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Submitted by acronkyoung 190d ago | opinion piece

Games need to stop with the chosen-one heroes

Titles seem to be adopting the "chosen one" trend more and more for their heroes, and one player hates it. (Diablo III, Halo 4, Industry, Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning, PC, PS3, The Walking Dead - A Telltale Games Series, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Xbox 360)

Lifeequals42  +   190d ago
I tend to appreciate "smaller" games more so these days than titles that force you to save the world.
Canary  +   190d ago
I'd rather be done with the "douchebag protagonist must die in the end" trope.

Or at the very least let's get rid of the "douchebag protagonist" trope.
MasterD919  +   190d ago
Agreed except for on Halo...Master Chief is the boss. Plus, he has Cortana.
violents  +   190d ago
I can really appriciate this article because he's right. I think the narrative in a lot of stories is tacked on and an easy go-to is the "savior" bit. I would much rather the main protagonist be and underdog that has to fight and persevere through everthing the game throws at you. It seems more like a challenge and holds you in suspense as you wonder if you can make it through.
TrenchaunT  +   190d ago
The problem is much older than the author even recognizes. It is a form of "messianism" that is a common component of stories especially in Western culture, because of its largely Judeo-Christian origins. This is not to say that such stories are more pleasing to us Christians, but only that the idea of a special individual who plays the primary role in world history is deeply rooted in a Jewish and Christian worldview, and is less relevant to ancient Buddhism, for example. Unfortunately it has been adopted in the most ridiculous form and overused by many books, movies, and video games, especially in the Fantasy genre. Almost every Fantasy story is the same, from Star Wars (which is more Fantasy than Sci-fi) to Harry Potter.
Blacklash93  +   190d ago
Saying chosen-one protagonists have been prominent in stories for centuries... would actually be an understatement. "Nearly all of human history" would be putting it more accurately.

I agree it's kind of annoying. Chosen-ones heroes work well enough and don't cover all aspects of a story, but it does feel like they're overused like a lot of conventions concerning lead characters. Some diversity would be nice. But it's gone on for so long I doubt it will ever go away.

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