Some of you may remember this. I posted it in RMXP Discussion months ago. Then the hacker came along and that thread essentially became useless. Now that this Tutorial section has come along, I figure I might as well dig it up again.
Originally written for the never-finished E-Zine, the bulk of this concerns past villains of my RM2K game Clean Slate, but some Master of the Wind villains are discussed as well, so here's a spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't played Arc I and plans to. (Sig FTW!)
Without further ado...
The Nature of Evil: A Guide to Interesting Villains
By Volrath
Unless you're born with an extreme amount of storytelling talent, creating a complex and interesting villain takes practice. During childhood, we're told stories that simplify good and evil to the absolute degree, and hope to instill some moral responsibility into our young souls. Disney villains, in particular, are paper-thin. (Except for Scar in The Lion King, he's pretty interesting. I would explain why, but that leads to discussion of repressed homosexuality and other themes which aren't particularly relevant to this article.) There are some kids films, such as those of Hayao Miyazaki, that offer a more complex and realistic view of the world. Being an American, though, I didn't really discover those films until I was older.
Bottom line: The first time you attempt to tell a fantasy story of your own with heroes and villains, chances are they won't be the most layered of characters. It's a process that you go through as you get older and discover different kinds of stories. For the purposes of this piece, I'm going to extensively go through the process I went through the last time I had to come up with a major villain. The thought process I experienced changed the game completely, and I think that process is very instructive to all prospective RPG storytellers.
The game was Clean Slate, a project I made for RM2K from 2001-2005. The game is unreleased, and probably will remain so. I love to tell a story, but my mapping skills......not so much. In that game, the world was menaced by the Gallian empire, a nation with the goal of wiping every non-human off the face of the earth, justifying it with twisted religious rhetoric. It was meant to convey my immense disgust for religious fundamentalism (Islamic or Christian) being mixed in with government and military. Foremost among these dark crusaders was General Lysander Barca. Lysander (named after a Spartan general who fought in the Peloponnesian Wars, not the creator of "A Blurred Line") was a powerhouse, a vicious warrior skilled in both physical and magical combat. He led devastating massacres all over the world, but was best known for his assault on Rellenia, the elven capitol city. The place was left in ruins and Lysander became a new hero within the city of Gallia.
Pretty despicable dude, right? That's what I thought at first. I figured anyone who would do these things had to be the most callous scumbag in the history of life. That's exactly how I portrayed him at first. In his early scenes, he's making maniacal comments, lashing out indiscriminately, and even makes a joke about cheating on his wife. It seemed to work at first, but as the game moved along something came to me. This wasn't honest.
The fact is, and this was initially a little difficult for my NYU-educated liberal mindset to accept, religious fundamentalists are still people. They have feelings, dreams, ambitions and motivations. There were important questions I had to ask about Lysander. Why was he willing to fight so hard for these ideals? What made him believe what he believed? How could he shut his mind to the suffering of those he had killed?
Not easy questions. After some thought, I had the answer. Nobody is born with hate in their hearts. They learn it. The title Clean Slate, which originally was meant to comment on the amnesia of Arius, the main character, suddenly had much more meaning. We come into this world as clean slates, and as we grow up we are written on by the important people in our lives. This was what happened to Lysander. His father, Hamil Barca, dreamed for his son to be an even greater warrior than he was. He instilled the Gallian code into Lysander as soon as he could talk. There was one key scene depicting Lysander as a teen that paints a good picture of what he was taught. Lysander has just witnessed the murder of an elf:
Lysander: Why did this person have to die? (sob) In another life, he and I could have been friends.....or comrades. (pause) I'm sorry....
Hamil: You should be sorry! That kind of talk is blasphemous, Lysander! Remember the god you serve!
(At this point, Lysander's good natured little sister Molly, who managed to develop her own values despite the household she was living in, rushes to comfort him.)
Lysander: Thanks Molly, but Father is right. I must conquer these feelings if I will ever be able to serve Arcadius.
Hamil: Good, son. I knew you wouldn't let me down.
Now, none of this meant to be an excuse for Lysander's behavior. He could have followed Molly's example and stood up to his father, but he went down the path that led to fame and respect within Gallia . It's meant to be an explanation.
