The Admiral said:
RedMenace said:
God Emperor of Men. (WH40K)
Dude, you want to be stuck in a chair, never moving, barely hanging on to life by a single thread. Sure you rule the galaxy with an iron fist but you wouldn't get to enjoy it.
I think that's what most of the people are missing here. The majority of video game characters actually live extremely miserable lives. Most often, they're fighting for their lives, always on the brink of death or suffering some sort of severe physical or emotional trauma. They tend to have extremely weighty burdensome responsibilities that make them responsible for the well-being and continued existence of other people. Fighting against impossible odds is a great formula for storytelling, but as a lifestyle, you won't find it so amusing. I don't think you'd enjoy being an action hero when you start taking shotgun blasts to the groin.
Same goes for the villains, by the way - your lives tend to be fairly nasty and unenjoyable, since if you did enjoy your lives, you would lack the ambition to be properly villainous. And it is your fate to be defeated, to lose everything you have, and usually die an extremely unpleasant death.
With the practical concerns in mind, I'd look for a character who lives an enjoyable life, without altogether dangerous or depressing experiences, and is alive at the end of the story. It would be called Awesome Dude's Awesome Life that's Fairly Unenjoyable from a Spectator's Point of View.
Something like that.