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| Escape from New York |
One of the more interesting quirks of director John Carpenter’s body of work is how little background most of his protagonists are given. Barring horror classic Halloween, there’s few flashbacks or monologues detailing personal histories for the characters, who are defined largely by their role in the story. They Live’s George Nada is the most obvious example - even down to his name - as he quite literally wanders into the events of the film.
That’s not to say Carpenter’s subjects are total enigmas. The presence of Kurt Russell’s beloved Snake Plissken in Escape from New York feels anything but accidental. In light of his heroics during World War 3, he’s brought in to save the President of a dystopian United States from the open air prison that was once New York City.
Even with frequent allusions to prior escapades, such as a failed attempt to rob the Federal Reserve, Snake’s personal history and deeper motives are left unspoken.
Cryptic as he might be, audiences never assumed Snake simply leapt into being with one eye and a permanent cowl. Neuromancer scribe William Gibson once explained how, "I was intrigued by the exchange in one of the opening scenes where the Warden says to Snake 'You flew the Gullfire over Leningrad, didn't you?' It turns out to be just a throwaway line, but for a moment it worked like the best SF where a casual reference can imply a lot".
What, pray tell, does any of this have to do with roleplaying games? Well anyone who’s made a character, run a campaign, or dreamed longingly of doing either knows that an RPG character is more than just a bunch of numbers.
A background is what gives the character a place in the world, a reason for their motivations,
