Protagonists that you would appreciate

[gekiganwing]

This thread is about hypothetical main characters for hypothetical visual novels. I'm curious what sort of potential main characters you would find unique, compelling, and so on. In other words, this thread is not about protagonists who already exist, or VNs that already exist. Just so I make that clear.

Please specify the following information:

* What sort of story/game would this person fit into? Would this main character be well-suited for genres such as horror or fantasy?
* Why would you appreciate this main character? Is it because of their personality, appearance, beliefs, status, or something else?

I know that a main character alone can not make a story interesting. But they're undeniably an important part of any story.

[sciencewarrior]

I love brainy characters. They are hard to pull off, because the audience has to follow them, and yet you can't spend too much time in their head, but when done well they are superb. They are the opposite of Too Dumb To Live, but still fallible, mostly due to their own pride. Usually they initiate of the conflict, thinking they can get away with murder (not literally, because a murderer isn't sympathetic (except for Lelouch, and he had his reasons.))
EDIT: to complement, answering your questions, this kind of character is naturally curious and tends to bite more than they can chew, so they can fit into almost any genre, even if they are more common in mystery. The best part is trying to figure out what they will do next, from the information the story gives; that's why it's tricky, because you don't want to (1) make it too obvious, (2) hide important information they would have, or worse (3) make them temporarily stupid for plot reasons.

[SusanTheCat]

Someone whose body type is not standard -- and it not being mentioned directly in the story.

Body types could be tall, short, scrawny, overweight. Their body type would have an affect on their personality, but they won't spend all game trying to "fix" it.

Example of what I don't mean: Someone who is overweight and is obsessing all game about her weight.

Example what I do mean: Tall character who is socially awkward.

This would be excellent for slice of life type stories, but could also work for any genre.

Being a person that is not a standard body type, I appreciate stories that deal with the situation well. During high school, being taller than everyone certainly affected me, but I didn't go around all the time talking about it. It was just part of me. Here interesting little bits: I don't fit into normal clothes, therefore I didn't go shopping at the mall; I would store things in high cupboards and my roommate would get annoyed (I forgot she couldn't reach); I am not physically intimidated by men since I was taller and heavier; at school dances (and at clubs) I would stand out like a sore thumb since a was about a foot taller then the rest of the girls.


Susan

[Poketto Kunoichi]

I would like a protagonist who thinks autonomously, following their personal desires and convictions instead of blindly following already established norms. A protagonist who, with their own set of morals, perceives the world in a unique way and thus has their own stance on issues.

For example, a character who has substantiated opinions on global issues, religion, etc. versus one who simply believes whatever they are told. I character I'd readily sympathize with is someone who has the capacity to think abstractly.

However, I do think quirky, cute characters are fun too - as long as it's not over-the-top. I like seeing little quirks and noticable mannerisms within protagonists, instead of a cardboard cut-out of a stock personality.

I think a character like this would fit in most genres, save perhaps fluffy stories meant for light reading. I appreciate characters like that because seeing the same personalities with a different names gets boring and vapid.

[Androol]

Not an archetyp.
Generaly if you play a good guy he is almost always good and vice versa with the bad guy, if you had influence on is orientation it depend of the player and not of the character itself.
In real life a racist maniac who beat his wife can make a donation to is church, say to his kids to be polite with the oldes one and be a good pal to his friend. The guy who rob a bank with weapon, killing people for money can be a romantic boyfriend, a smiling and happy neibourg. A strong man who act without fear in is life can be claustrophobic or arachnophobic and becom afraid like a child when he is out of his confort zone. A coward against is boss at work can become agressive and protective if he think is beloved folk are in real danger. etc...

Like in this old dysney where goofy change from good and gentle neibourg to a crazy trash talker when he is in is car, people reacting diferently depending on with who, where or for what end they act are more interesting than one sided archetypal character. I am pretty sur we are all like this in a lot of condition, we act and think diferently if we are lonely or in group, if we are with a pal or somone we want to seduce, if we are at home or at work / school/ bar. This is used in VN a lot in romance where guys or girl are sudenly wordless when it is time to talk to the the target they choose to seduce. Always in the begining and after thex finaly becom good at talking. This patern is boring by repetition. In real life some people act like this its true but other people like to flirt and are bold in the begining, its more when things can become serious that they are wordless.

I think this kind of character ( the multifaced ones) can be used in horror or fantasy.

