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05.22.2007

The Everyman and the Action Hero
Ben Schneider's insights on heroic characters (The Everyman and the Action Hero) were excellent. But there were a couple of points I'd like to have seen addressed, even if only briefly.

First, the points made about heroic protagonists were most applicable to single-player games. In a single-player game, there's no problem with your doing heroic things -- in fact, it's generally expected. The only question is whether you start out as a hero or become one.

But what about MMORPGs? It's a relatively old question but it has yet to be answered well: How can every player be or become a hero in a world of tens of thousands of players?

This question is especially troublesome for the Everyman protagonist. The Campbellian hero's journey is about the person who returns from a life-changing experience to bring a unique boon to his or her former world. Well, how's a player to feel uniquely heroic in our current MMORPGs when the ascent to heroism means hitting the exact same level cap in the exact same character class as hundreds of thousands of other people?

My second question concerns the gamers who are perfectly happy remaining an Everyman. If MMORPGs can allow gamers to fill useful Everyman roles, then why should every gamer have to be or become a hero?

There are people who, both in real life and in the games they play, don't feel a need to engage constantly in competitive leveling-up to have fun. They enjoy helping others, and prefer being part of the fabric of society.

So when they play multiplayer persistent-world games, which often feature characters filling specific social support roles, they want to participate in that low-stress, non-heroic play. They find satisfaction in the "Uncle Owen" support roles that help other players have fun.

Is there some reason why this non-heroic gameplay should not be considered a valid alternative to the Action Hero and Everyman-Who-Becomes-A-Hero playstyles?

-Bart Stewart