Another thing I realized was that growing up these kind of values must have made Lysander very committed to the idea of a traditional family. In other words, he would never ever cheat on his wife. As soon as I realized this, that line of dialogue went the way of the dodo. In fact, Lysander's unshakeable loyalty to his wife, Lynnia, and his son, Leonard, added another side to him; a side that was almost gentle.
Near the end of the game, the full extent of Lysander's motivations are revealed. As Arius and the other main characters stand in a position to strike the final blow against Gallia, Lysander must choose his next course of action. His friend, a psychic named Erva, tries to talk him into leaving the city and starting a new life somewhere else.
Erva: Lysander, please! Let's take your son and go! Even if Gallia wins this day, our time is ending. The world moves on......we can't expect to rule forever.
Lysander: There may be truth in what you say.....but I must not abandon the people of this city. I am the only one who can save them. (pause) For them, I will fight.
Taken out of context, this scene would make Lysander look like a stalwart hero! He sees himself as a protector of the Gallian way of life, but it has never occurred to him that a way of life that involves intolerance and murder is not worth defending. Eventually Lysander is killed in the final battle, ending Gallia's reign of terror. It was a victory for Arius and the other heroes, but many people who played Clean Slate told me that the victory came at a heavy price. They had felt sorry for Lysander. The pride I felt when I first heard this is something that all us RPG Makers deserve to experience at least once in our careers. And to think, I was just going to make him an colorless jerk.
At this point, you may be thinking: "Do I have to make all my villains that complicated? What about the bad guys you just love to hate? The ones that you can't wait to get your revenge on?"? Well, those kind of villains are valuable, too. Just remember that even the most obnoxious and depraved person has some kind of motivation. It doesn't have to be motivation we can necessarily sympathize with, either. For an example of this, I'll use another character in Clean Slate: Ariel D'Eleficent.
Ariel was a powerful sorceress who often fought alongside Lysander. Unlike Lysander, who killed for the sake of his mission and the city of Gallia, Ariel had a lot more fun helping to fulfill the Gallian dream of a world populated by humans alone. Of course, she wouldn't be afraid to kill a human if she felt like it. She was in love with Lysander, though, and desperate for his attention. Lysander, though, as we've discussed, was committed to his wife and had no intention of betraying that trust. It made Ariel more interesting, but no less evil. I don't think anyone who played the game was thinking "Oh, poor Ariel. Lysander won't return her love." It was probably more along the lines of "Man, Lysander's smart to stay away from a chick who's that batshit insane!"
Let's move on to another character. This time we'll draw from Master of the Wind, a game that ArtBane and I are currently collaborating on. The character is Andau, a vampire who menaces the seaside town of Port Arianna looking for fresh blood to drink. The sinister vampire is something of a stereotype in RPGs, much like the evil emperor, the dark knight, the hideous demon or the big stupid ogre. When you use a character like this, it becomes even more important to get under their skin. In Andau's case, he was a fairly normal young student who stumbled on to a young girl being chased by soldiers. Well, she was being chased for a reason. She was a vampire and her bite turned Andau into one as well. The player hears this back story when the two main characters, Shroud and Stoic, discover his diary while roaming around the dingy church that Andau has made his home. It suddenly made sense to them why the vampire so frequently targeted young girls. He was committed to a never-ending quest for vengeance.
Another way to make a neat villain is to go against type. Instead of an evil ogre, how about an evil elf? Instead of a corrupt old emperor, how about a sinister old woman who seems harmless at first? Elves are particularly effective because we have such a reinforced image of elves as these ethereal, soft-spoken, high and mighty mystics who talk about destiny and give us bitchin' swords. In Master of the Wind, there's an elf named Morias who enjoys robbing banks and setting explosive traps. It makes for a pretty subversive and entertaining character.
So what's the overall message here? Any kind of villain can be interesting as long as the depth is there. Only major villains deserve the long flashbacks and monologues treatment, but with smaller antagonists just make sure clues are given to their feelings and motivations. For my final example, I'll use a character I think we're all familiar with. The creators of Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII could have just relied on his badass long hair and huge sword to establish his villainy, but they didn't. Over the course of the game, we learn a good deal about him. Genetically engineered by Shin-Ra from the DNA of a hideous alien creature, he fought in Midgar's wars against Wutai. Eventually he discovered his origins, though, and that knowledge drove him mad. It also gave him a severe God complex. That's a cool story, and it makes for a compelling villain.
