Poll: Is Gordon Freeman the greatest character in gaming? Why?
- Thread starter MortalKomic
- Start date
Recommended Videos
I think it is among the best games ever.... But that doesn't make Gordon freeman a great character...DoPo said:
He is the character in one of the best games of all time, but the essence of what makes the Half-Life games ground breaking isn't Gordon, the silent protagonist. He is a good choice of character for the way the games work, witht he lack of cutscenes, never leaving the first person view and not speaking is a great design, but it isn't the essence of what makes the games great.
For characters, in games where there is ideology at play or some kind of deep character development, I would say Gordon doesn't hold up as even top 5 best characters of all time. I believe he is the best of the silent protagonists, better than Link, Jack(Bioshock), Doomguy, etc.
I would go out on a limb and say Andrew Ryan probably outranks Gordon as a great character, Gordon is just a perfect fit for what the Half-Life games are about, but hes not the best character in gaming history.
For characters, in games where there is ideology at play or some kind of deep character development, I would say Gordon doesn't hold up as even top 5 best characters of all time. I believe he is the best of the silent protagonists, better than Link, Jack(Bioshock), Doomguy, etc.
I would go out on a limb and say Andrew Ryan probably outranks Gordon as a great character, Gordon is just a perfect fit for what the Half-Life games are about, but hes not the best character in gaming history.
I just like playing him as my own character. Depending on my mood, he could be a murderous psychopath, or a vengeful hero. As a standalone character, though? He's not that good.
Well, yeah - I do like HL, however, the point of it isn't that it's "the best" - far from it. A very, very shallow view must be adopted to think so. Also, as I said, Gordon Freeman can be "good" but depends on how you're defining that - personality-wise one cannot even classify Freeman, however, as fame, he certainly is known in the gaming circles. And as a blank-slate role, it's actually rather fitting.R.Nevermore said:
No. He's not a good character because he doesn't even fit the description of a true character.
He has no personality, motivations, likes or dislikes. He has no noticeable strengths, weaknesses, flaws or relationships with other characters; they react to him but he never reciprocates. We barely know anything about him aside from his name, age and qualifications.
Alyx Vance is a great character; Gordon is not.
He has no personality, motivations, likes or dislikes. He has no noticeable strengths, weaknesses, flaws or relationships with other characters; they react to him but he never reciprocates. We barely know anything about him aside from his name, age and qualifications.
Alyx Vance is a great character; Gordon is not.
He's not really even a character, is he? Somebody made the comparison with Jack in Bioshock, and I think that's particularly accurate. Obviously, both of them are pretty crucial to their respective plots, but neither have any actual personality or character. They're just blank, empty things with invisible legs that cannot emote or even drive the plot beyond whatever actions the player makes them do.
He's cool in a conceptual way, at least as Half-Life 1 is concerned. "Physics Professor struggles to survive in aftermath of a experiment that unleashes hostile extra-dimensional aliens, becomes hardened fighter as a result." That's cool, how about focusing on his personality?
As a character he's nothing.
Half-Life 2 doesn't even have the concept to stand-on. It becomes "You are badass who was locked in time, when you get out you unleash a revolution as the savior of the human race and the aliens you fought before." ...That's kind of boring honestly.
He's still nothing, if I were Gordon I'd just be pissed off at all these people pushing responsibility onto me. Gordon might be motivated to shoot combine, but I'm not.
And people even try to argue that Bioshock made it "meta" and that was good thematically. I still say that it doesn't make a good story when you try to make it "deep" when it's not.
As a character he's nothing.
Half-Life 2 doesn't even have the concept to stand-on. It becomes "You are badass who was locked in time, when you get out you unleash a revolution as the savior of the human race and the aliens you fought before." ...That's kind of boring honestly.
He's still nothing, if I were Gordon I'd just be pissed off at all these people pushing responsibility onto me. Gordon might be motivated to shoot combine, but I'm not.
Also this.Captain Billy said:
And people even try to argue that Bioshock made it "meta" and that was good thematically. I still say that it doesn't make a good story when you try to make it "deep" when it's not.
