What makes a perfect protagonist?

[ShadowWolf93]

I was discussing with my friend when the idea of a mute protagonist would ever be a good one and why the idea was ever considered a smart move in the first place. We then moved on to why some, such as Gordon Freeman, are so much more loved than others despite the fact that in the end they're all emotionless blank slates devoid of any personality. This became a debate as to what would make the perfect protagonist.

Do you like mute protagonists? Do gravelly-voiced, unquestioningly violent, human tanks do it for you? I realise that this will be an entirely opinionated discussion but that's the point. Perhaps together we could throw in all of our best ideas and create the escapist's perfect protagonist

 

[El Poncho]

I like dragon age where I can pretty much make my character how I want, it might have a script but it has different options

Although being funny always helps.

 

[Cherry Cola]

I like it when they look like me.

That's why Fallout 3 has the ideal protagonist. Oblivion comes close, but unfortunately, that protagonist can't wield an Experimental MIRV.

Not yet anyway..

 

[Jammerz]

Personality makes a good protagonist, A person who has a life, who can have a laugh and isn't some super-human, gravelly-voiced, emotionless monster

 

[Mushroomfreak111]

One I make myself? Most (or all) pre-made protagonists piss me off cause they are too not like me, I like to feel I "am" in the game^^

 

[Flames66]

I like games where the protagonist is customizable to the point where they could be anyone. When I play a game then it is me playing the game. I'm not playing as Gordon Freeman or Sam Fisher or who ever else, I'm playing as me, doing those actions.

 

[James Cassidy]

Honor - Choices that you make, reflect of whom you truly are
Courage - Rise above the masses, live your life complete and strong
Compassion - Is the power that must be used for the good of all
Loyal - To the ones in my care, standing true for what the cause

Honesty - There are no shades of grey, only truth as it can be
Sincere - Don't need to give my word, to speak of such, is the same thing
Courtesy - There's no need to prove strength, even respect your enemies
Values - This is the code I feel, emotions without words, can speak

 

[Kollega]

Well, silent protagonist can be successful - there's certainly additional degree of immersion. But there's so much of them they start to get boring. Potato-faced macho blenders full of gravel are not my thing either.

For me, a good protagonist is someone humorous and preferably enthusiastic. Someone with whom you would actually enjoy a kickarse adventure or two. Ideals he stands for are also a must, because frankly, i'm tired of all the cynical antiheroes. Bonus points for not being a soldier or space marine, having more or less consistent friends (as opposed to meeting only commander's voice on the radio and faceless NPC soldiers), being cute and loveable rather than hypermasculine jerkass, and generally being a dude or dudette i can sympathize with rather than a brick-shithouse sized supersoldier with no characterization whatsoever.

Or, as a tl;dr version, someone other than aforementioned potato-faced macho blenders full of gravel.

You can guess who i see as perfect protagonist. Well, at least people who see my posts regulary.

Spoiler: It's Ratchet, duh. Big picture warning!

[HEADING=2]Obviously not one of your typical SPESS MEHRENS.[/HEADING]​

 

[NyteRaven]

Personnaly, its not the protagonist I like, its the other characters, both good and bad.

That said, one of my favourite protagonists has got to be Alex Mercer from Prototype, just the fact that he's a complete monster, I, sorta, like, that... does that make me evil? Or does that mean I just have evil tendencies?

 

[Arkhangelsk]

I like my character in Mass Effect, so I like when you get to make your own moral decisions. Otherwise, he/she must be just as flawed as any human so you will sympathize with him/her, rather than feeling jealousy/disgust.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

Well, silent protagonist can be successful - there's certainly additional degree of immersion. But there's so much of them they start to get boring. Potato-faced macho blenders full of gravel are not my thing either.

For me, a good protagonist is someone humorous and preferably enthusiastic. Someone with whom you would actually enjoy a kickarse adventure or two. Ideals he stands for are also a must, because frankly, i'm tired of all the cynical antiheroes. Bonus points for not being a soldier or space marine, having more or less consistent friends (as opposed to meeting only commander on the radio and faceless NPC soldiers), and generally being a dude or dudette i can sympathize with rather than a brick-shithouse sized supersoldier with no characterization whatsoever.

Or, as a tl;dr version, someone other than aforementioned potato-faced macho blenders full of gravel.

You can guess who i see as perfect protagonist. Well, at least people who see my posts regulary.

Spoiler: It's Ratchet, duh. Big picture warning!

[HEADING=2]Obviously not your typical space marine.[/HEADING]​

Now you made me want to play Ratchet & Clank again.

 

[malxmusician212]

Brucie from GTA IV, they have to be very obnoxious and funny

 

[Angerwing]

I don't know why, but I REALLY liked Ezio from Assassin's Creed 2.

I think it was because he was so much more human than Altair.

Seriously, you get 10x more Altair story from the codex pages in number 2 than you do in ALL of number 1.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

The perfect protagonist is one where we can empathise with them (as said before), and we actually have to have been given a protagonist too, that's pretty important. Fallout 3's nameless wanderer is NOT a protagonist, it's a pair of costume that we don to play the game oursleves. A protagonist needs their own name, and their own personality (likeable or not) to exist.

 

[rokkolpo]

a likeable one.

and by god not a mute!

 

[dalek sec]

It helps if I like them as a person and can empathize, that's a start at least.

This for the most part, if I can't give a shit about the characters then pretty much all hope is lost.

 

[EliteFreq]

Someone with substance. They actively converse with characters in a way that progresses the story. Whether they take peoples shit or not, it works.

 

[hermes]

I like that I can empatize with him.

If that fails, someone with a backstory that makes me say "holly shit", without turning into a ***** or a wangst...