Originally written for the never-finished E-Zine, the bulk of this concerns past villains of my RM2K game Clean Slate, but some Master of the Wind villains are discussed as well, so here's a spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't played Arc I and plans to. (Sig FTW!)
Without further ado...
The Nature of Evil: A Guide to Interesting Villains
By Volrath
Unless you're born with an extreme amount of storytelling talent, creating a complex and interesting villain takes practice. During childhood, we're told stories that simplify good and evil to the absolute degree, and hope to instill some moral responsibility into our young souls. Disney villains, in particular, are paper-thin. (Except for Scar in The Lion King, he's pretty interesting. I would explain why, but that leads to discussion of repressed homosexuality and other themes which aren't particularly relevant to this article.) There are some kids films, such as those of Hayao Miyazaki, that offer a more complex and realistic view of the world. Being an American, though, I didn't really discover those films until I was older.
Bottom line: The first time you attempt to tell a fantasy story of your own with heroes and villains, chances are they won't be the most layered of characters. It's a process that you go through as you get older and discover different kinds of stories. For the purposes of this piece, I'm going to extensively go through the process I went through the last time I had to come up with a major villain. The thought process I experienced changed the game completely, and I think that process is very instructive to all prospective RPG storytellers.
The game was Clean Slate, a project I made for RM2K from 2001-2005. The game is unreleased, and probably will remain so. I love to tell a story, but my mapping skills......not so much. In that game, the world was menaced by the Gallian empire, a nation with the goal of wiping every non-human off the face of the earth, justifying it with twisted religious rhetoric. It was meant to convey my immense disgust for religious fundamentalism (Islamic or Christian) being mixed in with government and military. Foremost among these dark crusaders was General Lysander Barca. Lysander (named after a Spartan general who fought in the Peloponnesian Wars, not the creator of "A Blurred Line") was a powerhouse, a vicious warrior skilled in both physical and magical combat. He led devastating massacres all over the world, but was best known for his assault on Rellenia, the elven capitol city. The place was left in ruins and Lysander became a new hero within the city of Gallia.
Pretty despicable dude, right? That's what I thought at first. I figured anyone who would do these things had to be the most callous scumbag in the history of life. That's exactly how I portrayed him at first. In his early scenes, he's making maniacal comments, lashing out indiscriminately, and even makes a joke about cheating on his wife. It seemed to work at first, but as the game moved along something came to me. This wasn't honest.
The fact is, and this was initially a little difficult for my NYU-educated liberal mindset to accept, religious fundamentalists are still people. They have feelings, dreams, ambitions and motivations. There were important questions I had to ask about Lysander. Why was he willing to fight so hard for these ideals? What made him believe what he believed? How could he shut his mind to the suffering of those he had killed?
Not easy questions. After some thought, I had the answer. Nobody is born with hate in their hearts. They learn it. The title Clean Slate, which originally was meant to comment on the amnesia of Arius, the main character, suddenly had much more meaning. We come into this world as clean slates, and as we grow up we are written on by the important people in our lives. This was what happened to Lysander. His father, Hamil Barca, dreamed for his son to be an even greater warrior than he was. He instilled the Gallian code into Lysander as soon as he could talk. There was one key scene depicting Lysander as a teen that paints a good picture of what he was taught. Lysander has just witnessed the murder of an elf:
Lysander: Why did this person have to die? (sob) In another life, he and I could have been friends.....or comrades. (pause) I'm sorry....
Hamil: You should be sorry! That kind of talk is blasphemous, Lysander! Remember the god you serve!
(At this point, Lysander's good natured little sister Molly, who managed to develop her own values despite the household she was living in, rushes to comfort him.)
Lysander: Thanks Molly, but Father is right. I must conquer these feelings if I will ever be able to serve Arcadius.
Hamil: Good, son. I knew you wouldn't let me down.
Now, none of this meant to be an excuse for Lysander's behavior. He could have followed Molly's example and stood up to his father, but he went down the path that led to fame and respect within Gallia . It's meant to be an explanation.
