Why do we praise the same characters over and over?

[CrazyCrab]

Hi everyone,
I never really gave it this much thought, but today I realized how freaking bored I am of the characters that seem to pop up in every AAA title. Why does everyone worship the Last of Us` story line when its essentially a copy paste from The Walking Dead? Rugged, manly main character with a questionable past? Check. Adventures with a girl who he just ends up with even though it was not the 1st thing he wanted to do? Check. The girl despite a pile of zombies and gore everywhere seems sort of ok with it? Check. Hell, I´d shaking more than a vibrator 90% of the time in the situations in that game yet those little girls look like superheroes. A bad human that tries to kill the main protagonist while being cunning and trying to convince the girl that everything is alright? Check...

The worst thing is that its not even just those 2 games. Why does Bioshock Infinite follow the exact same pattern when it comes to characters? Why does even freaking Dishonored, one of my favorite games of all time, have to have a little girl in it who needs to be saved? Why does even the How To Survive, something as silly as that, have an entire mini chapter devoted to saving a girl?

Even though it may seem like I`m mad, its just pure confusion. I really don't get the mass appeal in trying to save a girl. Don`t get me wrong, its alright for a story line to be focused around it, but why does every game do it? Is it something psychological, the need to save females from danger, the greatest instinct of all gamers? I honestly dont get it. Why cannot it be a boy or a sibling? Also, why does almost every main protagonist has to be a middle aged, tough looking man with a questionable past? Why cannot it be someone else?

Hell, Id pay someone to make a game with a different character. Why cannot we have a zombie apocalypse game with a WW2 veteran? Obviously he wouldn't be as fit but it could link to interesting things - maybe going mad and seeing zombies as Nazis? What about a priest who has to question his faith while being ridiculed by the society - meaningful choices leading to an ending where maybe he could found the new Templars, open a church or abandon faith altogether.

I sincerely do not understand why does almost every major game bases the story around cutout characters.

EDIT: Ugh. I should have called this topic something else. I do not despise those games. I actually enjoyed all of them, whether I watched a lets play (as I only play on the PC) or played them myself. They are not bad games. All that I'm wondering about is the whole idea and why the patter actually exists. I do not actually personify with any of the ragged characters nor find saving one character particularly exciting. All these stories are quite good, all Im confused about is why most major studios keep doing the same. You would thing that different people would create different things after all.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I guess I can take this as an opportunity to bring up Katawa Shoujo? Oh that works pretty well actually, in Hanako's Route (read: The only route you should ever take you heartless monster) if you keep going with the main character's MASSIVE White Knight crusade to "save" her you get her worse ending. Incidentally, her route is one of the only game examples I can think of where sex is a natural character development thing and is not just a throwaway minigame. It is actually integral to the plot. Keep up Bioware, if a few random collaborators on fucking 4Chan can do it you have no excuse.

I do agree with the save little girls thing, though that's because I fucking loathe all children ever with one exception and even she took tens of hours to get over. Yeah as good as Walking Dead is, sorry but my mind has a cap on child characters and Clementine is in 90% of scenes

Surprisingly, with the many gripes I have with Last of Us, Ellie is not among them at all. She's alright.

I would like more Spec Ops type stuff. As in focusing intensely on one character throughout the game, not so much the accidental genocide. Christ the seemingly rational conclusions Walker jumps to are staggering in hindsight.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well I first need to point out you ignored all the nuance of these games just to draw connections from their most general plot points, if you kept going for a while longer you could even bring Tetris into this.

So is the goal to just be upset about something or can you relax enough to see there are plenty of other games to choose from?

 

[CrazyCrab]

Well I first need to point out you ignored all the nuance of these games just to draw connections from their most general plot points, if you kept going for a while longer you could even bring Tetris into this.

So is the goal to just be upset about something or can you relax enough to see there are plenty of other games to choose from?

You got me all wrong ^^ I guess I do sound kinda angry. Thats what I hate about writing, no body language / tone of voice.
I actually like both of these games, Im just surprised that all companies use the same stereotypical characters.

 

[Thandran]

Well I first need to point out you ignored all the nuance of these games just to draw connections from their most general plot points, if you kept going for a while longer you could even bring Tetris into this.

