What makes a great video game character? In this extended Inside Games special, Elle Osili-Wood charts the history and development of characters in video games, revealing the key role they play in the power of games as an artform and a business. In 1980, Pac-Man revolutionised the industry, giving gaming its first face and first icon, and kickstarting a generation of zeitgeist-grabbing mascots whose popularity spilled out into every corner of pop culture, from tacky merchandise to fast-food tie-ins. Nintendo's Mario and Sega's Sonic would follow, but the mould was broken again in 1996 by Tomb Raider protagonist Lara Croft, a pin-up heroine who perfectly played into 90s pop trends from girl power to lad culture. However, while these characters achieved undeniable and monumental crossover success, this programme argues that the true power of characters in games lies in the relationship built with the player, and how games hold up a mirror to who is playing and making the game. Video games offer us the unique opportunity to literally walk a mile in a character's shoes, and, as times and tastes change, characters do too, as seen in the rise of the 'dystopian dad' in mainstream games such as The Last of Us, God of War and Death Stranding, where reluctant father figure characters reflected a generation's own reckoning with parenthood. And at the cutting edge of the industry, games are finding ways to use play as a gateway into understanding the lives and experiences of others, from early on-set dementia in Before I Forget, to struggles with anxiety and depression in Celeste. Every step of the way, the guide through these thrilling, moving, life-changing games is the character we control, and relate to, on screen.