Let’s move away from Fire Emblem and take a look at Theresa in Fable II. Theresa is a seer who happens to be very powerful, but she's also very mysterious. While she plays an important role in guiding you throughout the entirety of the game, much of her actual character remains hidden, sort of like a divine deity dictating your every step. Except she’s really not. She fits into the all-knowing, infallible, robotic sage character. You can say that she's empty in personality, devoid of anything remotely interesting. She remains objective throughout the entirety of the game, and just like a robot she rarely exhibits emotions. Think Obi-Wan or Yoda without any actual feelings.
If we take a look at Yoda, he actually does fit into the character archetype that I outlined above. However, remember that time when the Jedi kiddies were murdered in the Jedi temple? Did he feel nothing? I think not! There is a human aspect about him. Yoda is a perfect example of a character who might fit into the stereotype but has a differentiating factor that makes him interesting and unique. Theresa is a flat character from the beginning to end, and just like every single stereotypical sage/guide, she might as well not exist.
Perhaps there is no game so full of stereotypes as Grand Theft Auto IV. While it can be seen as a parody of American culture and life, the game is a perfect example of how people view America. The stereotypes are absolutely endless. Just like how one might assume that an African American is a gangster or an Asian is a math genius, Grand Theft Auto takes real-world stereotypes and portrays them in the game.
Brucie. Remember this guy? He's a drug-addled musclehead. A rich punk. Brucie has it all. He lives the carefree life. He can have girls under either of his massively bulked up arms, he owns a helicopter due to his massive wealth, and he acts crazy — after all, he smashes his head against a wall at one point. How exactly is Brucie a stereotype? He’s the stereotypical alpha male/bad boy. He gets to do what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants, and still is viewed as a badass. This muscle man is the stereotype of a male. It's funny to see him in action, but I don’t think the stereotype is all that effective here.
I’m not usually one for definitives, but I believe stereotypes are detrimental in all cases. I often feel like stereotypes are the lazy way out when creating a character. There are tons of unique people in the world with unique backgrounds and unique traits. Why do we have to have similar characters in video games? Stereotypes don’t bring anything new into the industry, and they should simply be erradicated so we can move forward.
You have your favorite games. I have my favorite games. Don’t you wish they were longer? I do. Next time, we’ll look at the industry’s finest games, but also possibly the shortest.
Simon Chun is GameZone’s freelance writer and RPG buff for all things new and old. Check out his twitter @kayos90.
Sometimes I look at a character and wonder what the mindset was when developing him or her. Great care goes into making the visuals of any character, after all, especially those designed to have mass appeal.
Let’s take a look at someone like Nathan Drake from Uncharted, for example. He’s a pretty cool looking guy. He has a nice facial structure, a clean haircut and a charming shadow. His outfit is sort of typical, a t-shirt and jeans. You can say Drake is some sort of celebrity who dresses like an Average Joe.
However, how a character looks is only one side of the coin. The other side is what is actually stuffed inside of said character. Character traits, backgrounds and personality are extremely important. While we may admire how cool one character looks or how charming this person looks or how beautiful, we can make judgments about how a character’s persona and life is crafted. You can say things like “His character is pure evil,” or “This girl is such a jerk.” These kinds of judgments are important, because they allow gamers feel attachment to the characters; whether it’s positive or negative is irrelevant.
Unfortunately, not all characters are unique. There are some characteristics or personalities that show up time and time again throughout this industry. They are stereotypes. This week, I want to take a look at some of the industry’s stereotypical characters and how it affects the industry, as well as the games these characters show up in.
Fire Emblem: Awakening might be one of my beloved games of this year, but the characters are less than desirable, with nearly every one of them being a rip-off of some Japanese character stereotypes. Take a look at Severa. She’s quite the annoying girl with an attitude that always comes off as offensive. Every remark she makes is an insult, or is something that just generally rubs any normal person the wrong way. It’s not hard to see why, considering she calls people names or tells them to leave her alone. Even to her parents she shows no sign of being nice. In reality, however, she’s actually like any other normal girl on the inside. She’s sweet, nice, and wants to express her generosity to her parents and companions.
This character archetype actually has a word: tsundere. Popular to Japanese culture, tsunderes tend to do the opposite of what they actually feel, especially in dealing with their loved ones. Severa is a jerk to everyone, but she doesn’t actually hate everyone. She just has trouble expressing how she feels.
This character archetype is often used, and in this case it’s hard to justify liking it. Severa comes from a very dark background, and because she doesn’t want to be hurt she holds people at arm’s length. It’s a defense mechanism, so to say. Personally, I feel it is a poor way of effectively portraying a person who is struggling to overcome the countless losses in her life and start anew in another world. She doesn’t have to resort to being an ass every second she appears on the screen, nor does she have to be nice all the time. What she shouldn’t do is behave the opposite of how she truly feels. It doesn’t feel very personable, relatable, or even likeable. Of course, that last aspect doesn’t have to hold true for every character.