Is anyone else getting really tired of this fact? I feel like every game I've played in the past few years has basically followed one simple formula when it comes to the main character:
1. Character has a moderately comfortable, moderately happy life.
2. Something horrible happens to destroy said life early in the game.
3. Increasingly horrible things will happen as the game progresses.
4. The game ends with the main mission accomplished, but the protagonist has nothing left to live for and you are forced to wonder why they didn't commit suicide.
Okay, to be fair, 4 isn't necessarily always true. But I'm having trouble coming up with RPGs in which 1-3 don't apply.
Honestly, the only game I have on my list so far is Dragon Age: Origins, and that's only conditionally the case (depending on your origin and plot choices). But DA2 is probably one of the worst in this department.
Hell, even Ratchet and f*cking Clank games use this formula now (you just don't realize it because of the whimsical setting). FFXIII is guilty of 1 and 2, at least.
I'm just tired of being depressed when I finish a game...
·Theme
- Forums
- Cross Site
- General Video Game Discussion
- Protagonists' Lives Suck
Protagonists' Lives SuckFollow
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
Life is pain. Get used to it!
I know what you mean though. In DA2 my first play though: Killed my brother, killed my sister, killed my Mom... only thing missing was them killing my dog. /wrists
It's a tough thing to balance. Gritty realism vs happy unicorn trope endings. In one way it's nice to have a real emotional connection to characters and fear for their safety. On the other hand it's also nice to have some happy endings be a potential as well so you get that Hollywood Danielson crane kicked the Cobra Kai feeling.
I know what you mean though. In DA2 my first play though: Killed my brother, killed my sister, killed my Mom... only thing missing was them killing my dog. /wrists
It's a tough thing to balance. Gritty realism vs happy unicorn trope endings. In one way it's nice to have a real emotional connection to characters and fear for their safety. On the other hand it's also nice to have some happy endings be a potential as well so you get that Hollywood Danielson crane kicked the Cobra Kai feeling.
I'm not even necessarily demanding happy endings, just ones where suicide doesn't seem like a valid, attractive option...
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
Would you rather play a game in which you control the main protagonist as he wakes up, showers, makes some toast, then goes off to work in a cubicle farm, only to return home and sit on the couch for a few hours before knocking off to do it all again the next day?
Most game characters are mild-mannered (of a sort) so that you, the player, can identify with them. The catastrophic events allow for the story writers to then place said identifiable character into emotionally-harrowing and mettle-testing situations, which will hopefully result in some measure of personal growth and sense of accomplishment upon their conclusion.
It's basic three-act story structure, and it's so ubiquitous now because it's a proven formula, hence why it's used in almost every (decent) movie ever made. However, this does sour me somewhat since games != movies, and don't have the same pacing or interaction level at all.
Edited, Jun 6th 2011 9:19am by Demea
Most game characters are mild-mannered (of a sort) so that you, the player, can identify with them. The catastrophic events allow for the story writers to then place said identifiable character into emotionally-harrowing and mettle-testing situations, which will hopefully result in some measure of personal growth and sense of accomplishment upon their conclusion.
It's basic three-act story structure, and it's so ubiquitous now because it's a proven formula, hence why it's used in almost every (decent) movie ever made. However, this does sour me somewhat since games != movies, and don't have the same pacing or interaction level at all.
Edited, Jun 6th 2011 9:19am by Demea
Jophiel wrote:
I managed to be both retarded and entertaining.
Demea wrote:
Would you rather play a game in which you control the main protagonist as he wakes up, showers, makes some toast, then goes off to work in a cubicle farm, only to return home and sit on the couch for a few hours before knocking off to do it all again the next day?
http://www.molleindustria.org/everydaythesamedream/everydaythesamedream.html
On topic: You know what I think would help? If games started hitting the untapped potential of alternative main characters. I've said it before; wouldn't it be interesting to play as a villain in a linear, eastern-style RPG? Or as a character who exists outside of a struggle of good vs. evil, just trying to get by while larger forces clash around him? Or as a character who supports a more powerful "hero" (a Nathan Algren to The Last Samurai's Katsumoto, for example). Just some examples. Heck, main characters with true shades of gray are hard enough to come by.
