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So, what’s the deal with all these characters we control, eh? Most of the time we’re the too-good-to-be-true, cool-as-a-cucumber, slick hero who has to save the world from a great evil that’s always more vast than is thought in the outset. When we finally get the chance to play the bad guy, it’s either a comically unrealistic character that we take charge of, or a non-human***
One of my favourite games of modern time has got to be Soul Reaver. Not only does it let you play as an evil undead spirit, Raziel, but also he’s been subjected to immense torment for centuries leaving him as a bitter, twisted, evil character who sets his sites on killing his brothers and creator.
But why must such games, in which you take control of an evil character, make that evil character a vampire or evil being of some kind? Why not have a game where you’re actually playing as a bitter human intent on causing evil. Even Shakespeare, in “Timon of Athens”, tells the tale of a generous man who, after going bankrupt, is abandoned by his friends. So bitter is he that he leaves the city and plots his revenge on humanity.
Of course, there are some games that attempt to put you in control of an evil human character. However, these tend to be clichéd get-away drivers (GTA) and in any case are hardly truly evil characters like that seen in Soul Reaver.
I think that developers are just too scared to enter into the area yet. Scared that they’ll be criticised for glorifying violence or encouraging evil acts. By hiding such activities behind the pretence of vampires, or by blowing the whole idea open by basing it on the stream of 80’s films, they can avoid the critics while partially appeasing the fans.
But things will change. In a film like Leon you see everything through the eyes of an assassin who actually appears to be a nice guy. The Godfather glorifies mob violence as a piece of drama. People want, and indeed need at a psychological level, to have their craving for violence and evil fulfilled. People use Tekken to relieve stress and Rez to relax. Now we need games that’ll let us get rid of the anger in out bodies by taking it out on in game characters rather than real life.
It’ll happen one day.
Sonic
One of my favourite games of modern time has got to be Soul Reaver. Not only does it let you play as an evil undead spirit, Raziel, but also he’s been subjected to immense torment for centuries leaving him as a bitter, twisted, evil character who sets his sites on killing his brothers and creator.
But why must such games, in which you take control of an evil character, make that evil character a vampire or evil being of some kind? Why not have a game where you’re actually playing as a bitter human intent on causing evil. Even Shakespeare, in “Timon of Athens”, tells the tale of a generous man who, after going bankrupt, is abandoned by his friends. So bitter is he that he leaves the city and plots his revenge on humanity.
Of course, there are some games that attempt to put you in control of an evil human character. However, these tend to be clichéd get-away drivers (GTA) and in any case are hardly truly evil characters like that seen in Soul Reaver.
I think that developers are just too scared to enter into the area yet. Scared that they’ll be criticised for glorifying violence or encouraging evil acts. By hiding such activities behind the pretence of vampires, or by blowing the whole idea open by basing it on the stream of 80’s films, they can avoid the critics while partially appeasing the fans.
But things will change. In a film like Leon you see everything through the eyes of an assassin who actually appears to be a nice guy. The Godfather glorifies mob violence as a piece of drama. People want, and indeed need at a psychological level, to have their craving for violence and evil fulfilled. People use Tekken to relieve stress and Rez to relax. Now we need games that’ll let us get rid of the anger in out bodies by taking it out on in game characters rather than real life.
It’ll happen one day.
Sonic
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Ronaldinho_da_2nd wrote:
> dont bash gta!
>
> it's only the greatest selling ga,e on the PS2!!!!
*yawn*
slik ~_~
> dont bash gta!
>
> it's only the greatest selling ga,e on the PS2!!!!
*yawn*
slik ~_~
dont bash gta!
it's only the greatest selling ga,e on the PS2!!!!
it's only the greatest selling ga,e on the PS2!!!!
*grins*
Oops, missed that one
*blushes*
*blushes*
Jonman wrote:
> Sibs wrote:
> Are you saying Japan is good and the West is evil...? ;-)
>
> No,I meant exactly what I said. I'll say it again in different words.
> Fiction in Japan tends to be very much focussed on epic heroics.
> Western fiction not so much, with more anti-heros, or the lack of
> heros and villains entirely. Having said that though, Japanese
> anti-heros (while fewer and far between) tend to take the biscuit in
> terms of their anti-hero-ness (Akira anyone?).
>
> And with the early days of the videogame industry very much more
> focussed in Japan than the west, that influence became firmly rooted
> into videogame culture.
>
> Just my idle conjecture, but it makes sense to me.
hmmm... Don't mind me, but the comment I made was sarcastic... I always do things like that in an attempt to be amusing... obviously didn't work... :(
But I thought the ;-) would have told you I was making a little joke thing... anyway.
