03-09-2015, 05:10 PM
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.
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.