Samven's Writing Lectures

[Samven]

Aaaand here's an update. This section on heroes is gonna be pretty big, so I've decided that I'll update this thread in bite-sized chunks.

I'll try to make this a weekly series at least. XD

2. Writing the Hero

Part One - First Impressions

Mario, Link, Chrono... What do all these characters have in common? "They all go on amazing adventures to save worlds and princesses alike?" Yes but that's not the answer I'm looking for. "They're all iconic characters and are revered as being some of the best figures in gaming?" Ehh... Close but no cigar. Come on, think a bit simpler than that! "They're all silent protagonists?" Oh, close enough.

The actual answer is, "They're all bland silent protagonists."

Now, I'll point out here that "bland" does not necessarily mean "bad". According to my dictionary, the word "bland" means "... lacking strong features or characteristics." This statement holds true for each of these characters because none of them have any personality (we're not counting the CDi games). A silent protagonist is a blank, featureless slate that exists for the player to protect their superhero power fantasies onto. There's no real role-playing involved. You are a badass action hero whose job it is to save the world. Plot, character and personal revelations don't really come into it.

What I'm trying to say is that there's nothing inherently bad about having a completely silent protagonist. It can actually be a good thing if your game is more action-orientated, as it means you'll probably get to jump into the fray earlier than you would in a more story-driven title. However, if you're working on a title that's focused on telling an epic tale, you'll probably want to give your hero a voice and/or a dialogue tree. Here are a few ideas as to how you can do that.

First of all, if you're going to use a voiced or dialogue tree-bearing hero (whom we'll collectively refer to as "speaking heroes"), you'll need to make them feel like they're a part of the world. You need to give them a character that will develop. This is, apart from the obvious fact that they talk, what sets them apart from silent heroes. They need to feel like more than just "the player character". You have to give the player that who they are is part of the world and the first impression your hero gives them is going to affect whether or not they view them as such.

Let's look at Jade Empire for what I personally see as the best example of this in videogaming. It doesn't begin with you waking up, a village burning, protecting a destined MacGuffin, or any of the other fantasy cliche opener. It starts with the player, the Spirit Monk, sparring at a martial arts school with a friend. After your fellow student compliments you on another victory, you get to pick a response to him. However you choose to respond, be it honourably or sarcastically, he'll act like you're well known for your honour or your acid wit. In three lines of dialogue, the player has been introduced not only to their own character but also made to feel like they belong in this world: like the Spirit Monk actually had a past and personality before they picked up the controller.

Another good, if somewhat more longwinded, example would be the Japanese Tales of Rebirth. The game opens with a dying king unleashing magical power upon the land against the advice of his subordinates. As a result, energy bursts forth and wrecks untold havoc across the kingdom. One of the many people affected by it is a young man quickly introduced to us as Veigue. We don't really know who he is when we first see him but we can see the care and concern on his girlfriend's face when his body begins glowing and convulsing suddenly. There is a flash of blue light as the youth screams at the girl, Claire, to get away from him. The next thing we know we're one year into the future, where the young man is standing sentinel over his beloved: who has been entombed in ice. The opening cutscene is only about two minutes long but it's extremely clear to us as an audience what just happened: the king's magic went haywire, causing the hero Veigue to gain superpowers and accidentally freeze someone who really cared about him.

Whether you decide to introduce your speaking hero in the Spirit Monk or Veigue style is up to you. What matters is that, by following their examples, you will have yourself a figure who feels like an actual character rather than a blank slate who could be swapped out for a talking tomato without anyone noticing. The question now is how you're going to write and develop them: which we'll cover next time.

Sam Rowett
Pywritechnics