> Sibs wrote:
> Are you saying Japan is good and the West is evil...? ;-)
>
> No,I meant exactly what I said. I'll say it again in different words.
> Fiction in Japan tends to be very much focussed on epic heroics.
> Western fiction not so much, with more anti-heros, or the lack of
> heros and villains entirely. Having said that though, Japanese
> anti-heros (while fewer and far between) tend to take the biscuit in
> terms of their anti-hero-ness (Akira anyone?).
>
> And with the early days of the videogame industry very much more
> focussed in Japan than the west, that influence became firmly rooted
> into videogame culture.
>
> Just my idle conjecture, but it makes sense to me.
hmmm... Don't mind me, but the comment I made was sarcastic... I always do things like that in an attempt to be amusing... obviously didn't work... :(
But I thought the ;-) would have told you I was making a little joke thing... anyway.
well, I can think of several games which give you the choice of being evil or not. Not least is Jedi Knight. You're either a nice Jedi, a an evil, conquering Sith-Lord. How you play is how you become..
Sibs wrote:
> Are you saying Japan is good and the West is evil...? ;-)
No,I meant exactly what I said. I'll say it again in different words. Fiction in Japan tends to be very much focussed on epic heroics. Western fiction not so much, with more anti-heros, or the lack of heros and villains entirely. Having said that though, Japanese anti-heros (while fewer and far between) tend to take the biscuit in terms of their anti-hero-ness (Akira anyone?).
And with the early days of the videogame industry very much more focussed in Japan than the west, that influence became firmly rooted into videogame culture.
Just my idle conjecture, but it makes sense to me.
> Are you saying Japan is good and the West is evil...? ;-)
No,I meant exactly what I said. I'll say it again in different words. Fiction in Japan tends to be very much focussed on epic heroics. Western fiction not so much, with more anti-heros, or the lack of heros and villains entirely. Having said that though, Japanese anti-heros (while fewer and far between) tend to take the biscuit in terms of their anti-hero-ness (Akira anyone?).
And with the early days of the videogame industry very much more focussed in Japan than the west, that influence became firmly rooted into videogame culture.
Just my idle conjecture, but it makes sense to me.
Jonman wrote:
> Perhaps the reason that up until very recently, we've had a very
> hero-centric theme to games is the huge influence that Japan has had
> on the gaming industry. Japanese popular fiction tends very much to be
> based on heros and heroics (a few notable exceptions aside), and I
> think that this filtered through into the early years of games, and by
> the time the West came to be more heavily involved in the industry,
> the trend was already set.
Are you saying Japan is good and the West is evil...? ;-)
> Perhaps the reason that up until very recently, we've had a very
> hero-centric theme to games is the huge influence that Japan has had
> on the gaming industry. Japanese popular fiction tends very much to be
> based on heros and heroics (a few notable exceptions aside), and I
> think that this filtered through into the early years of games, and by
> the time the West came to be more heavily involved in the industry,
> the trend was already set.
Are you saying Japan is good and the West is evil...? ;-)
Jonman wrote:
> I think that games are starting to get the hang of this, and move onto
> the next stage, where the player ceases to take on the role of a good
> or evil character, and merely starts off with a blank canvas. I'm
> talking about games like Black & White and Deus Ex, where the
> choices are left up to the player.
*
....and games like Morrowind & Project Ego are poised to continue this burgeoning trend.
> I think that games are starting to get the hang of this, and move onto
> the next stage, where the player ceases to take on the role of a good
> or evil character, and merely starts off with a blank canvas. I'm
> talking about games like Black & White and Deus Ex, where the
> choices are left up to the player.
*
....and games like Morrowind & Project Ego are poised to continue this burgeoning trend.
I think that games are starting to get the hang of this, and move onto the next stage, where the player ceases to take on the role of a good or evil character, and merely starts off with a blank canvas. I'm talking about games like Black & White and Deus Ex, where the choices are left up to the player.
Perhaps the reason that up until very recently, we've had a very hero-centric theme to games is the huge influence that Japan has had on the gaming industry. Japanese popular fiction tends very much to be based on heros and heroics (a few notable exceptions aside), and I think that this filtered through into the early years of games, and by the time the West came to be more heavily involved in the industry, the trend was already set.
Just a thought.
Perhaps the reason that up until very recently, we've had a very hero-centric theme to games is the huge influence that Japan has had on the gaming industry. Japanese popular fiction tends very much to be based on heros and heroics (a few notable exceptions aside), and I think that this filtered through into the early years of games, and by the time the West came to be more heavily involved in the industry, the trend was already set.
Just a thought.
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