Death of a hero/protagonist/player character in games, a cry for help [I expect Major Spoilers]

[Patshiv]

This hasn't happened to me before... I don't know how it even could happen... Please help.

I am trying to write an assignment, which explores how survival horror games facilitates a fear death in the player. But my gaming experience fails me, I am in need of knowing two things:

Firstly: Are there any games in which the player does not play the protagonist?

By protagonist I mean the primary character in the story(or implied story, any interpretation of what constitutes a story is welcome) in the game. Absolutely any example would be welcome, with only one exception: I'm gonna exclude strategy games. I can just about handle the avatar/playercharacter/protagonist discussion. Throw units into the mix however, and I'll get horribly overwhelmed. And in any case, I really dont think that survival horror and strategy games has much in common.

Secondly: Are there any examples where the protagonist dies(however briefly of permanently the effect), and where the player does NOT feel that he is in control, and responsible for the outcome of the situation. For example, in a cutscene.

Actually I'd prefer examples where such a thing happens, and it isn't a part of, or even after the ending of the game.

Whatever examples you can come up with could potentially be enormeously helpful, and I'd be grateful.

Also I guess, AMA, clarification or whatever, or submit any other perspectives you feel might be relevant to this topic, i really could use some input about now.

 

[upgrayedd]

Kingdom of hearts 2....

 

[Maximum Bert]

[b/]Point one:[/b] In lots of point and click games you dont play the protagonist you just guide them.
Fighting games tend to have a protagonist for story purposes but odds are you will spend more time playing as other characters than them.
Racing games you tend to play as a car not the person even if that person is technically the protagonist although the line can get hazy here.
Oh I got one what about the game Plumbers dont wear Ties I dont think you actually play as anyone you just make some choices along the way its also terrible apparently.

[b/]Second point:[/b] Well there is that nuclear scene in COD 4 I thought it was crap but it fits the criteria. There are many endings in Blazblue Continuum Shift where you just lose you win the fight but it means nothing Hazama just wrecks your shit straight after. There is also the ending to FFX but obviously like the prievious example its the ending although with Blazblue its not quite that straight cut.

Its kind of difficult for a protagonist to die because then the game would be over unless their are multiple protagonist i.e like Heavy Rain but you are in control there its your own choices that get you killed. I think the fire emblem games also have permanent death in them same with Valkyria chronicles again its your own fault though usually, except one cut scene in Valkyria Chronicles where one of the main characters dies actually FFVII does it as well but they are not the main protagonists though even if they are important characters.

For me survival horror usually fails because there is nothing to be afraid of except lost progress and thats the wrong type of scared thats the I dont want to die because I dont want to have to repeat all the shit I have already done scared.

The player also gets killed straight at the start of Legacy of Kain Blood Omen its the set up for the game its not a cutscene but you have no chance to survive. In defiance Kain also dies again although temporarily after you control Raziel and kill him by ripping out his heart, in this game you switch between Raziel and Kain although Kain is always the protagonist imo as the story is ultimately about him so I suppose in that light the Soul Reaver games could be close to where you dont actually play the protagonist even if you play a protagonist.

 

[King Billi]

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2.

Those games kill off several player controlled characters and always in sections where you have no means to prevent it from happening. The most notable example being the mission in which the player is killed suddenly by a nuclear blast just as it would appear he is about to make it out alive.

I also feel those games are examples of games in which none of the player characters are really the protagonist, they only really serve as a lens through which the player can view the actions of others. All major character moments and crucial plot developments in these games are typically handled by the NPC characters such as Captain Price.

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for but there it is anyway...

 

[VoidWanderer]

There was a game I remember reading about on tvtropes where you are not actually the good guy, but this doesn't get revealed until well into the game.

In terms of out of control deaths, I would say Heavy Rain, as while you may have some control, things can go very badly.

 

[Dominic Crossman]

Crono sacrifices himself and may or may not be revived depending on the player action.
Ff12 vaan is the main playable character but I'd say balither is the protagonist, he even calls himself as such

Edit first sentence is regarding a game called chrono trigger.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

Point 1. Does ZombiU count? With permadeath for each character you couldn't really call them the protagonist since they are probably going to end up dead and the story carried on by another. They have a part to play and the length and significance of that part depends on how quickly they get eaten.

 

[The Lyre]

player does NOT feel that he is in control, and responsible for the outcome of the situation. For example, in a cutscene.

About half way through the now somewhat infamous Spec Ops: The Line.

Half of the complaints you see about that game are "But it didn't even give me a choice! The game made me!"

Which was actually pretty much the point of the plot in general. You'll find videos of it if you google 'Spec Ops White Phosphorous'.

Bioshock Infinite tried to do something similar but fell flat on its face in doing so. Well, no, that's not entirely accurate - that was just a stumble. The rest of the plot was when it full on faceplanted into the curb.


