r/gaming • u/Asianboiforwhitedad • 10h ago

Kingdom Come Deliverance studio co-founder says a lot of RPGs are 'still games for teenagers,' and that he's 'tired of all the RPGs where you are this chosen one'

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/kingdom-come-deliverance-studio-co-founder-says-a-lot-of-rpgs-are-still-games-for-teenagers-and-that-hes-tired-of-all-the-rpgs-where-you-are-this-chosen-one/
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211

u/RogerMelian 10h ago

And where is the problem in that? Not every rpg has to be about a medieval random dude or a depressed adult team.

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u/DanTheDrywall 9h ago

He specifically says that this is neither good nor bad, just that it becomes repititive when a majority of games are like that. He is not critizing power fantasys in games in general. I very much agree since kcd felt refreshing in that sense.

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u/Caelinus 9h ago

The only thing I kind of disagree with him on is that such games are made for teenagers. That is needlessly infantalizing. Life kinda sucks for adults a lot of the time, and I live my whole life as a normal person with very little actually power.

As a teenager I was much more willing to believe that I might become a notable person, even if I thought it was a pretty low chance. But now I know that most powerful people suck, and the only thing that is good about it is money, but that in turn ends up making you suck.

So I feel like escapist games that let us decompress and return to worlds where good actually wins and we have the power to enact it are very much still targetted at adults. It is not popular because of kids, it is popular because fake worlds being invaded by demons are often more fun than being a citizen in a world where the demons are just other people. 

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u/Chit569 6h ago

But KCD is a 'chosen one' RPG too. Saying Henry is not a chosen one is just ignoring some of the bigger plot points of both games.

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u/ProoniusFizzle 9h ago

Luckily, there's only like 10 of those and the entire rest of the genre should cater to your taste.

3

u/_trouble_every_day_ 9h ago

Exactly. EVERY RPG has a chosen one plot. It’s the laziest trope in any genre.

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u/Key_Amazed 9h ago

Every RPG? Really? Geralt isn't a chosen one in Witcher. Dragon Age has a new "special" protagonist in each game. Souls games make it a point that you aren't special in any way. Mass Effect Shepard isn't a chosen one by any pre-ordained destiny, but through his hard work. Plenty of RPGs out there where you aren't a chosen one. Having a special role in the universe, being part of a special organization, etc etc is not the same thing at all.

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u/CrusaderLyonar 9h ago

People's definition of this trope is way too broad. I once had an argument with someone who said all the dragon age protagonists are chosen ones and so was mass effect because you become a spectre.

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u/anGub 7h ago

Agreed. Being the character that "does the thing" doesn't make them a Chosen One. Being the only character possible of "doing the thing" does.

Shepard was made a spectre because s/he was the best, if it wasn't them it would have been someone else, thus not a chosen one.

The dragonborn in Skyrim is the only character able to suck out the souls of the returning dragons and is part of the Alduin prophecy, thus is a Chosen One.

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u/TheCleaverguy 6h ago

I think Shepard is a bad example; they become the chosen one by interacting with the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime that becomes immediately inert afterwards.

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u/anGub 6h ago

That would have happened to whoever the spectre on the mission was, wouldn't it?

0

u/TheCleaverguy 6h ago

There were three people there and none of them were spectres at that point.

If Kaiden got mind warped by the beacon instead of Shepard, he would have become the chosen one. It was also a pretty important theme that Anderson was equally qualified to be a spectre, but passed over due to xenophobia and Eden Prime forced the council into appointing Shepard as the first human spectre.

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u/anGub 6h ago

If Kaiden got mind warped by the beacon instead of Shepard, he would have become the chosen one.

If it's only circumstance, then it's not enough to be a chosen one imo. Otherwise all protagonists are chosen ones because they're the ones the plot revolves around, making the trope meaningless.

Anakin Skywalker is a chosen one because of being fathered by the Force and has way more force microbes than everyone else.

