Summary
Who doesn’t love a great villain? With the sheer number of hours players can sink into video games, they’re bound to get to know their opposition pretty darn well. It’s one of the things the medium does best, crafting antagonists that are as compelling as they are loathsome.
While some villains are built entirely from scratch, others take inspiration from real people. Whether it’s a historical figure, a Hollywood star, or some random guy from an electric company, developers have a knack for sneaking familiar faces into their rogues’ galleries. Of course, being cast as the bad guy might not be the most flattering tribute. But hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…right?
It goes without saying that theHalf-Lifegames are as iconic as it gets. They drew inspiration from a variety of sources — Stephen King novels, ’60s sci-fi shows, and even the grandfather of first-person shooters,Doom. But one of the strangest places Valve pulled from real life was for the character designs.
Rather than designing its cast of villains based on actors or historical figures, Valve opted for everyday people. Case in point: Wallace Breen,Half-Life 2’s calculating antagonist, is the spitting image of Roger Guay, a director at Tanner Electric Cooperative in North Bend, Washington. There’s little information on why Valve chose Guay, of all people, but one thing’s for sure — it worked.
When it comes to subtlety, theDevil May Cryfranchisehas a devil-may-care attitude. InDmC: Devil May Cry, the developers took a not-so-subtle jab at Fox News with the in-game Raptor News Network, a full-on parody of the sensationalist news organization.
And who better to helm this network than Bob Barbas, a character unmistakably inspired by Fox’s Bill O’Reilly? The resemblance is uncanny (though Barbas is built like a tank). The dead giveaway is a direct nod to O’Reilly’s infamous “We’ll do it live!” meltdown.
Speaking of Fox News and not-so-subtle caricatures, another worth looking at isEscape from Monkey Island’santagonist, Ozzie Mandrill. An Australian (Ozzie = Aussie) tycoon bent on buying up Melee Island and its neighbors to impose his own views on his new home? That sounds an awful lot like media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
LucasArtswas clearly ahead of the curve, skewering Murdoch a full 18 years beforeSuccessionlanded on HBO. But hey, the hit TV show deserves credit for at least making its influences slightly more nuanced.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreasis the pinnacle of the PS2 era. The game’s cast was also stacked, featuring the likes of Chris Penn, Charlie Murphy, David Cross, Ice-T, James Woods, and more. But the biggest name to grace the game was Samuel L. Jackson.
However, few know that his portrayal as Officer Frank Tenpenny is based on the disgraced LAPD officer Rafael Pérez. Back in the 90s, Pérez was involved in one of LA’s biggest cases of corruption. This included shooting and framing an innocent man, as well as stealing and reselling confiscated cocaine. He’s such an interesting figure that Denzel Washington used him as the basis for his character Alonzo Harris inTraining Day.
This one isn’t as obvious at first without playingTitanfall 2, but for those who have, it will hit like a bazooka. One of the game’s villains, Richter, is clearly inspired by none other thanArnold Schwarzenegger, the iconic action star and former California governor.
If his thick Austrian accent and war-painted face weren’t enough of a giveaway, Richter also drops the line: “Get to the beacon, now!” But the most subtle (or not-so-subtle) reference comes in the form of an achievement called “See You at the Party,” earned when interacting with Richter. This is a direct reference toTotal Recall, where Schwarzenegger delivers the same line to a character named…Richter.
When Sucker Punch was envisioning the world ofGhost of Tsushima, they initially planned to use real historical figures as characters. Since the game is set during the Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274, this approach made sense. However, the developers ultimately decided against it due to cultural sensitivity.
That didn’t stop them from basing the game’s main villain,Khotun Khan, on a certain someone who led a certain invasion at the exact same time in history. This person was none other than Kublai Khan, the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, grandson (and arguably the most successful successor) of Genghis Khan.
4Balrog (Street Fighter 2)
Based On Mike Tyson
Before becoming a playable character in theStreet Fighterroster, Balrog was originally one of the bosses inStreet Fighter II. For boxing fans (or anyone not living under a rock), his inspiration is clear: Mike Tyson. From his fighting style to his missing front tooth, Balrog is a not-so-subtle nod to the legendary boxer.
Now,let’s open a can of worms. In Japan, Balrog is actually called M. Bison, with the “M” standing for Mike. Meanwhile, the character we know as M. Bison in the West is actually named Vega in Japan. And the character the West calls Vega is known as Balrog over there. Confusing, right? Capcom made these name swaps when localizing the game for English-speaking markets, to avoid getting on Tyson’s bad side.
TheFalloutgames, with their pulpy alternate-history setting, were bound to lampoon real-world figures one way or another. One of the boldest examples of this is Mr. House, a character seemingly inspired by two titans of industry: Howard Hughes and Walt Disney.
For the sake of brevity, let’s focus on the Disney connection. ThroughoutNew Vegas, players uncover Mr. House’s vision of preserving the New Vegas Strip as a self-sustaining city-state — which is eerily similar to Disney’s original plan for EPCOT before it became just another theme park. And, of course, the infamous urban legend about Walt Disney’s cryogenically frozen head finds its way into the game, though that chilling revelation is best if players discover it for themselves.
Andrew Ryan’s presence throughout the firstBioShockgame hangs as heavy as the crushing pressure on the underwater city of Rapture. To create such a complex and captivating villain, the game’s creator, Ken Levine, drew inspiration from multiple historical figures. But the one that bubbles to the surface above all others is Ayn Rand.
Andrew Ryan, Ayn Rand — it’s not exactly subtle. However, the game serves as acritique of Rand’s objectivist philosophy. Without diving too deep into the concept (it’s not the most entertaining lecture), objectivism champions radical individualism and self-interest, asserting that government should stay out of the way of the ambitious and let them do whatever they need to succeed – like building an underwater city!
Doctor Eggman, aka Doctor Ivo Robotnik, is one of gaming’s most recognizable villains. While Jim Carrey’s portrayal in theSonic the Hedgehogmovies has brought him back into the global spotlight, his original design was inspired by none other than former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt (with a dash of walrus thrown in).
This was by no means an attack on Teddy’s legacy by Sega. In fact, Eggman was initially designed as a potential company mascot to rival Nintendo’s Mario. But when Sonic raced ahead in popularity, Sega couldn’t let the mustachioed scientist go to waste. And the rest is history.
