NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
Yeah. Japan went completely over the top starting with Square in the early 2000s, and western designs overcorrected with excessive realism. Both usually go too heavy on the fine details to be effective and interesting.
Anyone else tired of boring characters in games these days?
- Thread starter PJX
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Toots
Member
Say whatever you want about Goodbye Volcano High but anthorpomorphized dinosaurs wearing hot topic crap might be vomit inducing, but not boring
diffusionx
Gold Member
This killed Spiderman 2. They made every character so boring, flat, and lame, even characters that were good in Miles Morales.
But then something like Like a Dragon has loads of interesting characters.
But then something like Like a Dragon has loads of interesting characters.
DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
Let's see, from left to right we have:
- meek soy dude who knows his place and constantly makes self-deprecating jokes
- empowered 0-charisma girlboss who's smarter, stronger, cooler, and cockier than any man
- overly confident toxic male who always gets it wrong and gets humiliated and emasculated by the women
- self-taught super genius scientist/engineer woman who builds ultra complex engineering projects (that would normally take years of work by teams of engineers) in her spare time and talks like Nicki Minaj
BbMajor7th
Member
It's the middle-class gentrification and 'professionalisation' of the industry that's driving this. The creative industries have been transformed into private members' clubs, populated by scores of individuals from similar economic and social backgrounds, sharing the same political values and outlook. They're dull, arrogant, money-driven individuals who think descriptions of who a person is or what they do are the same thing as a personality. They don't regard writing as a way to explore people or ideas and create a common understanding of the complex human condition, but as a way to grandstand: to show the world how smart and decent and admirable they are.
The characters are self-serious and self-describing because the individuals writing them are. They don't drink or smoke or have sex, because such things would reflect poorly on the people who created them. They're not funny or charismatic, because the people who give them voice are humourless and obnoxious. They're neither complex nor intricate because they're crafted by people who are more interested in blanket judgements than vivid portraits. It is essentially what happens when people without a creative or sympathetic bone in their bodies colonise an industry built by oddballs and weirdos and proclaim themselves just as good because they can vaguely imitate what has come before.
But this is all they are: imitators rather than innovators, and it's why the entire creative industry has been subsumed by iteration. By sequels and remakes and reboots, crossovers, copy-pastes, and collaborations. Because these people can only copy what's already been done, when they try to make something new, even when they borrow, they make something as bland and smug and self-serious as they are.
The characters are self-serious and self-describing because the individuals writing them are. They don't drink or smoke or have sex, because such things would reflect poorly on the people who created them. They're not funny or charismatic, because the people who give them voice are humourless and obnoxious. They're neither complex nor intricate because they're crafted by people who are more interested in blanket judgements than vivid portraits. It is essentially what happens when people without a creative or sympathetic bone in their bodies colonise an industry built by oddballs and weirdos and proclaim themselves just as good because they can vaguely imitate what has come before.
But this is all they are: imitators rather than innovators, and it's why the entire creative industry has been subsumed by iteration. By sequels and remakes and reboots, crossovers, copy-pastes, and collaborations. Because these people can only copy what's already been done, when they try to make something new, even when they borrow, they make something as bland and smug and self-serious as they are.
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Trunx81
Member
The first and only character that felt "real" to me was Nathan Drake with his constant quips and commentary.
OK, maybe Duke Nukem, but that´s it.
Video Game characters are just avatars. Link doesn´t comment on anything. The FarCry 3 guy was terrible (and in the german version he had the dub-voice of Jamie Oliver).
OK, maybe Duke Nukem, but that´s it.
Video Game characters are just avatars. Link doesn´t comment on anything. The FarCry 3 guy was terrible (and in the german version he had the dub-voice of Jamie Oliver).
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Henry from KCD? Although I guess he was introduced in KCD1 which was in PS4 Gen.
Lethal01
Member
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StereoVsn
Gold Member
Like a Dragon and KCD protags though were created last gen technically. But I do agree these games do it right.
Expedition also looks good but I haven't played it yet.
I will throw in another one. MC for The Thaumaturge was done well and the game is played in a very interesting setting.
Bulletbrain
Member
Maybe a hot take, but should we put this much emphasis on having deep stories, nuanced characters and intricate plots...in video games? It seems to divert attention from what video games truly offer over say books or movies. Interactivity. I feel that not enough emphasis is put upon leveling up the interactive element of gaming...both from the creators and gamers alike.
It's great if we can have both stories/characters AND gameplay/interactivity...but if something needs to be prioritised...it should be interactivity/gameplay.
It's great if we can have both stories/characters AND gameplay/interactivity...but if something needs to be prioritised...it should be interactivity/gameplay.
Little Chicken
Member
Most attempts to inject a diverse range of people are personalities and labelled "woke" and met with hysterics by obese shut-ins.
Most attempts are pretty bad though.
Most attempts are pretty bad though.
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DelireMan7
Member
They look decently cool though
Visual design wise I blame how much realism everything is going for,
Like these characters look super uninteresting,you gotta fight extra hard to not look generic when everything is realistic
I love Clair Obscur and the characters while playing. But yes, visually they're nothing special outside of the art design of the world and clothes.
I was never fan of realistic graphic and as a teenage stated "I'll stop gaming when games looks like reality". This is an hyperbole and I'll still play games but realistic graphics are quite bland without a good art design.
When I see the recent trailer of GTA6, I can just roll my eyes to the sky and really don't see why people go crazy about it.
I usually prefer non realistic graphics or kind of realistic where you clearly see it's not (like Stellar Blade, it looks nice and semi realistic).
Branded
Member
I know Borderlands uses stylized proportions but the female head sizes seem out of place regardless?
