What makes a "good" Villain.
Author
Bored, thought I'd bring this up for discussion. Include example from books/games if you see fit.
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What makes a "good" Villain ?
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"Being a good villain is like being a good photographer, you got to pick the right moment."
-Steve Hemmesch
Edited by - mooglez on November 9, 2001 12:19:43 AM
To begin, a good name. Consider Malagate the Woe, or Howard Alan Treesong, two wonderful villains in Jack Vance''s Demon Princes series.
Other items to put on your list include a large ego, an odd childhood, a history of increasingly dastardly deeds, and a possibly a thoughtful side with some odd fetishes.
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Other items to put on your list include a large ego, an odd childhood, a history of increasingly dastardly deeds, and a possibly a thoughtful side with some odd fetishes.
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A good villain should be believable - not some cardboard cut out figure of evil. Thus he or she should not be deformed in someway - Shakespeare has a lot to answer for in Richard III - or too mentally aberrant.
However most villains have pschyopathic tendencies, otherwise they wouldn''t be villains - there''s no such thing as a loveable rouge. Perhaps the worst villains are actually the one that seem most ordinary.
(oh - if the villain can have a white cat to stroke, this helps though
)
However most villains have pschyopathic tendencies, otherwise they wouldn''t be villains - there''s no such thing as a loveable rouge. Perhaps the worst villains are actually the one that seem most ordinary.
(oh - if the villain can have a white cat to stroke, this helps though
)
Agreed on the right name. Like Piter de Vries or Feyd Rautha Harkonnen.
I don''t agree about Richard III however. Why, don''t the deformed people have a right to try and conquer the world too?
What I''d want to see at a villain is that they have all the odds against them (and win) rather than have a masterplan that cannot fail, own an industrial empire, be the leader of the invincible Legion of Terror, etc. Imagine Napoleon as seen from the outside of France. For once let the villain play the superhero''s part.
I don''t agree about Richard III however. Why, don''t the deformed people have a right to try and conquer the world too?
What I''d want to see at a villain is that they have all the odds against them (and win) rather than have a masterplan that cannot fail, own an industrial empire, be the leader of the invincible Legion of Terror, etc. Imagine Napoleon as seen from the outside of France. For once let the villain play the superhero''s part.
evil does not have to meanunlike-able. the most evil people can fool you into thinking they are nice, and then turn around and stab you in the back, or plot your ultimate demise. Sometimes evil arent evil by the fact they kill everyone. They may just be corrupt.
a good villian will always raise his public appeal, and when the time is right he will destroy the public. this is usually after his eil is dicovered
a good villian will always raise his public appeal, and when the time is right he will destroy the public. this is usually after his eil is dicovered
i think the best villains are those who, once you know their motivations for being a villian, might no longer be the "bad guy"... for example, as the story progressed, you could have the player learn more about their alleged "arch enemy", and by the time of the final confrontation he/she doesn''t even know if they should be enemies anymore, as the "villian" has a valid reason for doing what he does.
--- krez (krezisback@aol.com)
--- krez (krezisback@aol.com)
This depends on how you define villian. If you mean a trophy that some superhero is just waiting to defeat, well, pick up marvel comics and learn there. On the other hand, if you want a true antagonist, you have to put some work into it. For example, your antagonist has to have at least one reason to not like the protagonist. Judging on the amount of mental abuse and psychosis you give your villian, the reason can be such that it doesn''t hold true for the protagonist disliking the antagonist. If you look at Suikoden2, (PSX, Konami), you have a supervillian and an antagonist who differed from the protagonist, who was his friend, on just a few matters, and this drove them apart.
Chances are your looking for that villian that you just love to hate, in which case I recommend having him be a moral opposite of the protagonist, and on purely psychotic grounds, and have him/her/it wear a cool cape.
Chances are your looking for that villian that you just love to hate, in which case I recommend having him be a moral opposite of the protagonist, and on purely psychotic grounds, and have him/her/it wear a cool cape.
This probably goes more on the lines of story lines, but it''s important.
I saw this Japanese animation movie once called Blue Submarine Number 6, it was rather interesting. The Villains were made very well. The leader had his reasons for his actions, and they all had very real personalities, too. What the bad guy did was for the people of the world, even though he killed more than 90% of the population.
Before I go on and explain what happens, I''ll just tell you to see it. It''s great.
A good villain will have a deep personality. They should also have reasons for their actions. It helps to have a philosophy deeply mixed in as well.
Let''s not forget that the good guys need deep personalities as well.
Control the storm...
I saw this Japanese animation movie once called Blue Submarine Number 6, it was rather interesting. The Villains were made very well. The leader had his reasons for his actions, and they all had very real personalities, too. What the bad guy did was for the people of the world, even though he killed more than 90% of the population.
Before I go on and explain what happens, I''ll just tell you to see it. It''s great.
A good villain will have a deep personality. They should also have reasons for their actions. It helps to have a philosophy deeply mixed in as well.
Let''s not forget that the good guys need deep personalities as well.
Control the storm...
Also remember that heroes are made, not born. The same applies to villains. Childhood is important, but more recent events need to have major impacts as well.
I was once wanting to write this story, called Heroes are Made, but it didn''t fly. I had a page of the early childhood, I didn''t like it...
Control the storm...
I was once wanting to write this story, called Heroes are Made, but it didn''t fly. I had a page of the early childhood, I didn''t like it...
Control the storm...
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