History MadScientist / VideoGames

* In ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'', the Mad Hatter has become one, emphasis on the "mad" part. In addition to creating numerous {{Clockwork Creature}}s, he's converted the Jabberwok and himself into ClockPunk automations, and has tried to do the same to the March Hare and Doormouse, unsuccessfully; the two have become delirious and babbling from the constant experiments they've been subjected too.

* Any and ''every'' scientist working for Umbrella in the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series is virtually guaranteed to be a Mad Scientist. The majority of the games in the franchise have also had a batshit insane researcher as the BigBad, including [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil Albert Wesker]], [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 Willaim Birkin]], [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica Alexia Ashford]], [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil0 James Marcus]], [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 Wesker, again]], and [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilOperationRaccoonCity Four-Eyes]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'', the Mad Scientist behind the outbreak of the Blacklight virus is [[spoiler: Alex Mercer]]. He wanted to take the original virus and develop it into an ''even deadlier form''. Unfortunately for New York City, [[GoneHorriblyRight he succeeds,]] brags about his achievement, and then goes and releases it in Penn Station. [[spoiler: The player-controlled protagonist character is actually the sentient result, who has assumed Mercer's identity as its ShapeshifterDefaultForm.]]
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''
** Mordin Solus may qualify, although he's more eccentric than outright mad. He's a salarian doctor who was formerly a member of a special forces squad, then ran a clinic where he cured a population of a devastating plague while personally shooting attacking mercenaries in the head, both of which he sees as a public service. He also seems to have a taste for Gilbert & Sullivan. He also keeps up a set of ethics and principles that he refuses to break, notably despising the idea of PlayingWithSyringes and experiments that lead to more suffering than necessary. In the end, he believes in saving lives, even through [[IDidWhatIHadToDo questionable]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist means]].
** A better example is Daro'Xen; a quarian who believes the geth should be put back under the control of the quarians, regardless of how much HeelFaceBrainwashing it takes. In fact... especially if it involves that. She casually mentions that she [[TheyWouldCutYouUp performed surgery]] on her toys [[CreepyChild as a kid]], and [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman the geth are no different]]. Tali calls her insane to her face right after. She's appropriately voiced by Creator/ClaudiaBlack.
** Halfway between them both may fall [[spoiler:Tali's father]]; A WellIntentionedExtremist with poor judgment and a bit too little foresight, he performs experiments on the geth solely because he believes it will help his people (his daughter in particular). It backfires and he dies because of it.
** ''Any'' [[ProudWarriorRace krogan]] scientist. One laments that he will never be appreciated for his work in the field of StuffBlowingUp, which he came to realize after [[KlingonPromotion he pulled the knife out of his mentor's chest]]. He's the ''sanest one you meet''.
** Henry Lawson. First he creates DesignerBabies to continue he legacy and [[OffingTheOffspring disposes of them]] whenever they don't meet his standards. And then there's Sanctuary which he advertised as a safe haven during the Reaper War and lured thousands of war refugees and families. Once they got there, they were experimented on and turned into husks and indoctrinated soldiers for Cerberus.
* Daniel Dankovski, Bachelor of Medicine from ''VideoGame/{{Pathologic}}'' is a subversion - he has reputation of one for his revolutionary and unethical hypothesis and experiments(and also due to having personal enemies in academical circles), but he is a genuinely decent and reasonable man, and, as one of the game's protagonists, fearlessly fights ThePlague.
* ''VideoGame/GodHand'': Dr. Ion operates from a [[GiantEnemyCrab colossal, mechanical, mobile crab-shaped base]], has legions of cyborg grunts under his command and also seems to be largely robotic himself. He's almost given a position among the [[BigBad Four Divas]], but after Gene pummels his arse his reputation plummets. Doesn't stop him from coming back for a rematch, though.
* Lezard Valeth from ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'' and it's sequels show Lezard as a mad wizard/alchemist with mad scientist traits. (Though that may be an understatment considering how important to the plot his mad scientist skills seem to be.) He also has one of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBhksfGFiQ8 the creepiest laughs]] ever to appear in a video game.
* Dr. Voltabolt from the Creator/ArtixEntertainment games was always building crazy machines for the heroes of ''VideoGame/AdventureQuest'', ''VideoGame/DragonFable'', and ''VideoGame/AdventureQuestWorlds'' to take down.
* In ''VideoGame/TheSims 2'', Mad Scientist is actually the top career rank for the Science career. Also, Loki Beaker from Strangetown is obviously supposed to be one, according to his bio. He also has 0 nice points, which makes him an EvilGenius as well. He and his wife Circe have Nervous Subject in their house and according to the family bio, they are torturing him.
* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' has AffablyEvil demon lord Mitra. He cordially invites you to share in the bounty of the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Schwarzwelt]] and offers to make you and your comrades citizens of his kingdom-to-come. He also has a tower full of human experiments and is developing insanity-inducing mutagens (which he eventually tests on one of your crew). And his science is... wrong. [[PlayingWithSyringes Very, very wrong]]. The experiment reports clearly state the demons have really no idea what makes humans tick, so they're cutting as many as they can so they can get a better idea. With all that implies.
** And then we come to EvilBrit Captain Jack. His crew has been [[FusionDance fusing demons]]. So what. The problem is, they're not using the series' traditional Demon Fusion machines - they're using their own. [[spoiler:Which mostly involve ripping apart two demons and weave them together.]]
* ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy'' gives us Dr. Victor. Prone to MilkingTheGiantCow, gleefully invoking LivingForeverIsAwesome, and not a drop of evil in sight. He's ''way'' madder than most and a [[LargeHam massive ham to boot]], but that only makes him even more CrazyAwesome. '''''[[CatchPhrase KUZUNOHAAAAAA!!!!!!!!]]'''''
* [[HerrDoktor Dr. Ort-Meyer]] from the ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' series, responsible for the protagonist's creation. With a reputation as a disgruntled, megalomaniacal geneticist (even pulling an extensive TheyCalledMeMad speech in the first game's finale), he was capable of creating a mindlessly loyal and equally lethal version of 47 over the course of the game, which nonetheless ended up being destroyed by 47 (although there survived a more primitive version which went on to serve as a minor antagonist in ''[[VideoGame/Hitman2SilentAssassin Silent Assassin]]''). The backstory of ''[[VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney Blood Money]]'' deals with the impact of his creation's legacy and the prospect of it falling into the wrong hands.
