History MotiveDecay / VideoGames

* This is lampshaded in ''Videogame/{{Fallout 3}}''. In the Hubris Comics building (a parody of Marvel/DC), you can find a letter to the editor from an irate fan complaining about how the new writer of Grognak the Barbarian has reduced the villainess "the [=AntAgonizer=]" from a complex, sympathetic antagonist to a 2-dimension cardboard villain. Later in the game, you can even use the argument to persuade a woman who has based her entire persona on the fiction Antagonizer character to give up her life of supervillainy.
** This happens in-universe to the west-most sects of the Brotherhood of Steel by the time ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' rolls around; their motive of redeeming the wasteland has decayed into basically being thugs with power armor that "confiscate" any high-tech pre-war goodies that people outside the Brotherhood find. A maverick scribe Veronica has her companion quest center around her futile effort to avert this.

** Though having a ten thousand year old lizard-person MindRape her every night kind of drove her a bit insane
** Forcing a paladin to Tyr, God of Justice, to live with the fact that she's serving a city that demanded her lover be put to death out of a misplaced desire for "justice" over the plague debacle actually makes for a very good treatise on what should actually make a paladin fall.

* [[spoiler: Wheatley]] from ''Videogame/Portal2'' spends the first act with [[HeroicMime Chell]], and helps her slip under [[BigBad [=GLaDOS=]]]'s radar in order to escape Aperture Labs. At the end of Chapter 5, Chell helps him take over the facility from [=GLaDOS=]. [[spoiler: At first it seems like he's letting her go, but then he [[OhCrap suddenly]] [[DrunkWithPower and]] [[FaceHeelTurn dramatically]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity goes off the deep end]], becoming obsessed with testing to a sadistic degree and reveals he intends to keep Chell there until she outlives her usefulness, effectively becoming the new BigBad]].

** By the time of ''TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', set at minimum ten ''thousand'' years after any previous game, Ganon (now called [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Calamity Ganon]]) has become little more than a walking, mindless natural disaster with no sign of the human Ganondorf left, and a goal to destroy the world rather than conquer it. In the final battle he even gives up on reincarnation just to make sure Link dies.

** In Illidan's initial appearance in ''Warcraft III'', he is freed from ten thousand years of imprisonment to help his people. You might think that had driven him mad, but he does succeed in saving his people [[spoiler: (at the cost of becoming part demon). For this heroic act, he is exiled by his own brother, Malfurion]]. Then he is hired by the demon lord Kil'jaeden to destroy the Lich King before he regains his power [[spoiler: and an expansion for World of Warcraft]]. Illidan is stopped by Malfurion, [[spoiler: who was misled about the former's intentions. When Malfurion finds out that Maiev, Illidan's jailor, had betrayed him and lied about the death of his lover, Illidan and his brother work together to save said lover.]] Afterward, Illidan tries one last time to stop the Lich King, [[spoiler: but is defeated at the end of Warcraft III's expansion]]. Thus Illidan had been, at worst, a WellIntentionedExtremist who rarely did anything not in his people's interest (even the original reason for his imprisonment was for keeping part of the Well of Eternity, which he felt was too useful to completely destroy, even if it is what brought the demons). Even in ''TheWarOfTheAncients'' Trilogy Illidan, while portrayed as significantly more power-hungry, still wishes to save his people. Come World of Warcraft, however, Illidan is brooding on Outland as a DesignatedVillain with Informed Insanity. He is treated as if he was always a villain, carries the title "the Betrayer" (which he, in fact, mocked in the intro to the Frozen Throne, but it seems the writer's forgot that he was right), and most of the expansion revolves around fighting him and his minions, despite the fact that it is supposed to be about defeating the Burning Legion's Burning Crusade, whom he betrayed and is now using their weapons against them. To put salt in the wound, [[spoiler: Maiev helps you defeat him, who was not only said to have died in multiple sources, but was the true traitor in Illidan's story, having left the night elven leader's lover for dead and allowing the Lich King to survive just for a chance to imprison somebody who was saving the world.]]

** By the time of ''TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', set at minimum ten ''thousand'' years after any previous game, Ganon (now called [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Calamity Ganon]] has become little more than a walking, mindless natural disaster with no sign of the human Ganondorf left. In the final battle he even gives up on reincarnation just to make sure Link dies.

** Without going into too much detail, it's been suggested that this is a result of Sigma's motives not being portrayed with adequate clarity the first time around. The underlying notion of this school of thought is that {{Capcom}}'s great crime is one of laziness, rather than randomness.

* In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight]]'', Medus the Earth Dragon king was essentially a military dictator who just happened to be a dragon, who wanted to subjugate the world for power and party as revenge for how humans used to oppress the dragons. By the time of his resurrection in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem Mystery of the Emblem]]'', he's become a [[DarkIsEvil Shadow Dragon]] and a straight-up OmnicidalManiac with little characterization. In any later games where he's referenced, he's treated as something akin to an UltimateEvil. Though since the series establishes that dragons who live too long without sealing their powers eventually go mad, it's possible there's an in-universe justification for this. From the same games, Gharnef was originally TheStarscream to Medeus, whose main goal was to gather the legendary weapons, [[BatmanGambit trust Marth to kill off his competition]] and take over himself. By ''Mystery'', he's Medeus' loyal [[TheDragon Dragon]] who just wants to resurrect him for, again, OmnicidalManiac reasons. It's possible CameBackWrong via the Darksphere is to blame here.

