The Art of the "Blank Slate" Character

[Mido]

Often in many forms of media there is a single character or multiple characters that do not stand out much in terms of personality or other substantial qualities that take center-stage or play a key role in a narrative. These kinds of characters tend to be categorized as blank slates for which audiences can place themselves in the role. Although these characters are not necessarily the most developed or interesting, many so called "blank slates" have a significant impact in whichever piece of media they inhabit. And so, arrives the question:

How does one properly utilize a "blank slate" character? Are these types of characters good or bad to use in general, or is there a large enough middle ground for these characters to see some sort of effective utilization in media? Which "blank slates" do you find effective as characters? Which are not effective? What do you all say?

 

[Spirit]

In film and novels a blank slate character to me is just bad writing.

They work a little better in video games because of the interactivity but I still largely have the same problem.

In a film I see an actor, thus I cannot self insert because they are not me.

In a novel I want fleshed out and interesting characters, I can't think of a more boring story than one which follows blank characters just so I can self insert.

In video games blank slate characters are often a make-your-own insert, this makes more sense but then they suffer from being terribly dull and often add absolutely nothing to the narrative at all.

Other times the player character may be defined, but mute or often have zero personality so that you can self insert and this, to me, is a waste of a character.

Let's take Link.

He largely has defined iconography, we know it is Link when we see him, even if it isn't a design we've ever seen before, there's enough definitive iconography between his incarnations to help us recognise him each time.
These iconographies give him an identity different from our own and one we didn't create ourselves.

The fact we can change his name in most games doesn't help half of the world's gender either...

Plus Link is canonically Link, the series was naming him canonically from as early as the second game and the series has used his name in other titles since.

Thus, he may be a blank slate, mute and even androgynous sometimes with no real defined personality so that nothing stops us from identifying as him when we play the games...

But I, in reality, am nothing like Link.

I know games are escapism and that I should let the obvious slide but the disconnect is too great for me, Link is too defined, I see Link like I see an actor in a film. I see an identity.

Thus, I have always found Link to be an example of bad writing (I know, in a series with bad writing), but if he were a real 'link' we should have gender and race options by now.

But race and gender options would then not be definitive.

As much as Nintendo don't want to admit it, Link is not a link to the player.

Link is just one example of why I think blank slates don't work.

I don't think they work in any medium.

If a medium is story-based/narrative driven and you have blank slates then that is bad writing, or at the very least, lazy as hell.
It takes little effort at all to craft a generic character in anything. But for me, I indulge in stories because I want to go on that journey with the characters and not as the characters.

And thus I, personally, I don't believe a blank slate character can be utilised well and don't think that effort should be spent trying.

Just craft decent characters.

 

[Castle]

It is not impossible to do a blank slate character right. It's just that so many video game writers who make blank slate characters don't stay committed to maintaining the blank slate. They just can't help but ascribe personal characteristics to the character regardless. This irks me. It defeats the purpose and you ultimately end up with a character who audiences can neither relate to because the characters makes their own personal expressions nor is interesting because the character remains a dull vaguely defined mostly silent and expressionless vehicle for the game and its story.

Let's take Link (of course) for example. Link is not a blank slate. Not anymore anyway. Even nintendo seems to acknowledge this (whether intentionally or not but knowing ninty almost certainly not) because his name is Link now. Just Link. He is known as Link within the context of the game and players can no longer choose a name for him on starting the game. Link's green tunic has become so iconic from a cultural standpoint that it is personally identifiable specifically to him as a recurring aspect of his character and even the games hype up the green tunic as a characterization passed on from adventure to adventure in each game in context.

In so many games Link purposefully expresses himself in ways the audience might not choose to. Waving sadly goodbye to outset island in Wind Waker is an example that always irked me because to me this is a moment where Link should be pumped up with determination, not sobbing like a little child who's lost his mommy - an act that Tetra notices and chides him for. It is not a blank slate character when other characters in the story are acknowledging and responding to the character's expressions.