** A more realistic example in ''VideoGame/Hitman2016''. One of the targets is Silvio Caruso, a brilliant italian scientist who's one of the most renowned microbiologists in the world, and you're hired to kill him to stop the development of a powerful bioweapon. He's also mentally ill thanks to a lifetime of AbusiveParents and bullying, which, on top of his autism, has left him a neurotic, phobic, woman-hating, vengeful [[PsychopathicManchild manchild]].
* Dr. Paul and Dr. Miranda from ''VideoGame/EscapeFromStMarys'' disguise their time machine as a coffin so that it's "inconspicuous." Their invention threatens to destroy the universe; they seem mostly unmoved by this.
* Seath the Scaleless from ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' is a ''dragon'' that combines this with EvilSorceror. He is described as the grandfather of sorcery and the creator of various magical creatures like the Moonlight Butterfly. He went insane trying to decipher the one mystery that eluded him his whole life: why he was the only dragon born without the scales of immortality that ''every other dragon'' had.
** Similarly, Lord Aldia from ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' also sought immortality, and performed many terrible experiments on undead, giants, dragons, and people who were unlucky enough to invited to his manor. [[spoiler:And in the end, he experimented on himself, successfully transforming himself into an EldritchAbomination capable of breaking his world's laws of life and death to the point of removing himself fully from the EternalRecurrence that has plagued his world for countless centuries...]]
%%* Dr. Neil Jason in ''VideoGame/{{Absorption}}''.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning'' has Ventrinio, a TokenEvilTeammate late in the game who had a hand in your character's death and subsequent ressurrection.
-->'''[[HelloInsertNameHere Protagonist]]''': You're a monster.\\
'''Ventrinio''': No, I'm a ''scientist''. I ''make'' monsters.
* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has quite a few of these.
** Dr. Mundo performed sadistic experiments on anyone he could catch until he was run out of town. Lacking subjects, he experimented [[ProfessorGuineaPig on himself]], transforming into a drooling brute with immense strength, regenerative powers, and HulkSpeak.
** Singed is more or less the inventor of chemical warfare, and what his toxins does to people is so horrifying it has not been described but it was enough to destroy Master Yi's entire village and horribly traumatize Riven. In addition to the chemicals he throws around, his [[ProfessorGuineaPig personal enhancements]] have made him immensely strong and durable.
** Viktor turned himself into a cyborg, and wants everyone else to undergo a similar transformation. Fortunately thus far his method has been to prove how superior his enhancements make him instead of doing unwilling conversions.
** Ziggs is [[MadBomber obsessed with explosives]] and extremely reckless with them. After saving the Yordle Academy that expelled him for his dangerous methods they admitted him in gratitude and recognition of his skill, then directed him to the League. An honor, certainly, but one that ensures he spends a lot of time away from them.
** Vel'Koz is an EldritchAbomination from the Void who is not as much malevolent as curious, eager to study the new world he has entered, particularly the life forms residing in it. Also he studies things by ''disintegrating'' them.
%%* The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games usually have a few scientists willingly working for the main villains.
* Dr. Mastaba, the BigBad from ''VideoGame/{{Bioforge}}'', head of the cyborg army project and member of the insane [[MachineWorship machine cult]].
* ''VideoGame/RealityOnTheNorm'': The recurring character [[PunnyName Dr. Die Vie Ess]], who fills every evil scientist cliche, complete with a mansion and a basement with a big vat of acid, as well as having his eyes go crazy when he talks.
* ''VideoGame/ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlRevis'' gives us Jess, a [[RoseHairedSweetie Rose-Haired]] GenkiGirl who loves to experiment with alchemical bombs and medicines. And by "medicines", we mean "potions that magnify cavity pain and/or turn people green." The fact that her experiments tend to [[EpicFail blow up in her face]] might actually be a good thing.
* Dr. Elliot Sinclair, BigBad of ''VideoGame/TheJourneymanProject'', and inventor of the Pegasus time machine, which jumpstarted the foundation of the Temporal Security Agency. The third game reveals he has some very understandable reasons behind his actions, however. [[spoiler: Turns out that despite the impression he gave in the first game he wasn't quite as much of a paranoid general xenophobe as it seemed -- he was mainly suspicious of the particular alien species that made first contact, because he'd seen those ships before, when they destroyed the city he came from]]. He was still wrong about them, and his plan still went horribly right, but he certainly looks both more sympathetic and more sane after those revelations.
* Dr. F of ''VideoGame/MySims Kingdom'', who enthused after a successful experiment that "History will replace the word 'science' with the name 'F'!"
%%* Diode from ''TheDayTheWorldBroke''. He plots to reach and rule the surface world.
* There's a whole faction of them in ''VideoGame/PandoraFirstContact'', though they tend to be good, honest, and upright, they are sometimes too enthusiastic in their search for the truth at the expense of many lab monkeys' brains.
* [[spoiler: [[TheMole Dr. Pettrovich Madnar]]]] is revealed to be this in ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake''.
%%* ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'' has [[spoiler: Elijah Modnar.]]
* The chronologically final installment of ''VideoGame/TheTaleOfAlltynex'' trilogy, ''VideoGame/{{Kamui}}'', has the BigBad Xaffiquel become this after his daughter Panafill de Alice was uploaded into one of the titular Kamui fighters.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Robopon}}'', Dr. Zero is this in both games. The sequel reveals it runs in the family with his brother, Zeke, and his father, Dr. Zero, Sr.
* More of an engineer/designer, given the setting's {{Magitek}}, the title applies to Kang the Mad of ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire.'' It's in his NAME, after all. [[spoiler: Not to mention being the literal God of Invention.]]
-->''I make things explode, and I make things fly, and I'm very good at both. The things I fly tend to survive. The things I explode... not so much.''
* In ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'', while the asura are an entire race of {{Magitek}}-savvy {{Insufferable Genius}}es, the faction known as the Inquest dive head-first into the realm of Mad Science, performing all manner of unethical experiments on sentient beings in their quest to not just understand but master the Eternal Alchemy. As one character puts it, theirs is genius unbound by morality... with a heaping helping of [[{{Jerkass}} jerk]].
* The german RPG game ''VideoGame/DieReiseInsAll'' has two of them. The good one and one of the playable characters Professor Heisen, and the bad one, [[spoiler: [[Literature/{{SherlockHolmes}} Professor Moriarty]]]].
* The ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'' series has Dr. Schabbs, one of the bosses in ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'', and Dr. Wilhelm Strasse, a.k.a. Deathshead, the BigBad of the new ''Wolfenstein'' series.
%%* Dr. Geo Mandrake from ''[[VideoGame/{{Contra}} Contra: Hard Corps]]''.
%%* Amadeus from ''[[VideoGame/MetalSlug Metal Slug 4]]''.
* This is a racial trait of ''VideoGame/{{Ryzom}}'''s Matis race, who enjoy doing all sorts of zany experiments on plants; including, at one point, messing around with a species of intelligent plants known as Slaveni [[WhenTreesAttack that went about]] [[GoneHorriblyWrong as well as you'd expect.]]
* Dr. Synthesis from ''VideoGame/TheUltimateHauntedHouse'' is a pretty standard one of these, with a voice like the singer of the Monster Mash. However, he's also pretty subdued for a mad scientist, until you [[BerserkButton make him angry]]...
