Discussion: what game character would you want to hang out with in real life?

The games we play are full of interesting characters, but how many of them would you want to hang out with in real life? I mean, let’s face it it, most of them are technically mass murderers. Still, though, there are a few who seem like they’d be fun to chill with.

Charlie: Alyx Vance from Half-Life 2. I wanted to say CJ from San Andreas, but he’s from a life so different from my own that hanging out in real life would probably be awkward. Alyx Vance, though…I mean, who wouldn’t want to hang out with her? She’s smart (she’s an expert hacker), strong (headcrabs beware), and opinionated. But she’s not your typical video game dragon lady; she also has a softer side and—most crucially—a sense of humor. I feel like just having a conversation with Alyx would be pretty fascinating, but it’d certainly be reassuring to know that if some Combine soldiers did happen to turn up or we came across a security system that needed hacking for some reason, she’d know exactly what to do.

Xairylle: Ryu Hoshi from Street Fighter because who wouldn’t want to hang out with their childhood hero if he happened to be real? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my childhood hero is a video game character. It was—for the lack of a better term—“love at first sight.” (I was five. Don’t read into that too much.) As I learned more about Ryu while I grew up, I saw him as a more interesting character than just a karate guy firing projectiles.

With his character, I doubt we could really go out to do regular fun things like playing video games (Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist shows him playing Megaman 2, though). However, I love almost everything about martial arts so if his definition of “hanging out” is doing kata, controlling ki or basically figuring out the answers to life’s questions using meditation, I’ve got no complaints. I mean, come on, how cool would it be to learn how to fire my own Hadouken?

Mary-Anne: Sarah Kerrigan. She was one of the few badass female characters in the video games available to me growing up and was definitely the first female video game character I remember admiring. Kerrigan wasn’t just a Terran Ghost; she also was left for dead in the middle of a Zerg invasion, survived the transmogrification into a Zerg chrysalis, and later emerged as the Queen of Blades—unscathed! In Heart of the Swarm, she even managed to find it in herself to work with the Terrans again (for a while). I’d love to hear her side of the story, to find out what she really thinks of Jim Raynor, and to learn what it really was like being queen of the Zerg.

Iain: This was the easiest question ever: Lara Croft. Lara Croft is my oldest crush and after so many years, I still hold a flame for her. Whilst some people associate gaming with Mario or Sonic, for me it will be always be the Tomb Raider.

I would love to sit down and ask her about her adventures, share a cognac in her infamous library and explore the hidden crevices of Croft Manor. Also, she’s totally loaded, so the drinks would be on her!