Companionship. One of the enduring traits of humanity is the desire for company, so that we don't have to go through this life alone. It's why we surround ourselves with family and friends; why we include ourselves in society and why, deep down, we just want to be loved. Or something like that, I dunno. I'm just trying to justify the reason that we connect in such a strong way to fictional characters in media. Such to a degree that we feel like we care about them. Just look at the cast of Game of Thrones, (Ignoring season 8) and how many people, including myself, felt genuinely distraught after the brutal murder of our favourite character. Or the fan petitions for the heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when... Infinity war happened and then... endgame happened. (Still not sure about the time frame for spoiler etiquette.) If portrayed right, fans can end up caring about these fictional creations as though they were real, breathing friends.
Video games are no different. In fact, sometimes Video game characters and companions can evoke an even greater degree of affinity then any movie character could hope to inspire. Perhaps it is a result of the immersion that a well realised game world can create; a testament to the authenticity of a vision that inspires authentic emotion. The same something special that has us thinking on a story long after we put the controller down, wracking our brains over decisions we made and the people we lost. RPG's especially seem to key into this mindset, at least for me, with the best examples presenting you with companions that you would defend in a heartbeat. But why is it that we find ourselves in these positions? Why do we care about the fate of those that are, ultimately, not real? Well, a few factors go into play.
The first I want to discuss is: Authenticity. It's a word I use a lot when describing fictional worlds that feel real but are not necessarily a reflection of reality, such as the worlds of Game of Thrones, The Elder Scrolls, The Witcher, Dragon Age, Even the Divinity Series. However, I want to stress the fact that authenticity is distinct from accuracy. An accurate fictional world attempts to capture all the details, big and small, of it's subject, whether in visual depiction, feeling or both. An authentic fictional world seeks to offer viewers something they've never seen before whilst presenting it in a manner so that they believe that such a place could exist. If a world feels authentic, then it helps make the people in that world feel authentic too. If we allow ourselves to fall for the fiction that a world magic can exist, is it so hard to for us to then believe in the sprites that inhabit that world?
Secondly, the writing of a character comes into play. An extension upon authenticity, the quality of writing plays a huge role in making the audience buy into the fiction. Vain creatures as we are, humans respond to traits and characteristics that reflect ourselves. We respond better to humanoid features like expressive eyes and facial hair, which is why anime characters have big eyes and CG Thanos from the MCU sports almost imperceptible stubble. We also like characters that demonstrate strength whilst also showing weakness, which is why some of the most enduring characters of pop culture can be flawed heroes like John Marston or Ezio. We want to see ourselves represented because we can recognize ourselves, and once we cross that threshold it becomes easier to see these imaginary creations as friends.
Thirdly, I believe interaction with the characters has a part to play. Now, 'interaction' is a difficult one because the exact meaning shifts if we're talking about a movie, book or game; but what I essentially mean by 'Interaction' is how close the perspective of the viewer is to that character. As in, is this a recurring character, is this character a friend, is the viewer in the shoes of that character, et cetera. Video Games have been establishing a close comradeship with it's cast through the use of companion characters for years. Those who share your adventure with you and save your life time and time again. In my exploration of emotive characters in fiction I want to first start with companions in gaming.
I could hardly go 5 minutes of talking video game companions without bringing up my favourite cast of characters from Fallout: New Vegas. In New Vegas, players are given a story of many sides as you are thrown into the middle of a war over the Mojave dam. Oodles of factions vie for the control over New Vegas and for you to help them achieve it, creating a situation where the player can find it difficult to know who to trust. Luckily for you, the player is given a whole host of memorable personalities to share the burdens of the land of sin with. Boone, Veronica, Cass, Arcade Ganon, Rex, Raul... and Lily, I guess.
The companions in Fallout games are the type that travel the wastes with you, risking life and limb, so they already share that instant bond-through-battle. However, in New Vegas the game takes it one step further. The cast of New Vegas are more than just hired guns, they are people with their own stories, troubles and dilemmas that they are in the process of dealing with when the courier walks into their lives. They care about the actions and decisions you make throughout the game and can come to respect or despise you in relation to the sides you choose in the coming conflict. Additionally, they all have a point at which they will trust the player enough to let them into their personal issues giving the player a way to help them out and through it.
Companion quests are what really push the New Vegas group into being a team you really care about as a player. They are exquisitely presented deep dives into that individual's world and troubles. Whether you're helping Boone open up about the death of his wife or Veronica come to terms with the prospect of leaving the only family she ever knew, you are positioned at a formulative moment in that person's life with the power to shape the person that they then become. Is there any greater sense of responsibility than helping to raise someone into the person they need to be? Most parents would likely argue not. In a way, that is the position that New Vegas places you in with it's cast. You become the parent and the companions are your children. The courier is never really an equal to his crew but more acts as a mentor. That is likely why it is so easy to care for that particular band of rogues.