* Pathos in ''VideoGame/TelepathTactics'', though we (thankfully) aren't given much detail into her "experiments". She seems primarily responsible for breaking the slaves' will through psychological manipulations. Given that her entourage in the final battle consists of ''ghosts'', she may also be a {{Necromancer}} (or the closest thing there is to one in the Telepath universe, anyway).
* The University of Planet, in ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri''. Imagine an entire faction made up by a bunch of power-crazed scientists getting together and hanging out. The pursuit of greater knowledge for it's own sake is absolutely imperative to the continued survival of the human species, and if that means never allowing it to be fettered by stupid, petty things like "informed consent", "human rights" and "conventional morality", then so be it.
** The Gaians are Mad Biologists, insofar as using science to integrate themselves into the alien ecosystem and become best buddies with [[MindRape mind worms]]. The Morganites also have a tendency to hire these, though they're a faction of {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' it's possible to recruit scientists with the "Maniacal" trait, increasing their research speed and increasing the chances of "dangerous" technologies becoming available.
* VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic: The Imperial Agent's companion, Dr. Eckhard Lokin qualifies. Going ProfessorGuineaPig on himself, he's now able to ''voluntarily'' transform into a [[PlagueZombie rakghoul]]. That, and he's had a long and storied career in [[StateSec Imperial Intelligence]] with a ton of {{NoodleIncident}}s it's probably better not to know the details about. Under torture, he mocks their shoddy technique, claiming he's done worse to ''family members.''
** On the Republic side, the Consular gets Tharan Cedrax, who is more {{Downplayed}} than Lokin. Still, a vehement NayTheist when it comes to the Force, he whips up oddball technological toys as easily as breathing, has a sentient hologram for an assistant/long-term girlfriend, and is always ''fascinated'' when there's some scientific breakthrough on the line, no matter how destructive it is or how completely unethical the methods were to get that discovery.
** For the expansions, Dr. Oggurobb (a Hutt science genius) qualifies, referring to his experiments as "[[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible art]]" and casually suggesting that you find a Force Sensitive to [[ImAHumanitarian feed a Dashade]] you free from stasis in an optional quest.
** There is also Sannus Lorrick, the villain of 2 rakghoul flashpoints who experiments with the rakghoul plague to make it more effective and to infect the galaxy at large for being thrown out of the Tion Hegemony for his unlawful practices.
* ''Videogame/DarkestDungeon'': In his boredom, the Ancestor became one of an occult sort. He learned quickly from necromantic scholars all around the world only to surpass them (and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness using their bodies as supplies for the art, naturally]]), held what are explicitly called experiments in blood magic and extraplanar summoning with pigs (these didn't go so well; it needs utmost precision, and he screwed up often), often ran other experiments and research on powerful and sinister artifacts from all around the world, had a fellow amoral researcher who he ran various experiments in alchemy and botany with (until her [[ProfessorGuineaPig self-experimentating tendencies]] and [[ImAHumanitarian horrid]] [[WasOnceAMan results]] got too unpleasant for him, he kicked her out, and she became The Hag), and finally made an archeological dig under his own manor, complete with progress logs and documenting what he found, both ForScience and for the possible eldritch power he could find below. All the recklessness and disregard for morality and nature of a mad scientist combined with all the hellish power and dangerous dealings of a warlock.
* The player character is the mad scientist in ''The Believable Adventures of an Invisible Man'', complete with egotism, paranoia and a list of people to get revenge on.
* Jon Irenicus from ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' is actually an EvilSorcerer, but you'd be forgiven if you think you are dealing with a mad scientist when you see his dungeon full of people he experimented on, indefinitely kept alive in glass jars powered by magical batteries, his attempts to clone the woman he once loved, and [[spoiler:the soul-sucking machine he uses on the hero and Imoen]].
* Moira from ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' is a scientist willing to do anything to "improve" humanity through genetic engineering, and since joining Talon, isn't impeded by the need to experiment ethically.
* The protoganist in the InteractiveFiction game ''VideoGame/TimeAllThingsComeToAnEnd''.
* ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'' has Magnitogorsk led by Trofim Lysenko as a nation ruled by those. A group of talented but otherwise insane scientists, Lysenko and his fellow biologists make any sacrifices to defeat their enemies, including performing all kinds of abuse and torture on their people under the guise of "experiments" for the sake of their dubious theories in hopes that under extreme duress the tortured people will become super soldiers that are capable to defeat the Russian warlords and Nazi German invaders. In the mod proper, Magnitogorsk starts with the "Mad Scientist" spirit, which improves their defenses and gives boosts to research time, but decreases their manpower.
* Plague Knight from ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'' looks like a PlagueDoctor, but is far more interested in using alchemy to create bigger and bigger explosions. When you fight him, he jumps around erratically, throwing flasks full of explosives everywhere. Mona, his partner-in-crime, is also enthusiastic about explosive alchemy, but is not as confrontational as him...at least until she was made playable herself in ''Shovel Knight Showdown''.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' has a few mad scientists to its name.
** Doctor Tengus, a [[TheEmpire Grineer]] scientist responsible for: unleashing uncontrolled [[TheVirus Infestation]] on the Origin System, making Tenno-hunters out of three soldiers [[BloodKnight so unhinged]] they started ''killing their comrades'' en route to mission, turning Vay Hek into a flying barely-human {{cyborg}} he is and developing horrifying [[OurGhoulsAreDifferent ghouls]] that terrorize the Plains of Eidolon.
** Alad V, a rogue [[MegaCorp Corpus]] director who sought profit by turning [[HumanPopsicle inert warframes]] into Tenno-hunters. When that didn't work out, he turned to Infestation to make it infect ''machines'' and eventually control warframes. He hasn't stopped at that, tinkering with technology of ''Sentients'', the bogeymen of the Origin System that almost completely destroyed it a long time ago.
** Tyl Regor, another Grineer scientist, researching a way to revert Grineer CloneDegeneration, resulting in not just powerful Drekar units, but also Manics, whose name should tell you something. He does this all in {{underwater base}}s under the surface of Uranus' oceans.
* ''VideoGame/CreatureCrunch'' has a boy named Wesley get transformed into a half-boy/half-creature by an evil scientist named Dr. Drod, who gloats that he is putting together an army of monsters to take over the world.
* ''{{VideoGame/Whiplash}}'': Tons, usually tormenting chimps in humorous ways until you show up. Notably, the game has two different types; "regular" scientists which can be either male or female and are TheGoomba, and the more dangerous "mad" scientists, which are always male, throw potions at you, and drink potions to breathe fire at you.

