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Do any video games do "Insufferable protagonist" well?

werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
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Oct 26, 2017
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"Insufferable lead character" is a mainstay of comedic TV series. From The Office to Fawlty Towers to Frasier to Community, there are countless shows where the main character is a complete jerk and yet the audience enjoys their misadventures. And yet, whenever a video game tries to feature an insufferable lead (either for comedy or to show the character's growth), it tends to go poorly. Are there any video games that have pulled this off well?

Similarly, I've noticed that TV characters like Michael Scott can say incredibly offensive things and it's laughed off as a joke - look at that offensive person saying offensive stuff, that's so ridiculous! - but when someone in a video game says something offensive, it tends to be immediately viewed as expressing the creator's personal views. Is it just a matter of poor execution or is there something about the medium of video games that make this more difficult to do well?
 
ClickyCal'

ClickyCal'

Member
Oct 25, 2017
59,661
I'm in the extreme minority, but I love Aiden pierce, as pure schlock. Goes to his nephew's party in a trenchcoat and hat, drives through everyone with supposedly being a "vigilante" here, but is actually a psychopath. The fact that ubi played the game and story mostly very straight and series is what makes it great schlock to me. They wanted it to be a serious dramatic story, but the drama is so overboard.
 
texhnolyze

texhnolyze

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Oct 25, 2017
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His character growth is one of the best in RPGs.
 

Deleted member 3815

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Travis Touchdown, he was a bit full of himself at the start of No More Heroes 1 but by the end of the game he ended up being a broken man.
 
OP
OP
werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,353
Video Games Are Dumb said:
I believe that was the entire point of the Uncharted series.
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I'll admit that I haven't played 4 (since I heard it focused more on story) but the general impression I got from the Uncharted games I did play (1-3, GA, and LL) was that they were just silly, over-the-top unlicensed Indiana Jones adventures. And in fact, there's a running gag/complaints among gamers that nice guy Nathan Drake ends up killing more people in his games than any villain ever could.
 
sredgrin

sredgrin

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
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Just because you personally dislike a character doesn't mean it's what the OP is going for. Gears of War clearly thinks Marcus is awesome.

Uncharted is also just a terrible answer. He's Malcolm Reynolds in an Indiana Jones movie. The opposite of the idea.
 
1000% H

1000% H

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,639
I think, when you're watching a show, you're observing the asshole from a safe distance but when you're playing a game it's like you have to hang out with the asshole so fuck that I'm not wasting my time with this jerk.
 
Kapryov

Kapryov

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,135
Australia
I haven't played the series, but the Kratos is supposed to be a jerk right?

Being an asshole in Mass Effect was really fun.
 
ILikeFeet

ILikeFeet

DF Deet Master
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
61,987
werezompire said:
"Insufferable lead character" is a mainstay of comedic TV series. From The Office to Fawlty Towers to Frasier to Community, there are countless shows where the main character is a complete jerk and yet the audience enjoys their misadventures. And yet, whenever a video game tries to feature an insufferable lead (either for comedy or to show the character's growth), it tends to go poorly. Are there any video games that have pulled this off well?

Similarly, I've noticed that TV characters like Michael Scott can say incredibly offensive things and it's laughed off as a joke - look at that offensive person saying offensive stuff, that's so ridiculous! - but when someone in a video game says something offensive, it tends to be immediately viewed as expressing the creator's personal views. Is it just a matter of poor execution or is there something about the medium of video games that make this more difficult to do well?
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I don't think it's a medium issue. the issue is that a lot of these game writers aren't writers more trained in writing. a lot of the time where the jerk character works, it's because they aren't painted as "right". when they are, it's quite clear the writer believes their own bullshit

also, was this inspired by Y2K?
 
