KotOR 2 - Video Game Villains

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An editorial at EuroGamer titled 'Born Under a Bad Sign' discusses video game villains.
The author mentions that a video game villain should have these traits:
A proper videogame villain, as in literature, theatre and film, needs to be a consistent, compelling, and at least vaguely sympathetic entity; they arguably have to be the most fascinating character in any given story, because it is through their actions that the hero's journey is necessitated. And in videogames, designers have to go a step further: the villain's relationship with the player should ideally be interactive and dynamic.
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He also mentions how Ultima IV and V tried to do this while he thinks the main villain in SW: KOTOR 2 is the best one ever created.
Do you agree with the author about his points above? And do you agree that the main villain in KOTOR2 is the best one created yet ?
More information.
 
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Do you agree with the author about his points above? And do you agree that the main villain in KOTOR2 is the best one created yet ?
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Sorry but I don't agree. The best villain ever was the one in Anachronox. The "gangsterlike" one.
 
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*KotOR 1 spoiler*

Darth Malak of KotOR 1 stands out more for me. When you get to the end, as a good guy, and he has that line about how if he had been the one kidnapped by the jedi, would he have had the same chance for redemption that you did — that really got me. Maybe that was his only poignant moment in the game, but it was a good one that always stuck with me.
 
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I didn't like KotOR2's villians that much, and the "main" one was least intresting of all. The current Jedi Order's librarian was interesting though since she was always wearing white while being half corrupted by the dark side.

Personally I quite liked Jon Irenicus cause he was always a good combination of someone who is Insane and someone who follows cold Logic. His backstory is quite tragic as well.
Another good villain is Lezard Valeth from Valkyrie Profile series. That quotes from that dude are just priceless.
 
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That's a really good article. He hit most of the villains I would have picked, though I'd add Shodan and Irenicus at least, perhaps even Tolwyn from Wing Commander IV (albeit that ain't an RPG by any stretch). Kreia, The Master and TTO certainly deserve their place there though.

I think he should have used "empathetic" in his list rather than "sympathetic"- ie it's only necessary to understand their feelings/ motivations, rather than have any degree of agreement with them.
 
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I never played kotor2 but I highly doubt I'd say it was a great or even a best of the best villain.

The best ones is pretty subjective on what your personally looking for in any given story. Not many may even pick the same villain unless there's limited pickings.
 
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The only videogame villain that ever really stood out to me was Shodan. Brilliant and original. A villain article without shodan is poor research. Ahem!
 
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I certainly consider Kreia one of the best video game villains. She's amazing, especially if you manage to unlock all her dialogue.

Of course, I do agree with the posters in this thread pointing out that Malak and Irenicus are good villains as well, but I'd still put Kreia above them.
 
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the villain's relationship with the player should ideally be interactive and dynamic.
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Yeah ... Lord of the Rings would have been artistically impoverished if Sauron had not spent so much time on Frodo's Facebook page.
 
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Hmm...

Since I don't believe in the concept of evil, villains are kinda paradoxical for me - because they're not actually villains if they're plausible. Maybe antagonist is a better term.

SHODAN or Dr. Mastaba would be a couple of my favorites.
 
I've developed kinds of my own villians in my ongoing long-term writing project.
Unforttunately they are only scetches, so far.

A proper writer should develop a full biography of a villian, if he or she has to sound or/and be "believable".

I didn't do this so far, although there are a few points already developed.

It is interesting to see where this might lead me to. I didn't write villians before.

Most readers, however, and I'm *strongly* sure about that, will find "my" villians "ultimatively boring". Because in my project they are only relativbely "normal" people (as normal as let's say a black mage can be) who are just driven by the desire/wish for more power.

The *really* interesting thing for an author comes at the point when the biography is developed: Because then the biography should give reasons for this "desire for power". This could be anything. Childhood experiences, maybe, or that of a teenager … Have you seen The Incredibles ? This is an interesting concept of a villian based on teenager experiences. I don't say he's too interesting, to me he's a rather "basic villian", but I can learn from the concept.

Now, what I would want to create is originality. But since I do know that I can't achieve this - at least not now - I'm just beginning with unoriginality and stereotypes …
 
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I like complex villains so Kreia is one of the best I know. It even got me to change my own perspective on morality.

That said, the KOTOR1 twist is the most memorable in a video game ever.

I would also like to mention "sin" from Final Fantasy X. It's the most metaphorical villain I have seen in a game.
 
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Hmmmm It's unclear exactly what villain he means.
If this is about main antagonists, then KotoR 2 has nothing special to offer.
Both Darth Sion and Darth Nihilus hadn't much to add to the storyline.
In terms of back story, Sion is just another vengeful ghost/zombie figure which has been done quite a lot before.
And for Nihilus almost nothing is revealed about his past.

If they mean Kreia, of even Revan then I can understand what they mean.
 
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DArtagnan said:
He didn't say ultimate villain in Lord of the Rings - he said ultimate villain.
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Which is a silly thing. How can you have an "ultimate" villain across stories set in different universes and different genres even. It's like when SF fans argue whether the Death Star could take on V'ger or whatever.
 
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BillSeurer said:
Which is a silly thing. How can you have an "ultimate" villain across stories set in different universes and different genres even. It's like when SF fans argue whether the Death Star could take on V'ger or whatever.
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I can't answer for him, and I think Sauron is a strong antagonist. Not because he's plausible and not because he's nuanced in any way. But because he fits with the universe and Tolkien made it very plain what kind of universe that was, and you either learn to accept it or not. But his descriptions and way of making Sauron an ever-present malice worked brilliantly for myself - and the rich and consistent lore helped to support it all.

Consistency is key, and pure fantasy is pure fantasy.

But, as for ultimate villain - I think that's very subjective. Nothing silly about it, really, because some characters will make a greater impression upon you than others - no?
 
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