Gordon Freeman is for me one of the worst lead characters in a game series. He has no personality, and never, ever speaks. Ok, so many lead game characters are silent, but for some other blank-slate characters, it does a good job of being vessels to project yourself on. Why do you think Master Chief never takes off his helmet? Combined with the fact that he says the occasional phrase here and there makes him seem like an actual person, and combined with the fact we never see what he looks like, it becomes easy to imagine ourselves as the spartan space marine.
Gordon Freeman on the other hand has a more distinct back-story and a more distinct appearance. It becomes far harder to project ourselves on someone who has a default appearance that isn't hidden or alterable if far more difficult, and the game seems to poke fun at the fact he can't speak by having characters interact with him as if he's about to say something back to them. The fact he's a physicist only makes the 'project the player onto the main character' aspect even harder as most of us can't identify with being a physicist. Sure most of us can't identify with being a super soldier in science fiction, but Halo allows us that experience as it's the bread and butter of the game.
In short, I like my lead characters fully characterized and interesting, or blank slates that we can customize to our liking, such as names and appearance, or completely hiding it. The lead character of Bioshock is probably the best example of a blank slate in an FPS I can think of, but if you really hate the blank-slate leads, there are occasional details you can find if you look hard for them. That being said, it's also augmented by the fact that interesting things happen to you/Jack throughout the game. I felt like someone who was desperate for survival and answers, going so far to painfully inject plasmids to modify myself for survival. Going half way between such as what they done with Gordon Freeman is pretty much always a terrible idea.
Gordon Freeman on the other hand has a more distinct back-story and a more distinct appearance. It becomes far harder to project ourselves on someone who has a default appearance that isn't hidden or alterable if far more difficult, and the game seems to poke fun at the fact he can't speak by having characters interact with him as if he's about to say something back to them. The fact he's a physicist only makes the 'project the player onto the main character' aspect even harder as most of us can't identify with being a physicist. Sure most of us can't identify with being a super soldier in science fiction, but Halo allows us that experience as it's the bread and butter of the game.
In short, I like my lead characters fully characterized and interesting, or blank slates that we can customize to our liking, such as names and appearance, or completely hiding it. The lead character of Bioshock is probably the best example of a blank slate in an FPS I can think of, but if you really hate the blank-slate leads, there are occasional details you can find if you look hard for them. That being said, it's also augmented by the fact that interesting things happen to you/Jack throughout the game. I felt like someone who was desperate for survival and answers, going so far to painfully inject plasmids to modify myself for survival. Going half way between such as what they done with Gordon Freeman is pretty much always a terrible idea.
He's got a cool, iconic design... that you never see in the game mind you...
I dunno, I find the "Voiceless Main Character" to be a horrible cop out, it sucks with Gordon Freeman, it sucked more with Corvo (from Dishonored) and it will continue to suck into the future. I am in utter and total agreement with the feature article, voiceless characters suck.
I dunno, I find the "Voiceless Main Character" to be a horrible cop out, it sucks with Gordon Freeman, it sucked more with Corvo (from Dishonored) and it will continue to suck into the future. I am in utter and total agreement with the feature article, voiceless characters suck.
http://www.empireonline.com/features/50-greatest-video-game-characters/default.asp?film=1DoPo said:
http://www.gamespot.com/greatest-video-game-hero/index.html
http://www.gamesradar.com/gordon-freeman-strongest-personality-in-gaming/
It's subjective. You'll have to read the criteria and arguments of those arguing he is the best, and decide if they're compelling. Unless it's something that can actually be mathematically quantified (e.g., which car has the best gas mileage), "best" is always going to be a subjective term. And I mean actually measured, not the subjective ratings of game review scores. Otherwise it's just a poll.DoPo said:
Gordon Freeman is not a good character, and he's not a bad character. Being completely honest, he's barely a character at all. More of a force of nature that everyone can yell "Gordon Freeman!" in surprise at. He participates in no dialogue, makes no decisions and has no ambitions past what all his physicist buddies tell him to do. His role in the plot is no more than a powerful tool for the resistance.
