1000 game heroes

Throughout history, humanity has elected heroes. From the demi-gods of mythology to the giants of cinema, they have attained the status of legends. Not least among them are the real-life heroes of war, politics or sport. Another breed of heroes was created by cartoon strips. And since the late 70s, a further category has emerged. These newcomers, born of the new technologies, have not merely come to rival the heroes of the past; they have elbowed their way to the front. These new heroes can rightly claim to be closer to their admirers, for their fame hangs on a playful but intimate relationship with fans who, for hours, days, and even weeks at a time, assume their roles and destinies. The universe that they share is one of pixels and polygons: video-games. Only an elite found anything to admire in the rudimentary graphics and simple concepts of the earliest games. Indeed, in those days gamers seemed pretty eccentric. Today, video-games are superb microcosms, complex and rich in detail, and gamers of all ages take intense pleasure in immersing themselves in these cornucopian virtual worlds…