Disturbing Character Backstories in Video Games

Game developers have been creating weird, interesting, and often scary games for as long as games have been around. Yet, there are some examples of truly creative, spine-chilling character development that stand apart from all others. Although each of the titles examined hereafter lies largely outside the realm of possibility, each of them are grounded in a sense of realism. Several themes within these games are actually very real, which makes for exceptional, but frightening storytelling. You might want to read through these with the lights on.

Silent Hill 2 – James Sunderland

James met his wife Mary at a party and instantly fell in love with her. Their love blossomed into a deep passion for each other and seemingly nothing would come between them. A few years after they had been happily married, Mary was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Doctors told James that there was no hope for his wife. They predicted she would die within 3 years.

Naturally, James did not want to believe it. So, he researched every medical study he could get his hands on, to no avail. Over time Mary’s illness intensified and began to affect her brain. Her moods became unpredictable and even violent. James started to question his life and his relationship with his wife. He had no way of helping her and hated seeing her live in such an awful state.

During this time, James began to see her less and less. He couldn’t handle her constant beratement and horrible comments. He hated himself for not being there for her, but he felt she wasn’t even his wife anymore. Images of her confusion and frustration tormented him constantly.

At the end of his rope, after three years had past, James felt like a shell of a human being. He decided to take charge of their lives and deal with the consequences. He visited her one last time and smothered her to death with a pillow.

James then found himself driving to Silent Hill, a place he and Mary loved to visit. He believed she had been dead for those 3 years. He found a note that appeared to be from Mary that stated she was waiting in their “special place”. He had effectively wiped his mind of her entire illness due to his grief, which is a very real disorder called Dissociative Amnesia – usually occurring as a result of such a horrific event. James likely suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, thus sending him into his spiral.

Silent Hill 2 represents James’ disdain for himself, the doctors who wouldn’t help Mary, and his resentment towards Mary. He is attacked by twisted creatures that represent these feelings. As he defeats the monsters in his mind, he begins to slowly piece together what really happened and eventually finds a video tape showing him smothering his wife.

It’s not really clear what happens to James after he regains his memories. In some endings, which differ drastically, James chooses to commit suicide in order to be with his wife. Many believe he remains in Silent Hill. However, it turns out, after he smothered her, James took Mary’s body with him. She was lying dead in the backseat of his car the entire time.

Max Payne Series – Max Payne

In the original Max Payne, he becomes an officer for the DEA after returning home to find his wife and baby daughter brutally murdered by junkies strung out on a new drug called Valkyr.

After entering the DEA he makes it a quest to get to the bottom of this drug trade. He goes undercover with the local mafia and tragically his partner, Alex, is killed in the process. He becomes a suspect to both the mafia and the police force and must flee. He realizes that the drug trade goes much higher than the mafia and is injected with a lethal dose of Valkyr by one of the big-wig CEOs, Nicole Horne, running the drug trade.

Luckily he wakes up and begins his chase after Horne. He is intercepted by a man named Alfred Woden who works for an underground government agency, The Inner Circle, and they enlist Max to destroy Horne, in return they offer him his freedom.

In the second game Max falls in love with a fugitive from the first installment, Mona Sax after breaking her out of prison. In the meantime, Vladimir Lem, a member of the mafia, is determined to kill Alfred Woden and take over his position in The Inner Circle. He is successful in his attempt and Max and Lem duke it out. Mona is killed in the process leaving Max with nothing.

Unfortunately, by the time Max Payne 3 comes around, poor Max just can’t take anymore. He’s lost his job at the NYPD and throughout the game Max can be found drowning himself in the bottle and handfuls of pain medication. The game does a wonderful job of presenting Max’s situation in a sincere and desperate light, instead of glorification. This type of debilitating addiction is extremely serious and common, which, in my opinion, is why it hits hard with so many players of the game.

Basically, in the end, Max is blackmailed into working for some more gangsters, but gets to the bottom of it like he normally does. He escapes to Brazil and leaves his old life behind. Hopefully now, the man can finally get some peace.

Fear Series – Alma Wade

At a very young age Alma discovered that she had psychic abilities. She was haunted by the sadness and negativity being projected by other’s minds. A company called the Armacham Technology Corporation picked her up at the age of 3 and began testing her for numerous psychic gifts.

Alma’s power grew day by day and she gained new powers consistently. Even at such a young age, Alma realized she could end a person’s life simply with a thought. Of course, this is not something that any little girl wishes to do. So, the idea of turning into a monster destroyed her conscience. It is guessed that at this point Alma’s “evil side” completely took over, which is another instance of Dissociative disorder, called Dissociative Identity Disorder. In most instances people who have been through exceptionally traumatic experiences choose a stronger “side” of themselves or new identity that takes over when life becomes too difficult.

At age 8 she was deemed a liability and was placed into a coma in order to keep her and the employees alive while they continued tests. By age 15 she was impregnated with an embryo made from some of her own cells, and her father’s. The goal was to replicate her psychic powers in other humans. The ATC forced her to give birth a second time at 16. Her two sons are named Paxton Fettel and The Point Man. The Point Man was taken away from Alma, but Fettel joined minds with his mother at age 10. Their psychic power became so strong that Alma had to be taken off of life support and died at the age of 26.

Twenty years later the ATC is reopened and The Point Man is sent into to investigate the facility. He is originally unaware of his link with his mother or brother and aims to destroy Fettel and the psychic soldiers he has created. He succeeds at his mission, much to Alma’s dismay.

In the second game the player controls a man by the name of Michael Becket, who is attuned with his own psychic powers. He is ordered to destroy Alma so she may not control anyone again. Alma falls in love with Becket and becomes obsessed and possessive over him. Over the course of the game she tries to make Becket fall in love with her, with no success. At the end of the game she takes control over Becket’s mind and forces him into a hallucination while she takes advantage of his body. At the end it is revealed that she will give birth to their child.

Fear 3 once again follows The Point Man as he tries to destroy Alma. Fettel haunts The Point Man and tries to get him to embrace his powers. Alma tries to guide both brothers to the end of the game in which, depending on the choices made, Becket’s child is given to either Fettel or The Point Man. Whether she is still haunting the ATC after the fact remains unknown.