Let's see, from left to right we have:
- meek soy dude who knows his place and constantly makes self-deprecating jokes
- empowered 0-charisma girlboss who's smarter, stronger, cooler, and cockier than any man
- overly confident toxic male who always gets it wrong and gets humiliated and emasculated by the women
- self-taught super genius scientist/engineer woman who builds ultra complex engineering projects (that would normally take years of work by teams of engineers) in her spare time and talks like Nicki Minaj
DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
Look at e.g. Forspoken. Kotaku wrote a hit piece about how they visited Luminous studios and didn't see any black people working there. Luminous responded by saying they brought in "BIPOC consultants" to help design Frey. Then Polygon complained because they portrayed a black protagonist in a fictional world where racism doesn't exist.
There's this unwritten rule that we need to atone for past injustices by portraying marginalized identities in the most bland, sympathetic, stereotype-defying way possible, and that just makes for shit character design.
I may be an obese incel shut-in CHUD but I can recognize patterns when I see them!
Not only in games. I guess when you're well above 30 and started playing (or consuming in general) very young you've seen plenty. It's getting harder to surprise you.
When I look at Goodreads.com and see how many books received +4 out of five stars and I actually read them, tried a few of them, I'm thinking 'this is supposed to be THE shit?'. Mainstream exits in every genre, not only games.
But generally, yeah, having characters that are REALLY interesting is a rare sight across different genres, video games included.
When I look at Goodreads.com and see how many books received +4 out of five stars and I actually read them, tried a few of them, I'm thinking 'this is supposed to be THE shit?'. Mainstream exits in every genre, not only games.
But generally, yeah, having characters that are REALLY interesting is a rare sight across different genres, video games included.
Trilobit
Absolutely Cozy
No way, just look at all the awesome protagonists we have been getting lately. Golden age of character design.
I remember the better times of ancient pasts:
Sinozen
Member
Gaming has the same issues as Hollywood. These gaming studios are bloated and controlled by non creatives. Their concern is of mass appeal and bringing in as much money as possible.
Play indie games. Honestly there are so many great indie games out there that you can stay occupied without even bothering with the corporate made cookie cutter experiences.
Play indie games. Honestly there are so many great indie games out there that you can stay occupied without even bothering with the corporate made cookie cutter experiences.
Plague Doctor
Member
I just want to know when the big devs will have the courage to make Debra Wilson the Main Character.
Always the Bridesmaid and never the Bride. Everywhere I go I see her face.
Always the Bridesmaid and never the Bride. Everywhere I go I see her face.
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NeverYouMind
Member
Always have been.
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DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
This sounds like a Kotaku article in the making.
BlackTron
Member
I like it best when game characters are game characters -Sonic to me is still the all-time pack in game with a new character that was designed around a new ball-rolling code. THAT'S GAMING. The mechanic matches the character. Scrooge gets a pogo stick jump that meant for a mechanically challenging NES game -because he carries a cane while looking for money. The new DK matches a gorilla with giant arms with the ability to punch each fist with a different button and destroy any wall in sight. James Bond was the perfect character for the first breakout console FPS game -not only did it deliver the "be bond" fantasy, but it meant opportunities for gadgets with creative mechanics (the watch) and a secret-agent mission structure. The best characters come from the gameplay integration, since before the days of cutscenes and excessive story. They shouldn't be something handled by a different department that can be pasted in later, at least not usually in most genres or with more effectively made games.
It's why I think Astro-Bot is a little soulless. I mean, it's great, but it's such a "I can do this too" job, nothing unique and distinct to the character, or the gameplay that it brings. Even if there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. He already uses a bunch of Mario moves, lets say he can roll like Sonic too. I'm sure that would be nice, but what makes Astro-Bot...Astro-bot? We know DK is DK because he's a giant gorilla that can smash anything, now that's a joint personality/game mechanic.
It's why I think Astro-Bot is a little soulless. I mean, it's great, but it's such a "I can do this too" job, nothing unique and distinct to the character, or the gameplay that it brings. Even if there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. He already uses a bunch of Mario moves, lets say he can roll like Sonic too. I'm sure that would be nice, but what makes Astro-Bot...Astro-bot? We know DK is DK because he's a giant gorilla that can smash anything, now that's a joint personality/game mechanic.
CompleteGlobalSaturation
Member
Haha.
Let's see, from left to right we have:
- meek soy dude who knows his place and constantly makes self-deprecating jokes
- empowered 0-charisma girlboss who's smarter, stronger, cooler, and cockier than any man
- overly confident toxic male who always gets it wrong and gets humiliated and emasculated by the women
- self-taught super genius scientist/engineer woman who builds ultra complex engineering projects (that would normally take years of work by teams of engineers) in her spare time and talks like Nicki Minaj
Nailed it.
DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
Alright I saved the post, we'll see how it holds up. I really, really hope I'm wrong but I doubt it.
What makes you think I buy mainstream stuff? And what do you consider mainstream. I bet if you name 10 mainstream games to come out this gen, I probably own only one.
SupaComputa
Neo Member
I've been avoiding any in-game story for more than a decade now, mostly playing fighting games, shmups and arcadey roguelites. Mostly because the writing level is really low overall. If you remove nostalgia goggles, it never was really up to part for an adult with life experiences.
Expedition 33 got me out of the funk, without going into spoilers the way you experience the story and how you interact with the world cannot be replicated easily in book or movie form. Even parts I didn't like much like the tone clashes actually have a purpose, that's way more thought through than most movies I watch.
dreamstation
Member
Some of the characters in Pillars of Eternity were great. Eder and Durance were my favourites. I know that game probably isn't considered recent any more but still worth mentioning.