Over the years, videogaming has introduced us to an infinite number of faces. In the early days, they were generally just that; a simple collection of pixels, darting about the screen, collecting points and zapping baddies. However, it wasn’t long before development teams were seeking to introduce some depth into their creations.
Of course even the most dynamic, complex characters (with back stories to make a psychiatrist reach for his notepad) can never be sufficient to “make” a game by themselves, and thus there have been many lovingly created heroes and villains tragically overlooked because they featured in unplayable turkeys.
Instead of dwelling on that unfortunate inevitability though, let us now celebrate a list of some well-known characters whose mere existence has forever enriched the tapestry of our hobby.
Duke Nukem. (Duke Nukem 3D)
Though the FPS genre has always been incredibly immersive, it does not easily lend itself to strong protagonist characterisation. Back in 1996, 3D Realms released a game which changed all that.
Duke Nukem had a bucket-load of personality and was constantly unleashing quips to demonstrate so. Though much of his dialogue was borrowed from other sources, Duke was very much his own man. There was a complexity to Mr Nukem gamers had not seen the likes of before. On the one hand he was undertaking this noble mission to save Earth’s women from alien invaders, whilst on the other he frequented some distinctly shady locales and had some rather dubious spending habits. If Duke showed us anything, it was that in the world of gaming heroes, not everything is black and white.
Dr. Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog)
While a blue hedgehog with super speed capabilities was certainly a departure from earlier platformers, it was the villain in the Sonic games who truly stood out. Dr. Ivo Robotnik (or Eggman, depending on which side of the world you grew up in) beautifully combined evil megalomaniac with gaffe-prone, destined-to-fail, buffoon. At the end of each level’s final act, his dramatic theme-tune kicked in and the insane scientist appeared with another of his brilliant creations. The sheer diversity of weapons and vehicles Eggman produced gave credence to his experimental genius that no script could, and almost made us pity the tubby one for his thwarted attempts at world domination.
Seth (Command and Conquer)
Though in the countless sequels mission briefs became deliberately camp and self-parodying, in the first Command and Conquer Westwood carefully presented two distinct perspectives of an intriguing, futuristic war saga.
While GDI had General Sheppard and Carter (the latter gave his life for the cause and the former seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown by the last mission), the Brotherhood of Nod were led by Kane and his right-hand man, Seth. In the early NOD missions, the briefings were exclusively carried out by Seth and it didn’t take long to realise the man wasn’t your greatest fan. While Sheppard greeted GDI mission success with praise and encouragement, Seth became increasingly jealous and hostile. There was a real bittersweet side to playing the NOD disc, with the joy of occupying fresh enemy soil quickly superseded by anger at how unappreciative your commanding officer was. Few gaming comrades have infuriated to such a degree.
By the time it came to light that Seth was plotting the player’s demise in an impossible American mission (and Kane intervened with a bullet to his head), his standing in the pantheon of gaming greats was sealed. And, anyway, has any other non-French man ever pulled off wearing a beret quite as successfully?
George Stobart (Broken Sword)
Up until the late 90s the vast majority of gamers were unashamedly geeky males. To compensate for this, designers felt the need to pack their games with characters who combined athleticism, raw strength and the “cool factor.“ While initially it was impossible for geekdom not to enjoy assuming these superhuman roles, eventually it all became a little predictable and gamers wanted to control somebody they could empathise with; somebody normal.
Now George Stobbart was by no means the first everyman character to take on organised crime via a mouse, but the trailblazers who preceded him couldn’t hold a candle to Revolution Software’s blonde detective. George strutted about the world, hurling grenades of sarcasm at random passers-by, while solving mind-bending puzzles and pining for love interest Nico. Though he couldn’t out-punch his foes or clear tall buildings in a single leap, Stobbart combined culture, sophisticated wit and good luck to awesome effect. In the end, he was the man every nerd aspired to be, because deep down they knew the skills George possessed could actually be attained.
Gordon Freeman (Half Life)
A character that never uttered a word throughout his adventures seems a wholly inappropriate addition to this list, yet somehow Gordon Freeman’s presence was never in doubt. Like George Stobbart, Freeman’s powers were chiefly mental, but the thing that endeared him to audiences from 1998 onwards was that sense of an ordinary man rising to whatever extraordinary obstacles were thrown in his path. By the time he’d returned for the second game, Gordon had acquired an almost mystical messianic status and his mere presence was enough to inspire all those about him. While the game became steadily harder, the certainty of Gordon’s overall success seemed to grow with each level.
It was in the words of his many companions (and the speeches of his arch-enemy Wallace Breen) that Valve revealed who Gordon truly was and how powerful he had become. Yet for Dr Freeman’s own dialogue the phrase “less is more” has never been more apt.
