Player character

Historical figures and leaders may sometimes appear as characters too, particularly in strategy or empire building games such as in Sid Meier's Civilization series.

In many video games, and especially first-person shooters, the player character is a "blank slate" without any notable characteristics or even backstory.

Pac-Man, Crono from Chrono Trigger, Link from The Legend of Zelda, Chell from Portal, and Claude from Grand Theft Auto III are examples of such characters.

Having many distinctive characters to play as and against, all possessing different moves and abilities, is necessary to create a larger gameplay variety in such games.

[12] Multiplayer online battle arena games offer a large group of viable player characters for the player to choose from, each of which having distinctive abilities, strengths, and weaknesses to make the game play style different.

Choosing a character who complements the player's teammates and counters their opponents opens up a strategy before the beginning of the match itself.

[13] Playable characters blend a variety of fantasy tropes, featuring numerous references to popular culture and mythology.

The character is often of a certain (usually fictional) race and class (such as zombie, berserker, rifleman, elf, or cleric), each with strengths and weaknesses.