Edit; Another (very bizarre) example could be Deadly Premonition - a very 'eccentric' Japanese horror game where, rather than the protagonist, you seem to play the equivalent of his...spirit guide...I guess? At the very least, you certainly don't play as the protagonist, though you do control him, so plot-wise there is a distinction, but gameplay wise there isn't, really.

 

[MysticSlayer]

I've heard some people argue that Elizabeth from BioShock Infinite is really the main character and Booker (your character) is just a side character, but I've never heard a convincing argument for it, especially since the whole game basically points to Booker's/Comstock's character, even the overplayed American nationalism theme. Elizabeth is really just a very important side character equivalent to Pearl from The Scarlet Letter. However, Booker does die at the end when Elizabeth drowns him.

The Call of Duty franchise, however, does have you playing as side characters. Soap (a member of the S.A.S.) is arguably the protagonist of Call of Duty 4, but you still play as the ruler of an unknown Middle Eastern country (who gets executed while you helplessly watch), an American Marine (who gets blown up while you helplessly watch), and Capt. Price (Soap's superior). In Modern Warfare 2, there is no real protagonist, as Ramirez (an American Ranger), Roach (a Task Force 141 member who is burned while you helplessly watch), another American Ranger turned CIA agent (who gets shot while you helplessly watch) and Soap (same guy, but a captain in the TF141) don't really ever take a role akin to a real protagonist. Modern Warfare 3 has Yuri (a TF141 member) as the main character, but you do play as an American Delta Force soldier, a guy protecting the Russian President (who gets shot just like the CIA agent from MW2), and Capt. Price (again). In that case, Yuri gets killed, but you witness it from Capt. Price's perspective, not Yuri's perspective like the rest of the player character deaths (which are all in first-person). Simply put, the Modern Warfare trilogy was a great example of what you are looking for.

Xenoblade Chronicles allows you to play anyone from the main team--Shulk, Reyn, Sharla, Dunban, Melia, Riki, and Fiora--even though Shulk is technically the protagonist. Actually, you start playing the game as Dunban, not Shulk. Also, both Sulk and Fiora die in cutscenes, though they are both brought back later. Shulk presumably receives help from the computer program running their world (it's complicated), and Fiora is transformed into a cyborg that houses one of the two primary "gods". Not to mention, Shulk died even before the game began but was revived by the "god" that opposes the one housed in Fiora's body.

In BioShock 2, the player spends a brief period playing as a Little Sister. Subject Delta, the protagonist, dies twice in the game. During the first time he is controlled by Sophia Lamb, the antagonist, and shoots himself in the head by her command. The second time is when Eleanor Lamb, his Little Sister who is now grown up, absorbs his consciousness into her own body (technically killing him in the process).

In some of the more recent Mario games, you can play as Luigi and/or a Toad. The New Super Mario Bros. games do this (though it is only in co-op that you can play as anyone other than Mario), and the Galaxy games allow you to play as Luigi. In Galaxy 1 it is mandatory to play as Luigi to get 100% completion, though it is only optional in Galaxy 2. In Paper Mario 64, you also spend some time playing as Peach as she sneaks around the castle looking for things that can help Mario on his quest.

In Dante's Inferno, it is revealed at the end that Dante is dead and had been ever since he got stabbed in the back at the beginning of the game (yes, it was a stupid idea). Other ideas in the story contradict this, though, such as Dante's friend promising to take the blame for the massacre that Dante (the player at this point) commits mere seconds before getting killed, so I'm not sure how good this example is.

In Resident Evil 4, there is a moment where you play as Ashley as you try to reach Leon, collecting anything that could help Leon along the way.

Well, those are the only ones I can think of easily without having to look up too many character names and such. There are plenty more, though, I'm sure.

 

[Toxic Sniper]

Outside of strategy games, I can't really think of any where you don't play as the protagonist. I guess games with multiple player characters like the Call of Duty franchise might count, since none of them are really the protagonists, but in those games there really isn't a protagonist.

Secondly: Are there any examples where the protagonist dies(however briefly of permanently the effect), and where the player does NOT feel that he is in control, and responsible for the outcome of the situation. For example, in a cutscene.

Actually I'd prefer examples where such a thing happens, and it isn't a part of, or even after the ending of the game.

Whatever examples you can come up with could potentially be enormeously helpful, and I'd be grateful.

Also I guess, AMA, clarification or whatever, or submit any other perspectives you feel might be relevant to this topic, i really could use some input about now.

Shadow of the Colossus, Bioshock Infinite, and Chrono Trigger are all examples.