Link is a chosen one because he's intrinsically tied to the Triforce of Courage and the only one that can defeat Ganon.

Desmond Miles is a chosen one because it's his genetic memory that the Knights Templar need to try and find the artifacts.

Shepard is just a really good soldier, no special powers that no one else has, no special ancestors or prophecies s/he's specifically tied to. The Council could have gone with their 2nd candidate and the plot could have continued anyway.

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u/CrusaderLyonar 6h ago

That's not what being a chosen one is, the beacon doesn't oradain anyone, it's just information. Saren uses it right before Shepard does.

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u/Unrelenting_Salsa 2h ago

Mass Effect is a bit hard because Mass Effect 1 is so radically different from the other entries. That said, there isn't a chosen one in Mass Effect 1. At it's core Mass Effect 1 is a lovecraftian short story with the Hero's journey snapped on. The core of the story is that people find artifacts of the old, all powerful genocidal gods which makes them go crazy and try to bring back those gods. You're in the wrong place at the wrong time as the best spec ops soldier humanity knows, so you're left in charge of fixing the mess not knowing that your actual enemy is an ancient, all powerful genocidal god.

ME2 messes things up a bit by making humans special. ME3 makes the Hero's journey more explicit by retconning Shephard to being much more emotional than his backstory and the other games actually are/were. At the end of the day, you have no special powers. You're just a damn good soldier. That's not a chosen one.

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u/Unrelenting_Salsa 3h ago

Anybody who says the trope is common has a definition that is just the hero's journey. Literally the most common story ever told by a mile.

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u/Crash4654 9h ago

I legit cant think of any ive played in a godawful long time where this is actually the case.

1

u/gamegeek1995 7h ago

Play Tales of Berseria. After the prologue, you're very much not the Chosen One, you're not even really the main villain of the Chosen One. You're an already defeated mini-boss/slave of the Chosen One.

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u/Crash_Test_Dummy66 9h ago

He's not saying they shouldn't exist at all lmao. He just feels there's too many of them and he'd like to see some other stuff as well. Saying I don't want to eat pizza every night doesn't mean that I don't like pizza or that there is something wrong with it. Y'all are so quick to jump down people's throats

11

u/Imzarth 9h ago

He gave his opinion, which is mostly true, rpgs are power fantasies aimed at teens, and it would be better for the RPG genre if it wasnt the cae What is the problem with that?

16

u/FerricDonkey 9h ago

He gave his opinion. Others are giving their opinion that his opinion is wrong. That's what happens when you give your opinion on the internet. 

2

u/TerminalVector 9h ago

I loved Dispatch for this reason. There's a bit of power fantasy but that's the window dressing not the point of the story.

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u/axolotlorange 9h ago

The problem is that the over reliance on the trope teaches teenagers that individuals are more important than they are and that large scale problems are solvable for a small group of people

Some of my favorite stories fit the above model. But an over reliance is problematic

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u/Stnmn 9h ago

Media has been about exceptional and fantastical figures for centuries. Maybe the solution is parenting rather than hoping KCD:2 does it for you.

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u/allnamesbeentaken 9h ago

Yes, video games should be raising the teenagers better

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u/Noel_Ortiz 9h ago

Who the fuck is letting videogames teach teenagers how life works?

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u/axolotlorange 9h ago

Society is told how life works by art

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u/Comprehensive-Bid18 9h ago

And where is the problem in that?

It's repetitive and overdone and chosen one power fantasies are generally lame.

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u/ZielonaKrowa 8h ago

They are… for people who experienced a lot of it already.  Those are aimed at teens. And they are still exploring that. It’s fresh for them. Once they hit 25 they’ll get bitter like the rest of us. For know tho let them have fun. 

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u/Comprehensive-Bid18 8h ago

No one's saying those games can't exist. More variety would just be nice.

-1

u/EngineBoiii 9h ago

Maybe for you

3

u/Comprehensive-Bid18 9h ago

Maybe for the guy the article is talking about too.