Haxed Characters In-Depth: Beyond the Text Wall

[Starter_Pack]

This may be rather simplistic, but the further the character is from a central role (and still be fundamental in the setting) the easier it is to give them great powers and handle them properly without compromising the story.

I wholeheartedly agree. In fact, even though he isn't a hax powerhouse (at least, in general), that's why I really like Solus from Owlboy. He's always there, but he never highlights himself until the last quarter of the game. Most of the time, you're always thinking Molstrom is gonna be the end of it, until Solus turns that right on its head. (Though, saying much else about it would spoil the ending of a good game, no?)

 

[The_real_cal_howard]

I wholeheartedly agree there too. It's best to not make stupidly hax characters main characters. You'll get so many fans going "Just use ____ move!"

 

[Andytrenom]

But what if the main character is a bad guy and he does disintegrate people when needed to...

 

[The_real_cal_howard]

Villains can get away with it better than heroes can. Same way Villain Sues can be fun while Mary Sues suck. But it only goes so far, as it can make their inevitable losses become bullsh*t (cough Yhwach cough). Granted, bullsh*t losses can still be hype sometimes.

 

[Andytrenom]

I was talking about evil main characters tho, not antagonists.

 

[Wokistan]

I mean, look at some of the blank slate protsgs like the D&D PC or Destiny PC that also end up crazy. They still work because it's just you.

 

[The_real_cal_howard]

I mean, yes and no. Isekai anime for an example have a reputation of handling that concept poorly.

 

[Wokistan]

Isekai dudes are still characters outside of literally the person participating in the medium though. Blank Slate protags that are basically just vessels for the player to project themselves onto work well in storytelling more focused on an environment as a whole as opposed to strictly character focused stories.

 

[The_real_cal_howard]

Yeah but I highly doubt they even count as characters at that point.

 

[TartaChocholate]

Well, as with everything, it depends on how it is played, but a villiain can be in a position of power or be more powerful from the get go than a hero, mostly because villiains have a different role. How to put it? Heroes usually grow or reach a point to respond a threat, while the villiain has to be said threat to begin with. So if we see the story through the eyes from an evil overlord and its implications it's actually interesting, and said overlord needs power to justify its position. Just a thought, though.

However, it can be dull and boring as well if done poorly. If the story is just about how overpowered the villiain main character is, how much he owns all oposition, how much his subjects adore him or his victories come from cheap pulls from the plot, it can get stale.

What I guess is Cal's issue, and what I have gripes with as well, is that many stories nowadays focus too much on show off how powerful and better than everyone else the main character is, and just pile up every cheap ability on him. Guys like Oryx are absolutely insane, but from what I get what draws attention with them is their arc, with their powers being secondary, so instead of cheap they come as formidable.

If I had to take a guess, if you can go through a character's story and their cheapness is unperceived until you actually look into it, then it's actually working. This could be achieved in several ways.

 

[AshenCrow777]

I mean, yes and no. Isekai anime for an example have a reputation of handling that concept poorly.

Alot of isekais now are just basicaly harem ****...well with out the **** execpt for that one anime a duse needs to have sex with a bunch chicks cause reasons oof

 

[TartaChocholate]

At least that one is being upfront about what it really wants XD