Annoying Characters

[Mezmerize]

...Tidus: I'm not even going to give a description, it should be obvious....

The key reason to me to why Tidus was an annoying character is the horrible dialogue they implimented him with.

Staying in tune with Final Fantasy, the most annoying character to me was (ignoring Cait Sith...) Steiner from FFIX. The character might've had some potential, but he was just down right obnoxious. Everytime I play FFIX, I try to avoid using him in my main party, but he's so outrageously strong =(.

Respecting something that is fictional is serious business folks!

 

[CERU]

Looking back, it seems to me that Tidus' story was one of growing up and maturing as a person. At the start of the game he is very immature, and a spoiled brat especially because of the world that he previously lived in. But both spira and yuna force him to grow up in their own way.

By far, the most annoying character I could ever think of would have to be Sora of kingdom hearts. I can't even finish that game because of him ... (or pretty much any of the other characters ...)

I also sometimes get annoyed when I don't like certain physical traits of a character, such as Fei's long hair from Xenogears. But I can usually ignore these. ^^;

 

[The Cry of Fallen Angels]

I suddenly love some of you beyond belief.

"Well damn, there should be guards here or something. This game is clearly incomplete."

Wait a minute there ... Are you saying that a little piece of rock that I placed on the path of one of my maps is just as essential to the story as the main hero?

What's more, you are saying every character demands respect? Some nameless guard you fight and kill in one hit contributes nothing to a story. I've yet to see a fan club for the first two Shinra soldiers that Cloud killed in FFVII, and I'm sure I never will.

Face it, you can't touch fictional characters, you cannot converse with them, etc. They are not real people, they will never be. They can't demand actual respect. The choices they make aren't their own, the words they speak aren't their own, even their thoughts aren't their own. Characters are puppets, creators are the puppeteers. How well the puppets dance depends on the puppeteer.

 

[JanitorGod]

I find Sephiroth annoying. His opinions are ill-conceived and he assumes too damn much.

"Shall I give you dis pear?" How 'bout I stab you in the neck you gigantic mama's boy. Your past is about as tragic as someone finding out they were adopted.

 

[The Cry of Fallen Angels]

Let's keep it civilised kbaithx

 

[insomniacmg]

It annoys me when annoying characters are present in a game that the protagonist doesn't have the choice to kill. That's why I love Fallout; If I ever ran into someone I didn't like I could give 'em a critical shot in the nuts with my sledgehammer. Good times...

 

[KhaoticErase]

The reason those characters don't die is because they have a purpose in the game. Characters you have a choice to kill are that way simply for that very purpose: to release your lust for violence. So whether you kill them or not, they have a purpose. In games like that, that purpose is entirely up to you.

 

[insomniacmg]

The reason those characters don't die is because they have a purpose in the game. Characters you have a choice to kill are that way simply for that very purpose: to release your lust for violence.

I think that the natural evolution of the rpg genre would involve allowing the player to exert whatever actions possible for her/him upon anyone him/her wishes. This allows a greater branching of player choices, if a character exists in the game world that is imperative to the furthing of the main plot, why not give the player the ability to kill them? Sure it would stifle their progress through the main storyline, but think about what other venues it would open due to the consequences of the players actions. I think Fallout was a game way ahead of it's time in that it allowed a sort of morale ambiguity that mimicked real life more so then cookie cutter clean nosed protagonist pitted against antagonist that embodied pure evil and negativity.

In games like that, that purpose is entirely up to you.

And those are the games I most enjoy, it allows more choices to be up to me, thus allowing more interaction, more possibilities, more fun.

 

[KhaoticErase]

You just gave me hundreds of ideas for games to make when I finish college.

@JanitorGod: That WASN'T Sephiroth's motive, because it wasn't even true. He wanted revenge on humans for betraying the Cetra, which he was supposedly one of because JENOVA's cells were in him. But JENOVA wasn't an Ancient, she tricked them into believing she was. All in all, JENOVA was just using Sephiroth like a tool.

 

[JanitorGod]

Advent Children begs to differ.

 

[RavenTDA]

I wouldn't stress too much about asking people what characters are annoying and what you should avoid. Because if you do that you'll end up with all the same exact characters for each one. Why?

The character type that is usally the least hated is the strong/badass type. Examples: Auron, Lulu, Solid Snake.

But that gets old very quick and you need other characters to bounce off them. Their personalties don't seem as unique or strong if you have them all the same.

Mostly I wouldn't worry about it too much. Use the character type that you need for your story. If you are wrting an emotional story of trageity then you'll need the Emo type. Just go with it. The other problem is when you break it down liek this into cliches you aren't getting the right idea at all, for the simple fact that just don't make your character cliche. Flesh them out and down't sweat it.