*** Brutally expanded on in a high level story arc, where an alternate universe version of the Clockwork King has realised his own sanity, and focused enough to ''conquer the entire planet and kill everyone on it''.

* [[MadDoctor The Doctor]] from ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' shows traits of this trope as well, using the [[PsychoSerum Red Flowers]] to turn [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter the Mimingas]] into his personal monster army.
* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'''s Lucca is a rare heroic example, as one of the party members.
** ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' has a less heroic version in Luccia.

* Dr. Nefarious from ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank''. Gleefully [[EvilIsHammy hammy and loud]], Dr. Nefarious manages to out-ham everyone in a WorldOfHam. It's actually quite impressive to watch. A former flesh-and-blood mad scientist, he was turned into a robot thank to FakeUltimateHero Captain Qwark (or, in the 2016 reboot, Ratchet and Clank themselves), and now wants to exterminate all organic life in the universe. In ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime'', he gets a new plan to create a VillainWorld using the Great Clock, undoing every time the heroes had won.

%%* ''VideoGame/{{Crusader}}'' has ''Doc''tor! ''Gre''gor! ''Hoff''man!
* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}''
** Mao in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}''. Despite being the main character, Mao is quite possibly the archetypal mad scientist. Thoughts of experimentation on interesting subjects send him into an excited fit, even if the subject turns out to be himself. The main story ends with [[spoiler:Mao capturing and continually experimenting on the BigBad, instead of killing him.]]
** ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|APromiseUnforgotten}}'' introduced the Professor class. One of her personality types is even called "Mad Scientist".

* Dr. Neurosis in ''VideoGame/BrainDead13'', who plays out every Mad Scientist trope in the book.

** Dr. Odine from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' is undeniably brilliant and perhaps the expert on the power of witches in the world. He's the one who actually explains Time Compression to the party. He's also completely amoral - part of why [[spoiler: Laguna]] continues in the position he has is due to needing to keep Odine's research directed towards productive means that won't cause the destruction of humanity.

%%* ''VideoGame/ImpossibleMission'': Two words: Elvin Atombender.
* The first six members of Organisation XIII in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' were originally assistants to Ansem the Wise and his research on the Heartless. Vexen keeps up his research.

* Any and ''every'' scientist working for Umbrella in the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series is virtually guaranteed to be a Mad Scientist. The majority of the games in the franchise have also had a batshit insane researcher as the BigBad.
%%** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'': Albert Wesker.
%%** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'': Willaim Birkin.
%%** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'': Alexia Ashford (with a special guest appearance by Wesker)
%%** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'': James Marcus.
%%** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'': Wesker, ''again''.
%%** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilOperationRaccoonCity'': Four-Eyes.
** Overall series? Besides Wesker, we also have Spencer, who was originally a scientist who worked on the Progenitor Virus.

%% ** Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. He has a recorded IQ of 300 and an almost admirable level of persistence. He is, however, entirely sane, [[ManChild relatively speaking]].

* Shang Tsung from the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' series. As he's made plenty of fighters ([[ButterFace Mileena]], [[IAmLegion Ermac]], and [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence Skarlet]]) during his time. Quan Chi from ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' does this as well with the [[BackFromTheDead Revenants]].

