Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

On Making Videogame Heroes, Villains Realistic

Posted by simoniker on from the snidely-whiplash dept.

Thanks to the IGDA for its 'Culture Clash' column discussing the increasingly complex nature of heroism and villainy in videogames. The writer suggests: "The white hat/black hat dichotomy of heroes and villains (PC and NPC) in most games is no longer sufficiently believable to the player, but is still theoretically acceptable given the earlier limitations of the medium", and goes on to argue: "Audiences respond poorly to blatant noseleading, and increasingly demand escalating shades of gray." Do you enjoy stereotypical portrayals of good and evil in gaming, or do you find, as Daryl Zero needed to be told: "You realize... there aren't any 'good guys' and 'bad guys'... there are just... just a bunch of guys"?

2 of 79 comments (clear)

  1. Please, no "realistic"! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I prefer my villains to be the moustache-twirling, top-hat-and-cape wearing villains of yesteryear. You know, the type who tie young maidens to the train tracks, twirl their handlebar moustaches, and laugh that villainous laugh, "mwehehehehehehe!"

  2. Bah! by dasunt · · Score: 3, Funny

    My deity tells me good from evil:

    • Sacrificing your own race on an altar: Evil[0]
    • Kicking your puppy to death: Evil
    • Eating said dead puppy: Evil
    • Sacrificing co-aligned unicorn on altar: Evil
    • Praying at someone else's altar: Can be Evil
    • Sacrificing the deity's high priest at his own astral altar: Very Evil

    Actually, now that I think about it, my deity is more interested in what is wrong then what is right...

    ...And yet I am willing to risk life and limb to get him the damn amulet.

    [0] I don't care what the spoilers say -- chaotic characters summoning demon lords is a VERY BAD THING, and is a sign that the chaotic gods still think its evil, but want to give you just enough rope to punish yourself.