Before you read I will say, this is 100% my opinion and I'm not trying to force it on you. Feel free to disagree Think about your favorite games in terms of story. What made them so good? When I call my favorite games to mind I always see a certain similarity. They all featured a truly human character, not a static character who features no growth throughout the course of the narrative. Let me explain. As an example I will use one of the best examples, The Last of Us. This took a very washed out and unoriginal genre and twisted it into a memorable and incredible feat of a game. You follow the character Joel as he leads this younger girl (I forgot her age) Ellie across the US to get to...a place (I'm not spoiling, even minor ones). The game really shined because there really was never a definitive antagonist, and even if the player saw one as an antagonist when you flip the perspective everything goes into the grey area. Take our main character, we are used to having the protagonist be, well, a protagonist. But Joel was not, if anything he was more of antagonist. Why? Well think about what happens over the course of the game, as a player, you'll usually agree with his decisions as you care about the survival of him and Ellie. But step back and look at the grand scheme and arch of consequences that occur do to his actions. In terms of him and Ellie, he did good, but in terms of humanity he didn't. Take the ending, as a player we agree with his decision, hell any parent would make it. But think about what he did, and you'll understand why he is more of an antagonist then protagonist. A human story has to deal with the grey area of the world. Where moral lines get crossed in order for personal gain or survival. Tough decisions always make a narrative more impactful. Seeing a character develop, change, and possibly fall apart throughout the course of a game is always more entertaining and personal. It's time for gaming narratives to move away from the always doing good protagonist. Move away from stories where the character you play as is static, the empty body that moves and shoots a gun. A story that is predictable, shallow, unoriginal, un-innovative, and does make the player think about what is occurring will never be as good as one that does. Even games that give the player the false idea that his decisions effect the narrative will be better then one that does not give the option, or takes the easy/good way out. Does that mean all games should feature player choice? No, you can make a linear narrative impactful, like in the example, The Last of Us. That's not even taking into mind gameplay, which amplifies the effects much greater. So what narratives do you like? The gun toting heros we see in games like Battlefield, Call of Duty, and Halo. Or the Fleshed out Human characters we see in Farcry 3 and The Last of Us Before I close I will say this. I know some of you will argue that Master Chief can't officially be considered a gun toting hero who isn't fleshed out. And I will give you this, if it's wasnt for 343 showing his actual human side rather then his super soldier metal he would be. I anticipate that we will begin to see Chief in a more human way. Also about Far Cry 3, yes I know Jason Brody was the gun toting hero that saved his friends and killed dozen apon dozens of enemies to achieve it, but look at how he evolves. He becomes insane, he forms a bloodlust throughout the story do to characters like Buck and Vaas. Especially Vaas, who truly drives the idea of insanity not only into Jason's mind, but the player. If he didnt intimidate you at some point then you missed out. And the Alice in Wonderland Quotes drove the idea even farther. Thoughts?