Task 10 – Characters

I think the best characters for me, are the ones which I remember the most, the ones which are instantly recognisable. Most of which are from films as I don’t read many books and game characters often seem to be very cliché.  Some characters i remember are: Travis Bickle played by Robert De Niro in the 1976 film “Taxi Driver”.

“A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as nighttime taxi driver in a city whose perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge to violently lash out, attempting to save a teenage prostitute in the process.” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/

Apart from the great cinematography and overall feel of the film the character is the strongest part, the acting is very believable and I think this is what really makes the character. I don’t exactly relate to him, but am still on his side throughout the movie and can understand him.

I also like the two main characters in the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (which is also a book {which I haven’t read}). The two characters are Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and Dr Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro). The film as described by IMDB: “An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120669/ 

The characters in this film are very believable, which is mainly down to the good acting, as throughout the whole movie they are in a drugged haze. The way the film is shot also contributes to the character building. The way the characters behave and the situations they get themselves into are very unnerving but brilliant. The film itself doesn’t really have a plot, which is almost the point; it brings the focus on the interesting characters.

I think games could learn to be bolder with the characters and try different things which haven’t been done before, which may be controversial, unlike the usual characters which seem to pop up in games again and again. I think the look of the character is important because it allows people to recognise what game it’s from, and make it stand out from the rest. But the most important part for me is the script and the voice acting, as the story is ultimately what draws you to the character. Cool looking ninjas and big future army men which loads of armour and big guns may look cool but aren’t necessarily believable or memorable.

Some games such as Half Life tell the whole story of the game without the player (Gordon Freeman) saying one word, yet the orange suit and crowbar have become icons in the gaming world. Think this is mainly down to the interaction with the other characters and world, and how believable and interesting they are. Also Gordon is an unlikely hero being just a theoretical physicist, yet he fights aliens, humans and robots in a mysteries world. I think the story and the setting has a big part in creating an interesting character when it comes to games.