Assignment 10 - I Know You Got Soul

Before I begin I must first discredit this article for stating that the level of immersion is higher in a first-person-view controlled game than in a third-person-view. Rightly so when you look through the eyes of the protagonist (or possibly antagonist) you are technically more 'immersed' in the world however very few games allow you (the player) to make substantial decisions that can affect the world around you (to me, this would seperate the two vastly).



Despite many defining the RPG genre in such black and white terms the phrase "RPG" can be applied to pretty much EVERY game as you play the role of a character and live through their story (whether it be first person perspective or not). Most first person perspective controlled characters have a personality and it is only the view on the environment which is directly affected by the view. That character is given direct orders and you follow through the game just like a third person game - in fact I would vouch to say that the character in question lacks the depth of a third person avatar because in current generation games developers tend to show facial movements to express emotions in a given situation much like a film.



In the past (8/16-bit where avatars were merely a collection of a few hundred pixels) a characters development was usually presented through his or her interaction with the world around them. RPG powerhouses such as Final Fantasy have always excelled in creating a vivid and pseudo-realistic world to play around in through a mass of NPC's (non-playable characters) with a variety of personalities whether it be a drunken fool blabbering his life story before finally being thrown out of the bar, or a mysterious informant who wants revenge on the company that emotionally crippled them. Through script alone these games create such an incredible atmosphere (similar to books, whereas current gen games expand more on our Hollywood compatriot's use of mise-en-scen).



Video games tend to stray from the 'realistic' in the sense that most video games contain an awful lot of unrealistic situations and events that would be nigh-on impossible outside the confines of literary genius however it's the realistic emotions or actions of these characters that make them accessible because players can relate to them in one way or another (many scientists say humans are fascinated by animals who show traits of human behaviour...rightly so, empathy is a powerful emotion).



With the invention of HD and vastly detailed games it will be alot easier (how ironic) to show a variety of emotions and symbolism through visuals than ever before - so much so that it could rival the film industry - and games cutscenes and long-winded scripts also push character development further along. Though not all games depend on a deep and meaningful script. Nintendo is a perfect example of this considering it's icons Mario and Link do not utter a word in their adventures yet they seem to get pretty far in gamefaqs.com Character Battle awards every year. Music can help propel a certain emotion in a given situation as can body language (even though it may be very little such as a mouth or eye movement).

I don't have a preference when it comes to a memorable character. In fact it's usually the world and the characters around them that mould my fondness towards a particular character; the way in which the protagonist acts and reacts to a given situation. Solid Snake's many backlashes after being dubbed 'hero' in the original Metal Gear Solid give him a gritty and believable character, he is in no way pompous nor self-righteous, he's simply a mercenary doing what he does best - wet works. This kind of 'anti-hero' always warms my heart since i've never been a fan of the conforming Hollywood based cliches that nobody can relate to - sure they're fun "idols" but idols are for those in need of religion and homicidal gun-totting fanatics (of which i'm neither). Though more recently I find myself enjoying characters portrayed by particular voice-actors, since video games have accomodated voices rather than masses of text, company's tend to recruit excellent voice talent (most of which can be found on Cartoon Network). My personal favourites are Greg Eagles, Cam Clarke, Jennifer Hale and Steven Jay Blum. Much like motion pictures, casting the right person for the role is important; especially when their voice has to project moreso than in a film (because gaming is alot like animation where emotions and ideas have to be accentuated to have the same impact) and I find myself drawn to the words of the character if their voice-actor is 'doing it right'.

As long as characters aren't cardboard cliches whom have been represented in a thousand previous titles; next-generation graphics, a tight-script, a talented voice-actor and a believable atmosphere are enough to create a great character (and as long as it fits the genre too). These factors are all important, not just one!