Personal Research:
Many gamers believe that there aren't a great variety of characters in gaming as they are almost identical to one another in terms of personality or appearance. Therefore, I decided to cover a few recent characters featured in games that I felt approached things differently and effectively.
Lee Everett - The Walking Dead (2012):
A black protagonist that isn't the stereotypical (nearing racist) comic relief or tough guy character many black characters are represented as in the media. Lee Everett is a man given a second chance when the zombie apocalypse begins and he takes it on him self to look after a little girl he doesn't know called Clementine.
Lee is a great example as he contrasts the main protagonist of the TV show and comic book series named Rick. Whereas Rick started by trying to do good only to slowly lose his humanity down the line, Lee on the other hand is a man who was meant to be going to prison for a crime that never is really explained, but since the cop car carrying him crashes and puts him in the zombie filled scenario he is now given the opportunity to redeem himself after doing something wrong.
The game also does the smart thing by only mentioning that Lee killed someone, but not why or how. Thus the player has full control of Lee's personalty as they are throughout the episodic series allowed to chose whether or not he makes humane decisions in this new environment. Lee also demonstrates his humanity when he is put into situations that will make him sad, scared or angry and as a result may take it out on others including Clementine by yelling at her for not being more careful. However, the pair complement one another perfectly as she is still an innocent girl who keeps a man that has seen and caused death to keep going. As the french say, she's his 'raison d'etre' (reason to live).
He takes on the role of both leader and father figure very quickly and he cares when the people around him are in danger or hurt. He's not super strong or fast, he's just a human being who shows his emotions, which for me makes him the best sort of character.
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider (2013):
Whereas her original character was mocked for years as just being a sex symbol, the newest iteration of Lara Croft is more human as she is represented in this version as a vulnerable girl in her early twenties who has to learn to survive in a new dangerous environment. Many gamers feared that she would be completely abused due to an early trailer which didn't make it clear if she was raped in one scene or not (she wasn't). However, this fear was proven wrong as the developers were able to create a believable character that you generally feel sorry for and want to survive.
The newest Lara is also great since she isn't over sexualised like her previous self and is given a visual design which shows her human vulnerabilities as her clothes are worn and torn throughout her trials on the island she is shipwrecked on. Plus she isn't wearing short shorts and now has trousers, thus the player won't just try and stare at her backside all the time.
Although she switches rather quickly from the girl who was almost threw up after her first kill (out of self defense) to brutal Rambo style predator, I feel that it is the game's first few hours that truly show her human side. Plus, how are we to know how quickly someone would change in order to survive? Especially someone at such a young age which is clearly possible. Think of the children from William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'.
Elizabeth - Bioshock Infinite (2013):
Even though I didn't enjoy Infinite nearly as much as I hoped to, I have to say that Elizabeth was a useful assistant as she didn't get in the way. She had abilities that only she could use in order to progress the game and her power to bring things into the environment to help you was part of the game mechanics, not just a thrown in gimmick.
However, for those who think her role was dumbed down since she doesn't kill, plays the support role and needs rescuing from the lead male protagonist on multiple occasions, I will tell you that this isn't the case. Elisabeth is a bright eyed girl who was locked in a tower for most of her life. However, instead of sitting around and doing nothing she decided to teach herself useful life skills such as lock picking, numerous sciences and even coding.
For me Elisabeth also kept me playing as I wasn't a fan of the protagonist who never seemed to lighten up and was just boring. However, Elizabeth's bubbly, excitable personality kept me wanting to see how she interacted with the environment around her once she had escaped from the tower.
Overall, even though there are many examples of bland or poor characters in video games (even today), I feel that thanks to the above recent examples we are starting to see a change in the roster of characters featured in games. After all, once developers recognise from this current year that some of the most popular characters are in fact the most human I am sure we will start to see more and more personal stories told by better portrayed characters.
Harvard Referencing:
- Charlie. (2012) The Walking Dead is Overrated? Grow Up! [Online image]. Available at: http://finiteuniverse.com/2012/12/the-walking-dead-is-overrated-grow-up/ (Accessed: 7/5/2013).
- Davidson, J. (2013) Bioshock Infinite Review - A Hallmark in Storytelling. [Online image]. Available at: http://www.technobuffalo.com/reviews/bioshock-infinite-review/ (Accessed: 7/5/2013).
- Jorge. (2013) GDC 2013: Creating Emotion in the Systems of Tomb Raider. [Online image]. Available at: http://laracroft.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:JAlbor/GDC_2013:_Creating_Emotion_in_the_Systems_of_Tomb_Raider (Accessed: 7/5/2013).
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