Chances are that most examples of popular culture you know feature a character designed to be the protagonist. I am not sure if I can call it a “cliche,” but there is a broad trend across literature and cinema where the main character is someone who experiences the challenges of their arc from the story’s beginning. Further, the arc will inevitably show the protagonist persevering through challenges with a happy ending after the glorious fight.
I want audiences to try something new instead; I want to see the story arcs of characters who were never meant to be “heroes.” Today, the stories that stand out from the average superhero movie or rom-com rolling off the production line are often ones where a random, unassuming character with relatable moral flaws finds themselves challenged. Such stories aren’t just about killing the big monster hiding in that faraway mountain but about moral dilemmas that make us contemplate our choices.
In thinking this, I am inspired by a video game that presented this vision many years ago.
Papers, Please is a game where the protagonist is in precisely such a position — one that is advantageous for a unique story. The protagonist is an officer recently appointed to a border checkpoint in an imaginary country, and the gameplay is simply deciding who can pass through, who is turned away and who is detained. The lore behind this story is limited, but its creative worldbuilding excellently sets up the tense atmosphere of the environment. Most importantly, the main character is a simple man who is solely responsible for keeping his family safe.
The gameplay mechanics are beyond the scope of this column, but the design and role of the protagonist in the game’s story are very interesting to me. The player directly controls every minor decision the character makes, which effectively puts us into the shoes of the protagonist. As the game progresses, the story design forces us to make more and more difficult choices about people’s entry — this is intentionally designed to test our moral compass.
Many moral questions arise while playing the game. Are you dedicated to the laws and rules of your country? If so, will you turn a desperate refugee away just because their files aren’t in order? Are you concerned about making money for your starving family? Will you then let drug smugglers pass freely to earn extra cash from them? Papers, Please first makes you comfortable with the menial routine of a border guard, only to put you in these difficult situations and force you to sacrifice your principles for material benefit or vice versa.
This is not possible with the typical protagonist of a heroic story. Only by creating characters that ordinary people empathize with can we make such stories meaningfully realistic. We know before watching a movie or opening the comic book that Spider-Man must fight and defeat criminals or that Batman must use another expensive gadget to save the day. We cannot relate to them, and we cannot pretend to be like them because they live completely different lives from us.
Compare that to the moral dilemmas of a taxi driver, a traffic warden or, in the case of Papers, Please, a border guard can face. They do not fight evil enemies; they don’t even “fight” in most of the scenarios they are depicted in. They nonetheless interact with other ordinary people and have to make choices about their daily lives.
There isn’t a set rule for making an ordinary life “gripping” to an audience, but if you want to get an idea, then I wholeheartedly recommend giving Papers, Please a try. Regardless of which way you choose your story to go, I am certain that you will learn something new about your morals and thought process in real life through an “impossible” protagonist.
As for the rest of the creative world, I don’t have an exact model each story should follow, but I still have a principle that can be useful for the sake of unique creativity. Especially for media with audience engagement like games and interactive movies, try creating characters in positions of life that are common but unassuming. Put their predictable lives to the test by forcing them to make a critical decision. This sense of dilemma and moral deadlock is exactly the kind of environment from which new and unique ideas can emerge.
We already know what Indiana Jones or Captain America would do when challenged because their characters have predictable patterns. But what would an ordinary human, an average, unassuming person do? What difficult choices do they have to make? Make us, the audience, think about our choices, and what comes next will be a memorable, personal experience.
Deniz Gulay is a sophomore double-majoring in history and Russian.
Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the staff editorial.