<h1>Gaming: What Not To Do in a Story</h1>
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<p>I would call myself a gamer as somebody who as played a variety of games. Without a doubt, some are more well done than others in many ways, however you see it. Today though, I am going to talk about an important element in a lot of games: story. This is a huge factor in some awesome games, such as Danganronpa or OneShot. The problem is some games' stories are incredibly rushed or even become trash for reasons I will talk about today. Be aware, I'm no expert, and I will not cover this in depth, but this is more a personal opinion of what could cripple a story.</p>
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<h2>The Protagonist</h2>
<p>Writing a good protagonist in a game is really hard in about anything. The thing is, if you can pull off a really good one, the game is that much better.
<p>For a protagonist, I have usually have three main complaints.</p>
<ul>
  <li>The protagonist is a self insert customable, so you don't really get a true personality out of them. (That's about 50% of the protagonists.)</li>
  <li>The character is their own character, but the epitome of genereric and has little development.</li>
  <li>The protagonist has the <em>worst</em> of the main three terrible fates; they're a Mary Sue/Gary Stu.</p>
</ul>
<p>Now you may ask, "Geez, Kiri, why do you care so much about a good protagonist?" I know that's what some of you are thinking. You see, a good protagonist makes a game so much better. Think if you were playing Pokemon, but instead of a semi-mute child that just stood there and threw Pokeballs for you, they actually have a distinct personality. They would talk to others and have an opinion. You would see their struggles and reactions to events. Wouldn't that be intersting?</p>
<p>All in all, my advice is this little sentence. "The protagonist is the most important character." If your character isn't likeable or interesting, I recommend maybe trying something new or taking a risk with it.
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<h2>Characters</h2>
<p>I just stressed how potentially amazing a good protagonist is in a game, but the characters are also <strong>VERY</strong> important in story heavy games. Look, let's be honest. If the protagonist is the only intersting character in anything, chances are, the game won't be very interesting. My least favorite trends in characters are the following.
  <ol>
    <li>They're stereotyped/cliche. Look. We've seen these so much. Like that guy who has a tragic backstory but doesn't have the time to saying anything, classic hotheads with little development, the smart guy/girl who doesn't do much more than being the smart guy/girl, or that pathetic healer lady. <strong>Bleh.</strong></li>
    <li>They only have one little quirk or skill that makes them intersting. Like one hit wonders almost. Such as, "Hey, they can shoot a bow." Or, "Hey, they like to sing." Be honest. If a character lost just one trait about themselves, would they still be intersting? If not, they still might be unfinished.</li>
    <li><mark1>THERE IS LITTLE TO NO DEVELOPMENT.</mark1> Look, I know this is #3, but I'm making an emphasis on this because I hate characters that never development. Sure, it's not as bad as having a poor character in the first place, but by barely. The difference is a grain of sand, barely there.
    </li>
</ol>
    <p>I'm no expert on characters, so feel free to look at resources online on how to create a good character, but many people on the internet do! (That sounds so wrong when I say it outloud.) I personally found <a href="https://www.gamedesigning.org/learn/character-design/">this guide</a> short but to the point on how to make a great character. (I'm sorry about the picture used on that website, but I can't do anything about it.)</p>
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    <h2>The Conflict and Motivations</h2>
    <p>Well, you got good characters? Good for you! Now, why are they the main characters in the game in the first place? Why are they there? Why do they strive to their goal? Motivation and conflict should be the answer to this question. Look at some awesome protagonists from other games.</p>
    <ul> 
      <li>Take Hajime Hinata from Danganronpa 2. Sure, it did seem like he was a reskin of Makoto Naegi at first, but as the game goes on, you see he has very different opinions than the previous protag. It intersting to witness his opinions on how he sees himself, and his actions in the last trial are understandable. I won't spoil it, but I'll just say it was a blast.</li>
      <li>Another good example would be </li>
    </ul>