Aeris (Final Fantasy VII)
A list of revolutionary game characters could never be complete without at least one female. Many probably expected Lara Croft to be the fairer sex’s representative, but in my opinion Squaresoft’s Aeris Gainsborough is far more deserving of inclusion. This young flower seller exhibited a delightful blend of natural humility, grace, playfulness and courage, and though her screen-time was limited she captured both Cloud’s and the player’s hearts with ease.
Her untimely death, one of gaming’s greatest shocks, served only to heighten the sense of how beautiful she was, in both appearance and conduct, and left us all in a state of mourning for the rest of the saga. Though at the time Ms Croft’s poster undoubtedly adorned countless gamers’ bedroom walls, it was Aeris they had fallen in love with.
Manuel Calavera and Glottis (Grim Fandango)
Surely the strongest gaming partnership of all time has to be Manny and Glottis. Their contrasting personalities complemented each other to such an extent that the result made Mario and Yoshi seem a poor fit.
On the one hand there was the suave, sophistication of Manny with his quick wit and entrepreneurial expertise, and on the other there was Glottis, a huge, loud demon; simple of mind, yet a brilliant mechanic. Though they both had big hearts, Lucasarts wisely ensured they also had significant flaws with Manny’s past crimes and Glottis’ addictions.
At the conclusion of the game when the two were forced to go their separate ways, you couldn’t help feeling we may never see such a truly triumphant friendship in a video game ever again.
JC Denton (Deus Ex)
At the start of Deus Ex, JC is finding his feet in a futuristic world police force and seems a run of the mill sci-fi lead. However, it isn’t long before he’s uncovered alarming details regarding the true nature of his employers and defects to a terrorist organisation with his brother Paul. In many ways JC is clichéd: an aloof loner acting almost like a emotionless droid at times, but the character’s uniqueness stems from the way he changes during the course of the game.
Despite an ever increasing range of bio modifications, Denton gradually becomes more human, working alongside others and forming friendships in his quest for the truth. The deeper he goes into the conspiracies, the more he learns of his own origins. Eventually culminating in him facing the ultimate choice; he alone must decide how best civilisation can escape the huge hole it has dug for itself.
Rarely has a title taken its protagonist on such a voyage of intellectual, and emotional, development and discovery.
Ryo Hazuki (Shenmue)
Most development teams aim to create heroes that are as likeable as possible. Yu Suzuki decided to do something quite different for his lead in the groundbreaking Shenmue, and the resulting character was simply unforgettable.
After witnessing the brutal murder of his father, Ryo embarked on a relentless quest for revenge. He turned his back on school and distanced himself from friends, spending his days either training alone or interrogating locals. The grief and pain of his loss had a constant effect on Ryo’s behaviour and left him with a complexity that gamers were just not used to. At some points he was self-assured to the point of arrogance, whilst elsewhere he was caring and sympathetic. Though the thing that truly made Master Hazuki was essentially his willingness to sacrifice his own happiness to see his father’s murderer brought to justice.
Despite a complete lack of basic hand-eye coordination, Simon Cooper has been dabbling in Video Games for years. His obsession with gaming began almost two decades ago when a portly man, wearing a red suit, deposited a Sinclair Spectrum in the family living room. Ever since, Simon has been furiously hammering joysticks/keyboards in a futile attempt to get various collections of colourful pixels to obey his wishes.. with little success. "
4 Comments
The only ones that spring to mind I’d maybe include would be Jade from Beyond Good and Evil, Snake from MGS and probably April from The Longest Journey. All contributed to breaking new ground in their own way.
I would argue that Mario should be on this list. From Super Mario Bros. which defined the perfect platforming gameplay which was copied for years afterwards, to Mario 64 which was truely breathtaking and groundbreaking at the time to even Super Mario Galaxy which cranked Super Mario 64 gameplay to 11.
Solid Snake/Big Boss in my opinion must be included, and I believe that Lara Croft was more influential in bringing female interest to gaming than Aeris, although Lara merely pips her to the post on that point.
I’m sure everyone has a different opinion on this!
I think it’s the fact that they’re characters that “changed” videogaming that makes it very subjective. I would definitely agree with you, Andy, that Mario has to be in there for that very reason.
I would probably throw Lara Croft in, as she made a huge impact outside of the industry for a few years. Bigger than I think we’d seen any character manage before.
It’s hard to think of individuals that aren’t mentioned already, though.
I’d put Albert Wesker in that list. The name alone always has Resident Evil fans wetting themselves in anticipation at what evil this arch-villan plans to unleash.