Saving the World at Puberty

by Gabriel Ang

I'm pretty sure everyone noticed how young Video Game Heroes are these days. For the past few years, it seems as though video game characters are getting younger and younger. These days, lead characters and the rest of the cast tend to range from their early 20's to as young as six! (Eiko in FFIX). Some people before might have wondered how people that young could go off and save the world, but nowadays it's no surprise to gamers to see really young heroes and heroines. The real reason why game companies decided to put the characters, at least most of them, in the teenage range is beyond me, but I have a few guesses as to why.

One of the probable reasons as to why game companies make them young is how the players can associate with them. As some statistics say, most gamers today are in their teens and early twenties. Pschologically speaking, players can get to associate and bond with the characters because they near the same age. Saying that, the player associates with the characters feelings, moods etc. that he himself feels or felt. The player can pretty much understand and analyze the character better with a smaller age gap. This helps pull the player deeper into the persona of the character.

Another reason could be that the young characters, in their age and the hormones rushing in their blood, tend to be more susceptible to emotions. Being as young as they are, most of the young characters will be feeling these emotions for the first time in their lives. They are relatively inexperienced in dealing with these things, making their reactions more dynamic. This way, the players can see into the characters beings by the way they react. This also offers a more radical and introspective experience in the game, allowing us a very deep view into each character. This gives each character more depth in their personality, adding to a more diverse gaming experience.

The relative young age of the characters also gives a sense idealism within each character. Their relatively innocence to the world outside their homes shows that they are naive to the outside world. This instills in each character and player a sense of discovery, mystery and exploration. This gives each player and character a sense of excitement, with their desire to explore the world before them, and in the process vanquish the evil their bound to encounter.

Whatever the reason may be, it can't be denied that it is important for each gamer to get attached to the characters for a better gaming experience. With this in mind, game developers set out to create characters each gamer can associate with. This allows for a more fulfilling game experience.