* In the original ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Fire Emblem]]'', Medus the Earth Dragon king was essentially a military dictator who just happened to be a dragon, who wanted to subjugate the world for power and party as revenge for how humans used to oppress the dragons. By the time of his resurrection in ''Mystery of the Emblem'', he's become a [[DarkIsEvil Shadow Dragon]] and a straight-up OmnicidalManiac with little characterization. In any later games where he's referenced, he's treated as something akin to an UltimateEvil. Though since the series establishes that dragons who live too long without sealing their powers eventually go mad, it's possible there's an in-universe justification for this. From the same games, Gharnef was originally TheStarscream to Medeus, whose main goal was to gather the legendary weapons, [[BatmanGambit trust Marth to kill off his competition]] and take over himself. By ''Mystery'', he's Medeus' loyal [[TheDragon Dragon]] who just wants to resurrect him for, again, OmnicidalManiac reasons. It's possible CameBackWrong via the Darksphere is to blame here.
* Nergal in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword]]'' is a justified In-Universe example. Play through most of the main storyline, and he comes across as a GenericDoomsdayVillain who wants to open the Dragon's Gate and release the dragons on the world ForTheEvulz. Hidden sidequests only available in [[AnotherSideAnotherStory Hector Mode]] reveal that he was once [[spoiler: a kind, loving father who was [[InterspeciesRomance married to a dragon]]. When his wife vanished, he sought to open to Dragon's Gate to find her again.]] He studied Dark Magic extensively to find a way to do this, which unfortunately [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity slowly eroded his mind]] to the point where he's left with an all-consuming desire to open Dragon's Gate at any cost without remembering ''why''. It's also heavily implied that he's [[spoiler: Nils and Ninian]]'s father, which makes the fact that he [[spoiler: uses them as pawns in his schemes, and even forces Eliwood to kill Ninian, without any qualms]] very sad in retrospect.

* Walker (and by extension, the player) experiences this throughout ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''. As the situation in Dubai worsens, the Deltas lose sight of their desire to evacuate the city, which is exacerbated when [[spoiler: Walker beginns to hallucinate and direct the team's attention to destroying the 33rd]]. Later in the game, everything, from the words of [[spoiler: a hallucinated John Konrad]] to the loading screen itself, is used to call Walker (and the player) out on this.

** Haytham's own motives keeps decaying as well, as noted in ''Literature/AssassinsCreed:Forsaken''. He initially wanted to avenge his father's murder and rise in the Templar order, and then considers uniting the Assassin and the Templars upon discovering his father was an Assassin. The revelation that Reginald Birch was the man behind his father's death unleashed a Roaring Rampage of Revenge, but even after that he remained a Templar and became more bitter and violent in his old age. As a Grand Master, he works as a behind the scenes Shadow Dictator with vague goals, never explained further beyond a belief that Charles Lee should be in charge, even if Haytham admits that the latter has no political skills and less tact — suggesting that Haytham intended to be The Man Behind the Man. He becomes a pure Templar fanatic in the end, rather than the more thoughtful young man earlier in the game and the book.

** Motive Decay is possibly justified in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', as the player can actually read about the motive decay of the Templars through optional documents. It's clear that the Templars' original motive of taking away free will to create stability has decayed into a flimsy excuse for oppressing the lower class as a means of protecting the interests and prosperity of a small elite. It's true that the villains of ACII were particularly fond of [[KickTheDog kicking puppies]], however. After playing ''''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'', it seems that this decay was largely limited to the Italian Templars. The Templars in and around Constantinople/Istanbul are a lot more well intentioned. Particularly the BigBad.

** Haytham's own motives keeps decaying as well, as noted in Assassin's Creed: Forsaken. He initially wanted to avenge his father's murder and rise in the Templar order, and then considers uniting the Assassin and the Templars upon discovering his father was an Assassin. The revelation that Reginald Birch was the man behind his father's death unleashed a Roaring Rampage of Revenge, but even after that he remained a Templar and became more bitter and violent in his old age. As a Grand Master, he works as a behind the scenes Shadow Dictator with vague goals, never explained further beyond a belief that Charles Lee should be in charge, even if Haytham admits that the latter has no political skills and less tact — suggesting that Haytham intended to be The Man Behind the Man. He becomes a pure Templar fanatic in the end, rather than the more thoughtful young man earlier in the game and the book.