In Shadow of the Colossus, as soon as Wander beats the 16th Colossus, Emon and his soldiers show up and fire a crossbow bolt into his leg so that he doesn't interfere when they seal Dormin. Dormin possesses Wander's body to combat them, but is hampered because of Wander's injured leg and inevitably is defeated and sealed again. Wander is seemingly reincarnated as a horned baby in the post-credits scene, but the Wander we played as is gone forever.

Bioshock Infinite's ending has Booker accidentally wander straight into a situation where he has to die to stop the suffering Comstock caused in different timelines. Because Comstock is an alternate version of Booker, killing Booker at the exact moment before timelines diverged and he became Comstock (At his baptism) will get rid of all suffering Comstock has caused. The player has no choice in this; even while Booker struggles to live, Elizabeth and her alternate universe counterparts still drown him. He does show up at the end, but it's implied that this is a different version of Booker than the "main" one you play as.

Chrono Trigger has Chrono die, and there isn't anything you can do to really stop this, but you can bring him back to life later on. Chrono has a bit less character than either Wander or Booker, but he still is essentially the protagonist.

About half way through the now somewhat infamous Spec Ops: The Line.

Half of the complaints you see about that game are "But it didn't even give me a choice! The game made me!"

Which was actually pretty much the point of the plot in general. You'll find videos of it if you google 'Spec Ops White Phosphorous'.

That wouldn't really be an example because the protagonist doesn't die, he just is forced into doing something. At the ending of Spec Ops: The Line, you have complete control over whether Walker dies or lives.

 

[Gatx]

I think if FFX, Yuna is arguably more important than Tidus even though he's the player character. Also since you're talking about horror games, I have to say Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. You're playing as Harry Mason but the twist at the end reveals that the story was about his daughter the whole time.

I've heard some people argue that Elizabeth from BioShock Infinite is really the main character and Booker (your character) is just a side character, but I've never heard a convincing argument for it, especially since the whole game basically points to Booker's/Comstock's character, even the overplayed American nationalism theme. Elizabeth is really just a very important side character equivalent to Pearl from The Scarlet Letter. However, Booker does die at the end when Elizabeth drowns him.

I thought that was just a think that was hyped up in the press before the story revealed Joe Schmoe with gun over shoulder on the bro-pandering box was actually character in his own right.

 

[Altorin]

Crono dies in Chrono Trigger..

and

Spoiler: Gears of War 3 spoilers

Dom dies in Gears 3.. which sucked.. it felt like they Killed off Luigi for no good reason

 

[Tom_green_day]

Firstly: Most strategy games? XCOM I was playing earlier. You are not the hero- the heroes and heroines are the ones on the ground, shooting the aliens and saving the civilians. You're just the one who does the finances at the end of the day, and tells the soldiers where to stand when they shoot.

Secondly: Mass Effect 2 comes to mind, right at the beginning. And later on, the acquisition of Joker as a playable character really emphasises the death and capture of the people due to it being the second playable bit on the Normandy and the fact that you're not the protagonist. Also neither is at the end, which is important.
And then there's the Modern Warfare series where everyone dies unless they aren't the protagonist. Not just at the end, but all the way through.

 

[MysticSlayer]

I've heard some people argue that Elizabeth from BioShock Infinite is really the main character and Booker (your character) is just a side character, but I've never heard a convincing argument for it, especially since the whole game basically points to Booker's/Comstock's character, even the overplayed American nationalism theme. Elizabeth is really just a very important side character equivalent to Pearl from The Scarlet Letter. However, Booker does die at the end when Elizabeth drowns him.

I thought that was just a think that was hyped up in the press before the story revealed Joe Schmoe with gun over shoulder on the bro-pandering box was actually character in his own right.

I heard it even after the box art reveal. Even Jim Sterling made the argument on a Jimquisition episode shortly before the release of the game (after reviewers had already played it).

 

[SuperFrankieLampard]

Altair's death and finding his body in the library in Assassins Creed Revelations is still easily the highlight of the series. Not in the actual games, but Ezio's death and his letter to Sophia in Assassins Creed Embers is also done amazingly.

 

[Seydaman]

Maybe Dragon Age Origins, although you can technically get out of that.

Mass Effect 2 has that happen if you don't prepare

 

[Kopikatsu]

Many of the Final Fantasy games fit that description. FFX is about Yuna, but you play as Tidus. FFXII has you playing as Vaan, but the story is about Ashe. FFXIII focuses on Lightning, but the story is about Vanille (and Fang to a lesser extent). If I remember correctly, VIII is about Rinoa and not Squall. VI is about Terra, not Locke. Etc.

Generally the player character in most Final Fantasy games is just an audience surrogate as opposed to the main protagonist.

Last Remnant flipflops. David (pronounced Davede) seems like the main protagonist for most of the story right up until just before the final boss fight, at which point Rush (the PC) becomes very important. One of your most powerful allies dies early in the game in an incredibly badass way, too.