Poll: Would you play as a truly appalling person in a game?

[Alexei F. Karamazov]

No, I would not. I don't think I would find it fun, I don't think it would be worth my time, and I don't think I would learn anything. People are saying that they would totally play such a game so they can "learn something about the mindset/character," but there's nothing to learn: either they don't adhere to our morals for whatever reason, or they feel justified to perform those actions. There's not much to learn except for the circumstances or leaps in logic (or lack-thereof), neither of which I would find particularly enlightening nor entertaining.

Besides, I don't think I could bring myself to do some of the things on the list. I don't care if it is a videogame, I'm the one controlling said videogames. I would be making a conscientious decision to commit atrocities for the sake of committing those atrocities and whatever sadistic pleasure that go along with them; the very concept makes me sick.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Here's a little drinking game for you. Play the School Days visual novel. Take a shot of your liquor of choice each time Makoto's actions make you want to punch him in the face. Do this until you've gotten all the endings or until you pass out, whichever comes first(I'm betting on the latter). Just for example, here is a scenario you may encounter, along with the available options:

Spoiler: School Days HQ spoilers

You see your ex-girlfriend getting raped by a classmate of yours. Do you...

a) leave?

b) stay and watch?

c) stay and watch while fingering another classmate to orgasm while your current girlfriend waits for you go have lunch with her?

You should be taking a shot right about now. Makoto is a horrible person.

 

[DarklordKyo]

I'm not talking like GTA's Trevor Phillips level of evil, where they have no problem with torture and casually murder people. I'm talking about someone who is a literal piece of filth. Someone who:-

1.Is a sadist in every sense of the word
2.Will steal from the very poor
3.Rapes people
4.Kills children
5.Would prefer to leave an enemy to die broken and mutilated rather than finish them off.
6.Is manipulative and willing to exploit the earnest and unaware.

Basically would you be interested in playing as a person who is almost everything that is wrong with humanity? I'm sure some would like the "it depends" option, so lets say that the character does all six of those things. Would you still be able to play the game? I'm not saying you'd have to be comfortable whilst doing so.

Personally I'd be very interested to. Gaming is a good medium to explore such a dark theme. For example you wouldn't have to put any child actors through anything questionable to get footage. And actors wouldn't be reluctant to sign up to have their image used in an unpleasant way. But I can easily see why people would be offended by the idea.

What do you guys think?

So basically Kengo Inui from Virgin Roster?

 

[[REDACTED]]

Try playing Evil incarnation of Nameless One. And do not skip reading.

And that right there is the reason I had to answer "Nope". Even thinking about it sends shivers up my spine.

 

[Mikejames]

Here's a little drinking game for you. Play the School Days visual novel. Take a shot of your liquor of choice each time Makoto's actions make you want to punch him in the face.

Dear lord all I have is the anime adaption to go on, but that character filled me with all kinds of loathing.

Spoiler

Saw it with a group of people who brought it in as a joke. There was almost a standing ovation when everyone started getting stabbed at the end.

Last five minutes almost made it worth watching.

 

[Ryan Minns]

I've actually looked for Skyrim mods to add all of those at one point. Mainly killing kids... those little fuckers bitching at me during stealth.

 

[Malbourne]

The thing is, most villains are seen through the eyes of the protagonist when it comes to videogames. They're the bad guys, the ones whose personalities bounce off of the main character. Not many games let you take the viewpoint of the bad guys because the real spotlight is on the protagonists, else why even bother playing the good guy? Is there a story where you get to play as Bowser, see why he steals the princess, how he does it? That could provide some insight as to how he works as a character. But, for the most part, the main focus is typically on Mario's escapades (it was nice to see him teaming up with Mario in Inside Story and RPG though).

In games that are heavily fueled by narrative investment, having a rounded antagonist is super-necessary. And when it comes to that type of investment the game is putting half the burden on the player to make and commit to choices they believe affect their experience. Having characters that are somewhat identifiable, even in appearance, makes a big difference, but their actions are key. Going to the extremes of what one person is willing to do can be a fascinating story, sure.

The biggest issue lies in how much the player is able to put themselves in the protagonist's shoes. When you play as a hero archetype, you're not only playing the good guy but casting yourself in an idol's position. Link is a hero of time who just wants to help out the people he can (disregarding the superfluous property damage). Lots of people want to relate to that. However, when it comes to downright villains that do the things you listed, it becomes harder and harder to identify with them. I think there'd be a tipping point between dissociation with a character that is irredeemably evil and identification with a sympathetic (or at least understandable) villain.