** In Illidan's initial appearance in ''Warcraft III'', he is freed from ten thousand years of imprisonment to help his people. You might think that had driven him mad, but he does succeed in saving his people [[spoiler: (at the cost of becoming part demon). For this heroic act, he is exiled by his own brother, Furion]]. Then he is hired by the demon lord Kil'jaeden to destroy the Lich King before he regains his power [[spoiler: and an expansion for World of Warcraft]]. Illidan is stopped by Furion, [[spoiler: who was misled about the former's intentions. When Furion finds out that Maiev, Illidan's jailor, had betrayed him and lied about the death of his lover, Illidan and his brother work together to save said lover.]] Afterward, Illidan tries one last time to stop the Lich King, [[spoiler: but is defeated at the end of Warcraft III's expansion]]. Thus Illidan had been, at worst, a WellIntentionedExtremist who rarely did anything not in his people's interest (even the original reason for his imprisonment was for keeping part of the Well of Eternity, which he felt was too useful to completely destroy, even if it is what brought the demons). Even in ''TheWarOfTheAncients'' Trilogy Illidan, while portrayed as significantly more power-hungry, still wishes to save his people. Come World of Warcraft, however, Illidan is brooding on Outland as a DesignatedVillain with Informed Insanity. He is treated as if he was always a villain, carries the title "the Betrayer" (which he, in fact, mocked in the intro to the Frozen Throne, but it seems the writer's forgot that he was right), and most of the expansion revolves around fighting him and his minions, despite the fact that it is supposed to be about defeating the Burning Legion's Burning Crusade, whom he betrayed and is now using their weapons against them. To put salt in the wound, [[spoiler: Maiev helps you defeat him, who was not only said to have died in multiple sources, but was the true traitor in Illidan's story, having left the night elven leader's lover for dead and allowing the Lich King to survive just for a chance to imprison somebody who was saving the world.]]

* Ganondorf was revealed in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' to have begun his efforts to conquer Hyrule because he wanted to make a better life for his people by giving them a home that wasn't as harsh and uninhabitable as the Gerudo Desert. Unfortunately, as ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' implies, [[spoiler: he's been latched onto as the host and implement of an ancient demon's death-curse]], resulting in a rapid decay of his motives from "a better home for my people" down to "OmnicidalManiac" in a matter of months whenever he tries - judging from what we see, the decay took place entirely during or before his first appearance in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', its just that Link (and thus the player) don't get to learn what he started out wanting until Wind Waker.

* On A meta level, most games have a feature or mini-game that can distract the player from their original task. Players may begin the game trying to beat it, only to grow addicted to acquiring loot, score attack challenges, or finding all the fanservice collectibles. See SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer for more details.

* Neo Team Plasma from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2''. After the events of the first game, their original motivation of liberating Pokémon from mankind for their own sakes was lost thanks to [[spoiler:their leader revealing his true intentions by the end of the first game]]. Now they behave like an outright terrorist group that only cares about taking over Unova by force instead of following their ideals. A small faction that tries to live up their original goals still exists, though.

* Neo Team Plasma from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2''. After the events of the original games, their original motivation of liberating Pokémon from mankind for their own sakes was lost thanks to [[spoiler:their leader revealing his true intentions by the end of the first game]]. Now they behave like an outright terrorist group that only cares about taking over Unova by force instead of following their ideals. A small faction that tries to live up their original goals still exists, though.

* Neo Team Plasma from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2''. After the events of the original games, their original motivation of liberating Pokémon from mankind for their own sakes was lost thanks to [[spoiler:their leader revealing his true intentions by the end of the end of the first game]]. Now they behave like an outright terrorist group that only cares about taking over Unova by force instead of following their ideals. A small faction that tries to live up their original goals still exists, though.

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': [[BigBad Master Xehanort]] was initially a WellIntentionedExtremist, believing that the universe was too full of light and believed [[OrderVersusChaos a balance between light and darkness]] was the way for a perfect world to exist. His solution — begin a Keyblade War to engulf the worlds in darkness, and when he wins and claims the power of Kingdom Hearts, he can remake it in his image of balance. Nowadays, however, he's become DrunkOnTheDarkSide and merely wants power and knowledge for their own sake.

* The Didact of ''{{Franchise/Halo}}'' started out as a ReasonableAuthorityFigure who did not want to fire the Halo superweapons because he knew they would destroy billions of innocents along with [[EldritchAbomination the Flood]]. With a change of writers came a change of motive, and the Didact of ''{{VideoGame/Halo 4}}'' has become more of an imperialist, who would go as far as to [[spoiler:attempt genocide on humanity (twice!) to turn their bodies into droid soldiers solely to avoid firing the rings]]. ''Literature/HaloSilentium'' works to justify his descent, revealing that [[spoiler:not only did the Flood drive him mad, but when he was then [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in can/Cryptum]] for a hundred millennia, ''[[GoMadFromTheIsolation he was awake the entire time]]'']]. It also retconned the previous reasonable actions of his to have been done by a clone of him, so that the original was always a bigot.

** In the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI first game]], the Templars are - for the most part - an order of {{well intentioned extremist}}s who want to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans strip humanity of its "free will" in order to bring about peace and stability]]. Their motives are made even more sympathetic by the fact that the events of the game take place during TheCrusades. Yet in the sequel, they have all been reduced to {{card carrying villain}}s who [[KickTheDog kick dogs]] with gay abandon, are motivated purely by their own greed and act only ForTheEvulz. The only possible justification (changes in the organisation between the Crusades and Renaissance) is lost when even the present day Templar doctor who watched Desmond in the first game behaves like more of a Bond villain in the second.