What makes a good protag?

[retrolinkx]

We've played tons of games these days and we all have our favourite main characters and stuff, but what in general makes a good protag?


Personally, I think it depends on the game, story and situations. For something like God Hand, the situations are silly, the enemies are humourous and the entire plot is basically a huge joke, so having a character like Gene who plays off the characters and the world well and generally messes around, he becomes a great character for the game.

But games like JRPG's have dozens of different main characters and even then, the story and situations come into play. Take Grandia 2, the main character is a merc who has been put into this situation and since he doesn't have to be heroic he doesn't be heroic. He doesn't sugar-coat his words when he needs to be direct, he knows how to deal with the people he is with and understand his situation and his boundaries well. He doesn't have to save the world, but he knows if he needs to he will.

I also think that silent protags are useful in games where the fact that they're silent gives the game a lot more atmosphere, such as Opposing Force and Halo 3: ODST, and with the latter, his actions and gestures give him character moreso than him just talking.

Overall though, I feel that a protag can be good as long as they're in a game where it fits.

[Psychospacecow]

Not being someone I hate to play. Jason Brody comes to mind for someone that I hate to play.

[RepentantSky]

I think the best kind of protagonist is one you like right off the bat, or one you grow to like. Take for example the character I use as my Avatar, Haseo. The dude starts off in his series of games being harsh and uncaring, but if you watched the anime that the game is connected to you know why. This allows you to have a feeling of understanding, but still a little bit of disdain for the character as well. Even not watching the anime, you find out what happens during the game, so at one point you will get that feeling. Slowly as time goes on through the three games you play Haseo as though, he grows kinder, to the point where he let's a character take their frustrations out on him, which is something he never would have done in the start of the game. I guess what I'm really getting at, is that the best protagonist, is one with great character development, and for me, the best one, or at least the one I've come to like the most is Haseo.

That said, sometimes you can feel for a protagonist that never speaks, like Chrono from chrono trigger or even for me, Toan from Dark Cloud. I think the reason I feel for these kinds of characters is because they never speak but you see them and who they are through their actions which is what makes them likable.

I think it also helps to have a character in a long game, or in a series of games so that they grow on you, even if you don't always realize it. Nathan Drake comes to mind when I think about protagonists like that. I couldn't stand him in the first game, but by the end of the third, I found him to be one of my favorite characters. Sometimes changing a character helps as well. Jak for example, is a character I never cared about as much until after he spoke in Jak 2 and by the end of Jak 3, he also was one of my favorite protagonists.

I guess there's a lot to consider, but it helps if you enjoy the character at some point, even if not right off the bat.

[Arjahn]

Not being someone I hate to play. Jason Brody comes to mind for someone that I hate to play.

I don't think developers heed this advice as carefully as they should. There are genuinely good games out there that I just can't play through because the protagonist won't shut the fuck up. There's a pretty good video this guy did that brings it up at a point. 

[Mass Distraction]

For the longest time I was thinking "what the hell is a pro tag?".