Heroes like Kratos and Marcus Fenix have garnered a lot of attention in recent years, but this week, Justin and Nick chat with Christian Nutt, Gamasutra’s Features Director, about why he thinks these guys are just empty cranky-pants. Instead, the guys salute* games like Heavy Rain and Mother 3 that emphasize character depth and humanity. Nutt discusses how solid writing can go a long way towards creating a more believable, fleshed-out world. Perhaps we’ll see a shift at E3, just as long as the marketing muscle doesn’t get in the way.
*Also, their shorts, of course.
Relevant Links:
Christian Nutt’s “Characters. the Building Blocks of Your Reality”
Nick is a former Pack member and resident ghost. He spent over a year in Japan in order to master the language and understand a little bit more about his favorite hobby, and can constantly be found playing pretty much anything under the sun. 
And here are a few links I referred to in the podcast as well…
David Cage interview:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4309/tense_questions_david_cage_on_.php
Susan O’Connor interview:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4196/upping_the_craft_susan_oconnor_.php
Rhianna Pratchett interview:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4104/vital_game_narrative_a_.php
For the record, I meant that Mother 3 DIDN’T pull punches. *Cringe*
did you guys happen to see this yet?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8feeVnb3wYg&playnext_from=TL&videos=4inkF8qVDE0&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_stronger_r2-2r-1-HM
still my favorite fighting game, def the shot in the arm the franchise needs.