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Gamasutra names top 5 most affecting game characters in 2007 photo

I like this list, but the hard thing here is that 2007 brought a lot of great games, and I'm sure people will feel a lot of characters were left out. While Andrew Ryan was a huge one for me and definitely belonged on the list, where's my favorite madman of the year, Sander Cohen? I suppose two from the same game is a list no-no, but every time I think about finding that recording of Cohen's bunny "performance," I still get the chills.

Anyway, here's the top 5 per Gamasutra:

5. Frédéric Chopin (Tri-Crescendo's Eternal Sonata, Xbox 360)

4. Kratos (Sony Santa Monica's God of War II, PS2)

3. Andrew Ryan (2K Boston's BioShock, PC/Xbox 360)

2. GLaDOS (Valve's Portal, PC/console)

1. You (You, Everywhere)

I get the vibe of number 1, but I don't like it within the rhythm of the list. I'd have rather seen a straightforward list than a moving tribute to the importance of the gamer in the industry, but that's just me. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see Chopin on the list as well, as the character really resonated with me (and he's voiced by an incredible voice actor as well.)

The indies are missing from this list though, and usually those are the sources of my favorite characters, but when I look at some of the characters from this list they seem as if they somehow waded out of indie-level creativity and found their way into big name titles, which is a bit of a thrill. Readers, cash in: I'm wondering if you had favorites that weren't on this list, and if so, who were they?

[Via Gamasutra, Thanks Justin!]


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53 comments | showing # 1 to 50
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Ratcliff's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:19
Ratcliff
/agree with you on #1, it was a cope out, otherwise the list looks solid
Patriot SE's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:21
Patriot SE
At the risk of sounding like a fanboy I'm surprised that the Master Chief isnt on there. And at the same time I really think the Prince from Katamari should be on there.
tsunamikitsune's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:23
tsunamikitsune
Yeah, number one is kinda lame. Who the hell did I affect? :O
Spykron's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:23
Spykron
fuck i havent played any of these. im still playing dead rising. frank west is pretty boss though.....
ShadowXOR's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:23
ShadowXOR
Was Eternal Sonata any good? The demo seemed great in every way besides the most important part...the combat. I didn't really like that part of it, I didn't have a lot of options and the light & dark thing seemed tacked on.
Variable Gear's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:25
Variable Gear
Even though I agree that # 1 breaks the rhythm of the list it is the correct choice.
Cheeburga's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:27
Cheeburga
Atlas is Fontaine.
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:28
king3vbo
1 is a copout
Patriot SE's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:30
Patriot SE
@shadowXOR

yea i played through about half of it and I liked it a lot. RPGs arent my expertise but I had a lot of fun with it. Especially the art direction it took.
Justin Villasenor's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:33
Justin Villasenor
When I saw #1 I immediately thought of TIME Magazine. Bah, maybe they just wanted to avoid flames from angry fanboys.
Variable Gear's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:43
Variable Gear
Atlas is Fontaine.
mispelt's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:52
mispelt
@ GoldenDonut

Word. It seems like ever since Time did it, every top how-ever-many list of most important people always ends with "You!"

I never used to mind a little shout out at the end of a game's credits or something, but once I start coming up as The Most Important Person Ever... well... someone's never taken a look at my trophy room. ('96 4H Camp Three-Legged Race: Honorable Mention)
GeneralWong's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:53
GeneralWong
Andrew Ryan is my personal no.1, hopefully they will do a prequel to Bioshock so that he can play a role in that aswell. Aint he voiced by that Alien bartender off Star Trek, i have no idea what his name in the show was but im 100% sure its him.
e4te's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:53
e4te
They forgot Jade Raymond, who convinced everyone to buy Assassin's Creed.
Origim's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 13:55
Origim
Colette's right about Sander Cohen. While he wasn’t a main character per say, he deserves some love for pure creepiness. I was fascinated by that level of the game.
jackdoe's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 14:09
jackdoe
That "you" thing is such an obvious reference to Time's person of the year.
kawitchate's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 14:14
kawitchate
lol @e4te

#1 was too much, but i like what they were trying to do.

missing from the list? Master Chief or Cortana, Alyx Vance, Sander Cohen, and the cast of Persona 3.
peeetah's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 14:20
peeetah
You caused the plane crash and Ryan is your father.
Rockvillian's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 14:22
Rockvillian
Lists are stupid!

Here are my reasons:

5. Why not have top 10? 15? 3? WHY?

4. Are these in any order? WHY NOT?

3. Master Chief

2. This wasn't #1 cause we'd get flamed if it was

1. It was all a dream
Knives's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 14:28
Knives
I can understand why #1 is there from reading the article, but I agree that it doesn't fit that much with the rest of the list.

Anyway, that list is missing some Vance, be that Eli or Alyx from HL2:ep2.
SourGr8pes's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 14:28
SourGr8pes
I'd place Sander Cohen in over Andrew Ryan any day of the week. Choen was an unpredictable madman with a passion for arts and culture, whereas Ryan was nothing more but a stencil for an Ayn Rand philosophy.
GeneralWong's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 14:36
GeneralWong
@SourGr8pes

Cohen wouldn't even exist in the way he did in Bioshock if it wasn't for Ryan's vision of a world without rules or rulers. Regardless of the subject of Ryan being a puppet for the philosophy behind the games story. In terms of the games telling of the story Andrew Ryan was the main reason why Rapture is the way it is.
dprime's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 14:47
dprime
I think they should have had a legitimate pick for number one, and then maybe gone on to explain that gamers are the real number one most important character.

