You mean like your avatar or any of those pics in your sig?

more MC

Well said.  That's a good observation.

A female like Claire Redfield, someone not trying to be sexy to sell a game, but just a normal woman trapped in a bad situation who uses her wits and bravery to escape (Sort of an anti-Lara Croft).

I also like a wiry fast hero. One that can't take many hits but if used correctly can do amazing things. I love the feeling of diving into a mob of enemies, out maneuvering all of them and emerging from the pack unscathed with fallen enemies all around (like Sonic the Hedgehog but more vulnerable to damage).

Sexy female robots that have no emotions and only want to destroy humanity. Or something..

Well it seems to me like game writers can't write for humans at all, so I say bring on the inanimate objects. I want a talking flying burrito, or a cinder block, or a toilet seat, to save the world, or save the forest, and learn something about friendship on the way, or whatever.

I think some variation in age would be nice. Gamers are getting older but game characters are staying young and boring. Eventually we'll all be 50 and playing as androgynous 16 year olds with swords for arms and with a fairy for a sidekick. I'd like to play as an older character that isn't the one-dimensional Snake Pliskin. The OP had a great idea with the baby though. The babies in Yoshi's Island don't count, since you play as Yoshi. I want a baby to crawl around in a diaper, like in Baby's Day Out or Mr. Magoo or something, around all kinds of zany and/or wacky calamities, and foil some sort of terrorist plot. The more nukes involved the better.

someone that doesnt cross-dress or isnt of some other species of creature.

This got me thinking about what protagonists I've actually liked, and made me realize... barely any, and even then, usually not because they're well-developed, because the vast majority of game writers (possibly all of them) suck. So I'm left with a bunch of brainless beefcakes and Mario. I'm gonna side with Mario every time.


Some of my favorite protagonists so far have been the universal "Everyman" type of character, like Mario. He's just a fat dumb plumber who gets sucked into wacky adventures, and doesn't need a chainsaw, a gun, a cigar, a six-pack, and a devil-may-care attitude to do it. It could've been me! Same goes for Jade from Beyond Good and Evil. She's a photographer who works at an orphanage and then gets sucked into wacky adventures, and doesn't need long blonde hair, giant tits, and a gun for an arm to do it. Other "Everyman" characters it's easy to identify with are Gordon Freeman and the guy from Out of this World, and sometimes the voiceless nobody like Crono or Chell works too. They all kick ass without bionic implants and/or insane training to do so (Samus, Master Chief, Mega Man, everybody, etc.).

For characters I can't identify with but like due to their personality, Wario was cool since his motivation was always greed and you just steal gold. I liked Abe from the first Oddworld. I never played the sequels, but he was cool in the first one. I like Donkey Kong 'cuz he wears a tie. Any time I had a guy named Wolfgang in X-COM he became my favorite guy in the squad and I'd give him the best weapons and armor and protect him until he got promoted to the top.

Can't think of any other protagonists that weren't boring as hell. I liked Terra/Tina from FF6, but I don't know if you can call her the protagonist. It's more of an ensemble cast not starring any particular character.

Man protagonists suck.

An old lady.

Maybe a little girl whose parents are killed by space pirates, brought up by a an alien race, growing up to be an intergalactic bounty hunter
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