* ''VideoGame/DrMuto'''s title character is a protagonist example: his machine [[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds accidentally destroyed his own planet]] and he spends the game trying to collect the {{MacGuffin}}s required to rebuild everything, aided by the fact that he can transform into various creatures to progress.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' features the foppish French [[spoiler: (or faux-French)]] doctor, the Marquis De Singe. (Pronounced by some of the characters like the English word meaning "burn", but "singe" is also French for monkey.) At one point Guybrush asks him why he would build a lightning machine powered by voles and he exclaims, "[[ForScience Science!]]"
* Professor Von Kriplespac (More commonly known simply as "The Professor") from ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' qualifies. He created anti-gravity chocolate and an army of evil teddy bears, and thought that a squirrel would be a good table leg replacement.
* One of the main player archetypes in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress''. The kind who builds a 30-storey engine of destruction just so he can have a million streams of magma pouring down onto hapless goblin invaders at once, or constructs a gargantuan bridge just to find out how far you can throw a goblin.
* In ''VideoGame/MonsterLab'', the player is an apprentice Mad Scientist.
* In the first ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' DLC, Dr. Ned is a mad scientist played for laughs.
** Dr. Zed might not have a doctorate but he certainly qualifies. A short quest line in the sequel involves him creating two hybrid critters, the Skrakks (Skag/Rakk) and the Spycho (spiderant/Psycho).
* Multiple examples in the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' series:
** [[spoiler:Dwarven Paragon Caradin]] from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' was one before his disappearance, although when you finally meet him, he is more of [[spoiler:TheAtoner]] than anything else. Likewise, [[spoiler:Paragon Branka]], whose attempt to recreate the lost art of [[spoiler:creating golems by finding the Anvil of the Void]] led her to abandon [[spoiler:her entire family and her lover]] to a FateWorseThanDeath deliberately [[spoiler:so that she could get past the traps guarding the Anvil with an endless supply of darkspawn birthed by the Broodmothers her female relatives had become]].
** In the {{DLC}} add-on ''Warden's Keep'', the mage Grey Warden Avernus conducts research into BloodMagic, demonic lore, and the Darkspawn taint, which, while ghastly, has yielded useful results: the Power of Blood talents your character can obtain in the DLC [[spoiler:and the means to prolong one's life and halt the Darkspawn taint through BloodMagic]]. However, [[spoiler:if you give him half a chance, Avernus will admit that he made serious mistakes and [[TheAtoner asks for a chance to undo the damage he caused]]. He will even quietly accept execution afterwards.]]
** In the ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening Awakening]]'' ExpansionPack, the Architect ([[spoiler:a sentient Darkspawn who has freed himself from the call fo the Old Gods and attempted to do the same for the rest of his race, accidentally kicking off the Fifth Blight in the first place]]) has several elements of this trope.
** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Merrill seems to have taken up the mantle of "mage dabbling in BloodMagic", though she's more {{Cloudcuckoolander}} than "mad" and there aren't any live subjects involved.
** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', Dagna is a light-hearted and decidedly heroic example. She works for the Inquisition as an arcanist - a magical scholar whose field of expertise is so exclusive (and widely encompassing) that she is literally the only one. She is able to craft runes, gadgets and weapons even better than the local blacksmith and at least one war table mission its said she was able to fend off Tevinter assassins with by herself, leaving only their [[KillItWithFire silhouettes]] behind. She also has the most adorable EvilLaugh ever.
* Faust from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' before and after his HeelFaceTurn, although after he's more like a wild, [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} mad]], [[TheAtoner but generous]] SociopathicHero.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series treats [[MagicIsMental Magic As Mental]], so "Mad Wizards" tend to fill this role. (They're usually, but not always, of the EvilSorcerer variety when they appear.) A few notable examples:
** Lord Kagrenac from the series' {{Backstory}} caused [[RiddleForTheAges the disappearance]] of his entire ''race'', the [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]], after finding the [[CosmicKeystone still-beating heart]] of the [[GodIsDead "dead" creator god]], Lorkhan, and attempting to tap into it with specially designed tools with the goal of allowing the Dwemer to AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]] and [[CorruptChurch The Tribunal]] then came along and successfully used the heart to become [[PhysicalGod Physical Gods]], setting in motion the plot of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]''.
** Also from ''Morrowind'' are the lords of [[TheClan Great House]] [[TheMagocracy Telvanni]], a faction of (mostly) [[EvilSorcerer Evil Sorcerers]]. All of them, even the faction's lone ReasonableAuthorityFigure, conduct experiments which [[WizardsLiveLonger extend their lifespans]], practice {{Necromancy}}, and enjoy [[SummonMagic summoning]] [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lesser Daedra]] as guards and test subjects. Even Divayth Fyr's [[spoiler: cure for the Corprus Disease]] fails on every test subject other than the player.
** Relmyna from ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' expansion ''Shivering Isles'' stands out. Obsessed with the power of flesh (no, really), she enjoys creating twisted monstrosities such as Flesh Atronarchs and the Gatekeeper, and considers them her "children". She also conducts some grisly experiments on the concepts of pain and suffering. Oh, and [[SociopathicHero she's on your side]].
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'''s ''Dragonborn'' DLC, Master Neloth, one of the aforementioned Telvanni Mage-Lords, makes another appearance. He's very much an InsufferableGenius, much of what he does is simply ForScience, and he has [[DudeWheresMyRespect very little respect]] for any other mortal, including a world-saving hero like [[PlayerCharacter the Dragonborn]]. His many ongoing experiments include the dissection of Solstheim's [[PlantPerson Spriggans]], collecting Heart Stones (imbued with the power of the [[CosmicKeystone Heart of Lorkhan]] after the [[ChekhovsVolcano eruption of Red Mountain]]), and would very much like to capture a live ''dragon'' as a test subject. You get the opportunity to participate in his experiments (often as the ''test subject''):
--> '''Neloth:''' ''"It was fascinating to watch those tentacles grow out of your eyes."''
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
** ''Wrath of the Lich King'' had two, both undead. Grand Apothecary Putress of the Forsaken performs unholy experiments to create a new [[TheVirus Plague]] to destroy both the undead Scourge and all life in general. Professor Putricide of the Scourge tries to do...the same thing, but without the 'destroy the Scourge' part. He also fits the trope better for having a [[SuperHappyFunTropeOfDoom Laboratory of Alchemical Horrors and Fun]], as well as being the implied creator of most all of the abominations and similar the players have fought since arguably original [=WoW=].
*** Great news, everyone! Professor Putricide's become something of an EnsembleDarkHorse since his introduction to the game. MemeticMutation probably helps.
** The goblin race as a whole fits this, too. Usually, their inventions involve StuffBlowingUp.
** Deathwing, BigBad of ''Cataclysm'', spends his time experimenting with dragons to create new breeds, eventually culminating in his MagnumOpus, Ultraxion. His son, Nefarian, takes after him with some creations of his own serving as raid bosses, and he in turn has his subordinate Maloriak, who isn't nearly as successful as either of them.
** Rik'kal the Dissector, a Mantid Paragon, often asks his fellow Paragons to serve as test subjects, and often makes parenthetical asides while giving quests to the player, such as suggesting that the Shek'zeer loyalists' experiments may be dark, but they are not as dark as his, and that only he deserves such power. The other Paragons are wary of him at best.
* ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'' has a card named [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Mad Scientist]], complete with [[TheyCalledMeMad stereo]][[YouFool typical]] [[ForScience quotes]].