The Witcher has a slightly different approach to endearing it's characters. Benefiting from being able to draw from Andrzej Sapkowski's novel series of the same name, 'The Witcher' game series did not need to spend time creating and introducing us to characters. Although most of the audience were not familiar with the fantasy novels, CD Projekt Red still opted to frame their tales in medias res; expecting the audience to pick up the story and cast as the went along. With a few clever drops of exposition here and there, soon everyone was familiar with Triss Merigold, Vesemir, Yennefer and Cirilla.
CDPR didn't need to have these characters follow Geralt around because they were already integrated so close to the story as Geralt's closest friends. With the player being put in the shoes of Geralt, it isn't too surprising why the audience comes to love them as much as he does. The Witcher is a very special RPG in the way that it allows for choice and consequence whilst still featuring established characters in a grounded, usually personal narrative. This means that the player may influence the direction of events but they never feel like the orchestrator of them, like anyone in life, really. A benefit of this approach is that the writers had an easier time directing the emotion of narrative, manipulating the audience into caring for people close to Geralt by familiarising the audience with their very human attributes. Ultimately, The strength of the Witcher's cast is a testament both to Andrzej Sapkowski's talent of crafting characters and CD Projekt Red's talent for utilising them.
So we come to Bioware. I speak of the team with a lot of high regard in terms to storytelling, and that is especially true with Dragon Age: Origins. As a traditional RPG series, Dragon Age is rife with memorable villains and companions in every entry; however, for my money the strongest lie in the original. This is both due to the framing of that story and the cast itself. Dragon Age: Origins was a story all about relationships, relationships between people, factions and nations. The Warden was tasked with uniting a country in order to save it's people, even when that country seems intent on tearing itself apart. You have to mend the shattered allegiances of Ferelden whilst working alongside a crew of, no other word for it, misfits. The sweet spy, Leliana; The wise teacher, Wynne; The bastard prince, Alistair; The suave assassin, Zeveran; The irritable witch, Morrigan; The apathetic golem, Shale; The drunken dwarf, Oghren and The faithful canine, Dog. Oh and Sten. I don't like Sten.
Almost every companion is diverse and intriguing in that way that Bioware can pull of better than anyone else. These are teammates that you fight and grow alongside and, just like New Vegas, the more time you spend with them the more they open up about themselves. The difference here is that you are very much on their level in Dragon Age, opening up your own weaknesses as they share theirs, and becoming a leader as they become who they are meant to be. Of course this means companion quests, which is my favourite way of solidifying a friendship, and even budding relationships as you progress with your team. You start of unifying a team of stranger and end off facing the end of world with a squad of stalwart friends and colleagues. And Sten.
Final Fantasy 15 is another game with an absolutely great cast of characters. Grounded with the presentation of a road trip, and yet vast in the story of a chosen prince rising in order to face off against The Star Scourge. For FF15 the close interaction between the player, Noctis Lucis Caelum and his friends was the driving heart of the story. You would travel the road with them, meet new people, camp under the stars and just about do everything you would do on a road trip with real friends. (I assume.) Noctis travels the world with his best friend, Prompto; his royal advisor, Ignis and his royal protector, Gladiolus; and they all had a part to play in that coming of age story turned struggle between light and dark.
Final Fantasy is no stranger to emotional moments, with every game having at least one heart wrenching moment. They always focus around character driven moments and motives that expand your understanding of the people you share your party with. FF15 pushes this one step further, in my opinion, by basing the entire narrative around a close group of friends sacrificing their childhoods, their freedoms and eventually even some of their lives, in such a beautiful narrative. I may have even shed a tear once or twice. (Or I openly bawled three separate times.) Final Fantasy is just that well written, that even on it's fifteenth entry it can still introduce new characters that delight and surprise you and can leave you feeling hollow in their absence.
It would impossible for me to rattle off every single great companion in every Video Game; but I have provided a small petri dish of those that, I believe, present the fictional characters that most accurately represent friends. They all excel in traits that I think are necessary in making the fake seem real. They are all complex, vulnerable and unique; indicative of great writing and implementation. But why do we care so much about these fictional inventions?
Perhaps that is more of a question for a psychologist, however, from my point of view it comes down to that original trait of humanity I talked about; wanting not to be alone. Not that I'm accusing all the world of being lonely, but I believe us humans are hardwired to seek companionship wherever we can, even in the stories we read and the games we play. I can't say whether it is healthy to have one's entire group of friends exist entirely as a cast in some story, but there isn't any harm in connecting with a story that touches us in way we didn't expect. So maybe friends can be electric.
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