Parents in Games

(Some Spoilers for older games are ahead! Read on with caution if you avoided games from 5+ years ago!)

With Mother’s Day past and Father’s Day past approaching, parents are on the mind of most. They teach us, feed us, frustrate us, and amuse us. And they are with you from birth until well after you’ve moved out, assuming everything goes well. There can be no doubt they have a huge effect on all of us, our parents mold us in a unique and special way that nothing else does. That brings me back to the world of games: where the hell are the parents in games?

Let’s think here: How many times has the protagonist in your favorite game ended up with all of his parents mysteriously dead or left? Even if they are alive, how much of a mention or impact do they have on the game? The best parental incorporation into a game I can think of is when it turns out the protagonist’s parent is working with the antagonist. There really isn’t a strong parental influence in gaming. Kotaku put together a  list of  mothers in games of significance. Some of them, you’ve probably heard of but there’s quite clearly a pattern of minor roles to  insulting roles. Sophitia is a mom, and quite clearly just an excuse to get big breasts and a short skirt on someone. Jenova is technically a mom, but it’s kind of sad when she’s one of the best examples of integrating a parent into a game plot. Lost Odyssey had a couple of mothers who actually had relevance in the game. Main characters even!

What about the fathers?  Kratos in Tales of Symphonia, uh… Norman in Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. Ummm… Jecht from Final Fantasy X, I think Marcus Fenix from Gears of War has a dad… That’s about it, that I can think of. From what I remember though, fathers are generally implemented more thoughtfully than mothers and have more key roles in plots. However, they’re not implemented nearly as much as mothers. It’s not rare to see the main character, from RPGs especially, only have a mother. I wonder why this is.

Ultimately, I understand games are about the main character, and not about his mommy or daddy. However, I think far too often you see a protagonist arise from nothingness, without parental guidance, only to become a godlike being and a legend whispered all across the game’s lands. I think ignoring this key relationship is overlooking a huge opportunity to add depth to characters, not to mention a way to connect to the player. I think the parental relattionship can be just as powerful as a love interest, and far more easy to develop. Imagine if all the romance angles and plot devices in games suddenly became one-dimensional and uninteresting. That’s what it’s like looking at the gaming landscape nowadays.

Anyway, my thoughts on something that popped in my head around the summer parental holidays. Enjoy them!