Developers need to up the ante a bit here. Sometimes I think they fall into the trap of thinking that gamers are only interested in being the center of the game's universe.
My problem isn't that some gays are using this formula, it's that nearly all of them seem to be. I can definitely list examples of it in older games, but it doesn't seem to have really taken over plot lines until recently.
And I'm not saying games should be boring, I'm just saying that there are other options besides giving every character a future mental breakdown.
I mean, we aren't even seeing other stock stories, like the "Aladdin" plot line in which you start off with the miserable life and work your way up. It still involves emotional traumas, but the end result is at least better than what you began with.
And there are plenty of other, effective, options.
[EDIT]
On that note, I'm really looking forward to Catherine. At least anything that makes the main character's life worse will be a direct, predictable result of his own actions.
Edited, Jun 6th 2011 10:30am by idiggory
And I'm not saying games should be boring, I'm just saying that there are other options besides giving every character a future mental breakdown.
I mean, we aren't even seeing other stock stories, like the "Aladdin" plot line in which you start off with the miserable life and work your way up. It still involves emotional traumas, but the end result is at least better than what you began with.
And there are plenty of other, effective, options.
[EDIT]
On that note, I'm really looking forward to Catherine. At least anything that makes the main character's life worse will be a direct, predictable result of his own actions.
Edited, Jun 6th 2011 10:30am by idiggory
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
idiggory wrote:
My problem isn't that some gays are using this formula...
That was supposed to be a u. >.>
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
Portal 2 would like to have a word with you.
Shaowstrike (Retired - FFXI)
91PUP/BLM 86SMN/BST 76DRK
Cooking/Fishing 100
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
— James D. Nicoll
91PUP/BLM 86SMN/BST 76DRK
Cooking/Fishing 100
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
— James D. Nicoll
I still need to play Portal 1. >_>
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
So you're upset because nearly all recent Western RPGs tend to use the "catastrophic events" formula a bit much? Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's because they're all allegories for the war on terror?
Jophiel wrote:
I managed to be both retarded and entertaining.
Demea wrote:
So you're upset because nearly all recent Western RPGs tend to use the "catastrophic events" formula a bit much? Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's because they're all allegories for the war on terror?
When you get to the heart of it, they're really all actually about ***** size.
Eske Esquire wrote:
Demea wrote:
So you're upset because nearly all recent Western RPGs tend to use the "catastrophic events" formula a bit much? Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's because they're all allegories for the war on terror?
When you get to the heart of it, they're really all actually about ***** size.
Isn't everything in life actually about ***** size?
Jophiel wrote:
I managed to be both retarded and entertaining.
Eske Esquire wrote:
On topic: You know what I think would help? If games started hitting the untapped potential of alternative main characters. I've said it before; wouldn't it be interesting to play as a villain in a linear, eastern-style RPG? Or as a character who exists outside of a struggle of good vs. evil, just trying to get by while larger forces clash around him? Or as a character who supports a more powerful "hero" (a Nathan Algren to The Last Samurai's Katsumoto, for example). Just some examples. Heck, main characters with true shades of gray are hard enough to come by.
LockeColeMA wrote:
Eske Esquire wrote:
On topic: You know what I think would help? If games started hitting the untapped potential of alternative main characters. I've said it before; wouldn't it be interesting to play as a villain in a linear, eastern-style RPG? Or as a character who exists outside of a struggle of good vs. evil, just trying to get by while larger forces clash around him? Or as a character who supports a more powerful "hero" (a Nathan Algren to The Last Samurai's Katsumoto, for example). Just some examples. Heck, main characters with true shades of gray are hard enough to come by.
I just recently picked up Way of the Samurai 3 and played through it a few times. I realize that this type of game doesn't appeal to the majority of people, but your character is integral to the outcome of the story without being a "central" character. You're dropped into a political clusterf@#k, and your actions help decide the ultimate conclusion, but the main power-brokers are well defined before your arrival.
The game is awesome, by the way.
Jophiel wrote:
I managed to be both retarded and entertaining.
Recent Visitors: 90
All times are in CST
Anonymous Guests (90)
- Forums
- Cross Site
- General Video Game Discussion
- Protagonists' Lives Suck
© 2024 Fanbyte LLC