So is the goal to just be upset about something or can you relax enough to see there are plenty of other games to choose from?

You got me all wrong ^^ I guess I do sound kinda angry. Thats what I hate about writing, no body language / tone of voice.
I actually like both of these games, Im just surprised that all companies use the same stereotypical characters.

I don't wish to sound arrogant... but isn't the easiest answer to your question because they simply sell?

 

[Rutabaga_swe]

Why would you be surprised by this? Boring and easy to grasp, run of the mill characters and stories sells. People don't want complex, nuanced characters and narratives. They want good looking men being heroic and Megan fox in as little clothes as possible.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

Just because plot can be summarized by "Rugged guy trying to help a young girl" doesn't mean that characters are the same or plot is stereotypical in any way. Hell, my favorite movie of all time, The Last Samurai, is basically "Pocahontas in Japan". There are countless nuances to each story that makes them unique. Joel is nothing like Lee and Ellie is nothing like Clementine.
Besides, I think your title is a little bit misleading. I was sure you were going to complain about the fact that Morgan Freeman are Master Chief were universally praised despite not really being a characters. Oh well.

 

[Evonisia]

They praise because "think of the children!", and having a good child character will get you parent points. The child in Dishonoured failed because all the characters were cardboard cutouts so there is no reason to care.

Why can't we just have another Spec Ops? Blows Infinite out of the water any day.

 

[TehCookie]

When zombies are your reality, they're less scary. I work at a vet clinic so when I see hurt animals I don't panic but see what's wrong to help them. Just like if you saw a zombie you'd focus on survival and panicking doesn't help.

As for the same base tropes for a character, it's because the masses find them relatable and idealized at the same time. As for saving the girl it's more familiar tropes so you can understand a lot while it only explains little. Girls are weaker so as the stronger man you need to rescue them. Children's lives are precious so you should care more. As the games show they can be done good or bad even if it uses the tropes.

 

[Casual Shinji]

The Last of Us started developement right after Uncharted 2, so in that regard it's late to the party eventhough it started out before it became a thing.

I think both The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, and Bioshock: Infinite being so similar in concept and released so close together was just a conicidence. I think it was also born from the collective need to put a different spin on the 'hero/damsel' genre.

I had the same opinion right before TLoU got released. "Oh look, the old war horse and the spry, innocent little girl. How original." And I was fresh off The Walking Dead and sorta done with the whole Uncharted formula too. It wasn't till I played the game that I realized this was going to be something quite different. TLoU actually carefully avoids the steps of The Walking Dead.

 

[bearlotz]

Why can't we just have another Spec Ops? Blows Infinite out of the water any day.

As a resident of the internet and an individual with too much appreciation for puns, I would like to extend a laurel and a hearty handshake to you sir.

OT: Honestly, I haven't been paying much (read: any) attention to the triple-A gaming goings-on for a good while now. What you see in those games is what was popular about 2 years before the release date (give or take, development schedules vary). Also, I don't particularly like FPS, so triple-A pretty much hates me right back.

 

[alik44]

well lets list games that have actual personality that is rarely seen on other character's

Sam and MAx

Beyond good and evil

Psychonauts

ratchet abd clank

Mario and luigi: Bowser's inside story

See thats easy, now. name those games that have different personality characters that are well known.

...

Yeah i think i see that reason.

 

[Eve Charm]

Well it's not just characters the whole story is basically the same if you want keep zooming out and looking at the scope of the story. Basically check out "The heroes journey" formula. Now while Most games don't complete all of the steps or at least do so in a more metaphor sense it all basically breaks down the same way. You need that hero to call to arms.

Check up the extra credits break down of it, they explain it pretty good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWKKRbw-e4U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVqT8s7bOTQ

 

[jamail77]

snip

So is the goal to just be upset about something or can you relax enough to see there are plenty of other games to choose from?

You got me all wrong ^^ I guess I do sound kinda angry. Thats what I hate about writing, no body language / tone of voice.
I actually like both of these games, Im just surprised that all companies use the same stereotypical characters.

Despite popular opinion on the Internet, you can inject a certain degree of tone of voice in your writing regardless of whether you meant to or not. When you use phrases such as "freaking [whatever it you're upset about] right after listing off tons of examples of what you're concerned about it comes off as an angry rant most of the time. You used "freaking" and "hell" multiple times and in the context it just helps solidify perception of anger.

