Heroscape 2.0 and Halloween: On Gaming Moral Sensibilities

['Scaper94]

Originally Posted by Typhon2222

Very thought-provoking, @chas . Thanks for taking the time to compose your thoughts on this in such detail.

I must confess, I don't mind the lack of obvious heroes in the new previews, since it avoids what was, for me, an eyeroll-worthy aspect of the original design: the flag-waving, white-washing American patriotism of classic 'Scape.

So the American bluecoats (4th Mass & Sam Brown) and the American GI's (Drake & Airborne Elite) just happen to be on the same side as the knights-in-shining-armor (Knights of Weston) and the lily-white, blond-haired flying knights-in-shining-armor (Sentinels & Concan) and their lily-white, blond-haired "We fight only defensive wars!" cheerleader (Raelin)? Gee willickers, what a coincidence!

While the Bluecoats' opponents (the 10th Reg) and the various Japanese military units all just happen to follow the same — and less valiant — general, Einar?

Uh huh. I see how this is going.

Don't get me wrong, I love the game. But honestly, I'd rather have no heroes than heroes who so patently feed into our self-congratulatory narratives.

It's also valuable to note the general shift away from "The Hero" in entertainment media over the last decade. We've been seeing much more focus placed on anti-heroes (Deadpool), grey characters (Game of Thrones, The Witcher), and even villains (Maleficent). The idea of The Hero is, I'd say, on the back-burner of the greater entertainment industry, and we can chalk up a few reasons for this trend:

• "The Hero" has been done. We have Superman, Luke Skywalker, Samwise Gamgee, Link, Mario, Harry Potter - so many characters painted from the get-go as The Hero working for a greater good. Now, in post-modern times, we're shying away from The Hero archetype to explore the idea that not every character is completely, purely good. What might their irredeemable qualities look like, and how can those qualities be brought to the forefront of the character's portrayal?

• The cultural trend of political correctness urges entertainment media to view the world through others' perspectives. Maleficent breaks away from the idea that she's The Villain from the classic Sleeping Beauty story, and in portraying her background and seeing the world through her eyes, she was granted a level of humanity we hadn't seen or thought about. Game of Thrones takes this same idea and runs with it. Where Lord of the Rings highlights the Good vs. Evil (for the sake of evil) trope, Game of Thrones presents most characters as being simultaneously a hero and a villain, done so by giving the audience a look through each character's perspective rather than painting everyone as either inherently good or bad.

• Keeping the previous points in mind, the entertainment media industry realized that The Grey Character is the trend that sells, and I think this is the case because the current audience views The Grey Character with more interest. There's a level of complexity and - more importantly - relatability that can be showcased with a morally ambiguous character compared to The Hero and The Villain. The Last of Us parts I and II are exactly this point. Joel and Ellie (and the many characters they meet along their journeys) are far more interesting (and believable, and relatable) as Grey Characters, and the impact of the stories wouldn't be nearly as effective if every character was presented as either The Hero or The Villain.

I suppose, at the end of the day in 2022, I'm not at all surprised to not see (many) AoA factions or units being portrayed as The Hero (aside from their unique hero status). To me, AH and the War Council are just following the trend of the times.