I have been having a recurring problem lately when I watch game directs.
Every time I see a trailer for a new epic, turn-based RPG, it's always about some forgettable fantasy or sci-fi warrior boy going "For honor... For my homeland... For Farugal..."
And I just. I just wish more of these authors were a little perverted. I wish they would give me some freaks!! I do not need another boy with a sword who loves his country and his bloodline. I need greedy sons of bitches. I need a woman with an dangerously obsessive motivation. I need a protagonist who's just kind of pathetic. I need some queers who have zero chill. Sure, sometimes we'll see this in the villains, but what about the heroes? All they do is whine about king and country and get a little sad sometimes when their friend is killed in battle before moving on. They're more dolls than human.
it is the year of our lord 2023 and the main character from ff16 looks like this and is named clive. at least cloud wore purple
Like, okay, credit where it's due - the new SaGa trailer was full of great character designs. It's got a boy who builds enthusiastic mannequins that serve as his personal fanbase. It's got a pop-idol-turned-missle-launching-robot. It's got a buddy cop duo starring a pugilist lady wearing a cowboy hat and another wearing a hijab and swinging around the minigun from TF2. Out of all the main characters, the most generic one is still a witch pretending to be a schoolgirl. I don't know yet how much flavor will go into the writing, but the point is, they have some style!! In a sea of honorable boys they stand out!
I still think about Fire Emblem: Three Houses all the time. It still has a hyperactive fic-writing fanbase, and it's entirely due to the characters. Sure, a LOT of them fight for their country, but they still stand out because they're all juggling trauma, mental illness, petty hatred, and shitty attitudes. They're unique! They're fun!! There's a reason radiostarkiller is out there still drawing Edeleth smut while Engage has already slipped into the past! Consider a series like Persona, where all the characters are gawky, horny teenagers, who think about porn and panic about friendships and struggle with anxiety and abandonment. Sure, the writing is frequently questionable, but at least it's memorable!
I Do Not Care About Your Boring Little Patriot, Give Me The Fuckups
I dunno. Maybe I'm being unfair. I don't really know what the writing in Unicorn Overlord is going to be like. I'm extrapolating from the narrator's tone and the focus in the trailer. Like, the artstyle is really strange and pretty. And there were some stylish character designs hidden in there. But jeez, I wish they'd stop trying to sell me on epic history nonsense!
anyway thank you for listening to me ramble on. imo if you write stories and inspiration is drying up, please consider reading this. i didn't write it, i just think it's a nice reminder
Imagine a trailer where it starts out in the whole "I'm fighting for my kingdom" vibe showing a rather generic looking guy on a horse, but then it takes a slightly odd turn by mentioning the prince losing the kingdom because "the faerie cakes in the forest looked so good". It goes back into talking about "and now I must fight to win my kingdom back" and it goes back to a shot of guy on a horse but focusing on the guy before the voiceover says, "no, not him", the shot shifts down to the horse, "yup, that's me."
The main character is a horse. He can't talk to any of the humans, but he can talk to the other horses and animals, and thus you have to arrange your strategy and recruitment as such.
