Gameplay Protagonist, Story Protagonist

Video games are a unique genre. Rather than being an outside observer, you, the player, are the hero of the story. Every action of the hero is controlled by you, and you hold the fate of the world in your hands. Except when you are the side character.

In some video games, the player is merely a supporter to someone who holds a much greater amount of plot relevance. Even so, as the character you control, you will still go through great lengths to help your friend save the day and may still be the one to actually defeat the Big Bad.

Overlaps with Decoy Protagonist (though they generally retain gameplay importance); and occasionally Heroic Mime as well. Compare Supporting Protagonist, where the most important character in-universe is not the focal character narratively, while the Story Protagonist half is still more focal. See also Non-Entity General for when strategy games employ a cipher for the player, even when the story protagonist is playable.

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Examples:

Action Adventure

• The Legend of Zelda
  • Many series newcomers who play of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess may wonder why the game is titled after a princess who is barely in the story. While the Zelda series has wavered who the protagonist is, the crux of this installment's story is about the Twilight Princess, Midna, as she develops from someone who only wants to save the Twilight Realm, to someone who also wants to save her friends' realm with Hyrule. While a plot of saving children and a childhood friend of playable character, Link, starts off, they are also concluded quickly with little fanfare, and by the end of the game Link is fighting for Midna's sake.
  • Downplayed with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. The story's main focus is on Princess Zelda, who is trying to prevent the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild from taking place. In, cutscenes, Link barely has any impact other than the standard wielder of the Divine Blade business, as opposed to Breath of the Wild where he is still the focal character of the present. The downplayed-ness comes from the fact that Zelda is playable, but Link is the first playable character and has more weapons and costumes than any other character.
• Prince of Persia (2008): The gameplay protagonist is the Prince, a wandering vagabond who stumbles into a remote oasis kingdom, but the story is largely about Elika, the princess of said kingdom, whose father handed his kingdom over to the God of Evil and who has to come to terms with the fact that her own death was the reason for her father's actions and that to stop said god of evil, she has to sacrifice her life again.

Action

• In Tasty Planet Back for Seconds!, the main characters of the story are two scientists trying to stop Grey Goo from eating everything. The player character, however, is said goo.

Adventure

• The Beginner's Guide: The in-universe player character is mostly a blank slate for the player to project themselves onto — the real focus of the story is narrator Davey Wreden and his struggle to understand why his dear friend stopped making games.
• Experience112: The player is a silent operator of a computer, guiding Lea Nichols via visual cues like turning lights on and off as she regains her memories exploring an Abandoned Area.
• The main plotline of Farpoint revolves around the efforts of two astronauts, Dr. Grant Moon and Dr. Eva Tyson, dragged into a portal near Jupiter and stranded on a distant alien world and their efforts to locate a beacon for rescue which turns out fruitless because Earth is actually 3 billion years away. Meanwhile, the player character is their pilot who spends the whole game observing Moon and Tyson while never interacting with them, instead fighting giant alien monsters and malfunctioning robots on his / her own.
• One Shot has the player direct the actions of Niko, but it's made clear that you, the player, are a separate character from Niko.
• The Stanley Parable: The titular character is an entirely blank slate for the player. The main character is actually the Narrator, and he is very particular about his story going the way he intends. Unfortunately for him, you have free will to simply ignore his instructions and veer off the main path, with drastic consequences.
• One major theme of Wandersong is examining the difference between a chosen "hero" in name only, and a selfless one. As such, there's two protagonists: the Bard, who is the one controlled in gameplay and is repeatedly told that they have no stake in the prophecy that concerns the fate of the world, and Audrey Redheart, The Chosen One who holds all the fame and who is determined to slay all the Overseers of the world, despite the fact that doing so will end the world instead of saving it. This even extends to the game's achievements, where the Bard only gains a few for "defeating" monsters that they either befriended or never encountered, only for Audrey to appear in Act 3 and show that every achievement belongs to her and they all correspond to her actions, even offscreen.

Fighting Game

• Persona 4: Arena: The cast of Persona 3 and Persona 4 form the bulk of the playable characters and the first stories unlocked, the true protagonist of the story is Labrys, an anti-Shadow robot whose Shadow Self is responsible for the return of the Midnight Channel and the tournament, representing Labrys' trauma from having to destroy her fellow robots as part of her training.
• Persona 4: Arena Ultimax: The story protagonist this time is Sho Minazuki, an Ax-Crazy new enemy of the cast whose actions are causing the Dark Hour to return. He's ultimately convinced to make a Heel–Face Turn in the true ending.

