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| 05.22.2007Regarding 'The Everyman and the Action Hero'
I found Ben Schneider's article on player characters really engaging and helpful. The author shows great insight about the interdependencies between plot and protagonist, story and game-play.
I agree that as game designers we must make some concessions regarding the strong character development found in literature and film. However, the author also pleads for a call to action to shed the clichés of past games and improve our story-telling. The time has come when princesses are disappointing love interests and dark overlords are ineffective villains. The classics definitely show us how long our industry has to go.
I am also pleased by the author's strong stance on designer-developed characters and their superiority over those created by players. While customization can be a very fun part of the experience, there's no reason to dilute our already limited amount of story-telling. And the everyman/action hero dichotomy could be one of the most important concessions to our stories, granting us the best part of a tired cliché and augmenting it with game-play.
The gaming industry needs more thinkers like Mr. Schneider who are willing to buck past trends and evolve the state of video games. His article was a stimulating read and would benefit any developer.-John Rose
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Letters to the Editor