* The ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' series gives us Aperture Laboratories, a company full of mad scientists. Driven by their grandiosely insane founder and CEO, Cave Johnson, they got started in TheFifties by recruiting the best of the best of humankind and employing them as human lab rats in a vast array of MadScience experiments. Said experiments involved such things as BodyHorror transmutations, {{i|LoveNuclearPower}}rradiation, [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke DNA injections]], and their signature ThinkingUpPortals device, one result of which was the Handheld Portal Device that forms a core part of the gameplay. Their crowning achievement was ArtificialIntelligence, but even here they only succeeded in creating an AI as madly deranged as they were. [=GLaDOS=] proceeded to [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters take over the research program]]... by [[MurderIsTheBestSolution murdering all the scientists]] with a deadly neurotoxin. It is then up to the protagonist to enter this maze of insanity and [[EscapeFromTheCrazyPlace find a way to escape]]. The closing song to the first game (sung by [=GLaDOS=]) makes all this starkly clear.
-->"Aperture Science: We do what we must because we can.\\
For the good of all of us, except the ones who are dead.\\
But there's no sense crying over every mistake;\\
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.\\
And the Science gets done, and you make a neat gun,\\
For the people who are still alive."
** ''VideoGame/Portal2'' ups the ante, primarily by sending the player on an exploration of Old Aperture -- the test facilities from TheFifties, where [[PosthumousCharacter prerecorded messages]] from Cave Johnson lay out the founding principles of the company and its decline into bankruptcy and despair, culminating with the aforementioned push for AI.
-->'''Cave Johnson:''' "For this next test, we're going to have a superconductor turned up to full power and aimed directly at you. No idea what it'll do. I'll be honest, we're just throwing science at the wall here to see what sticks. Best case, you get some superpowers. Worst case, some tumors, which we'll cut out."
** More than likely, Cave's overzealous drive to experiment and try anything, even going so far as to fire anyone who questioned the safety of these activities, weeded out any ''sane'' scientists and encouraged the eccentric thinking of remaining staff. In the end, Aperture Science was operating off the grid, paranoid of any government oversight, in effect walling themselves in to one giant, death-trap lab.
* ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'':
** Daryl, from ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonAWonderfulLife''. Among other things, he wanders onto your ranch while creepily muttering things, tries to capture a Yeti-like creature in the nearby woods, has a lab that is prone to explosions, spies on your child through the window to observe how children act, tries to steal one of your cows for experiments, and [[spoiler:considers taking your DNA to clone you after you die at the end of the game.]]
** Gelwein, [[spoiler:the Big Bad]] from the ''VideoGame/RuneFactoryFrontier'' spinoff, also fits this one to a T, having been [[spoiler:kicked out of his research facility for researching the effects of runes for weapon purposes]]. TheyCalledMeMad and AGodAmI included.
* Doctor Cranium from ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' is out to reanimate dead tissue and all, but he really doesn't think he's a Mad Scientist. A bit perturbed about the world situation and how he get so little respect, sure, but not mad.
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** Professor [[PunnyName Elvin Gadd]] of ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'' fame also qualifies, albeit he's a benevolent nutcase who seems to channel his eccentricities into his inventions (a machine that turns ghosts into paintings, among other things). It's later learned that he's inadvertantly responsible for all the woes caused in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine''.
** There's also the demented Iggy Koopa, one of Bowser's Koopaling minions. He built the mechs that he and his siblings fought Mario with in ''VideoGame/YoshisSafari''. He also has the fits [[LaughingMad maniacal laughter]] down pat.

* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' gives us Dr. Adam Fenix. He developed the [[KillSat Hammer of Dawn system]], devised the plan to flood the Locust Hollow that required sinking Jacinto, and created the [[spoiler:anti-Lambent weapon]] that appears at the end of ''Gears 3''. He spent more time creating weapons of mass destruction than he did with his family, and he claims that he knew about [[spoiler:the impending E-Day]] but couldn't stop it before it was too late. He tested his [[spoiler:anti-Lambent weapon]] on himself. Unlike many mad scientists, he realized the folly of his work and did everything he could to make up for his failures.

* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', there's a heroic example in [[CatGirl Profe]][[{{Jerkass}} ssor]] [[BunnyEarsLawyer Koko]][[GoodIsNotNice noe]] and a villainous one in one of the [[BigBadDuumvirate main villains]], [[MarionetteMaster Relius]] [[AbusiveParents Clover]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''
** Dr. Malcolm Betruger from ''VideoGame/Doom3'', who turns out to be behind the demonic invasion of Mars and seeks to bring Hell to Earth. In the expansion pack ''Resurrection of Evil'', he becomes a dragonlike demon by the name of the Maledict, and seeks the Artifact so that he can gain ultimate power.
** ''VideoGame/{{Doom 2016}}'' has two mad scientists, Samuel Hayden and Olivia Pierce, who sought to utilize the energy of Hell itself and weaponize the demons for the betterment of humanity. But while Samuel is content with this, Olivia takes things even further by turning the UAC into a demon cult and seeking to open portals to hell, with the ultimate aim of [[spoiler:becoming a god]].

* ''Videogame/TheSecretWorld'' features quite a few of these working for both the allied factions and the more openly villainous groups.
** The Templars have their own mad genius in the form of [[EruditeStoner Iain Tibet Gladstone]], an anthropologist and archaeologist with a lifetime of experience of delving into the world's mysteries on a firsthand basis - often via [[BoldExplorer travelling to improbably remote locations]], [[HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs taking powerful psychoactive drugs]], or both. However, Gladstone really became infamous for attempting to study the formation of cults by starting one of his own, and actually had over ''a hundred thousand people ready to commit mass suicide at his command'' before he ended the experiment. As a result, the Mad Social Scientist has been placed under house arrest at the [[GildedCage Temple Club]], where he spends his days cultivating hallucinogenic molds in the books and [[NakedPeopleAreFunny meditating skyclad]].
** Dr Charles Zurn is a [[AffablyEvil rather laid-back]] OmnidisciplinaryScientist employed by the Illuminati; formerly the head of the MK-ULTRA project and responsible for dozens of civilian experiments on extrahuman beings, he now works out of a laboratory decorated with embalmed corpses deep within the Labyrinth, researching whatever field agents send back to him. Players who side with the Illuminati will wake up StrappedToAnOperatingTable in Zurn's care during the intro, and Kirsten Geary latern warns you that he's thinking of making a show-and-tell out of you after all you've been through... or having you outfitted with a skull camera to make you a more effective agent.
** Outside the Big Three, we have Dr Anton Aldini, played with scenery-chewing magnificence by Creator/PeterStormare; currently preoccupied with continuing his great-grandfather's[[note]]Who just so happens to be the historical inspiration for Dr Frankenstein, or so Aldini claims[[/note]] work of creating a perfect being from cannibalized human remains, his work is financed by The Modern Prometheus, a back-alley plastic surgery clinic allowing players to change their appearance. For good measure, his patchwork creations actually trigger mad-scientist envy in ''Zurn,'' who decides to compensate by creating a squid-squirrel.
** Among the more villainous scientists in the game, there's Dr Klein. An [[MegaCorp Orochi Group]] scientist formerly employed in the excavation of The Ankh, he ended up getting a little ''too'' interested in [[TheVirus The Filth]] and deciding to investigate its role in the end of past Ages by infusing his colleagues with it. When that didn't provide any answers, he resorted to [[ProfessorGuineaPig giving himself a microdose]]; as a result, he's more sentient than most Filth-infectees, but still under the power of the Dreamers... and now using the entire Orochi outpost as his laboratory. [[spoiler: Rather telling is the moment when, during his boss battle, Klein notices the local Filth reacting in an unusual way and quickly determines that it's generating "something more than reality can contain" that will consume everyone in the area if unleashed... and gleefully prepares himself to do exactly that.]]
** Another notable Orochi scientist appears in the form of Dr Schreber in Issue #7. The head of the facility known only as "The Nursery," he's decided to explore his belief in "[[ChildrenAreSpecial a child's plasticity]]" by enacting a series of experiments charting the effects of the world's most dangerous magical phenomena on [[WouldHurtAChild children]], including ghosts, demonic possession, parastoid fungi, and anima infusion. More disturbingly, he's actually found tangible results, even using a child variant of lycanthropy to create individuals who can transform into anything. [[spoiler: In the end, he's undone when he decides to try infusing children with the Filth - only to suffer a microdose in the process. As a result, he degenerates into paranoia, releases his subjects from containment, and goes on a rampage that leaves the Nursery staff either dead or infected.]] For good measure, Kirsten Geary makes it clear that one of the reasons why Schreber is so dangerous ([[spoiler: even before the Filth infection]]) is because he goes to [[MaskOfSanity such pains to seem lucid despite being so obviously delusional]]; friendly mad scientists like Zurn are less dangerous because they don't even pretend to be sane.
** However, the greatest of all mad scientists in the game is [[spoiler: ''' ''Lilith.'' ''' [[TimeAbyss An immortal said to be among the very first sentient beings in the entire universe]], she has spent most of her long life either conquering nations from within or pioneering the sciences in highly-unethical ways. Known throughout history as the Mother of Monsters, entire races have been created due to her genetic tinkering, including vampires, werewolves, the Deathless, and countless others; she's also tried tinkering with the [[CosmicKeystone Gaia Engines]] and [[DealWithTheDevil doing business with]] [[EldritchAbomination the Dreamers]], [[EvilIsNotAToy both of which which blew up in her face and ended the Third Age]]. For good measure, it's also apparent that most of the Orochi initiatives that you run into over the course of the game are under her command, thanks to her public alias as Orochi chairwoman Lily Engel.]]

