Character Development is Not a Problem

by Jenova 

Characters. Where would an RPG be without characters? Well, it'd be on the starting screen, because there wouldn't be any way to move. But seriously, an RPG where the characters have no depth or development isn't worth playing.

When I read a book, I expect the characters to have depth. I don't want the fighter to live for nothing but killing things. I want him to care about people or have outside interests. I want to have things to think about, which means I want the characters to have things to think about. If they're not challenged or questioned, why bother to read about them?

I feel the same way about RPGs. Maybe some people play them just for the gameplay, but if you just want to fight, why not play a fighting game? I see personality "flipflopping" as character development. Sometimes it's a bit sudden, but sometimes it's necessary for the game to progress. In Final Fantasy 8, Squall's "whatever" personality was interesting, but got old fast. I think if he hadn't started caring about Rinoa, I would be tempted to say "whatever" to him and quit playing the game.

As a further example, I can look to Final Fantasy 7. In fact, I think I will. At first, Cloud seems like an apathetic mercenary who doesn't care about anyone. Gradually, he finds meaning through Aeris, suffers through a complete loss of identity, and has to find meaning again thanks to desire for revenge and to Tifa's caring for him.

Many of the other characters in FF7 also develop during the game or play an important role in other ways:

• Barret: Macho posturing gives way to his true concern for the planet and for his adopted daughter.
• Tifa: She always knew the truth about Cloud, but she held her doubts privately out of concern for him. While this may not have been the best idea in retrospect, she was honestly doing her best. Despite her crush on him, she stands back and lets him work out his feelings for Aeris. Even when he's catatonic, she stays with him. Many video game characters sacrifice their personal lives for the greater good; it was refreshing to see someone be "selfish" for once. Tifa was a very realistic character who made human mistakes and tried to fix them when she realized them.
• Aeris: After questioning herself and her heritage, Aeris finally realizes that she has to make a decision and do something with her life instead of worrying.
• Red XIII: At first he seems very strong and single-minded, but at Cosmo Canyon you see an entirely different side of him.
• Yuffie: Yuffie is an excellent teenage character. She's very focused on her own goals, to the point of selfishness, but she does have a motivation for stealing materia, too.
• Vincent: Though an optional character, Vincent adds depth to the game by giving insight into the backstory. While we get some of Hojo's story elsewhere, the only real look we have at Lucrecia is through Vincent. And it's the backstory that really makes FF7 as popular as it is. People continue to write fanfic about FF7 because they want to explore what happened before the game as much as they want to explore what happened after.
• Cid: Like Barret, Cid is tough on the outside, but really cares about something. Cid's passion for space, and his despair at not being able to achieve his dream, make an excellent background for his character.
• The Turks: Not just Shinra-devoted, mindless killers, the Turks all have distinct personalities. They have a surprising amount of depth for bit characters. Rude and Reno know how to take a vacation, while Elena has the devotion of a young intern hoping for a steady position. Also, they show a certain amount of honor in agreeing not to fight in the end if you worked together earlier to save Elena.
• Sephiroth: In some ways, the way we see Sephiroth through the game brings him from the god-like status Cloud has him on in his flashbacks (and when you were level 7, Sephiroth's thousands of HP did seem godlike) to achievable status. By the time we reach him at the end of the game, levelling and materia have put us on an equal level with him. Not everything is explained. Gamers have to fill in some of the blanks themselves, and that makes the gaming experience both more personal and deeper.

While the Final Fantasy games, like all games, have some problems, character development is not one of them. When characters change and grow over the course of an RPG, it makes playing the game a richer experience. Players care more about characters they see develop over time. And if the players don't care about the characters, why are they playing the game?