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Do you use the word "protagonist" to refer to the leading character or to any playable character?
- Thread starter DiipuSurotu
- Start date
I mean in general I use protagonist(s) to refer to leading character(s). A work of fiction can have dozens of protagonists.
If identifiable, I'll use main character to refer to a singular character that most of the story is experienced from the PoV of.
If identifiable, I'll use main character to refer to a singular character that most of the story is experienced from the PoV of.
I use it for the lead characters. Like I'd consider both Joel and Ellie to be the protagonist, because Ellie is playable for a while and the game is as much about her journey as it is about Joel's, even if Joel is the framing device.
For an ensemble, like Final Fantasy VII, I'd call Cloud the protagonist because the game is focused on him.
For an ensemble, like Final Fantasy VII, I'd call Cloud the protagonist because the game is focused on him.
Yeah, it's clearly Ashe.
Vaan is more important than people give credit, but it's her story.
Definitely.
I had ingrained into my mind when she's the main theme of the AR Max disc I have.
The protagonist doesn't even have to be the character you play as. Your character can be in a supporting role plot-wise.
It's better to not mix the terms, I think.
Protagonist is the lead of the narrative.
Playable characters are the characters the player gets to control.
A character can be both, but these are technically two independent aspects of a character.
It's better to not mix the terms, I think.
Protagonist is the lead of the narrative.
Playable characters are the characters the player gets to control.
A character can be both, but these are technically two independent aspects of a character.
Here's an even better debate.
Ashe is the main character, but the game is told from Vaan's POV. Regardless it doesn't matter because Balthier is the one true MC anyway.
Anyway I call them main characters not protags.
There are plenty of characters in games/media, they tend to only have 1 or a few Protagonists. Calling all the main cast of FFIX protagonists (as much as I love them) would be overdoing it a bit. But ultimately it's all splitting hairs.
OP
OP
Lmao yeah I wanted to check how people generally use the term ^^
Here's an even better debate.
It's Vaan, though it was supposed to be Basch.
Don't believe Nomura's lies!
Definitely the first. You can have multiple playable characters and some or all of them could share the role or protagonist if they're written as equal leads in the story, but there are instances where a playable character will simply be there as just that. Another playable character. Take Kingdom Hearts III for example. Riku is certainly not a protagonist, that role solely belongs to Sora.
Here's an even better debate.
Ashe - Protagonist
Vaan - Supporting Protagonist
Balthier - Deuteragonist
Master Chief, Cortana, and Sgt. Johnson are all protagonists in my opinion. Each has an active role in the games.
Games like Deus Ex and Dishonored, at least with Corvo in the first game, tend to have a single protagonist.
Games like Deus Ex and Dishonored, at least with Corvo in the first game, tend to have a single protagonist.
It means the first option, but the answer to the question in the title is that no, I usually don't. I call them the main character or whatever.
OP
OP
Do people really use the word deuteragonist? I thought it was just a cool word in technical glossaries that nobody actually uses in real life.
I don't think so, I haven't run into anybody that does either. I was just being cute lol
I use it, very helpful for moments like this. I feel like it's fairly self-defining and it's frequently applicable.
MC is the only protagonist there, Cortana is a main character (specifically the deuteragonist), and Johnson is a supporting character.
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Here's an even better debate.
Vaan, while important for how he impacts Ashe and how his orphaning contextualizes the struggle, simply acts as the player's avatar, because he's the one to whom exposition and explanations are offered.
Ashe is certainly the leading heroine, for all Balthier's talk. It's chiefly her story — just look at the focus of the opening cinematic.
Anyway, for the OP: it depends. Some games have ensembles so evenly important that there's no one protagonist. Others have different leads depending on the act. So "protagonists" can be right, even in that sense.
Main character, hate the use of protagonist in video games... when did this start happening as it just seems of someone wanting to give videos games a classier image...
Never heard of anyone referring to the main character as protagonist when growing up. Mario, sonic... are these protagonists or main characters ?? Lol
Never heard of anyone referring to the main character as protagonist when growing up. Mario, sonic... are these protagonists or main characters ?? Lol
You make it sound like "protagonist" is uppity. It's a very simple, basic word in any narrative context. Class isn't really relevant.
I read a lot of books so I use protagonist. Also I vaguely remember some narration of stories in tv at the start introducing the main character as a protagonist of the storyl
My point is that it's a term that hasn't always been used.. and to me it's very uppity
Could be and I'm not arguing that 😀
I'm just trying to point out when did it start to become more of a term for the main character in a video game rather than main character ?
I just don't use it or like it that's all. Not trying to argue anyone is right or wrong 😀
I don't think the balance of usage has shifted at all, except maybe in proportion to a rise in the number of games coming out with a greater focus on narrative. I guarantee people have been using the term protagonist since games have had stories.
And the word's meaning really isn't ambiguous, or something to argue. It's definitely a right or wrong thing.
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It has always been used. It has nothing to do with games versus other mediums and everything to do with storytelling. If a game has a story, it has a protagonist
I think the balance of usage has changed though. At least I never used it as a child or in my teens or even in my 20's, but I could be from a different generation to you. Or culturally from where I'm from (my local set of friends) it just wasn't used. I can't remember what main characters were referred to in video game magazines when I was a kid I can't back this up with facts other then my memory / perception of my past.
Main characters ftw!!
The main character usually is the protagonist, but not always.
Also games with a focus on narrative have gotten more popular and commonplace since the 90s