My Game Protagonists

Games I've been seeing recently all have serious tones, since they are made for mature audiences, after all. I find these kinda games are actually enjoyable if they have awesome gameplay and interesting, colorful characters. Wolfenstien the New Order's plot is all about war, Nazis, rebel and some dark, serious stuff, to bring this situation to life, they make the characters all serious, some lighthearted moments here and there which makes the game interesting, but the protagonist BJ Blazkowicz (had to Google how to spell his name) is just so meh... I get the serious tone where war, rebellion and these aren't something you should take lightly. The gameplay is fun, challenging, as a first-person shooter (the genre I find somewhat enjoyable but puts awkward camera placement) so it's fine... ish... When you play it yourself or at least watch, you'll see that BJ (sex jokes anyone?) is a pretty blank dude surrounded by somewhat colorful characters, even his voice sounds like he eats pebbles for breakfast, WITHOUT MILK.

Sonic & Elise

I do like me a main character who's hyped about his adventures, smart-mouthed and has a colorful personality like Sonic the Hedgehog, he's always keeping his cool, enjoying the moment, when he encounters Eggman he insults that big mustache or something about that weight or both or say something about no copyright law in the universe can stop him from saving enslaved aliens. Not in Sonic 06 though, he has those traits in the intro cutscene and then shifts into a boring serious cardboard-cutout of a protagonist who gives advice about smiling to a human female love interest possibly still underaged... Some might say Sonic's personality is made how he truly is because the games have to be family friendly, kids don't like blank serious characters, so Sonic 06 is for mature audiences then?? Shadow the Hedgehog was hated for firearms, minor alien blood, swearing and dark atmosphere, pretty sure that's intentional to pull in shooter fans since Call of Duty was the hot shit at the time, but Sonic is still a cool lively character in that game.

Dante (DMC1, DMC2, DMC3, DMC4) >>

Devil May Cry the first game released in 2001 features Dante, a devil hunter who has to seal a demon god his father sealed millenniums ago. Sounds serious, right? Well Dante has that cocky, smart-mouthy personality coupled with a truly amazing gameplay that really brightens the mood without ruining the depth of the plot. Since Capcom saw how much of a hit the game was, Devil May Cry 2 was pushed so hard that they didn't bother with characterization, Dante is a blank slab of porkchop in a cool red trenchcoat, packing a gigantic sword (maybe 2 *wink) and a couple handguns oh... and a coin, and he rocks footstep sounds like he runs around in high heels and since the first game has Trish as the somewhat love interest or more like the mother look-alike figure or whatever, they make Lucia, a meh artificial demon who thinks she's a gifted human among her people since she can transform into a humanoid bird-like demon creature or something. Ok, at the time, games didn't have such advanced techs to implement facial expressions as well as today, but Dante is too serious and quiet and the gameplay isn't fun either. I remember his quote before fighting this one boss, the boss tries to like strike fear into Dante saying he has to pay for his sins or something but Dante just pulls out his guns saying "Don't talk, just die!" in a really bland tone. It's a good thing DMC 3&4 characterize Dante well, in DMC3 he's still young, juvenile, throws around insults and taunts to bosses as fast as his handguns' firing rate, I like him in gameplay and as a character. DMC4 Dante is somewhat more mature, still with the teasing and taunting guys, and even more fun in gameplay.

Dante (DmC 2013)

New DmC 2013 Dante, though.... he is juvenile like DMC3 and characterized better than the trenchcoat mannequin in DMC2, he's just more on the annoying side, he throws and smashes FUCKYOUs all over the place like a pinball racking millions.

Something else I've seen in the world of video games is the lack of female protagonists, Tomb Raider certainly stands out for having Lara Croft, Saints Row games let you create your own character, their race, sex, build, facial structure, hairstyle and plenty of stuff which makes it great.  Some other games like Mass Effect, Mirror's Edge, Remember Me, Resident Evil, and Bioshock have done this, so, points for them.

Bayonetta is a game which I personally call it the Anti Devil May Cry, in DMC you play as Dante, a demon slayer, but in Bayonetta you play as Bayonetta, a witch who slays angels (not trying to be satanic or whatever) it's still fun playing as a strong female character although she's kinda over-sexualized a bit (understatement). That's just the pre-programming thing we all have in our brains that female characters are pictured as the weaker kinds, they fit best as the damsel in distress, we've seen a lot of this in movies, when we see a skillful female soldier who wears an armor that covers her entire body, the first time she takes off her helmet, everybody shits their pants.

I'm also tired of always hearing a male voice in games, a female voice can actually give a game an entirely different experience. As a guy myself, I imagine (not in a dirty way... sometimes...) how I'd view some things if I were a girl.

I still think some games look good with a male protagonist and would look awkward with a female one, but I just think having more games with female protagonists will add a bit more diversity. Imagine how different a GTA game with a female protagonist, a girl friend asked me if the new GTA V which features 3 different protagonists you can switch between mid-gameplay has a female protagonist (sadly no), and that made me think what would happen if happen it had, so hard (not in a dirty way... a bit...)