Protagonist Characterization or DO NOT WANT

[clannadman]

You should write an MC that fits your story. Don't worry about audience reaction - worry about the quality of your story.

[PyTom]

As a side note: Don't have an 'alien' main character without human characters to contrast with. If there are humans around for the MC to shake hir head sadly at because these humans are crazy, you can have an effective story (and a baseline for the MC to contrast with).

On the other hand, Asimov's The Gods Themselves is one of the few books with truly alien protagonists. It had humans in it, but not in the same section as the aliens - and it made the aliens all the more alien for it.

[Dollywitch]

I like Asimov but I don't think I've read that. Asimov was one of the examples that came to mind when talking about "autistic" writing. Even the way he described characters etc. really came across as that. Of course there probably are a higher proportion of sci-fi writers on the spectrum, but I think it's just an artefact of the conventions involved - Asimov was also one of the first writers of "High" Science Fiction, the Foundation series were written back in the 40s? Figuring human beings into it might have taken a while to think of. Maybe "The Gods Themselves" was kind of an experiment in that regard. The thing about dealing with aliens especially "higher" beings is how they relate to our world. I think it's the same problem with high sci-fi, fantasy and the like - thinking about how us as humans relate to a strange world. Cyberpunk gained popularity because it extends a lot of what we already know about the world, and works with existing themes.

[WatchJessieGo]

I think a good example of a horrible protagonist is the guy from Brass Restoration. They tried to make him flawed, they tried to make us sympathize him, but he was an asshole and a wackjob.
As long as your protagonist doesn't end up like him, your players will be happy. (Or, at least, I would be.)

[Glasskitten]

Note to self: If I ever finish one of the projects with an autie protagonist, don't release it here. ^_^; (A couple of them aren't visual-things and the other was giving me trouble due to all the friendship, anyway. It probably won't be an issue.)

[papillon]

Of course sometimes asshole mentally-unstable protagonists can turn out pretty compelling in the end, when there's a good enough reason and it's clear that we're not entirely meant to be *identifying* with the jerk.

The protagonist of Cross Channel has some serious, serious problems.

Jerk protagonists that you have to warm up to slowly are a bigger problem with games that have to work with the demo sales model. If someone's already bought into the game, they have no choice but to stick around and see how it unfolds.

[LateWhiteRabbit]

The important thing to remember about protagonists, especially in games where players have to spend hours and hours with them, is that if someone wouldn't like hanging out with that person for hours and hours in real life, they aren't going to care much for the protagonist unless the protagonist arrests their attention in a kind of "can't look away train wreck" kind of way.