Viewing Thread:
"What makes a character?"

What makes a computer games charater?

Is it the coolness?
Is it the nice looks?
Is it the cartoony cute look?
Is it because male or female?
Is it because the character is popular already?

There are lots of reasons why some are more successful than others but why?

How can people get away with playing a fat plumber or a fast blue hedgehog?

Does it really matter what character you are playing? because if the game is great you are going to play regaurdless.

I suppose a cool character enhances the enjoyment.

Whats your view and who's your all time favourite character?

Thanks for reading cheers Crusher.

I suppose we'd have to be talking about games that specifically include characters? :) ...

What I mean is, a lot of games specifically dont give their main characters personality or style, the idea being that altohugh your playing, say, Bob Steele Secret Agent, that its you who is supposed to be the in game personae... you are the character...

Whereas, with Mario or Sonic, etc... although your controlling the character, he/she isnt supposed to be a virtual alter-ego/avatar...

Despite this... :)

I'd say it was the game that makes a character...

Lets face it, the majority of games characters have about as much personality as a plank of wood...

On the whole, outside of the animated cut scenes, they barely mumble a word...

However, if your playing a fantastic game which you enjoy immensly, and which, on the whole has well tuned gameplay, (Ive played plenty of games with mind-blowing graphics, whos protagonist I can hardly remeber, and others with 'okay' graphics, but great gamplay which has kept me button bashing well into the night...

The result is, no matter how unlikly or ludicrous the heros are, you'll remember the character...

Take, for example, Sonic, who was created as a gameing icon, and an identifiable 'character', with an enourmous amount of advertising and publicity behind him, I would suspect that had his games not been as solid as they were, that he would have vanished without a trace?

AAnother big factor is popularity... if you and your mates are taliking about the game a lot, then the character will become integrated into your mind... if its popular enough to be discussed on TV, national Newspapers, pencil cases, etc... then the character becomes even more recognisable


However, this only really happens if the original game itself is well designed...

ANY gaming hero can become a recognisable characer...

Just make sure the character is in a recognisable game.

Everything makes up for a good character, but if it has to be one thing, it's probably their personality more than anything else.

Solid Snake has to be one of the best characters made. He's cocky, he's looks like a bad man, and he's awsome with a sniper rifle.


MGS2 is a good game but if has one down fall which I will let you all find out on your own.

You'll find different kind of characters for all genres. If you look at the usual RPG there's the fantasy look, or the action where there's normally a cool, 'hard' look to the character. If characters weren't produced properly to suit the game you'll notice that the game wouldn't be that fun to play as the storyline does tend to spice up the game and give it a motive.

Solid Snake is probably my best character yet! Why? Well, he's cool, 'solid' and full of fantastic ass-kicking moves!
Can't wait for MGS2!

Is it the coolness?
I don't think coolness has much to with it. Adolescents follow anything that's "cool", whether it's good or not, to it's certainly a factor to think about.

Is it the nice looks?
Look at Lara Croft - my mate even found a Lara Croft porno site! She has been immortalised for being the first in a race of "cyber-babes" - who some boys even dream about!

Is it the cartoony cute look?
A cartoony look makes it appealing to parents, as parents think that nothing explicit will happen in a cartoony-style game. Can you say Conkers Bad Fur Day?

Is it because male or female?
No, sex has nothing to do with it...unless you're female.

Is it because the character is popular already?
Yes, to a certain extent, because people trust a character if they like it.

There are lots of reasons why some are more successful than others but why?
Commercialisation, media coverage, controversy.

How can people get away with playing a fat plumber or a fast blue hedgehog?
Because it's unusual.

Does it really matter what character you are playing? because if the game is great you are going to play regaurdless.
No, but if you were fighting through a guarded base in the middle of nowhere, if you were a blue, furry midget, it would look strange.

Whats your view and who's your all time favourite character?
Sonic is my favourite!

My favourite character is Sonic. The developers made tons of money from him. (That cute li'l Hedgehog and his sidekick etc...)

slik wrote:
> I don't think there is a designated formula for making a character other than
> originality, when designing characters I feel that originality is the most
> important element which seperates the succesors from the failiures, Originality
> can either make or break a character and that is why I think that it is so
> important, sure you could easily meke a modified clone of Zelda or Mario but
> will it be as sucessfull as the original? the answer to that question is
> no!
slik ~_~

Very good point, original characters are what game designers look for but the character must have some sort of appeal the game playing market otherwise no one will buy the games.
You can't get more original than Mario a bald headed Itallian middle aged plumber.
Thanks for the reply.

Small_Frog wrote:
> When you get characters like Zelda and Mario, it is a purely surface
> relationship - you see them, you move them around and jump on things.
> Alternatively, you get games like Deus Ex where the character development is
> directly controlled by you - consequently the player emphasizes a lot more with
> the character. A strong story also adds to a character. Max Payne, for example,
> despite having an ugly face and a story shot to hell with cliches, emotionally
> involves the player at the beginning, when we see the very stylishly shot murder
> of his family.

Then again, maybe bright little pixies wearing green hats are
> a lot less potentially emtionally damaging to play...

A valid point, different characters for different types of games.
I must admit I do like a strong story line which seems to be lacking in most games.
At the end of the day its upto the individual to choose what type of game and character appeals to them most.
Thanks for the reply.

When you get characters like Zelda and Mario, it is a purely surface relationship - you see them, you move them around and jump on things. Alternatively, you get games like Deus Ex where the character development is directly controlled by you - consequently the player emphasizes a lot more with the character. A strong story also adds to a character. Max Payne, for example, despite having an ugly face and a story shot to hell with cliches, emotionally involves the player at the beginning, when we see the very stylishly shot murder of his family.

Then again, maybe bright little pixies wearing green hats are a lot less potentially emtionally damaging to play...

I don't think there is a designated formula for making a character other than originality, when designing characters I feel that originality is the most important element which seperates the succesors from the failiures, Originality can either make or break a character and that is why I think that it is so important, sure you could easily meke a modified clone of Zelda or Mario but will it be as sucessfull as the original? the answer to that question is no!
slik ~_~