David Artsmith - No good story is complete without some sort of adversity. This is often provided courtesy of, that most hated of groups, the villains. Villains are an integral part of the storytelling process. Unfortunately, they are usually much more difficult to write, or act than a simple hero.
The main reason for this is because as human beings, we have a natural desire to be liked. We want people to respect us, and even to admire us. When you play a villain however, the idea is to get people to dislike you, or at least act in a way that will eventually make them dislike you.
This is further compounded by the idea of the likable villain. This is a character that acts in antithesis to the actions of the hero, and yet is charming enough to garner his or her own affection from the audience.
The hardest part about playing a good villain is being believable. A story is set up to make you hate the villain. Yet the villain is still a human, not a monster. And even monsters have a reason for the way they act. The art of being a good villain is coming up with believable reasons for why you are acting the way that you do.
The other half of this process is the isolating nature of the villain. Hero’s get to gather together to help one another, to come up with ways to overcome obstacles. In general, evil characters prefer to work alone. If he does have a partner it will usually be a slave or a minion, rather than an equal that can actively participate in the storyline.
The villain is often the purpose of the story. They introduce the conflict, the hardship, and the actions that make a story worth telling. They are vital to game play, even though nobody actually wants to be them.
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