The early days of video games featured Pong: a square ball bouncing back & forth between to rectangles. It was a very simple concept that anyone could literally figure out within seconds.Even more elementary than that was the fact that there were no characters, no plot, no storyline, no real purpose of the game, except to bump and bash that cubed ball back and forth. Pong was, besides being a pop-culture phenomenon at the time of its release, just a simple technological thing to do. That is to say, Pong was just a game. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now, today's video games, like the Microsoft Xbox 360 are more than just toys or things to play. They are now worlds with people and experiences that gamers get involved in and have serious personal stake in as well. Video game characters, especially, have evolved and grown over the years. While the erstwhile plumber was cute, he wasn't really endearing. He didn't say much, his emotions were limited and his experiences were fairly mundane. Heck, in his original solo adventure, he couldn't even go too far backwards! He was just the thing that you used to finish the game.

Now, video game characters, like the ones featured in the Sony PSP are people, with expressions and emotions. They have a history and a purpose. They have a back story, and they are vengeful. They have facial expressions that video game players can relate to. They aren't just video game characters: they're tragic heroes and misunderstood villains. They live and work in worlds that are at once foreign to us but recognizable too. Today's video game characters speak to us, and for us. We want to hear what they say, and see how they act and react. They aren't just computer generated characters by designers, they are actors, with a script to follow and a mystery to unravel.

Since video game systems and technology have evolved, it makes sense that the characters grow and develop too. Older video games took place in simple worlds with a defined beginning, a defined end and a defined purpose. That made it easy to distinguish the character's role. Today's video games, like the ones featured on the Microsoft Xbox 360 or the Playstation Portable, take place in immense worlds where a lot of random possibilities can occur. That makes the character more random in his or her actions and reactions.

Today's video game characters that live in the Sony PSP can be incredibly likeable and endearing too.They can have interest, emotions and depth that we can relate too and sympathize with. You can also bet that if a popular video game is released with a powerful and dynamic character, that that character will find himself on the big screen shortly thereafter.While that's great for media companies looking to make more than just a few extra dollars, it presents a real opportunity to flesh out and give the main character some more depth. Because even though video games and their worlds are impressive, they are still limited by their programming & design scope. But a movie or a TV program can really give new emotions to a character whom in some ways, already seems to be more than human.