First-Person Shooters

• ULTRAKILL: V1 is the one you control, rampaging through Hell for the sake of more blood to fuel their existence. However, all the cutscenes and the story as a whole focus more on Archangel Gabriel, the consequences of his past actions, and his journey of realization. Unusually, both protagonists are opposed, and your clashes are major events for Gabriel himself.
• Half-Life 2's Gordon Freeman is the player character, a silent, gun-toting physics PhD in Powered Armor. However, for the game's cutscenes, the most he can do is just watch things happen around him. The game and its episodes have its story driven by Alyx Vance, who is more intimately connected with the world — for example, being the daughter of the Resistance leader, having a giant robot companion, and having a thorny relationship with said leader's female assistant.
• Every player character in the Borderlands series is this, as the most they amount to is doing the heavy lifting for allies in the story. In the first two games, they don't even react to events in the story apart from some of the second game's DLC, making them all interchangeable. Starting with Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! onward, all playable Vault Hunters speak during story segments so they're somewhat more invested in the plot, but they otherwise still don't do anything of significance, with that being relegated to allies.

MMORPG

• The Adventurer(s) of World of Warcraft may be the player characters and get to interact with a lot of the franchise's clue moments and scenes, but they're largely ignored in the broader story — the REAL protagonists that drive the various story arcs forward are the Faction leaders, such as Anduin, Thrall, Sylvanas, etc.

Platformers

• In Contrast, you play as Dawn, the invisible friend of a young girl named Didi. Because Didi is the only one who can see Dawn, Dawn's role in the plot is limited to helping the actual main character Didi as she tries to get her parents to repair their relationship.

Raising Sim

• In NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD, you play as P-chan, a Featureless Protagonist who sets up Ame's streams, makes most of the decisions for her, and has the power of her fate in their hands. But the story is really about Ame herself and her journey to become the biggest streamer in the world, as well as her struggles with her mental issues. Notably, Ame is the mascot and the one on the covers and promotional material (along with her alter-ego KAngel) while P-chan is nowhere to be seen. However, this becomes subverted with The Reveal that P-chan is Ame's other alter-ego, meaning Ame is the protagonist after all.

Role-Playing Games (Eastern)

• Final Fantasy XII: Vaan is considered the game's protagonist for marketing purposes, is the first full-time party member you get control of, and is the one you control while in cities. However, the story takes a more ensemble approach, with Princess Ashe generally controlling the party's overall actions once she joins. This is lampshaded by Vaan when the party is once asked why each of them is on their journey. This ends up making Vaan the Spanner in the Works to the Occurias' plan. By letting go of his desire for revenge earlier, he inspired Ashe to do so at a critical moment. By Vaan's own admittance:
  Vaan: I'm just along for the ride.
• Persona 5 Strikers: Joker is the character you control in the real world, but it becomes increasingly clear that the story's actual focus characters are Zenkichi Hasegawa, the police officer who ropes the Phantom Thieves into investigating the jails (while later joining them) and Sophia, an AI "companion" who is the not-so Flawed Prototype of the Big Bad.
• Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: While either SEES or the Investigation Team are the main playable characters depending on the route, the story focuses on Rei and her Mysterious Protector Zen. Their true roles are revealed after the penultimate dungeon: Rei is actually the ghost of a girl who died of an unspecified disease, and the labyrinth was born from her denial of death and fears that her life was meaningless. Zen is actually a Psychopomp sent to collect her, but took pity and erased her memories instead. The Big Bad is Zen's other half, who attempts to force Zen to return to his former role, at any cost.
• Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth: Hikari is the protagonist, while the player controls the above parties along with the Phantom Thieves. Like above, the labyrinths are a Psychological Torment Zone for Hikari, this time representing being bullied for being "different" and being forced to conform to avoid standing out.
• Pokémon
  • Pokémon Sun and Moon: While the player character takes on the island challenge and becomes Alola's first Champion, the true protagonist of the story is Lillie, a girl who lives with Professor Kukui and seeks to learn about the mysterious Pokémon Cosmog. The plot revolves around her building her self-confidence thanks to the player's influence, overcoming the trauma brought upon by her abusive mother Lusamine, and ultimately ends with her leaving to Kanto to find a cure for her mother.
  • Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Player Character acts as a supporting protagonist to their three friends Nemona, Arven and Penny as they go through their respective story routes. Arven in particular gains importance in the final part of the game due to his familial ties to Professor Sada/Turo.
• Super Paper Mario: Uniquely for the Mario series, while you play as Mario and the other three heroes of the Light Prognosticus, it gradually becomes clear that Tippi is the actual protagonist, as the story is driven by her tragic romance with Count Bleck and her mission to stop him from destroying all worlds.
• Xenoblade Chronicles:
  • Xenoblade Chronicles X: Played With in regards to the player character Rook/Cross. The game's central storyline surrounding the discovery and reactivation of the Lifehold Core focuses almost entirely on Elma and Lin, who for most of the game's story missions are required party members. Elma is already a hero to New Los Angeles, and her skills back that up. This isn't to say that Rook/Cross has no importance though. The game's side missions that has you helping out and solving other conflicts squarely paints you as the hero and savior, with the recognition you deserve. Elma is the main storyline's protagonist, but the player character still helps shape the rest of the world.
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 2 from a gameplay standpoint is about Rex using the fabled Aegis Sword to get to Elysium. Said sword's human forms, Pyra and Mythra, are the characters everyone is making a big deal out of, hold the knowledge to bring people to Elysium, and receive far more character development, in growing from being suicidal from their past actions and using the pretense of leading humanity to paradise to get to Elysium, to learning to appreciate their life and the people around them.

