We've got the third Dark Void developer diary from Capcom and developer Airtight games.  The third episode discusses Will, the hero of Dark Void, and the importance of character depth in video games.

Of course, the developers gush over Capcom's wide cast of video game leads, like Ryu and Mega Man, while taking numerous jabs at stereotypical Western games.  Airtight president Jim Deal notes, "I think the American characters tend to be much more shallow.  You know, a big guy who runs out and shoots everything."

He and his team then go on to say that they were striving to emulate Japanese games in creating a very capable but "not somebody who just looked like an impossible caricature."

Now Deal, sir, we think Dark Void looks fantastic, and it was a real pleasure to play at E3 this year, but that was totally uncalled for.  I mean, those giant men with guns are as iconic to Western gaming as girly men with giant swords (and underage female leads) are to Japanese games! 

On top of that, senior producer Morgan Gray seems to imply in a very matter-of-fact manner that "blank slate" characters, commonly found in Western story-driven games, are somehow inferior to actual characters, with established personalities and background stories of their own.  Seriously, isn't it possible to promote games without insulting the competition?  We're gamers, not haters...

So anyway, Will is a pilot who gets stuck in the Void, a pocket universe within the Bermuda Triangle.  According to art director Matt Brunner, the guy might come off as a jerk to start, though that's pretty understandable considering his problems: alone and lost in another dimension, surrounded by hostile robots.  Poor Will; maybe if he'd be less douchey if he were a big dude who runs out and shoots everything. 

Then again, the protagonists of Silent Hill are pretty normal yet capable people, and they seem to take the whole "trapped in another dimension" problem very well!