In Twilight Princess Link's relationship with Midna is clearly expressed. His expressions form a central pillar of the narrative that shapes and supports each character's growth. Yes, this means that Link has the barest semblance of a character arc in TP, but it only involves him going from mildly irritated at Midna to being Teller to Midna's Penn.

Imagine if Link were his own character in Twilight Princess and we got to see him go from a superstitious fear or loathing of the Twili to seeing them as something no different to himself. To see his disdain for Midna turn into a full fledged romance! To watch his emotional outbursts as he comes to terms with his budding affection for her and tries to deny it. To see his mocking hate-based ridicule of her silly diminutive form and freaky prehensile hair turn into affectionate supportive jokes and wisecracks about her usefulness. How much more fascinating would Link and Midna's relationship be if Link was just allowed to express himself to his fullest? How much more sympathetic would Midna be as a result? How much more thoroughly would the themes of the game be conveyed if Link were granted the full extent of a personality?

The last time Link was really a blank slate was in OoT and Majora's Mask when major emotionally impactful events and turning points in the plot would take place over the course of the story with little to no reaction from Link. Link features a "surprised" expression on a few occasions where only that reaction could reasonably be expected of the audience. (three moments that I can recall off hand. the first time Link meets Ganondorf in person, once when Link sees that he has grown up and again when Kakariko is burning.)

I have only seen the blank slate character done well in video games once. And that is in the Myst series. Myst is played from a first person perspective where the fourth wall is effectively nonexistent. For all intents and purposes, it is you who are supposed to be there in the context of the story. To maintain that illusion, the games are careful to avoid ascribing any personal characteristics to the player. The games even manage to avoid mentioning gender, instead using terms like "stranger" or "friend" to directly refer to the player. The writers of Myst are extremely careful to never provide any personally identifying details to the player. The story is always written with this in mind and it would be so easy to get lax and slip up. It's a lot of work to remain mindful of maintaining the blank slate.

And this is important to the games because the intent is to make the player feel like they are actually inhabiting the alien worlds in which the adventures take place. The intention is to immerse audiences not in a video game but in the context of a world as thoroughly as possible.

The Legend of Zelda series would be fine with settling for a blank state protagonist so long as the games remained about free-form exploration and discovery. Link then would only have to be a vehicle for navigating the game world. But more and more with each subsequent installment a complex narrative that ties all of the exploration and discovery together has been a major feature of the series. And blank slate characters don't function well when in the midst of a heavy narrative in which character development and major plot points are all bouncing off and being affected by the protagonist.

 

[Dio]

There is only one type of blank slate character which would not benifit by having a better defined personality and that is in RPG's where you have multiple choice dialogue options for every bit of dialogue. Where the player decides the characters personality through choosing what they say and how they act. Fallout 3 for instance or Skyrim. You can play the character how you want.

I know a couple of the above posts have already mentioned Link. But I might as well also chip in. Link isn't a blank slate as has been said. He is intentionally a poorly written character who would benifit from more depth to his personality. He has some defined personality already and physical traits which make up his limited character it means that most players can't be him or be close to him in real life. Like I said above. The only way I think to truly have the player become the character is if they make all the choices. With Link there is no choice but to be selfless and brave, as these are his character traits. Which of course rules out most people being like him for a start. This is why although I know the reason for keeping his personality limited is to try and make the player feel like link I just don't think it works like they think it does. If the player is able to put themselves in the shoes of the selfless and heroic link in their mind then they can do this with any character and this means one with a more defined personality too. Because although some Zelda games are great I know they could be even better with a more defined personality for link.

Having a main character with a more defined and developed personality means the quality of interactions they can have with other characters can be greatly enhanced, which actually enriches the storytelling. In Twilight Princess Midna has the most developed personality of any Zelda character and a proper arc but imagine if Link had been shown to grow more as a person throughout his adventure. The story would have been even better.

Would this have meant people could not feel like they were on the grand adventure they felt they were on when playing TP? No of course not. People got this feeling when playing The Witcher 3 when its protagonist has a defined personality and it was all the better for its protagonist.