Role-Playing Games (Western)

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: The gameplay protagonist is the Champion of Cyrodiil, but story-wise, they are just a Hypercompetent Sidekick to the story protagonist, Prince Martin Septim — the last illegitimate son of the assassinated Emperor, who, with your help, becomes an Emperor himself and saves the Empire from the Legions of Hell.
• Rigmor: Unlike the vanilla Skyrim and most of its mods, in which the Dragonborn player character is the hero, in this two-part story mod the Dragonborn serves as guardian and sidekick to Rigmor, a young, troubled girl who is nonetheless The Chosen One of the story. The narrative is so detailed and so focused on Rigmor that although the player character does get to engage in combat and dialogue as per usual, they face only two choices of real import: whether to be Rigmor's lover or her platonic father-figure, and whether, in the conclusion to the first part, to tell her she must fulfill her destiny as Countess of Bruma and go there without you, or to conceal the truth so you can retain her as a (now essentially generic) follower for your Wide-Open Sandbox gameplay. (The second part begins with the assumption that you chose to send her to Bruma.)
• Sim Settlements 2: Unlike vanilla Fallout 4, where the Sole Survivor is the focus of the story, they serve as the gameplay protagonist to Jake Evans, who serves as the focus character of the mod's core storyline. Not only does he provide exposition on how to use ASAMs, but he also gets his own Character Development in the process.

Roguelike

• Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon: The player character is semi-important, but they do not get as much development as the Partner (who has more dialogue than them) and latter ultimately matures as the game goes on. And in a major twist of the formula, instead of the protagonist having to depart from the world as is common in most Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, the partner ends up fading out of existence due to only being around to fulfill the purpose of having to destroy the Dark Matter.

Simulation Games

• In Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, the player controls the pilot Mobius One in every mission. The cutscenes in between missions, however, focus on the self-narrated story of a child orphaned by the war, who winds up befriending the game's main antagonist, Yellow 13. While the story is presented concurrently with the actions taken by the protagonist, it's revealed at the end to be a letter written by the now grown-up kid to Mobius One, telling him about the man he shot down.

Strategy Games (Real Time)

• Downplayed in Brütal Legend: The gameplay protagonist Eddie Riggs has his own struggles and character arc throughout the game, but the narration makes it clear that history will only ever remember him as a Hypercompetent Sidekick in the story of the Rebel Leader Lars Halford (despite the latter falling in combat half-way through the game).

Strategy Games (Turn-Based)

• This has become a recurring trend with the Fire Emblem series since the creation of the Avatar system, though how much has varied from game to game.
  • The first use of the avatar, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade is one of the most extreme examples. Technically, the player is not playing as any of the lords (Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector) that we see go through their struggles, technically the player is playing as a tactician commanding which units to attack and defend. There's also Hector Mode, unlocked after beating the game once. While he takes the role of Lord in gameplay, Eliwood remains the story's protagonist.
  • The first fully customizable avatar from Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem is more downplayed. He gets the most base conversations and a focus side-story, but unlike the other avatars he is not depicted as the tactician. Rather, Marth is is still the in-universe one giving the orders.
  • Fire Emblem: Awakening zig-zags the trope. In the first part of the game, we see Chrom go through all the struggles of going from protector to ruler, while Robin is the one giving the orders to the army. However, the later parts of the story have more focus on Robin as they struggle with being the vessel for the Fell Dragon Grima. Played most straight in the DLC story, Future Past, where the story focuses on an alternate version of Lucina, but the characters from the save file and main universe have more prominence in game play.
  • Fire Emblem: Three Houses features an avatar (default name Byleth) controlled by the player to move around the officer's academy, teach the army battle skills, and potentially recruit more members. As the game is played out on three out of four routes, it's clear the war that sets in halfway is focusing on the leaders of the houses Byleth is teaching. Depending on the route, the story will focus on Edelgard's conquest to end corruption of the church and its supporters, Dimitri coping with his past trauma and helping defend said church, or Claude's desire to find the truth. Averted in the Silver Snow route which focuses on Byleth (though Seteth will act as the former's mouthpiece).
• Persona 5 Tactica: While the Phantom Thieves reprise their role as the playable protagonist, the game's core story revolves around newcomer Toshiro Kusakabe and his past.

Survival Horror

• Operator's Side: YOU are the voice on the other end, trapped in the control center of a monster-infested space station, helping the heroine through the puzzles and combat in the game.

Visual Novels

• In Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk and its sequel, the main character is an unnamed girl who goes about her days struggling with her mental illness and abusive mother, and the inner narration is from her point of view, but you play as one of the voices in her head, who is a separate character that makes all the decisions for her.

Other/Unsorted

• Ghostbusters: The Video Game: You play as a new hire in the Ghostbusters service, but have no speaking role and the game actually centers on Egon, Peter, Ray and Winston.

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