Hi everyone, Capcom’s Daizou Nonaka here. Coronavirus continues to be in all the headlines, doesn’t it? It’s easy to get stressed out as we’re stuck at home, but I’m focused on the path ahead. If we don’t give up, we’ll always win out in the end. Let’s pin that thing down for the three count!
When we do venture outside in this pandemic, we need to be wearing masks. So what better time to talk about masked wrestlers? They tie in quite nicely with the videogame world.
The power of the mask
There’s no denying the appeal of masked wrestlers. From the Destroyer back in the day, through Mil Mascaras, Tiger Mask and on to Jyuhin Thunder Liger, their influence is immense. To me, they represent the very appeal of professional wrestling at large; they are the impossible made real and right in front of you.
The strikes and dangerous moves you see in professional wrestling, let alone the double teams and illegal moves, are all things that can never be acceptable in society. These are athletes who have trained and dedicated themselves to being allowed to do what society deems impossible. That, to me is what pro-wrestling is.
Masked men go a step beyond, concealing their faces and creating a whole new identity for themselves as they go to battle. That appeal is just concentrated into a perfect form.
Now, in NJPW we have three active masked wrestlers: there’s Tiger Mask, maintaining the same iconic design after four generations. BUSHI, who brings a unique mask every single match, and El Desperado who has his own kind of characterful look.
Masks and character design
The appeal of a masked wrestler isn’t unlike the appeal of a well designed videogame character. It’s all about a combination of personality and visual style. A great character, one with the perfect combination of personality and a cool look will undoubtedly sell a lot of games, but there’s one more thing that we need from a videogame character: we need them, as avatars, to have an emotional connection with the player.
With a videogame, the characters are under direct control of the player. They’re an extension of the player themselves, so a sense of empathy is absolutely vital. Without empathy, without that emotional resonance, a game character is little more than a doll, and finishing a game is just about how well you manipulate that doll. With an empathetic character, that’s when you subconsciously move your own body in a bid to urge them over a jump, or almost feel real pain yourself when they take damage. That’s when you know you have the best avatar for the player, and a better game for them to play.
Masked wrestlers as avatars
What’s the defining trait of a masked wrestler? Their mask, obviously, but if you look at it a different way, it’s the fact that you can’t see their face.
Your face is your character. It’s the only one you’re born with and it proves you are who you say you are. With masked wrestlers, it becomes easier, consciously or unconsciously, for us to project ourselves onto these characters. We can imagine ourselves as these superhuman stars.
If you have a mask, give it a try. Go ahead and put it on, and pose in front of a mirror. Doesn’t it feel that much more natural than if you tried to pose without a mask on? You feel that much more stronger, more confident. It’s like you project yourself onto that character and come out of your own natural shell. So just like those great videogame characters, you’re projecting yourself onto an avatar when you’re looking at a great masked wrestler.
Supporting under the hood
Why not try to cheer on your favourite masked wrestler, while wearing a mask yourself? It doesn’t have to be at the venue either, you can do it at home. Even watching interviews on NJPW World is more fun when you’re wearing a mask! That way you can really embody them as characters; breathe like they do, gesture and pose like they do. These wrestlers have to decided to be born again as a masked wrestler, and they’re allowing you to come along for the ride, accepting them as avatars.
As I write this while looking at my own collection of masks, I think it’s a bit of a shame that masks are only strongly equated with wrestling. You sometimes see artists and musicians with masks, but I think it’d be cool to see baseball or soccer players in masks. I’d love for there to be a masked society someday!
Daizo Nonaka is a veteran videogame producer and wrestling fan. He’s been part of the game industry for over 36 years, and has worked extensively at Capcom producing the Mega Man series among others.
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