Gooey

Gooey

Member
Oct 27, 2017
136
werezompire said:
I'll admit that I haven't played 4 (since I heard it focused more on story) but the general impression I got from the Uncharted games I did play (1-3, GA, and LL) was that they were just silly, over-the-top unlicensed Indiana Jones adventures. And in fact, there's a running gag/complaints among gamers that nice guy Nathan Drake ends up killing more people in his games than any villain ever could.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

1 and 2 are totally in that mold. 3 starts to gain some self-awareness but 4 really goes into "this dude is a horrible husband".
 
sredgrin

sredgrin

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Alan Wake does this a little bit. Not entirely, once it gets to like bromances with Barry and rocking out to metal concert set pieces, but the stuff with his wife and the way Alan treats his fame, especially early on.
 
Hoa

Hoa

Member
Jun 6, 2018
4,304
Does Laharl from Disgaea 1 count? It's been years since I've played it but I remember liking him.
 
hillzagold

hillzagold

Member
Jan 12, 2019
33
The single chapter of God of War where your son becomes a racist asshole, and you work to make him stop.
 
Bizzquik

Bizzquik

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Nov 5, 2017
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I'm in the minority here, but I absolutely loved hating this man.
Aiden1.png

Once you realize he's the real villain - and most people he meets will be hurt, blackmailed, or even killed - Watch Dogs becomes a more fulfilling game to play...because he could have stopped all of it just by walking away - and the game says as much early on.

It became oddly fun to 'fail' some missions for this reason, too. It fit the narrative.
 
OP
OP
werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,353
TWEWY is a great example.

sredgrin said:
Alan Wake does this a little bit. Not entirely, once it gets to like bromances with Barry and rocking out to metal concert set pieces, but the stuff with his wife and the way Alan treats his fame, especially early on.
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Now that you mention it, I guess a lot of horror games fall in this category. Silent Hill 2 is a great example, although you don't know how bad the main character is until later. And the Siren games have their share of annoying playable characters, although they have the benefit of featuring ensemble casts instead of 1 main character.
 
Rodney McKay

Rodney McKay

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,198
lojo said:
Alpha Protocol if you choose the aggressive option a lot.
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Haha, I found that character to be insufferable no matter what dialog choices you choose.

And not in the good way like Renagade Shep, at least to me. I mainly put the blame on the main characters voice actor who I thought SUCKED.
 

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ThereAreFourNaan said:
He's a bit of a dick but looked like a complete saint next to asshole-Baird and hyper professional next to Cole. At least Cole is a nice person, Baird is like a complete knob. Dom is the one who was probably the least bad of the 4.
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Yeah, he always seemed like trying to compete with Marcus, i was surprised with their good relationship in Ge4rs
 
Iorv3th

Iorv3th

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Oct 27, 2017
580
No the main character but Karol from Tales of Vesperia. Pretty annoying early on and late game he really grows on you.
 
GlassCup64

GlassCup64

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Dec 16, 2017
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Okabe in Steins;Gate kind of?
He matures over the series, but starts out as a self-absorbed maniac.
 
Gold Arsene

Gold Arsene

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Travis Touchdown.

We're reminded every chance we get that no matter how good a fighter he is he's still just a loser otaku who's only friends are a video store clerk and his cat.
 
Enduin

Enduin

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Oct 25, 2017
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The episodic nature of TV shows helps a lot with portraying that as most lack any kind over arching narrative or plot and even those that do they are still rather light and each episode generally contains its own mini arc that provides some kind of closure to the events and actions even if there isn't any kind of substantial or lasting character growth. Games generally don't have that and usually do have a much more defined and lengthy narrative arc running throughout and so you often don't get any kind of immediate satisfaction or resolution but instead have a much longer development arc that is hard to maintain and pace out correctly without frustrating or irritating your player.

Luke in TotA is a good example, he's definitely a jerk and on the whole I think was done pretty well, but for a lot of people he was a jerk for way too long with little development and when he finally got better it was a quite abrupt and not that much of a gradual turn around.
 

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werezompire said:
TWEWY is a great example.



Now that you mention it, I guess a lot of horror games fall in this category. Silent Hill 2 is a great example, although you don't know how bad the main character is until later. And the Siren games have their share of annoying playable characters, although they have the benefit of featuring ensemble casts instead of 1 main character.
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Dead Space too, Isaac killed all the people in Titan station (other people was trying to survive against the Necromorphs, he wasn't the only one) and he killed all the innocent guards in the government center
 
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