There is some meaning in that choice though, beyond the fact that "it's all about you guys!" Like, when you control a character in a game, you sort of project your own ideas and motives and background onto him.
dprime's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 14:49
dprime
Also: holy crap do I want that poster up in my room.
Bob Arctor's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 15:00
Bob Arctor
Sander Cohen FTW!
SourGr8pes's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 15:01
SourGr8pes
@GeneralWong

You're quite right, but it all depends on what they mean by "Most Affecting Character": Affecting the audience or affecting the game story?
If we're talking game story, yeah, Ryan was WAY more important. But I'll tell you right now that I was way more scared of Cohen than I ever was with Ryan.

And that #1 choice is a cheap copout of having to make a hard decision.
AgentMOO's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 15:02
AgentMOO
Somewhere sonic the hedgehog is reading this and he just shit his pants.
Sharpless's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 15:04
Sharpless
I was going to make a joke about Master Chief, but... no. As much as I enjoy Halo and the ending of Halo 3 tugged slightly at the heartstrings, he wouldn't belong on this list. Gordon friggin' Freeman is more affecting than Master Chief. In fact, they should've put Freeman on the list, as that would've doubled for the "you" entry.
Holyetheline's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 15:12
Holyetheline
wtf? I am not #1... where is my reward?
Oni's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 15:16
Oni
Wai! GLaDOS made the list! That's awesome!
weedgan's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 15:45
weedgan
HOLY FUCK I GOT FIRST PLACE!!

BYAHHHHH FTW!
Samit Sarkar's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 15:54
Samit Sarkar
Just like TIME magazine last year, which named “You” as their Person of the Year, #1 is a cop-out.

My pick for #1 would be the player-controlled character in Passage.
Clown Baby's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 16:05
Clown Baby
Shephard from Mass Effect?

It's better than "You"...you got to design the character's appearance and background, and make decisions that affected the gameplay. You could avoid entire battles if you made the right decisions, and you even have to make a decision on the lives of two of your teammates! (No pheonix down's either; dead for reals)
spacecadetjoe's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 16:37
spacecadetjoe
my #1 is the wife from passage
GrayFox's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 16:41
GrayFox
I feel so important! Time magazine already did this and it was equally lame then. Otherwise a cool list.
Amethystine's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 16:45
Amethystine
#1 is a copout, definitely.

I kinda agree with the rest, although I think if not for Andrew Ryan, I would have voted for Atlas/Fontaine from Bioshock. I was much more 'affected' by that whole deal and the implications it all had to you and Ryan as well.

Now, would you kindly put him on the list too?
Tubatic's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 16:47
Tubatic
Mine is the dude from passage. Excellent performance.
Rucksack's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 16:55
Rucksack
Yeah I'm up in the air about rather or not Chief should have been included in this list.

Master Chief is a great character if you've read anything in the Halo expanded universe, but taken just as an in-game character he's lacking any real depth.

I suppose they made the right choice.
IvoryShipping's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 17:18
IvoryShipping
Number one is lame. Andrew Ryan should be 1 and GlaDOS 2. Hehe.
Clockwork's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 17:22
Clockwork
I'm with IvoryShipping.
donkeykong's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 17:23
donkeykong
What about the pilot from Geometry Wars? Give that man some credit!
Pepillou2's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 17:35
Pepillou2
It's always you.
Wedge's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 18:49
Wedge
I don't see the complaints, they listed Gordan Freeman as #1.
ToxinMongoose's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 19:06
ToxinMongoose
Look, as wonderfully sexy as glados is... The Companion Cube affected me the most...

I regret ever burning her, the sex was absolutely wonderful.
Necros's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 20:15
Necros
So...I should get around to playing Bioshock, huh?
NightDehumidifier's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/12/2007 21:50
NightDehumidifier
Well You fucking sucks. That asshole has a boring life. No weapons, no armor, not even a gun. There isn't even enough charisma to work with against NPCs. He has the functions and capabilities of a wall stud: Supportive but stale and "bored".
Veryk's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/13/2007 07:47
Veryk
Really, Ryan should have been #1 on the list. GLaDOS was funny and Kratos was angry, but neither of them had the huge reveal when you meet Ryan. That scene was, hands down, the creepiest scene in the game for me.

Also: Honorable mention goes to: Sander Cohen, Dr. Steinman, and Yi Suchong.
BigKev's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/13/2007 08:35
BigKev
Alyx Vance should have been number 1, im not sure a better Non-Playable ally has been created in any game ever.
GeneralWong's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/13/2007 09:13
GeneralWong
@SourGr8pes

Cohen was easily the most well written character in Bioshock. For me though the story up until you find out that Atlas is Fontaine is all about Ryan. With his philosophical recordings and his attitude towards anything involving rulers, made me worried with what he was going to put me through next. Rather then Cohen losing his mind on tape and blowing up people with piano's (even if it did make me LOL).

Dr. Steinman was pretty fucked up aswell though, the Medical Pavilion was full of moments involving walking into a surgery office, the lights being cut and then realizing that the shadow you saw on the wall when the lights were cut has now disappeared. That was pretty scary, especially at 3 in the morning.

Basically Bioshock has enough influential characters to make up the top 5 on its own.

I love Bioshock :D
Noah's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/13/2007 10:09
Noah
# 1 is lame, like People Magazine's person of the year being You for youtube/blogging.
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