Poll: Describe your idea of a game villain?

[GrimTruth]

So i am on a game design course and I need to gather some research for my final assignment.
What I need to find out is what you guys think best suits a generic role, for example a hero, villain or sidekick... etc. Now I am talking about human characters only.

If you can think of your own ideal description, please post it. Many thanks in advance for anyone that posts. You would be doing me a really big favour.

 

[DustyDrB]

I'm of the opinion that villains work best the less they are shown.

Just please, no sinister laughter. It's been done, move on.

 

[Angry Caterpillar]

It really kinda depends?

I dunno, I'd go for more the rich, powerful, actually has some wit to back up his evil. Think Saints Row 2.

 

[darth jacen]

British, suave, and no one would expect it to be him.

 

[Aerodynamic]

I don't think any of those fit my description.

...to be honest I don't know what my description is.

 

[Plurralbles]

my villian is as much a part of the world as teh sun is. Ever present, ever knowing, the head of governments the world over and yet has the time to go out and kick the ass of the revolutionaries on a weekly basis. He is the epitome of evil but he is three dimensional. He cares for his own people, but props them up on the bloody backs of everyone else. He and his lieutinant would make Stalin look like a saint.

edit: Of the choices... meh. I'll vote and you'll see.

 

[Hazardlife]

The best villain of all would be the friendly, helpful guy you pick up at the start of your quest, who in a massive twist turns out to have been controlling everything ALL ALONG.

Even crueler would be if the main character's innocent-seeming love interest is really the Princess of Darkness and she was just messing with him all this time.

 

[The_Decoy]

I'm rather fond of the Knight Templar trope myself ( http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KnightTemplar for the unfamiliar)

A pretty easy way of adding a little colour to your villains, and it's nice that they appear to be heroes and actually have a reason for what they're doing, rather than just being mean.

So I guess in answer to your questions, my preferred villain looks like a typical hero might - elegant, strong and righteous but driven to insanity by the intensity of their own thoughts. See Light Yagami, he also covers the Chessmaster trope ( http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheChessmaster )

 

[GrimTruth]

I'm rather fond of the Knight Templar trope myself ( http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KnightTemplar for the unfamiliar)

Never seen that wiki before, actually helps alittle. Thank you

 

[Sazzlysarah]

To me, a real villian is either one of two different models. One you genuinely hate and oppose with every fibure of your being, making him a justified villian however that is. Or one that make you question yourself, doubt yourself, make you wonder how he's the villian in the first place, make you wonder if he's really a villian at all. I find both these kinds of characters to be very powerful in different ways.

 

[Regiment]

I am extremely partial to the cool, collected villain that does nothing directly, instead manipulating everyone into doing his work.

Manipulative villains that trick you into doing their work, meaning that you could theoretically have saved the world by not playing the game, tick me off, though.

 

[FaithorFire]

The best villains are the men with a heroic past. A good guy (who looks THAT part) who's lost his way.
I'm also a staunch protester of over-used pattern villains, and I'm more than happy to buy/see games and movies with villains (or any characters) who break the cliche. everything you described (by your own design) falls right into predictable molds. Try something fresh with your villain.

 

[Jinx_Dragon]

As you can see by your research the most obvious villain that comes to mind is not some blood bathed maniac or emo kid. It is a nice, clean cut, gentleman with enough charm and sophistication for you to like them. They would be nice and kind souls on the surface with no physical, mental or social disabilities to be seen. Indeed the really good villains are those who are nice and kind souls inside as well, those ones throw nice curve balls by 'ends justify the means.' An added feature is these are more or less the real villains in the world, no one really paints themselves as the bad guys in their own stories and are doing things for a 'noble' cause.

Still the basics: Only once you trust someone can they truly betray you.

 

[GrimTruth]

It seems the british guy is always the bad guy.

Sean Bean, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman etc..

 

[Serenegoose]

I think if you want a generic villain - whose villainy is never in doubt, then you need to look at classic examples of Bad Guys, in games and beyond. Ganon is a great example of a 'classic' villain, and the Daleks are too. Smarter than they let on, always got a plan, and always a hairsbreadth from victory. If you want a more sympathetic villain, read up on Magneto. For a less sentient 'cannon fodder' type enemy that still is affecting, look at The Alien.

If you're using TV tropes, then check out 'Xanatos Gambit' as this is an absolute hallmark of the bad guy.

 

[GrimTruth]

I think if you want a generic villain - whose villainy is never in doubt, then you need to look at classic examples of Bad Guys, in games and beyond. Ganon is a great example of a 'classic' villain, and the Daleks are too. Smarter than they let on, always got a plan, and always a hairsbreadth from victory. If you want a more sympathetic villain, read up on Magneto. For a less sentient 'cannon fodder' type enemy that still is affecting, look at The Alien.

If you're using TV tropes, then check out 'Xanatos Gambit' as this is an absolute hallmark of the bad guy.

Ganon does look pretty bad-ass and like Magneto wears armor and a cape, just something to point out.

 

[Brad Shepard]

A real villan is someone who has a backstory, not just some random idiot screaming "I IZ EVILZ, COME GET ME!"

EDIT: Crap... i just spoiled every singel megaman game ever.

 

[Billion Backs]

Neither, all 4 sound like cool guys.

I like my villains gray, the same way I like my heroes.

A zealot with some kind of super inquisition (not spanish -_-) sounds like an interesting idea, though. But then again, that's pretty much like "the Man", so it's hardly original.

 

[Billion Backs]

Even better, make the hero the real villain in the end.

 

[Catalyst6]

My favorite bad guys are always the ones who are the polite, respectable, take Grandmother to her doctor's appointment then kill the nurse for no real reason. The closet psychotic. ♥

That and the whole "who's really the bad guy here" kind of thing. The moral ambitiousness where you end up fighting someone with good causes or if you turn out to be a bad guy as well, etc. etc.