A good exemple of this king of character in fantasy is the imp in "a song of ice and fire" novels who is a cynical, had no remors for some kiling, like to use whore and at the same time had a very high sens of justice, as compassion for the cripled Stark boy who certainly is a miror of himself in is eyes and try to be a great mind by reading old lost book. He work grately in fantasy. I think he can be a good exemple for two of the sugestion before now that i am thinking of it, he is a dwarf and a braignac too. I am not saying we want tirion lanister, its just to illustrate the fact than this kind of character can suit fantasy as in book they are plenty, less as protagonist in VN.

It was hypotetical, if i suceed at making a game, i never try somthing that hard with my poor wrighting skill, but as a player i will enjoy if i cross somthing like this.

[LateWhiteRabbit]

I can really only say what I DO NOT want in a protagonist, from playing a lot of VNs over the years. I do NOT want a male protagonist that is a loser or a creepy pervert. I can't stand how so many male protagonists are so cowardly or creepy. What about a male protagonist with some self-confidence? A protag that talks to girls instead of stalking them and leering at them, then going back to his home where he monologues about his porn collection. And no male protagonist should spend a paragraph or more of thought on the intricate details of a girl's panties he saw while "accidentally" being a clumsy idiot. Speaking of which - I never want to see another sex or romantic scene described by the male protagonist as "like something out of one of my erotic games". Blugh!

Can I just get a protagonist that is normal, confident, and well-adjusted? You know, someone that is just not dating at the moment? Because watching someone be a sexually obsessed pervert, who acts like an idiot, and creeps on girls is - surprise - off-putting and not fun.

[Carrogath]

Can I just get a protagonist that is normal, confident, and well-adjusted? You know, someone that is just not dating at the moment? Because watching someone be a sexually obsessed pervert, who acts like an idiot, and creeps on girls is - surprise - off-putting and not fun.

This, absolutely. This is the reason VNs get a bad rep--the protagonists just utterly suck. It's not just VNs, either; this happens a lot in seinen and shounen manga, too, and I can't for the love of me understand why that is. In real life, they'd be seen as pathetic and completely unattractive.

As for protagonists I want to see: well, considering the number of otome games we have around here, how about a strong female lead or two? Someone who is, say, proactive rather than reactive? Even in the yuri manga I read in which all of the characters are girls, and therefore don't run the risk of being overshadowed by male characters, they still have issues taking action, for some reason. (As an aside, even though they're definitely out there, I don't see a lot of perverted female protagonists. Are we supposed to assume that girls just don't have sex drives, or something?)

More protagonists in general with self-confidence would be good. They don't have to be the best at what they do, but it would help for them to be competent and capable, and most certainly not a loser.

[Anna]

As long as your character has an actual personality and is interesting in WHATEVER way... then go ahead? If the writing is good it will get you pretty far.

However, these are the characters I find uninteresting or just annoying in fiction:

• miss/mister perfect - boring because no tension/nothing to deal with.
• miss/mister McBland - seriously, give me a reason to read about this person, why do I care if someone is completely predictable and generic without an opinion?
• miss/mister Ass - if I can't get sympathetic for the character, that means I don't care what happens to him/her and will be annoyed instead. I think it's weird lots of the bachelors in dating sims fit in here.

[Zylinder]

I like protagonists with some flaws and attributes that are human. For example, things like jealousy, being petty, cowardly, overly attached to people/things, etc. Things that make you feel the protagonist is a real human being with human emotions and not just some empty husk or a stereotype stuffed up with Backstory. To me, it makes the good parts of the protagonist shines out even more, because they're not just Saint Everything, but a truly human character who does good DESPITE their contradictory instincts. Pretty general, I know, but I've found surprisingly few protagonists in the games I've played that (to me) had flaws.

A personal peeve of mine is when after everything is said and done, the protagonist's personality flaws are explained away as Not His Fault At All. So the crazy homicidal maniac is actually a Product of Bad Circumstances and the story makes it sound like it's not his fault at all. People should be responsible for their actions. Does he want to hurt someone else to 'transfer' some of the pain over? Does it make him feel relieved because someone else is the victim instead of him? These are the kind of analysis that I like to see when detailing the character.

To answer the questions:
1) Since my demand of the protagonist is to have flaws, they would fit in any genre.
2) They're just much more believable when they have some. Not to mention, it steers them away from the doom trap of stereotypes. It's okay to have stereotypes, but if you have a character whose entirely personality I can predict within 10 text boxes of meeting them, then captain, we have a problem.

