a negative stereotype?
Personally I have never been bothered by game characters for a simple reason, they are the continuation of a long running tradition. In the 7th century BC, a man called Homer composed an epic poem called the Iliad. I am not sure how many people are familiar with it, but for anyone who isn’t, the Iliad is a poem about the Greek army and their invasion of Troy, spurred into action by the Gods and a princess named Helen. The book deals with the arrival of the Greeks at the city of Troy (also called Ilios) and their subsequent battles to defeat the Trojan army and capture the Greek Princess Helen, whom the Trojan’s took from a Greek King named Menelaus. Whether or not she went willingly depends on which version you read. Many of you of course will have seen the film Troy, and know what I am talking about, even if you haven’t read the book.
an ancient character
The Iliad, written 2,700 years ago, defines the gaming characters created today. How so, you might ask? Because the Iliad began a tradition of heroic fantasy which was continued right up to the present day, and no doubt will for hundreds if not thousands of years more. Characters like Marcus Fenix, Master Chief, or nearly any other character you might name owe themselves to this model of characterisation defined so long ago.
a modern version
The Iliad features heroes on both sides of the war that accomplish all many of mighty and inhuman deeds. Indeed many of them are inhuman, being demi gods, the offspring of mortal and divine parents. The book is filled with lists of enemy heroes slain, one after another, often in quite graphic detail:
“Patroclus came up beside him and stabbed him on the right side of the jaw, driving the spear between his teeth. Then, using the spear as a lever, he hoisted him over the chariot rail, as a fisherman sitting on a jutting rock pulls a lively fish from the sea.”
The heroes slay men by the dozen, always heroes. The rank and file infantry are not considered worth mentioning. So when people complain video games are violent, remind them that violence in entertainment is a long standing tradition dating back thousands of years. Just like today’s heroes, the dead pile up around the characters of the Iliad like leaves around a tree in autumn. These are characters with superhuman abilities, taller, stronger, faster than those who serve them.
“the limbs of all the Trojans shook with terror at the sight of the swift footed son of Peleus, resplendent in his arms, equal of the murderous War-God Ares.”
Sounds rather like the reaction Kratos would get doesn’t it? This method of storytelling (for the Iliad was a spoken poem, not a book) continued, and was used by the Roman author Virgil, who wrote the Aeneid, a sequel if you like the The Iliad, in the first century BC, some 600 years later. Mighty heroes abounded in tales in the following millennia, Beowulf, King Arthur, and many others were all written in what became known as the Homeric fashion.
heroes of renown
Throughout the ages people read these great works, and put their own spin on them to make them relevant for the time, just as Baz Luhrman did with Romeo and Juliet. The centuries were filled with depictions of Troy, the tale copied down and retold. The below image, used on the cover of the Penguin Classics Aeneid, depicts a 15th century painting of the fall of Troy, in which the costumes, ships, and architecture are all distinctly 15th century, not Greek.
15th century painting of the fall of Troy
Kratos therefore is a perfect example of modern day storytelling. We have a Greek story of heroes and tragedy, presented in a modern format (a video game).
a 21st century Greek epic
The ancient Greeks would have enjoyed Kratos, he has the same heroic tendencies, and typical flaws, that all Greek literary heroes had. Achilles was an unmatched warrior, often equated with Ares, who was prone to uncontrollable rages and was desperate to make a name for himself, to be famous, knowing it would result in his death.
So then we see that game developers, whether knowingly or not, continue a long tradition in storytelling. The means have changed, but the core remains the same. We are surrounded by these influences all the time, many people wont even consider where they come from. Why do we have heavily armoured super heroes slaughtering the enemy? Because 2,700 years ago a Greek poet said so.
This influence of course expresses itself in other formats, the afore mentioned Troy film is the 21st century version of the 15th century painting, telling the tale for a modern audience. Or the more recent Clash of the Titans. It is not just sword and sandals films though, many films feature all conquering protagonists to rescue a woman, defy the odds etc.
It has been stated that there are only seven basic plots that stories follow. What these are varies according to who you follow, but could be listed as for example:
Overcoming the monster
Rags to riches
The quest
Voyage and return
Comedy
Tragedy
Rebirth
Many stories will combine facets of these, but all seven were utilised in various Greek poems, tragedies, and comedies. These apply to games too, even games that are light on story. Mario is a good example on his eternal quest to save the princess. Models of writing set out millennia ago still influence games and films to this day.
a classic retold
Moving on from the ancient Greek basis, there are other influences that have left their mark. One of my hobbies is to study the truth behind myths, and I have a large collection of non-fiction works to that effect. You will find on my shelves titles like Rossell Robbins: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology, or the Encyclopedia of the Undead. You can chart the progress of various myths across the globe and see how they impact on each society. People speak of vampires being currently ‘in fashion’ with series’ like Twilight and True Blood, but in fact vampirism as a belief can be found in nearly every society around the world across history from the Aztecs to the African tribes to the eastern Europeans. In its’ prevalence it is second only to the idea of religion. Most of course are not Bram Stoker’s aristocratic undead, most are animalistic and feral, but they all revolve around draining life essence from victims. Today’s media vampires are simply the next iteration of the same beliefs and interests.
the Rakshasa of India
What I am getting at then is the influence of mythology upon the human psyche and its’ creations. Films, books, and games are filled with influences from all manner of sources, many we aren’t even aware of. People typically think of mythology as being something ancient, something Greek or Norse or Egyptian. In fact mythology is something that grows even today. Just as people did centuries before us, we create our own myths and tales to entertain and terrify. The video game stories are today are the myths of tomorrow. Urban legends and game plots will intertwine and develop because they are still every bit as essential to modern society as they were two thousand years ago. The gods of today are typically celebrities, whether talented or otherwise. Tales of valour will inspire the crowds just as they did in Homer’s time.
The characteristics of heroes and the foibles of plots are not something new, the people we play as are no more unrealistic than before. To say that a Marcus Fenix is unoriginal and unrealistic is to rather miss the point of these characters, they are not the product of lazy game design. Sure we can all wish for more depth, I am not saying all these characters are excusable or that people shouldn’t strive to make new characters or improve a theme, what I am saying is we benefit by understanding the basis of what we see. Mythology is vital to creation, and is every bit as relevant now as it was 2,700 years ago, we utilise and are guided by it every day.
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