Role of Character
I read an article on the Escapist about How Game Stories Suck because the protagonist doesn't change. It got me thinking about the role of characters in a game and narrative. Why don't game characters change? Dual Role In my narrative heavy games, I sometimes feel there is a disconnect between the narrative character and my avatar. The narrative has set up this character to seem like a certain kind of person. However, as I begin playing, the character is no longer like that. For example, when playing a game like Legend of Zelda, Link is set up to be heroic, courageous, and trusted. However the actions the player performs as Link are hardly heroic . The cover up of course is that the game narrative ignores certain player actions. Particularly in Role Play Games (RPGs). A game character has two roles in a narrative style game. The story character and the game character. Most games play these off as separate entities. This disconnect reduces the effect of change or perceiv