Writing Tips and Reviews

Balancing Characters: Interactions

In a story, the character cast should be balanced. The main character should not shine over the rest all the time. In their arc and at the end it's acceptable, the same with the rest of the characters. If the main character is meant to shine above the rest all the time, Resident Evil Alice, then they start to show Mary Sue qualities. Which in this case, is the "is better than everyone else." If the world doesn't bend to their rules then I'm not going to put the Mary Sue sticker on right away.

Look at the Tales series, each game has a balance in characters. Tales of Berseria, Velvet has the tragic backstory and her personality is cold. But not every other character is the same way. Eleanor is cheery and hopeful, Laphicet is happy and energetic, Rokurou has a more positive view of life, Eizen, despite his hardships keeps going with a smile, and Magilou is the comic relief. Tales of Vesperia, Yuri is former knight with the morals in tack but the means completely twisted. The rest of the main cast are either the opposite or have the same morals with different means.

If the main character is depressed and "dark humored" whatever that means; and only looks at life with hatred, and the other characters are copies of that, well, you've failed. And if you make the main character that way and the only one explored is then, you've also failed. The main character can be special, but if their "specialness" over shines everything else about the others, then that's a problem. There needs to be a balance. Not the same type over and over again and not an overwhelming type that outshines the rest.

The problem arises when the main character is meant to make the others look inferior. If the other characters are cowering over another for no reason for the entirety of the story, then that's bad writing. I do something like this with Crest of Aspira, but, it's only for a couple of in story days. The characters are afraid of Lucia because of her reputation, then when they learn about who she is as a person, they start to become friends with her and some even tease her. The dynamics of the characters are essential to their part of the story. Protagonist, antagonist or side character, each one should have something about them that stands out but also is a balance to the others.

Making the main character an ultra badass Mary Sue only ensures the reader is going to distance themselves from that character and move to another to relate to and like. Velvet Crowe being a dark edgy character for so long made the players look to someone else to be fond of. Laphicet, Eleanor and Magilou took the spot as the favorite until Velvet started calming down and becoming well developed. Then she went to the rank of best character from the game.

Yuri Lowell is the fan favorite of the game because of his personality but he doesn't make the other characters look inferior compared to him. Rita, Raven, Karol, Repede, Estelle and Duke are just as well written as Yuri is. And some are higher on a personal favorite list than Yuri. This is good writing.

When the characters can play off one another and are generally well written, then there isn't a chance a Mary Sue could pop up. Their personalities, quirks and other parts of their character clash with the others. They can fight with each other, they can play, they can talk, it's not all about a singular character who's better than the rest.

When role playing with a certain someone, their character had to be in the spotlight and had to be better than everyone else. They'd immediately start off the interactions with "I'm going to kill you" or something along the lines of hurting the other character. And from a first meeting. This could go into a joke but it's played seriously. This is not a good thing to do and certainly isn't going to get people to like the character. Velvet Crowe, while dark and edgy, isn't nearly this annoying. Another person I role played with joined in my group and her character only ever stated disinterest in what we were doing, only ever saying "I'm so bored." The point is, when the story revolves around only one character and blows the others off like a leaf in the breeze, then it's not good storytelling.

Look at the games that the player is the only party member. You still get to know the other characters and the world around them. The focus, while on the main character's point of view, doesn't only look at the one character. Through the main character you learn more and more. There are plenty of players from these games that enjoy the other characters just as much as the main character. This is because the cast is balanced, each one has their own unique personality and traits that make them who they are. They're different from the main character but not over shadowed. I want to know just as much about Duke as I do Yuri Lowell.

When the creator only cares about one character, it shows. All the development, every arc and everything else is set around the one character and only them. People will ask about the other characters and the creator says "screw them, I just needed a bigger character count." Which in itself isn't a good thing at all. If you're not going to explore anyone else, what's their purpose? There's making the world feel real and there's being a bad writer.