* Jon Irenicus from ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' is actually an EvilSorcerer,, but you'd be forgiven if you think you are dealing with a mad scientist if you see his dungeon full of people he experimented on, indefinitely kept alive in glass jars powered by magical batteries, his attempts to clone the woman he once loved, and [[spoiler:the soul-sucking machine he uses on the hero and Imoen]].

** ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'': [[spoiler: Professor Klaus/[[BigBad Zanza]] destroyed the previous universe in an experiment gone wrong, and created a new one in his own image. ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' fleshes him out a bit more, showing that he was genuinely trying to save humanity with his experiment, and that Zanza is actually his [[LiteralSplitPersonality evil split personality]], with his good half remaining in his home universe.]]]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' has Krelian, [[spoiler:one of the [[ManBehindTheMan true]] [[BigBadDuumvirate villains]]]], for whom everyone on the planet is a test subject, and, on the heroic side, the decidedly eccentric Dr. [[CombatMedic Citan]] [[GameBreaker Uzuki]]. [[spoiler:His eccentricity is partially ObfuscatingStupidity, as he's actually a spy. A very intelligent spy.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' goes its predecessor one better, giving us an only slightly mad Strangelove {{Expy}} in Sellers, the classic obsessive type with pretensions of [[TheChessmaster chessmastery]] in Dimitri Yuriev, and the tragic and misunderstood type in Joachim Mizrahi. Mizrahi gets extra points for falling to his death while reciting Scripture at the top of his voice.

* ''{{VideoGame/Whiplash}}: Tons, usually tormenting chimps in humorous ways until you show up. Notably, the game has two different types; "regular" scientists which can be either male or female and are TheGoomba, and the more dangerous "mad" scientists, which are always male, throw potions at you, and drink potions to breathe fire at you.

* ''{{VideoGame/Whiplash}}: Tons, usually tormenting chimps in humorous ways until you show up. Notably, the game has two different types; "regular" scientists which can be either male or female and are The Goomba, and the more dangerous "mad" scientists, which are always male, throw potions at you, and drink potions to breathe fire at you.

* Dr. Odine from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' is undeniably brilliant and perhaps the expert on the power of witches in the world. He's the one who actually explains Time Compression to the party. He's also completely amoral - part of why [[spoiler: Laguna]] continues in the position he has is due to needing to keep Odine's research directed towards productive means that won't cause the destruction of humanity.

* [[HerrDoktor Dr. Ort-Meyer]] from the VideoGame/{{Hitman}} series, responsible for the protagonist's creation. With a reputation as a disgruntled, megalomaniacal geneticist (even pulling an extensive TheyCalledMeMad speech in the first game's finale), he was capable of creating a mindlessly loyal and equally lethal version of 47 over the course of the game, which nonetheless ended up being destroyed by 47 (although there survived a more primitive version which went on to serve as a minor antagonist in ''[[VideoGame/Hitman2SilentAssassin Silent Assassin]]''). The backstory of ''[[VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney Blood Money]]'' deals with the impact of his creation's legacy and the prospect of it falling into the wrong hands.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' series gives us Aperture Laboratories, a company full of mad scientists. Driven by their grandiosely insane founder and CEO, Cave Johnson, they got started in TheFifties by recruiting the best of the best of humankind and employing them as human lab rats in a vast array of MadScience experiments. Said experiments involved such things as BodyHorror transmutations, {{i|LoveNuclearPower}}rradiation, [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke DNA injections]], and their signature [[TeleportersAndTransporters teleportation experiments]], one result of which was the Handheld Portal Device that forms a core part of the gameplay. Their crowning achievement was ArtificialIntelligence, but even here they only succeeded in creating an AI as madly deranged as they were. [=GLaDOS=] proceeded to [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters take over the research program]]... by [[MurderIsTheBestSolution murdering all the scientists]] with a deadly neurotoxin. It is then up to the protagonist to enter this maze of insanity and [[EscapeFromTheCrazyPlace find a way to escape]]. The closing song to the first game (sung by [=GLaDOS=]) makes all this starkly clear.

** ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' ups the ante, primarily by sending the player on an exploration of Old Aperture -- the test facilities from TheFifties, where [[PosthumousCharacter prerecorded messages]] from Cave Johnson lay out the founding principles of the company and its decline into bankruptcy and despair, culminating with the aforementioned push for AI.