TL;DR: So, yes, playing as filth can provide a unique standpoint, but it's way more fun if said filth is well-characterized, has a reason or history for doing the things they do (I wasn't sure if that went without saying). And perhaps seeing the bad guy win wouldn't be such a bad thing to experience every now and again.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Here's a little drinking game for you. Play the School Days visual novel. Take a shot of your liquor of choice each time Makoto's actions make you want to punch him in the face.

Dear lord all I have is the anime adaption to go on, but that character filled me with all kinds of loathing.

Spoiler

Saw it with a group of people who brought it in as a joke. There was almost a standing ovation when everyone started getting stabbed at the end.

Last five minutes almost made it worth watching.

You should try the VN. School Days is the only one I've played where I got pissed off when I got a "good" ending.

 

[verdant monkai]

So basically Kengo Inui from Virgin Roster?

Care to bother explaining who on earth that is? Sounds like some weird hentai villain.

 

[Godhead]

No, because I find that boring. You need to have something to keep the character grounded to make them enjoyable (not literally that is).

 

[flying_whimsy]

I've seen some people talking about clockwork orange already, and that guy did spring to mind at one point as I was browsing other replies. That dude creeps me out.

Seriously, though, I couldn't play a character that was that far out of line (especially since contextualizing it would be super hard; maybe a game spent playing as the joker?). Hell, I can't even play straight renegade in Mass Effect: I tried and had to give up after twenty minutes.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

If you think about it, many games do have you playing as characters or groups who are that evil. For example, if you played as the Orcs in Warcraft 2, they made it pretty clear that they murdered everyone in the cities they took over, and that means killing children, the elderly, the sick and disabled, etc., but they never actually show them doing those things.

To be blunt, I don't think any developer would ever take the risk of making a game in which the character who you play as commits rape, and they certainly would never show it taking place. Think about how ape-shit bananas people went when they thought there was a scene of sexual assault in the new Tomb Raider reboot, when it turned out it wasn't really a sexual assault scene at all. People lost their mind just thinking that their MIGHT be rape shown in a game, could you imagine the collective shitstorm of having your protagonist actually commit the act?

 

[Trunkage]

Speaking as a bad guy - Looks to me a lot of these things are a stupid waste of time for someone who actually wants to get caught

Hurt people takes time, so does rape. You are also leaving evidence behind.

Why would I even bother stealing from the poor. Its not worth it.

Killing kids - if it gets what I want

If there was someone who was hurt I wouldn't be interested to even talking to them. So yeah, Id leave them

Manipulation is my gig so I'm totally into that.

All in all stop wasting doing useless things.

 

[Mikejames]

You should try the VN. School Days is the only one I've played where I got pissed off when I got a "good" ending.

Afraid I'll have to pass. As far as I'm concerned, the ending I saw was the good ending, in a rather cathartic sense.

I was just using 'Clockwork Orange' as a point of comparison, it doesn't have to be someone like Alex specifically. in general, I'm talking about playing as a character who really is rotten to the core; allegories about the nature of free will aren't a necessity.

I know, I just have a hard time picturing a satisfying experience in trying to influence a character that blatantly sick in the head.

Of course, I couldn't stand Kratos, so maybe I'm not the one to ask.

 

[HellbirdIV]

Voted yes simply because the option should be open to storytellers regardless of the medium.

If it's a good game and the story is solid, it's worth playing, even if it's dark, grim and unpleasant - although games trying to be dark, grim and unpleasant often come out worse as some people are still stuck in the 90's-00's delusion that "dark = realistic = better".

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

Eh, yeah. Been there. I played as Kratos in God of War. He's extremely appalling, but the games were at least fun and their art direction interesting.

 

[Abomination]

I wouldn't play a character who embraces all of those traits but I would like a game where I have the OPTION to do those things.

I would also like a game where I would have to face the consequences of doing those things.

 

[ThreeName]

1.Is a sadist in every sense of the word
2.Will steal from the very poor
4.Kills children
6.Is manipulative and willing to exploit the earnest and unaware.

Basically me in Fallout 3. I hated every fucking NPC in that game, especially the children. Little Lamplight massacre om nom nom nom

And I'd main the fuckers and let them crawl around with no legs if I could