Which is honestly fine. As a medium for the player to experience the story and have fun doing it he's perfectly effective. But calling him a good character, let alone the best, is just absurd.
Which is honestly fine. As a medium for the player to experience the story and have fun doing it he's perfectly effective. But calling him a good character, let alone the best, is just absurd.
Absolutely not. I cannot even begin to fathom how someone can argue he is the greatest character in gaming.
Let's assume one has played the entire Half Life series; HL1, HL2, Episode 1 & 2, and NOTHING ELSE. It would not be difficult at all to argue that Alyx Vance is a better character than Gordon Freeman. Heck, G-Man is a better character than Gordon Freeman! In other words, I don't think he is even the best character in Half Life, let alone the gaming medium! He is a not a bad character but he's an empty shell for the player to jump into and empty shells don't make great characters. That is what he was intended to be and he succeeded in it very well, but honestly it's not a tall order.
Let's assume one has played the entire Half Life series; HL1, HL2, Episode 1 & 2, and NOTHING ELSE. It would not be difficult at all to argue that Alyx Vance is a better character than Gordon Freeman. Heck, G-Man is a better character than Gordon Freeman! In other words, I don't think he is even the best character in Half Life, let alone the gaming medium! He is a not a bad character but he's an empty shell for the player to jump into and empty shells don't make great characters. That is what he was intended to be and he succeeded in it very well, but honestly it's not a tall order.
No and i would hazard to even call him a character. Characters have motivations, flaws, goals. Gordon Freeman might as well be a goose for all the difference it would make. He is more a plot device than a character.
Beat me to it! Freeman doesn't even come close, but he's one of the few silent protagonists that make it into the list.synobal said:In my opinion these two are some of the greatest characters in gaming.
I'll add this guy
From newer games I like Geralt the witcher, though I possibly would not have if I didn't read the book series beforehand.
absolutely not, He isn't a character.
He's a gun turret with legs.
And he only surveys to make all the other characters in Half Life 2 seem weird for putting all their faith in a mute who would rather throw potted plants around instead of listen to their fucking exposition.
Basically the only characterization moments he gets are that he can figure out physics puzzles and kill people
But being a non character has it's advantages.
At least he's not a bad character, or a really bad character. At least he didn't murder his wife, or set up a scenario in which his best friend would think murdering his traumatized wife would be a good thing.
Basically what I'm getting at is that with games like Gears of War 2 in existence there will never be another "bad" character.
He's a gun turret with legs.
And he only surveys to make all the other characters in Half Life 2 seem weird for putting all their faith in a mute who would rather throw potted plants around instead of listen to their fucking exposition.
Basically the only characterization moments he gets are that he can figure out physics puzzles and kill people
But being a non character has it's advantages.
At least he's not a bad character, or a really bad character. At least he didn't murder his wife, or set up a scenario in which his best friend would think murdering his traumatized wife would be a good thing.
Basically what I'm getting at is that with games like Gears of War 2 in existence there will never be another "bad" character.
Well, as I said, I can agree or disagree depending on the definition. Two of those links are mere popularity contents albeit slightly different to one another. However, still popularity contests. Surely, anybody claiming Mario is one of the most compelling and well written characters in gaming would be considered a loony, and yet, there you have Mario on the second spot. Twice.Falseprophet said:
As for the third link...they also tackle "character" a bit unconventionally. I am not entirely sure I agree with the article, as in, I do not think making an argument for Gordon being a "persona" is adequate, although the rest is correct. At any rate, anybody using this to say "Gordon is the best" is not really right in saying it.
I just too often see people dismissing the claims of Freeman being great as an individual...which claims I've never actually seen made. And even now, I have two "most popular" and one "works great as a device to let the player get a more immersive experience from a game" - neither of which claim it in the sense of "portrayal of a persona" which people are actually trying to dismiss.
Gordon Freeman and Doomguy are essentially the same character. They're a camera holding a gun.
So they share the title of Best Character in Gaming.
So they share the title of Best Character in Gaming.