Another thing I realized was that growing up these kind of values must have made Lysander very committed to the idea of a traditional family. In other words, he would never ever cheat on his wife. As soon as I realized this, that line of dialogue went the way of the dodo. In fact, Lysander's unshakeable loyalty to his wife, Lynnia, and his son, Leonard, added another side to him; a side that was almost gentle.
Near the end of the game, the full extent of Lysander's motivations are revealed. As Arius and the other main characters stand in a position to strike the final blow against Gallia, Lysander must choose his next course of action. His friend, a psychic named Erva, tries to talk him into leaving the city and starting a new life somewhere else.
Erva: Lysander, please! Let's take your son and go! Even if Gallia wins this day, our time is ending. The world moves on......we can't expect to rule forever.
Lysander: There may be truth in what you say.....but I must not abandon the people of this city. I am the only one who can save them. (pause) For them, I will fight.
Taken out of context, this scene would make Lysander look like a stalwart hero! He sees himself as a protector of the Gallian way of life, but it has never occurred to him that a way of life that involves intolerance and murder is not worth defending. Eventually Lysander is killed in the final battle, ending Gallia's reign of terror. It was a victory for Arius and the other heroes, but many people who played Clean Slate told me that the victory came at a heavy price. They had felt sorry for Lysander. The pride I felt when I first heard this is something that all us RPG Makers deserve to experience at least once in our careers. And to think, I was just going to make him an colorless jerk.
At this point, you may be thinking: "Do I have to make all my villains that complicated? What about the bad guys you just love to hate? The ones that you can't wait to get your revenge on?"? Well, those kind of villains are valuable, too. Just remember that even the most obnoxious and depraved person has some kind of motivation. It doesn't have to be motivation we can necessarily sympathize with, either. For an example of this, I'll use another character in Clean Slate: Ariel D'Eleficent.
Ariel was a powerful sorceress who often fought alongside Lysander. Unlike Lysander, who killed for the sake of his mission and the city of Gallia, Ariel had a lot more fun helping to fulfill the Gallian dream of a world populated by humans alone. Of course, she wouldn't be afraid to kill a human if she felt like it. She was in love with Lysander, though, and desperate for his attention. Lysander, though, as we've discussed, was committed to his wife and had no intention of betraying that trust. It made Ariel more interesting, but no less evil. I don't think anyone who played the game was thinking "Oh, poor Ariel. Lysander won't return her love." It was probably more along the lines of "Man, Lysander's smart to stay away from a chick who's that batshit insane!"
Let's move on to another character. This time we'll draw from Master of the Wind, a game that ArtBane and I are currently collaborating on. The character is Andau, a vampire who menaces the seaside town of Port Arianna looking for fresh blood to drink. The sinister vampire is something of a stereotype in RPGs, much like the evil emperor, the dark knight, the hideous demon or the big stupid ogre. When you use a character like this, it becomes even more important to get under their skin. In Andau's case, he was a fairly normal young student who stumbled on to a young girl being chased by soldiers. Well, she was being chased for a reason. She was a vampire and her bite turned Andau into one as well. The player hears this back story when the two main characters, Shroud and Stoic, discover his diary while roaming around the dingy church that Andau has made his home. It suddenly made sense to them why the vampire so frequently targeted young girls. He was committed to a never-ending quest for vengeance.
Another way to make a neat villain is to go against type. Instead of an evil ogre, how about an evil elf? Instead of a corrupt old emperor, how about a sinister old woman who seems harmless at first? Elves are particularly effective because we have such a reinforced image of elves as these ethereal, soft-spoken, high and mighty mystics who talk about destiny and give us bitchin' swords. In Master of the Wind, there's an elf named Morias who enjoys robbing banks and setting explosive traps. It makes for a pretty subversive and entertaining character.
So what's the overall message here? Any kind of villain can be interesting as long as the depth is there. Only major villains deserve the long flashbacks and monologues treatment, but with smaller antagonists just make sure clues are given to their feelings and motivations. For my final example, I'll use a character I think we're all familiar with. The creators of Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII could have just relied on his badass long hair and huge sword to establish his villainy, but they didn't. Over the course of the game, we learn a good deal about him. Genetically engineered by Shin-Ra from the DNA of a hideous alien creature, he fought in Midgar's wars against Wutai. Eventually he discovered his origins, though, and that knowledge drove him mad. It also gave him a severe God complex. That's a cool story, and it makes for a compelling villain.
