Three Types of Video Game Protagonists

When we are thinking about video games,  we think of a hero as our MC. A righteous, courageous, and honorable person.

Some of the biggest games completely flip the table on this idea. They provide you with an MC who is purely evil incarnate or one who needs to steal to make a living.

Tony Montana, Scarface.

“Say hello to my little friend!”

Do not worry, there is way more to be had. You can even play as someone who just wants to redeem himself.

You have so many different ways to portray your favorite MC. Be it a mass murderer,
a thief, or someone who just wants more.
You can pick whatever tickles your fancy.

 

The games that I want to talk to you about show that you do not need to be a good person to be an awesome protagonist.

You can be bad to the bone, baby.

In most games, you are portrayed as one
of the good guys, you are the one who comes in on your white horse in shining armor to save the day.

You are there to fight for freedom, peace, and justice. But sometimes a game takes
a darker approach.

They transform you into a true villain, someone born to be immoral and violent.

A bringer of chaos, death, and cruelty.
These people are not out there looking
for forgiveness or redemption. Hell no.

They are just this creepy manifestation of pure darkness. The Joker from Batman would be a good example if he were
the main character.

I want to tell you something about a villain who is the true star of their game.
The real mastermind.

Someone who is so depraved, crazy,
and fundamentally challenged.

It is insane how fun he is.

Let us start with Postal II. It looks like your regular run-of-the-mill life sim. But that is where you are mistaken. There is a twist.

The game is violent, bigoted, and crazy. They made it provocative intentionally.
You start with getting milk or returning
library books, but then all goes to hell.

If someone is annoying you, just kill them.
If someone is in your way, grab the cat as
a silencer and kill them.

Yes, you can do that. Why? Because this game allows you to do that. The game is not just showing you violence. It wants to see how happy you are to participate in it.

You do not have to murder or dismember everybody, but you can. That is why this game is so different from others.

You can choose to be as violent and crazy
as you want to be. Or you can act like some boring hippy and not kill anybody.
I know what I would do.

The postal dude is our main character,
and no, he does not have a real name.
He is just that guy, someone who will
snap at any moment.

If we were to give him a real name,
we would make him more humane.

That would not feel right for someone
who is this crazy and delusional.

He just hates the world at large and wants to get through his life with minimal effort.
He wishes life were that easy.

He has zero empathy for anything, is racist, and openly misogynistic. The NPCs fear him. The town does not need someone
like him. It is broken enough as it is.

He likes torturing and massacring civilians. He just does it because he likes to do it.

He did not snap or anything, he was crazy from the get-go. Some are born this way.

Bashing in heads with a shovel or blowing up people with a rocket launcher are just normal everyday things to a guy like him.

What are criminals? They are people with
a moral compass, even if it is a bit rough around the edges.

They are products of their environment
and are often motivated by loyalty,
survival, or even necessity.

Sometimes they are just people who were down on their luck and needed to do anything to make it another day.

They are not really evil like a villain would be. They just want to live and provide for their family.

Being an assassin, a car thief, or a mobster, it might not be your first choice for work. But you do what you need to do.

Agent 47:
“I’m not a hero. I’m an assassin.”

A lot of people played this game, or any of the others in its franchise. I played the OG so much that my disk was totally destroyed.

This is not just another open-world game.
It is one of the most iconic ones ever.

The game world is built around moral ambiguity and criminal activities.

You have got to cheat, steal, or lie your way out of anything that comes your way.

CJ is an iconic character who really shows that our protagonist does not have to be some clean-cut, honest, friendly hero.

He really paved the way for more complex criminals in other amazing video games.

He often bends or breaks rules to survive. CJ is not evil. He just wants to protect his family and take back control of his territory.

If that would mean he has to steal and kill people, then so be it. He just wants to
make his diseased mother proud.

He is not being motivated by idealism,
but by loyalty to friends and family.

He is not some perfect guy. He has been shaped by his environment, and he lives
by the harsh rules of the street.

A redeemed protagonist often starts out on the wrong side of the law in most games. Slowly, they move towards some form of redemption and a better path in life.

Sometimes they do so to protect their loved ones, or they just feel guilty for all their evil deeds in the past.

It can also be something more practical, like pure survival. Whatever the cause
may be, they often change for the better
to become a force of good.

This is a very unique entry in the Pokémon franchise. You have never been able to play in a darker and more mature world.

This is not your regular catch ‘em all game. It is more of a 3D strategy game with
a cinematic tone.

This is very unusual for Pokémon. 

It is fully focused on freeing enslaved shadow Pokémon instead of filling out
your Pokedex or P*DA.

Wes is not your typical happy-go-lucky Pokémon trainer that we are used to.
He is one with a dark past. He starts as
a former Team Snagem member.

At some point, he got disillusioned with all the evil they were doing. And unlike many villains, he cares greatly for his Pokémon, and that is what drives his redemption.

He tries to take on the responsibility to try and heal the damage he caused in the past.

This shows his maturity and a new sense
of purpose in life. It also proves that even people with a dark past can choose
a better path and fight for good.

Team Snagem Grunt:
“Hey, you blabbermouth!
Keep that stuff secret!”

It does not really matter what character you play. All that matters is all the fun you are having. You can play some mass murdering villain, a car-stealing criminal, or just a guy who wants something better in life.

All three of them have their ups and downs. Some days you just want to see the whole world burn. Another time, you just feel like stealing a car or bribing a cop.

Or you can become a goody two-shoes who just wants to help people.

For myself, I like all these different kinds of protagonists. I love being a crazy maniac out for blood, or the big-time mob boss.
I also do not mind playing someone who just wants to be good and do good.

What I want to be all depends on what kind of day I am having. I just want to do what I want. So, please just enjoy what you like. 
Because life is too short to just be you.

Maikiejj is logging off.

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