Can you point at the ”could go either way” mad max movie where you thought the main character would perish? Can you point out, in any of the furiosa new mad max movie trailers, where you felt she was in any point in mortal danger she could not escape from? Can you pinpoint where survival stories get ”boring” because the protagonists ”keep surviving” ???
There are endings in this game. There are choices where MC looses his prize, there is a puzzle in the camp to conquer where MC has to be a politician and win the hearts before subjugating the minds. He either does it and end it on his terms or watch the other faction kill and plunder without his involvement. You choose.
The fact that strong protagonist movies keep her/him alive throughout the story does not mean the story is bad or not entertaining.
MC can be a looser to the undead guys who rape and/or eat the fairy. MC can be humiliated by his poor choices. MC can lose something - of course MC cannot loose his life - that would end his story.
MC can be oblivious to the crass remarks or behavior of others - there is your humiliation - keep him inert if you like to have him eat all those up and just take it ”like a man” if that is where you want to take the main character in a post apocaliptic game where every mission means he could die or his peers could die or his prize would slip away or his fate might turn.
Most gamas have one protagonist they see through to the end - that is not bad writing or boring game play. Also, the fact MC does not start up like a little child slave to the empress who then hands him over to his mentor where he gets his rocks hardened into the fighter he is during gameplay - remember that Witcher games and movies never make it about his kid years struggles - those are carefully crafter flashbacks that build his resolve - this game builds MC up right in the first scene and then thrusts him into the man eating friend or foe dillema of doing business with man eaters. MC can also be seen as a coq in the war games of his former mentor and his empress moving him like a different chess piece on their game board - sometimes MC is the pawn, sometimes he is the rook, sometimes he is the king - those two show their scheming chops and how Mc has been built up into this game protagonist by the ruling parties who are now using him to his full potential in furthering their goals.
The fights are very hard and impactful scenes that build MC into the characters he is.
You can influence how those go - wanting to turn them into humiliation for MC - you can do that to the extent it makes him still a functioning loner Mad Max character who would make it back home in one piece.
The scenes are a struggle, they are do or die - the mutant section is MC being a rag doll for the breed or being the toy for the leader - MC can overcome those obstacles or let them rail road him. You choose.
You can have your humiliating moments if you need to play MC that way.
MC has survival as his trait. Would Ripley dying half way through help any Alien movie?
You enjoyed Prometheus that much for having David be literally dismembered and disemboweled only to have him as protagonist in the next movie? MC is not android - he cannot play possum thorugh getting mangled and turned into scrap - no supporting character would bring him back. MC is not a terminator like in some of the movies - even then, the sacrifice comes at the very end. This game is not at the end.
MC gets to see and feel the chills of death in many instances. This is a do or die game. Of course MC comes out of the scuffle if this game is to go on. MC can turn into Omar or into Igor - if you want MC be humiliated, you can have him squander his good fortune into disheartening avenues.
Those other characters show you the difference where MC shines for the plot to hug and follow him, as opposed to the other characters.
MC dying is not exactly what i was getting at.
Obviously if he dies its game over, there is no other protagonists to continue story other than Shani maybe. You would need multiple protagonist like in the survival drama walking dead had, you could always fear for the protagonists. Also you keep mentioning Mad Max movies, but why should they copy them and not come up with something original or unique, they could surely get inspired by them but i noticed few things they ripped off from or looked very similar or iconic. But anyways, thats not the point. My point would be, MC has no fear for his life, doesnt get hurt, doesnt show humility ( other than sparing the life of that slaver owner perhaps), game has no real sense of trouble like that one instance where Ain gets kidnaped but guess what, you can sit back and relax knowing nothing bad will ever happen, this is what i mean about story being predictable, you just know what happens the way they keep writing. Everything comes in his favor as always no matter what . Like if the Queen would punish him or get him in trouble if he shows up empty handed or fucks up the mission.
The worst she could do to him is spread her legs lol
But even RAMBO gets hurt and MC is not RAMBO. Is this all because its a power fantasy game?
Game overs are irrelavant to the story, they dont contribute anything.
They should have replaced game overs with maybe someone getting hurt and the story goes on.
Also MC doing quests for queen, raiders and mutants doesnt make him a fool or a pawn, what do you expect him to do instead?
Hes a Stalker and is meant to do these quests. I never got that sense that hes a pawn or fool, cuz he is doing his job, game makes it feel like its right thing to do and just.
Also if MC loses a prize he always get another one to replace it instead so hes not really at a lost, is he?
I havent really done mutants quests so i wouldnt know if they bully and stomp on him.
Also i havent seen instances where he keeps getting humiliated you keep talking about, maybe we have different views or something.
You could say MC kneeling and kissing Queens hand is humiliating but that is just mandatory to every queen out there in other movies as well. When i play this game i play it with a mindset that it has childrens writing as in nothing ever goes wrong, there is always happy ending no matter what. Mc never has to compromise anything or lose anything, hes always in control and nothing bad happens out of his control, but he only gains and take everything which keeps making him seem like hes invincible.
I would say the things are the way they are is cuz its a power fantasy, which is fine but then my main point is that it makes it look ridiculous for the story.