* Guildenstern from the ''Franchise/{{Onimusha}}'' series of videogames, and his successor in the [[VideoGame/OnimushaDawnOfDreams fourth installment]], Rosencrantz ([[ThemeNaming see a pattern here?]]), both qualify as mad scientists. Guildenstern can't help but experiment with demon and human anatomy to come up with truly horrifying monsters for the protagonist to face. Even in the [[VideoGame/Onimusha2SamuraisDestiny second game]] where he is never seen, he is mentioned in many in-game texts as the reason your character has to go through such hell with [[SchizoTech biomechanical demonic constructs]] plaguing him at every other turn.

*** Played straight and then subverted by [[spoiler:Dr. Mobius, who plays the stereotypical mad scientist bent on domination and revenge with [[ForScience science]] but it then turns out '''he''' is the responsible one (sort of) whose role is to keep the other scientists who are actually far worse than him in check. He's actually pretty chill when not on [[FantasticDrug Psycho]].]]

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has two in its latest expansion, both undead. Grand Apothecary Putress of the Forsaken performs unholy experiments to create a new [[TheVirus Plague]] to destroy both the undead Scourge and all life in general. Professor Putricide of the Scourge tries to do...the same thing, but without the 'destroy the Scourge' part. He also fits the trope better for having a [[SuperHappyFunTropeOfDoom Laboratory of Alchemical Horrors and Fun]], as well as being the implied creator of most all of the abominations and similar the players have fought since arguably original [=WoW=].
** Great news, everyone! Professor Putricide's become something of an EnsembleDarkHorse since his introduction to the game. MemeticMutation probably helps.
** The goblin race as a whole fits this, too. Usually their inventions involve StuffBlowingUp.

* K.Rool from ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' takes a persona based on this trope in ''[[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble Dixie Kong's Double Trouble]]''.

** Xehanort from Birth by Sleep is also one. [[spoiler: He tries to restart a war that destroyed all worlds. FOR SCIENCE!!!!]]
** The same can be said of [[spoiler: the Master of Masters]] for the same reason. His inventions, including [[spoiler: Chirithy and the first known keyblades]] along with his deliberate manipulations directly lead to the original Keyblade War.
** And [[spoiler: Braig, Dilan, Aeleus, and Ienzo]] too, considering what happened when they went just a liiiiiittle too far trying to make sense of Darkness in the heart...
** Ansem the Wise fits this category by virtue of being a mentor to the characters mentioned above. Although his own actions aren't as blatantly evil, they're not much better: [[spoiler: he began the research that led his apprentices to form the organization in the first place, beginning with dangerous human experimentation on an amnesiac Terra-Xehanort.]] In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'' through ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', his "research" included [[spoiler: trapping a teenager he kidnapped in a computer simulation and erasing his memory as part of a plot to manipulate ''another'' teenager into destroying his former students.]]

** And [[spoiler: Braig, Dilan, Aeleus, and Ienzo]] either, considering what happened when they went just a liiiiiittle too far trying to make sense of Darkness in the heart...

** The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' DLC ''Point Lookout'' gives us [[spoiler:Professor Calvert, a BrainInAJar with a robot filled underground base whose goal is to turn all of Point Lookout's inhabitants into his mind controlled slaves.]]
** The main game gives us Dr. Stanislaus Braun, a Vault-Tec scientist who created an advanced simulation program that he subjected the population of Vault 112 to, torturing and killing them in different ways and bringing them back with the technology at his hands.
** The ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' DLC ''Old World Blues'' has the Think Tanks, Pre-War scientists who chose to make themselves floating [[BrainInAJar Brains In Jars]] whose stated goal is ForScience. It also doesn't help that they do a lot of drugs on their own free time.
*** Played straight and then subverted by [[spoiler: Dr. Mobius, who plays the stereotypical mad scientist bent on domination and revenge with [[ForScience science]] but it then turns out *he* is the responsible one (sort of) who's role is to keep the other scientists who are actually far worse than him in check. He's actually pretty chill when not on [[FantasticDrug Psycho]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' it's possible to recruit scientists with the "maniacal" trait, increasing their research speed and randomizing their technology selection more. While the TheSparkOfGenius trait takes it all a step further.

*** Played straight and then subverted by [[spoiler: Dr. Mobius, who plays the stereotypical mad scientist bent on domination and revenge with [[ForScience science]] but it then turns out *he* is the responsible one (sort of) who's role is to keep the other scientists who are actually far worse than him in check.]]

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarSeries''
** Pathos Verdes III in the first game is the Ancient Greece equivalent of this trope: an architect charged with building a temple to guard Pandora's Box, he grew gradually insane as his family died one by one during the construction of his magnum opus and this is reflected on as the game progresses, the traps and puzzles become even more elaborate and harder than before. By the end of his life, he kills his wife in a fit of rage and commits suicide shortly afterwards, damning the gods for the misery they inflicted on him.

* Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik from the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series. He has a recorded IQ of 300 and an almost admirable level of persistence. He is, however, entirely sane, [[ManChild relatively speaking]].
** Also Eggman's grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, brilliant scientist who designed a working orbital space colony and dabbled with artificial life forms among other things. He was driven insane after his granddaughter was killed by G.U.N.. The depths of his hatred for the world and his desire to destroy it shocked even Eggman himself.

* Plague Knight from ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'' looks like a PlagueDoctor, but is far more interested in using alchemy to create bigger and bigger explosions. When you fight him, he jumps around erratically, throwing flasks full of explosives everywhere. Mona, his partner-in-crime, is also enthusiastic about explosive alchemy, but is not as confrontational as him.

* Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik from the ''SonicTheHedgehog'' series. He has a recorded IQ of 300 and an almost admirable level of persistence. He is, however, entirely sane, [[ManChild relatively speaking]].

* Klungo from the ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' games. He's responsible for Gruntilda's Beauty-Stealing Machine, and in [[{{Interquel}} Grunty's Revenge]], it is hinted that he also created Grunty's monster army. Unique in the fact he also happens to be TheIgor.

%%** From ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'': Reison.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''s Mordin Solus may qualify, although he's more eccentric than outright mad. He's a Salarian doctor who was formerly a member of a special forces squad, then ran a clinic where he cured a population of a devastating plague while personally shooting attacking mercenaries in the head, both of which he sees as a public service. He also seems to have a taste for Gilbert & Sullivan. He also keeps up a set of ethics and principles that he refuses to break, notably despising the idea of PlayingWithSyringes and experiments that lead to more suffering than necessary. In the end, he believes in saving lives, even through [[IDidWhatIHadToDo questionable]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist means]].