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Character Archetypes
Author
I'm not sure if there is an end-all be-all list of Character Archetypes in this forum, but I think that if we start one, that'll at least steal some of the spotlight from that damned "single-word story" thread.
Anyway, let's start listing archetypes that are either overused or underused.
I guess I'll start with the
Hero-boy:
The "Alex" of the gaming world. No real motivation, just something lame like the "evil bad guy going to destroy the world and must be stopped because he's evil, see, his picture's in the OED right beside the word".
(let's sorta follow that format...or something similarish, so it at least looks like a topic instead of a complete joke thread, mmkay?)
Healer chick
The main female character will carry a staff and cast healing spells. At some point she will fall in love with 'Alex', but not before the other generic female makes her jealous. It is also likely that she wears some kind of magical pendant and comes from royalty.
awesome idea for a thread
The main female character will carry a staff and cast healing spells. At some point she will fall in love with 'Alex', but not before the other generic female makes her jealous. It is also likely that she wears some kind of magical pendant and comes from royalty.
awesome idea for a thread
Author
Got another idea.
Mrs. Vercetti:
The attractive woman married to a sleazy, low-life gangster for the money, the sex, the status, or for all-of-the-above. Usually portrayed as very shallow on the outside, but often has a dream or major objective that marrying "Mr. Vercetti" might've helped accomplish. Usually appears once in the game as a broken woman, forever forced to give up their life hopelessly.
Didn't think anyone would come up with that one...I've never seen it before.
Mrs. Vercetti:
The attractive woman married to a sleazy, low-life gangster for the money, the sex, the status, or for all-of-the-above. Usually portrayed as very shallow on the outside, but often has a dream or major objective that marrying "Mr. Vercetti" might've helped accomplish. Usually appears once in the game as a broken woman, forever forced to give up their life hopelessly.
Didn't think anyone would come up with that one...I've never seen it before.
Quote: The "Alex" of the gaming world
I wish I knew what you meant by this... should we all know some 'Alex'?
Anyways, onward and upward
The Big Guy
Usually carrying an enormous weapon, this character archetype likes to flex his larger than life biceps in the face of danger. Often noble and quiet, his strong beliefs and physical stature make it easy for Hero-boy to look up to, forming a friendship quickly. Mr. Big will often give advice to the other characters in a 'big brother' type fashion, reconciling disputes and crafting the occasional clever plan. When a threat comes to cross his or his teammate's path, he is fast to sacrifice himself.
As ever,
****Cosmic****
How about the DARK ALLY. This guy seems to come up in so many games its ridiculous. Pretty much every RPG has one. By example - Shadow or Vincent from FF 6 & 7, or Magus from Crono Trigger. Basically, this is any bad guy that joins the good side, permenently or temporarily, for various reasons. Sometimes he's a secret character, other times there's just a bigger, badder enemy to face. How about bowser in mario RPG? or venom in the spiderman vs carnage games? There are too many to even list.
On the topic of archetypes, there are probably a few that should just be accepted as granted. I'm reminded of the work of Carl Jung, who did a lot of research into Psychological Archetypes, which are supposedly more integral to the human psyche than any cultural influence, since they appear in every human society. These are things like the Hero/Heroine, Loyal Animal Friend, Wise Old Person, Anima (sexual ideal), and Shadow (anti-hero, foil character, whatever). These are all over-used, but I think that has more to do with the wiring of our brains than with the inertia of the entertainment industry.
Another good one I just thought of though is the four "Hunting Party" roles... The Leader, The Master Hunter, The Shaman, and The Joker. A ridiculous number of hero-teams (especially predominantly male teams, female-led groups are more often in threes or fives) fit into these categories seamlessly.
I remember reading somewhere about the Final Fantasy archetypes. They're pretty interesting. 'Something you might wanna look into.
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