Our action heroes are getting older. It’s not just prematurely-aged Solid Snake in the latest Metal Gear Solid installment. In the world of cinema, we’ve got the recent examples of Harrison Ford and Sylvester Stallone reprising their old roles in Indiana Jones 4 and the 2008 Rambo movie respectively. Both actors are in their sixties, and just so happened to take on these physically demanding, masculine roles within the same year.
Yeah, I know this is a gaming blog. But I’m referring to a general cultural trend, of which MGS4 is just one example. To a lesser extent, videogame protagonists like GTA4’s Nikko Bellic or even DMC4’s slightly-aged Dante showcase the fact that heroes don’t have to be in the throes of teenage angst and hormone-driven self discovery to kick serious ass. They can have mileage, a few lines on their faces, some gray hair—though in Dante’s case, who could tell?
(Side note: Notice all the fours? What the hell is with that? That’s not even counting Call of Duty).
These characters are a far cry from senile Don Quixote de la Mancha. They may groan, their bones might ache, and maybe they’re not as spry as they were in their prime. But they still manage to save the world, or their own little slice of it. If our heroes (and villains) are getting older, maybe it’s because the world is, too.
I’m not talking about absolute chronology, like the fact (well, the theory) that at 13.73 ± 0.12 billion years of age, the universe isn’t exactly a spring chicken. I’m talking about the median age of the world population, which according to a 2004 UN study was 23.9 years back in 1950, 26.8 years in 2000, and is projected to reach 37.8 years in 2050. Medical, technological, and nutritional advances mean that human beings are living longer across the globe.
On a videogame-specific level, the industry and the people involved have started aging, too. Videogames, when you compare the medium to film or literature, are still in their infancy. The first home console, the Magnavox Odyssey, was released in 1972. Many of us started playing games only shortly (in the grand scheme of things) thereafter, on the Atari 5200, TurboGrfx-16, and Sega Genesis of the 1980s.
But now we’re not kids anymore. Me, for example. I started videogames with a Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt bundle for the NES in 1989. I was 8. Now I’m a few months from 27, which is distressingly close to 30. From there, 40’s going to arrive faster than I care to think about. I’m still young, but as time goes by I think more and more about aging—the physical, emotional, and social consequences of passing years. You could say I’m heading for an early midlife crisis.
But seeing protagonists like these gives me hope that as we age, the idea of older men as obsolete and less capable is becoming a thing of the past. And lest you think I’m sexist (or maybe this’ll just confirm it), let’s not forget the age-defying treatment Kojima (44) gives his women characters. Big Mama/EVA still rides a motorcycle like a stuntwoman in MGS4, and I’ve heard more than one guy mention that a half-century doesn’t stop her from being dangerously hot. Personally, EVA’s not my taste. But MGS3’s The Joy? I’d let her CQC me any time, if you know what I mean.
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