Video Game People

The early days of video games featured Pong: a square ball bouncing back & forth between to rectangles. It was a very simple concept that anyone could literally figure out within seconds.Even more elementary than that was the fact that there were no characters, no plot, no storyline, no real purpose of the game, except to bump and bash that cubed ball back and forth. While Pong was a nice recreational distraction and diversion from the boredom of everyday life - and back then, Pong was a big deal - there was no real vested interest in the game once the video game system was shut off. Pong was just a video game, and that's all it would ever be.

Fast forward to today, and video games are much more than simply something to play. Video games today are events, stories and lives to take interest in and be a part of too. Video game characters, especially, have evolved and grown over the years. While the erstwhile plumber was cute, he wasn't really endearing. He didn't talk or speak much, he wasn't very expressive and he was actually quite boring as a person. Heck, in his original solo adventure, he couldn't even go too far backwards! He was simply the vehicle for which the video game player used to traverse the game.

Now, video game characters, like the ones featured in the Sony PSP are people, with expressions and emotions. They have a history and a purpose. They have a back story, and they are vengeful. They have facial expressions that video game players can relate to. They aren't just video game characters: they're tragic heroes and misunderstood villains. They live and work in worlds that are at once foreign to us but recognizable too. Today's video game characters speak to us, and for us. We want to hear what they say, and see how they act and react. They aren't just computer generated characters by designers, they are actors, with a script to follow and a mystery to unravel.

The advancement and evolution of video game characters is to be expected, since video games themselves have advanced and evolved. Older video games took place in simple worlds with a defined beginning, a defined end and a defined purpose. Because of that simplicity, it was easy to figure out what the character should do and be. Nowadays, video games often take place in a universe that's nearly as big and as large as the universe itself. That requires the character in the video game to act and react in ways that we can't really predict.

Also, today's modern video game characters can be so likeable and interesting as well.With personalities, emotions and phrasing that can really make people laugh and take interest in the character. You can also bet that if a popular video game is released with a powerful and dynamic character, that that character will find himself on the big screen shortly thereafter.While that's great for media companies looking to make more than just a few extra dollars, it presents a real opportunity to flesh out and give the main character some more depth. Because while today's video games are impressive in size and scope, they are still, like the Microsoft Xbox 360, video games and they are still limited by its programming and design. But a movie or a TV program can really give new emotions to a character whom in some ways, already seems to be more than human.

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- Freddy Mason