Villain's appearance

[DeathBlaze]

Hi guys, i wanted to ask you for advice about the Villain i'm about to make, i would highly appreciate it if you guys could give me some advice .

So in my first game ''The Tales of Expellion'', there's the main Villain, who was once slain in an grand-scale battle by the leader of the demi-gods. And despite having lost his body, his soul still lingers around due to them failing to banish the soul to the realm in the spiritual zone they call '' Adrestes'', a place similar to hell where one's damned soul goes after living a life of misdeeds. He eventually commands an army of demons (damned spirits infused with the bodies of ancient monsters) and wants to take over the world. So the question is, do you guys prefer an Villain who actually has an pyshical body or an Villain who actually never appears directly to the player and people in the game, but is actually there as an invisible force making him more menacing to the people (Take Sauron from LOTR for example, he died but was still there as the Eye, making him so ominous and menacing)

If you guys could give me some advice and feedback i would appreciate it, thx!

 

[RabbitFire]

That depends on the personality IMO.
I think that villain with physical body is better for the charismatic, theatrical type of villain that will gloat and mess with the hero's party at every turn, but is cool enough that the player would root for him.

For something without body, I think it should be for the villain's who's very pragmatic. No theatrical, just cold and ruthless mind working against the heroes, that's way more menacing.

 

[Bonkers]

Dr Claw basically had nothing but a hand for the entire series of Inspector Gadget. It's in how it's delivered to the player, and the actors. Since there will be this massive army, the best way to do it would be as a shadow obscuring the normal vision of the world, making the change more apparent.

 

[frzhrt834]

I kind of like the idea of the invisible force. It makes it more terrifying and the player can use his imagination to picture the leader of evil, wich makes it even better.

 

[DeathBlaze]

That depends on the personality IMO.
I think that villain with physical body is better for the charismatic, theatrical type of villain that will gloat and mess with the hero's party at every turn, but is cool enough that the player would root for him.

For something without body, I think it should be for the villain's who's very pragmatic. No theatrical, just cold and ruthless mind working against the heroes, that's way more menacing.

His personality is not too complex. He's unlike most of his kind very calm and has little compassion for his pawns and his enemies. He's also very strategic and thinks everything trough until he finds the right way to execute his plans, making him always one step further than the Characters/player in most situations. Altough he has a little compassion and mercy for some people, that doesn't mean he's afraid to kill anyone who's against him or doesn't agree with his ideologies. Do you think this fits the non-pyshical villain?

 

[starlight dream]

As a player I'm not so picky, so either option works for me.

Whether he is there or not, what makes him scary is the actions he takes and their consequences.

The "invisible" villain is more difficult to write, (the case of Sauron is pretty unique) but it can be fun to explore it.
If you choose such a villain, it's good to create secondary villain characters that are also tough and follow his orders. So the player can focus on defeating them as a physical target. I like a good closure, so if he can be fought and defeated in the end (whether as a body or shape or whatever) I'd like that.
If he never speaks, and appears in no scenes (like Sauron), then his reputation must talk for him: what people say about him in the game will affect how the player judges his power.
Bottom line: it's your game and vision and anything you enjoy making is the best option!! Have fun.

 

[DeathBlaze]

I kind of like the idea of the invisible force. It makes it more terrifying and the player can use his imagination to picture the leader of evil, wich makes it even better.

I see, i agree with you on that, with him not having a body makes the player imagining who or what's he/she's fighting against. Now with the personality i just posted he might be so menacing for them.

 

[DeathBlaze]

As a player I'm not so picky, so either option works for me.

Whether he is there or not, what makes him scary is the actions he takes and their consequences.

The "invisible" villain is more difficult to write, (the case of Sauron is pretty unique) but it can be fun to explore it.
If you choose such a villain, it's good to create secondary villain characters that are also tough and follow his orders. So the player can focus on defeating them as a physical target. I like a good closure, so if he can be fought and defeated in the end (whether as a body or shape or whatever) I'd like that.
If he never speaks, and appears in no scenes (like Sauron), then his reputation must talk for him: what people say about him in the game will affect how the player judges his power.
Bottom line: it's your game and vision and anything you enjoy making is the best option!! Have fun.

Thx for your feedback and reply , what you just said gave me some inspiration for him , never had the tought to let the other's speak for him. Makes it interesting to the player while he remains mysterious and menacing as he hasn't seen him once. Thx very much for this advice

 

[RabbitFire]

@DeathBlaze I think that should fit and what @starlight dream said is also true. It's better to have a "Heavy" antagonist which present a real, direct threat to the player.

I hope your game will do well

 

[XIIIthHarbinger]

I would say one of the things to consider is the manner in which your villain is going to be defeated.

Specifically is he going to be destroyed or is he going to be displaced. An immaterial main villain works rather well for a puppet master style villain, who doesn't confront the heroes directly, but instead does so through their various agents. Such a villain lends itself rather well to the trope of the perennial villain that always escapes the heroes, only to return again & again.

On the other hand a physical embodied villain is necessary for any kind final battle confrontation, even if it is only via possession of someone else. But that actual physical confrontation where the villain is overcome directly makes the destruction of the villain rather necessary. That's not to say that you can't have the villain supposedly killed, but have him find a way to cheat death; however the more you do this, the more you rob the confrontation & the victory that comes with it of power.

 

[Kes]

General Discussion is not for feedback on specific individual games. If the conversation broadens out this topic can stay here. Otherwise I'll merge it with Plot and Story Development.