A set of interesting and well-designed character are what
drive a game and its story. Characters help us, the viewer, form a bond with
what’s happen around us, giving us a first person insight into the world we are
driven to explore. They help us interact and be a part of the story. In books,
TV and film this is also apparent. Seeing a characters emotion and reaction to
situations, we are able to see for ourselves, we see into the characters mind
and empathise with this person in front of us, bearing our soul. In games you do
anything to stop your character from dying or being injured, there is an
embedded fear of being attacked or anything bad happening to a character. It
makes us cautious, we change how we are, our mood, our body language, anything
and everything to do whatever it takes to make sure your character succeeds by
any means necessary. It's this bond that immerses our emotions into a game, as the link below shows, all be it in very extreme ways:
From personal experience of characters in games, I grew a
close bond to a certain game. To say these characters felt like family is highly cliché, but
there is no other way to describe it. I saw these character from a young age
and they have always been in my memory. I’m talking about final fantasy
7………again, but this shows what I mean by how much this game means to me and how
much it has impacted my outlook on life.
To me every aspect of the game, makes it the perfect game, but
a big part is the characters. Even though technology wasn't its best at the
time, to the point where the characters couldn't even speak, but this didn't stop
characters from developing personalities. Everybody is seen and ‘heard’ even
though they don’t speak. This is where script comes in, and how it is more
important that the script is right. With modern games, the script is still
important but it’s the voice acting that makes the script shine. Back in the
days of final fantasy 7, the player had to gauge a characters emotion from
written words alone. Script in terms of punctuation was crucial. Sure it could
make for lengthy conversation and cut scenes having to read what a character is saying, but it still managed to
grip you and keep on hanging onto every last word.
In a game like Metal Gear
Solid 4, acting and body language played huge parts in the cut scenes. Again, as the above video shows, the cut scenes are lengthy in this game, and I did find myself fading in and
out of conversation, but it was the acting and body language that distracted
me. The emotion in characters faces and the pain in there body when they twist
and contort, makes for a realistic, believable scenario.
To me, a story that
shows in depth character development and a heavy focus on an interestingly
intricate story line, is key to a memorable experience. Whether it be film, TV,
books or games, a story can be gripping when all the ingredients are well
balanced and of good quality. Characters help us become part of the story. We
look for qualities in the characters that we can also see in ourselves. This
gives us connections, makes us feel a part of what we’re viewing and this is so
true in computer games, more so than any other form of media.
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