False protagonist

[1] In film, a character can be made to seem like the main protagonist based on a number of techniques (beyond just simply focusing the plot on their role).

Star power is a very effective method; audience members generally assume that the biggest "name" in a film will have a significant part to play.

Alternatively, the false protagonist can serve as a narrator to the film, encouraging the audience to assume that the character survives to tell their tale later.

[citation needed] In video games, a false protagonist may initially be a playable character, only to be killed or revealed to be the antagonist.

One key way in which video games employ the method that differs from uses in non-interactive fiction is by granting the player direct control over the false protagonist.