[Cochise]

Androol words are mine too.
And the loss of manicheaism in some animes is the first thing a liked in oriental productions, once I'm from a country largely christian/manicheaist.

[ThisIsNoName]

This is kind of a generic description, but I would really like to see a main character who is sympathetic, but not immediately likeable. Not a loser or pervert, but more like someone you might interact with, but not think about much afterwards. One example would be someone who is very by-the-book, but not snobbish about it.

It think that character would fit most genres, but would be most at home in a mystery or drama.

I can't pinpoint exactly why I would like to see a character like that, except that they aren't very common. I think part of why I would like them is that a lot of the conflict would be around just interacting with others, instead of focusing on conflict in relationships.

[Anthy]

Unless it's a kinetic novel or something with only action-based choices like "go left" etc., I actually don't think I'd want a protagonist with a strongly developed personality. Otherwise, I'd wonder why I'm making dialogue choices for them throughout the game if they are already so set in their ways. It would really not work in a game with lots of branches and romantic options, because somewhere along the line they might break character to get to a certain route and then it just feels weird.

I like protagonists with a sense of humor, though, whether male or female. Not creepy-perverted-loser-humor, or a constant stream of cheap jokes, but you know, a normal sense of humor when the opportunity presents itself (the classic "good choice/bad choice/clever choice"). I like putting myself in the shoes of the protagonist, and it's more enjoyable to play as someone who you can imagine is fun to be around than a character who is overly cranky, creepy, or has the personality of a stale biscuit. I think it works best when the protagonist isn't overly talkative (whether talking to others, or in their head), so it's easier for the player to mold/interpret their personality as they play...


but yeah, it's generally easier to decide what I DON'T want. I hate the otaku loser protag like most people do. But I also hate annoyingly fiesty, cranky or sarcastic female protags that seem to be a knee-jerk reaction to "pushover" female protagonists. They're no better than the girl who is always wondering what she should do throughout the story. If people are going to write MCs that have such horrible personalities they should at least go through major development by the ending...

[papillon]

*looks sheepish*

... I'd like, not always but sometimes, to play a game with an evil, manipulative, scheming protagonist. I have occasionally joked about writing the lesbian vampire game (infiltrate girls school, seduce innocent virgins, rule the world) and I mostly don't because I don't think I can sell it, but I'd love to play it. But even without the fetish aspect, playing someone CLEVER and BAD and enjoying creating chaos is a nice refreshing change from being hapless and sweet.

[LVUER]

Rather than telling you what kind of protagonist that I appreciate, it's far easier to tell you what kind of protagonist that I CAN NOT appreciate. I like and don't mind with variety kind of protagonist. Besides, if all kind of protagonist is similar (look at 80's/90's anime, almost all protagonist are hot-blooded thick-head with burning sense of justice), VN would be boring, though it could be remedied with good story and good side characters. The most important thing is that the protagonist should have at least one quality that make readers sympathize with (or like) him. Usually his kindness/selflessness (already over-used to the death though). But be careful since having too much good quality will make him a Gary Stu.

A good example of Gary Stu (that I could remember) is Chinmi from Tekken Chinmi series. He is handsome, smart, extremely good at kung-fu (the best in the world) but never resort to violence unless have to, very kind, very patient, very selfless, very forgiving, very wise, never have any bad/pervert intention/mind. He doesn't have any weakness other than his kindness. A perfect man... or we could say he is a walking mortal Buddha. Boring... but this manga compensate it with good ass-kicking kung-fu action

So what kind of protagonist that I don't like? Easy, any protagonist that doesn't have any redeeming quality. Shin Asuka is a good example. He is a wuss that blessed with a Seed and Coordinator 1337 skills (that makes things worse). And he is always blame others without wanting to take any blame. Don't give dangerous toy like Gundam to him, okay?

Another good example is the infamous Makoto and his nice boat ending... Well, he had it coming.

[Applegate]

This, absolutely. This is the reason VNs get a bad rep--the protagonists just utterly suck. It's not just VNs, either; this happens a lot in seinen and shounen manga, too, and I can't for the love of me understand why that is. In real life, they'd be seen as pathetic and completely unattractive.

Most VNs are geared towards otakus, who are generally considered to be basement dwellers with social anxiety leeching off of society's money to survive. Making a character that is kinda like them in personality but who succeeds is like fulfilling their dreams: they don't need to change according to the VN and they can still succeed.

I can't really answer the questions posed, as I find any protagonist enjoyable if the story is fitting and enjoyable. I consider a main character integral to the plot, not something you could swap around with.