Does this always happen? No, not everyone will take it that way and yes, there are ways to mitigate the effect. However, if enough, preferably diverse group of people in terms of perception and personality take it that way then it's probably "objectively" (in a human experience kind of way) angry.

After rereading what you said it doesn't come off THAT angry, especially since you LATER clarify it's confusion and how it may seem otherwise and what not, but it's not like your topic isn't something negative or anything either, right? People are more likely to see anger in your words when the topic is already negative to begin with.

Sorry, didn't mean to rant about that. I'm just tired of people saying they don't see a certain tone in writing to excuse their inability to read into obvious sarcasm or ignore how something might come off a certain way despite not being spoken to directly or including body language. This is especially noticeable on The Escapist (to be fair, I spend more time here than in other areas of the Internet I might see this just as often).

To answer your concern, I'll just point out what others have pointed out already: There are other games. To be frank, I feel as though this trend came relatively recently, it was around before but not to the extent and notoriety it is now. Mr. K is right: Take this far enough and you could include Tetris, not that you are taking it that far. There is a fair amount of accountability and reason to your beefs.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the problem you're having is not what is focused on in reviews by both users and professional reviewers/critics. The only OTHER people who mention it in the games you listed that are, for all intents and purposes, universally acclaimed seem to be the same people with terrible logic who argue these same games are sexist and propagating stereotypes. It's not the focus and it's clear the female characters can endure, maybe even better than the main male character, yet cynics can't help focusing on it.

It's weird too because I'm all for being a cynic. I guess I should revise that to cynics with a particular bone to itch and terrible perception and logic skills. I have yet to see one who can make a decent argument that it bothered them without pretending the game was going for that in full; even then, the "blatant propagation and offense" argument usually isn't structured well and has holes. If it bothers you fine, but if you want to make a case to others you also have to back it up with clear evidence. There's the "It just bothers me" type opinion or "The game is clearly propagating these negative things to the fullest extent" opinion, which most of what you listed above I don't believe does. There is probably an alternative option to either of those approaches, but I've said enough. If it bothers you personally then nothing we say can change that. You don't HAVE to defend your opinion. Making a case is a whole other story however.

 

[Rariow]

I don't think you're coming at this from the right angle. What we praise about those games isn't the "save the girl" aspect, but rather the fact that the person doing the saving is no longer "Girl McSaverson" and the girl is no longer "Inee D. Tobesaved". In every single game you've listed, both the lead and the female in trouble go far beyond their usual roles. Lee in Walking Dead wasn't entirely defined by saving Clementine, he was a character in his own right, struggling with his emotional baggage concerning his crime and his family. Clementine wasn't a character purely there to be saved, either. She was a genuinely useful member of the group (More useful than freakin' Ben, that's for sure), and had her own hidden depths and complexities (Though talking about them would delve into spoiler territory).

I guess I can take this as an opportunity to bring up Katawa Shoujo? Oh that works pretty well actually, in Hanako's Route (read: The only route you should ever take you heartless monster) if you keep going with the main character's MASSIVE White Knight crusade to "save" her you get her worse ending. Incidentally, her route is one of the only game examples I can think of where sex is a natural character development thing and is not just a throwaway minigame.

and this right here is exactly what I mean. Despite the error in not thinking Lilly's route is the one you should be taking in every respect, this kind of stuff is what the gaming community looks for. Actual characters who act like real people. These "save the girl" games are by far less "save the girl"-ish than games were ten years ago, having a plot beyond that, and realizing that females are *gasp* more than... things to be saved or lusted after. They're actual people too, and hey, we could write them as being people, that might be good.

You're also painting it as though only games with save the girl plots get praise. This is blatantly not true: Look at BioWare games, look at Spec Ops, look at Stanley Parable. These are all games getting almost universal praise (Well, minus BioWare games post-Mass Effect 1) for their plots, and there's no saving a female character in sight in any of them.

The point is that it's about well written characters being well written rather what character they are. If by some bizarre coincidence every game with good writing had that same plot, they'd all still deserve and get credit for being well written.