Oh...and I too seem to like every character in games and can never understand why people hate certain characters that I've loved so much.

 

[Erichermit]

Sometimes I believe the annoying characters are neccesary to foil the actual good characters. I know some of you will disagree with me, but I personally found Anise from Tales of the Abyss to be quite annoying, and Jade to be about as awesome as it gets. However, Anise played her part well- a rather immature little child. No I didnt like her, but Im glad she was in the game, because if EVERY character is just absolutely awesome.. Who am I supposed to hate?

 

[insomniacmg]

The other problem is when you break it down liek this into cliches you aren't getting the right idea at all, for the simple fact that just don't make your character cliche.

I agree with you about avoiding cliche characters; However, I think that as a game creator your perspective on the issue of character creation is off if your even thinking about cliches. A character in a story can be so much beyond a shallow archetype of expected reactions, personality, and dialogue. A character can be molded to be much more interesting if the game creator truly understands their place and reason for existing in the game world and is able to accurately portray them as the characters they are.

If you are wrting an emotional story of trageity then you'll need the Emo type.

You just contradicted yourself about using cliches...

Just because a story handles emotions, overtly negative or postive doesn't mean the characters all have to be "emo." Different characters handle different situations in different ways and to varying degrees. Some people thrive on tragedy, whose to say it has to drive them to become an emo prick with bad taste in music, hair, and a lust for whining and razor blades. :p

 

[Reives]

Aye, in my opinion a tragic story doesn't necesarily need the characters to be emo at all. For a simple example; who would you pity more, a character who get smashed by tragic events then whines and whines, or a character who gets smashed by tragic events yet still tries to stands up to them?

 

[insomniacmg]

Aye, in my opinion a tragic story doesn't necesarily need the characters to be emo at all. For a simple example; who would you pity more, a character who get smashed by tragic events then whines and whines, or a character who gets smashed by tragic events yet still tries to stands up to them?

Amen Reives :thumb:

 

[RavenTDA]

Ah I meant a more emotional character. See the thing is there are character types and there are cliches... they kinda are hand in hand. If you really think about it you can toss any character into certain cliche categories even real life people can be tossed into those... but I meant when you go to impliment your personality type don't use the cliche. Ya know? Like use the type but impliment them deeper. ...I think I'm just confusing everyone now, aren't I?

Everyone, everyone loves a strong character it seems. I think we forget sometimes how people would really react to things in reality. Most people don't stand strong no matter hwat. An annoying character mentioned was Shinji from Evangelion. To me Shinji is one of the best damn written characters ever. Not to say he's my favorite but I adore how real they made him. He was to me the most realistic character I've ever seen in a piece of fiction. His reactions were right on. He's just a 14 year old boy tossed into all this chaos forced to do all this saving when he just wanted to be a regular boy. In reality I think almost everyone would react just like he did. But in the begining he was more of a coward but I feel towards the end he began to face his fears and grow up instead of running away. Shinji to me is just such an amazingly written character. To just dismiss him as annoying because he's balking against what's happening around him and stressing over situation, to me seems crazy. Why do people usally hate this type for being whiney? Most people wouldn't just say "okay let me blow up this monster for I am strong and fearless" I think the reality is since we are like this ourselves we look for more perfection...to be strong verses to be weak and not know what to do, and since fiction isn't reality we don't want to see that kind of behavior even if it's realistic.

 

[insomniacmg]

Everyone, everyone loves a strong character it seems.

I've found that most people have the strongest ties to characters that they themselves can relate to. I myself have always been more interested in a character with several faults that outweigh their positive attributes since to me it conveys a more realistic character then say a generic un-feeling "bad-ass" character. In a game, unlike a static work of fiction, the player is granted a level of control; I think it's imperative that as a game creator you allow the player to shape a character to a certain degree herself/himself by allowing them to choose what their alias would do in a situation. Obviously this wouldn't apply to games with static stories, which is fine, however I've always had more fun when a game allowed me to make more choices about what my character would do.

 

[Reives]

Point well taken from both of ya. Although, by emo whiner I'meant melodramatic characters. One doesn't really have to be necesarily a 'strong' character to not be a melodramatic whiner, which I believe goes for reality as well.

 

[Jeff the Green]

Aye, in my opinion a tragic story doesn't necesarily need the characters to be emo at all. For a simple example; who would you pity more, a character who get smashed by tragic events then whines and whines, or a character who gets smashed by tragic events yet still tries to stands up to them?

Agreed. Which is more tragic? Romeo and Juliet, or the stories of Socrates or Galileo?