Setting the tone: Average Heroics

Where better to be mauled to death?

As you may or may not have noticed, today in most games your choice of hero and weapon is usually based upon two factors, statistics and aesthetics. While there is nothing wrong with this it does deny you a great amount of immersion that could come from a more in depth, mid-game form of character creation in a game. Imagine this, a post apocalyptic world. You, one of few survivors, a average person in your life before the world fell into chaos and destruction. You are tasked with fighting off a starving wolf. Obviously this may seem like a fairly underwhelming fight for a hero of your status in most games, but not in this one. See your not some next generation bad ass from outer space with a death wish and nothing to lose in this game, you are a . You back peddle further into a ally way becoming trapped, of course you trip in fear and fall back as the wolf slowly approaches you. Your hand flails to the side of you, you clutch the lid of a aluminum trash can. Drawing on all your Captain America like strength you stand up in a rush holding it front of you with hopes that it may help you. The animal draws nearer, fangs drawn.Still you back peddle until you feel the wall bump against you. Here it comes, the animal begins a full sprint. While you squinting your eyes thrust forward your makeshift shield as it lunges towards you. A lucky shot lands throwing the beast to your side, now for most games this is where you would tap X and do a mob style beat down on the poor beast but no, your no hero remember? You run, as fast as you can. You break out of the shadow of the ally blinded momentarily by the sun as it comes into vision. You head into a full sprint across the debris ridden streets filled with wild grass and abandoned vehicles. A crash of boxes and cans comes from behind ensuring you the beast is still after you. You need to get somewhere high, you take a sharp turn down a unfamiliar street in hopes that you may find your salvation. Its gaining ground and fast. Your eyes begin pacing the landscape ahead of you searching for anywhere you may be able to hide. Ahead a chain fence comes into view, dogs cant climb. You dash for it, you have never hopped a fence before, it cant be that hard. You hit the fence and immediately it slams you back down. Scrambling back to a upright you go at it again this time slowly making your way up. The uncut wires above the fence dig into your palms. Your chest feels the sting as it comes over the top railing. You land hard against the pavement winded and cut. The animal slams into the fence inches from your face causing you to fly upwards to your feet. It cant get to you. For now.




The basic premise I hope the scenario depicted in your mind was the idea that running from something can be just as fun as killing it. Not all hero's need to be a Dovahkin (although it would be pretty bad ass.) A average human being can have just as much of a impact on player imersion as the player will feel just as much (if not more) of a sense of dread when presented with a dangerous situation.


Although I do acknowledge that the idea of running rather than fighting not to avoid the fight but because you simply can not win does have its flaws as games are meant to entertain the player, this brings me to my next point, the mechanics of the game.