Good Psychology: Racter from Shadowrun: Hong Kong
So the Shrink loves videogames. I was recently playing Shadowrun: Hong Kong (check it out here!) when I came across the following dialogue from Racter, one of the companion characters.
[Image: A portrait of a white-haired man in black smoking, accompanied by the text: “Racter: Absolutely. I was diagnosed as a primary psychopath at the age of eight.”]
[Gif: Loki arching his eyebrows, sighing, then shaking his head unimpressed and disappointed.]
[Image: “Well… ‘diagnosed’ is probably not the correct word. There is no formal diagnosis of ‘psychopath’ in the DSM. But all the markers were there.
I displayed a complete lack of empathy on the Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and I scored a perfect 40 on the PCL-R. A blood test showed that I had inherited a damaged gene that has been linked with aggressive behavior, and the activity level in my ventromedial prefrontal cortex is vanishingly low.”]
[Gif of a sudden pan in on Andy from Parks and Rec, looking extremely shocked and very happy]
Guys, gals, and nonbinary pals, I have never before seen a piece of media properly talk about psychopathy. It’s to the point where I actively discourage people from trying to use it in their work, because I’ve never seen it well handled.
But holy shit. The writers of this game did their fucking research.
And guess what? Racter is not a bloodthirsty Hollywood-style “psychopath” who’d stab you as soon as look at you.
“Before I turned to the shadows, I considered myself a ‘prosocial’ psychopath. That is to say, I had the markers for psychopathy, and I expressed some of the expected behaviors. But I never killed anyone… at least, not until it became a job requirement.
Now, I’m not so sure. I will admit that there is a certain thrill to our profession… it’s quite liberating, being paid to hunt and kill other men. But I only indulge in these appetites when I’m on the job, and I never bring my work home with me.”
“People with my condition… my *advantage*… are not incapable of bonding with others. The only difference is that we do so on a cerebral level, rather than an emotional one.
I enjoy our association, and I recognize the advantage in our being allies. I like talking to you. What better reason for us to be friends?”
The writers managed to avoid the near-omnipresent media stereotypes when writing his character. Hats fucking off.
Note - There is more than a little Freudian psych that heavily plays into part of his character. But you know what? It’s actually not too badly handled, and even with my hatred of Freudian psych, the Shrink is willing to give them a pass for this one.
Also note - I was looking through one of the Shadowrun RPG rulebooks and found they had dedicated ~40 pages to operationalizing mental illness for use in a tabletop RPG. It was glorious.
