Heroes and Villains: Who Would Rather Win
I've just realized Heroes don't really wish to win. They are not in it for the glory or for the First place prize. I'm talking about real heroes here. Superman and Batman type stuff. The guys and girls that don't take a bow after saving a kid, and the kind of people that feel even villains should have their little piece of paradise.
That rather small epiphany comes as I am trying to write next week's radio show. We already did one about villains, in which Jim, Schmoo and I discussed how great bad guys make games worth playing; and how they have evolved over the years, becoming more complex and allowing game narrative to grow into Novel-league size. The natural thing was to proceed to the other end of the spectrum. Although don't take this literally...villains and heroes are RARELY at the ultimate opposing end of one simple spectrum: the grey zone is where awesomeness in "Good Guys Vs. Bad Guys" relationship really lives.
All of this has very little to do with game systems and such, but complex storylines and storyarchs are now so important in gaming that it can not be neglected. The whole discourse of Video-Games-As-Art is pretty much done with and has transformed into an affirmation: Yes, games are artistic. Storytelling has done a lot to help games become more than just bleeps and bloops. Evolution of technology has a lot to do with the freedoms developers now have, and the paintbrush they wield is almost imbued with the power of dieties. Narrative and imagery, game play and mechanics meld together to birth an interactive medium that keeps growing with every year. Heroes and Villains are perhaps one slight part of the whole primordial ooze seeping through the cracks, but they've help forge countless memorable moments for players. From Link fighting off Ganon, to Mario quite literally pulling the rug under Bowser's feet, to Chris and Sheva ripping Wesker a new one: The Good and the Bad make for very pretty stories.
And so, as I sit here thinking about how heroes don't really want to win and how they prefer to "fix everything" that is wrong with the world, it hits me: a hero is so very close to becoming a really great villain (which is someone who wants to make the world better, but just goes about it in a demented way).
...I fear what a real Superman might do.
We will be discussing this and more on the next show. The guys have a lot to say about protagonists and heroes in game, and my only fear is that we won't have time to go through everything we wish to say. Perhaps this would be a great opportunity to have a two-part show then?
Rocket boots do not yet exist. Why?
That rather small epiphany comes as I am trying to write next week's radio show. We already did one about villains, in which Jim, Schmoo and I discussed how great bad guys make games worth playing; and how they have evolved over the years, becoming more complex and allowing game narrative to grow into Novel-league size. The natural thing was to proceed to the other end of the spectrum. Although don't take this literally...villains and heroes are RARELY at the ultimate opposing end of one simple spectrum: the grey zone is where awesomeness in "Good Guys Vs. Bad Guys" relationship really lives.
All of this has very little to do with game systems and such, but complex storylines and storyarchs are now so important in gaming that it can not be neglected. The whole discourse of Video-Games-As-Art is pretty much done with and has transformed into an affirmation: Yes, games are artistic. Storytelling has done a lot to help games become more than just bleeps and bloops. Evolution of technology has a lot to do with the freedoms developers now have, and the paintbrush they wield is almost imbued with the power of dieties. Narrative and imagery, game play and mechanics meld together to birth an interactive medium that keeps growing with every year. Heroes and Villains are perhaps one slight part of the whole primordial ooze seeping through the cracks, but they've help forge countless memorable moments for players. From Link fighting off Ganon, to Mario quite literally pulling the rug under Bowser's feet, to Chris and Sheva ripping Wesker a new one: The Good and the Bad make for very pretty stories.
And so, as I sit here thinking about how heroes don't really want to win and how they prefer to "fix everything" that is wrong with the world, it hits me: a hero is so very close to becoming a really great villain (which is someone who wants to make the world better, but just goes about it in a demented way).
...I fear what a real Superman might do.
We will be discussing this and more on the next show. The guys have a lot to say about protagonists and heroes in game, and my only fear is that we won't have time to go through everything we wish to say. Perhaps this would be a great opportunity to have a two-part show then?
Rocket boots do not yet exist. Why?
Believing you can fix the world's problem by beatin up criminals is clearly insane. Unless you like to watch men in tights dancing around and beatin up each other in some sort of homo-erotic dance....
ReplyDeleteEvery hero has a king sized deathwish.
Don't believe me? Go on Youtube and search for Alan moore talk about Watchmen....
Or just read the graphic novel.....Have fun :D