion.
Which, oddly enough, is something JAPAN is better at than the West is.
However, in most cases, the result isn't always good because I can't really name any games that have well told stories from Japan.
Ico and Shadow of The Colossus immediately come to mind, which ironically have zero shown character development or personalities, but honestly I can't think of any. Although this could just be me not playing enough Japaneses games.
I'd be glad if you gave examples.
Anyhow, this is just my opinion just as a contributing factor to this whole debate, etc.
ALTHOUGH, I'm not saying that having a well developed character as the player character can't work. To me, it just seems very rare, however a good example is Psychonauts with Raz. Hell, there are some others that work as well, however, in this case.
Metroid: Other M didn't work for most people because of poor writing and execution.