HOUSEKEEPING'S PROFILE

author=NewBlack
there are two main types of MC

Self-inserts and self-inserts in denial.

The quality of the execution varies wildly, though.

(other insert would be the distant third)

Just to expand on this--and I think it's basically right--the term "self-insert" can be as little as pulling from your own personality, worldview, morals, etc--it's not a 1:1 thing. It's impossible to divorce the author from the character completely, but it is possible to have a character very much unlike the author who is rooted because of some deep emotional sincerity of the author. I'd say that's the key to writing a believable character that's not precisely the author. It's like having a character react to a situation in a way you wouldn't, but the psychological reasoning for reacting in that way is similar to how you would normally react to it.

Edit: Unity, Adaptation's definitely worth a watch.

Yeah, I don't think he'd ever be fired for this, apology or not. This was just the case of people not realizing the impact of their own voices on the internet when it's an aggregate thing. Same thing with cyber bullying--one 13-year old calls someone a racial slur ironically and it's just a stupid kid, but when tens of thousands of 13-year-olds do it it's labeled as a hate group and it can be read as a disturbing racist undercurrent. This was just a certain percentage of people with sticks up their asses that comment on everything that can even be partially considered sexist, and this time it got national attention because of the gonzo factor, and the saddest part about it is that this guy's probably never going to wear his space babe shirt anymore, which means the other scientists can't make fun of it behind his back.

Am I the only person who thinks this is the greatest pitch they've ever heard? I mean, the blonde girl alone. Why is she blonde? How does she know Lindsay? Then there's the central premise. We all know that Lindsay Sterling is a magical violin-playing nymph from times long past, so to get to see her backstory is just perfect.

You should all feel ashamed for stamping on this girl's dreams. If I had the time to devote to this project, I'd slip you my résumé, but all I can do is hope that you go forward with this project.

Men interact with each other in shitty and tropey ways, too. I mean, it's hard for me to get mad about women being treated as sex objects in video games when male protagonists are hyperviolent meatheads (or, in the case of jrpgs, socially awkward, naive boys from the provinces). My perspective's always been that video game writing generally sucks and that if we address that problem, the problems with representation will probably work themselves out, anyway. A writer worth their salt wouldn't have a character as a sex object or power fantasy; they'd treat them as human beings.

Pushing for diversity in games is good on a macro level, but, when it comes to writing your own stuff, don't try to force anything. Your players will be able to tell if something's forced; you don't want to end up with a corporate-feeling BK Kid's Club for your party. At the end of the day, your characters should feel inspired, regardless of the party composition, and as long as they feel inspired and come off as real people, I don't think your players will care if any particular demographic is missing. That's just if you're making a character-centric jrpg, of course. If you're making a game with western leanings in which the player character is an avatar for the player, then it's best to make about every option available (unless it contradicts with the game world in some way).