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George Stobbart is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Broken Sword series of adventure games, voiced by Rolf Saxon. He made his first appearance in 1996's Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars. Created by Charles Cecil as an American to appeal to US markets, George was originally designed by Red Rover animation Studios' Mike Burgess.

George is an American patent lawyer, who as an American tourist witnesses a bombing of a Parisian cafe and meets French photo-journalist Nicole "Nico" Collard in The Shadow of the Templars, and from here on out, unravels conspiracies around the world in his adventures. George has been in an on and off relationship with Nico, and has also been romantically involved with Anna Maria, a character who is introduced The Angel of Death.

George is one of the most popular protagonists among adventure gamers, often praised as one of the best. Critics have praised George's wit, humour, and dialog. Much praise has also went to Saxon, and is also the role for which the actor is best known.

Character development
Broken Sword creator and director Charles Cecil wanted to create two protagonists of the series, a man and a woman, who would exchange thoughts and ideas, helping drive the game along, thus creating George Stobbart and Nicole "Nico" Collard. To make the game appeal to both US and European markets, George was made American and Nico was made French. George was originally designed by animator Mike Burgess, who worked for Red Rover animation Studio. When talking about George's design in The Sleeping Dragon, Cecil said: "In Broken Sword 1 George was a pretty cool, if slightly naïve, American. We felt that in Broken Sword 2 he came across as weaker. Our objectives [in The Sleeping Dragon] are to get back to what he was previously and bring him into the 21st century."

Revolution had already cast Hazel Ellerby as Nico, but had trouble finding a voice actor for George. Hazel suggested her former schoolmate from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Rolf Saxon, as George. Cecil, who Saxon knew before Broken Sword's creation, offered him the job and he accepted it. Although Nico's voice actresses was constantly changing, Rolf remained George's voice actor throughout the series, also recording new dialogue in The Shadow of the Templars' director's cut; Cecil noted that he was always "pleased" with Saxon's performance, saying he "has made the part his own."

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (1996)
As the game begins, George witnesses a terrorist attack at a cafe while touring Paris, during which a clown steals an old man's briefcase and detonates a bomb. Soon after, George meets Nicole "Nico" Collard, a journalist photographing the scene with whom he tries to gather information about the attack and trace down the killer. They learn the killer's name, Khan, and find the hotel where he is staying, where George obtains an ancient manuscript from Khan's hotel safe. Nicole deduces that it is related to the Knights Templar. On the manuscript, there are several pictures of items that George travels around the world for to collect, often with help from Nico's colleague Andre Lobineau.

After traveling the world, from Lochmarne, Ireland, to Marib, Syria, and Villa De Vasconcellos in Spain, the final destination the manuscript leads to is a church in Bannockburn, Scotland. George and Nicole board a train, where Khan is shot by one of the neo-Templars: Khan reveals to George that he wanted the stop the evil neo-Templars wielding the secret weapon the manuscript lead to before dying. George and Nicole reach the church in time to see the Grand Master of the Templars acquire a power from two huge Baphomet idols—the Sword of Baphomet, or the Broken Sword. After trying to tempt George to join their ranks, the Grand Master orders the couple to be killed, but they escape with the aid of explosives. The church explodes, killing Guido, the Templars, and—presumably—the Grand Master. The game ends with George and Nicole's first kiss.

Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse (2013)
At the beginning of the game, George and Nico meet by chance at a Parisian art gallery, where they witness a man disguised as a pizza courier murdering another man and stealing a seemingly worthless painting. The adventure soon takes them across the globe, with Paris, London, and a Middle Eastern location (Turkey) confirmed, on the trail of a conspiracy regarding the Gnostic Gospels, a conspiracy whose roots lie much deeper than is apparent.

Reception
George has been met with positive reception. Saxon also received much praise for his performance, and it is his best known work. RPGFan's Neal Chandran called George "an enduring and beloved protagonist among genre fans." Adventure Gamers' Evan Dickens said George is "already among the favorites in adventure gaming history, as a result of the generally excellent dialogue and intelligent character progression through the first two Broken Sword games."

IGN's Sam Bishop said that due to the "Perfectly read lines [that] totally make the characters come to life", "George has an honest, dry wit that makes it a joy to actually get responses from him." CheatMasters' David Gomez that George is "Wonderfully voiced by Rolf Saxon" and "one of video game’s greatest characters, a title helped even more so by his subsequent adventures." BeefJack's James Haresign called George "a fantastic character, a reluctant modern day Indiana Jones," and that "His constant narration is a step above your average adventure game star. George’s internal monologue is full of snark, self-mocking, and insight into the American, not just hints and refusals to do something." Edge wrote that George is "among the most sympathetic digital creations of all time".

PushStartSelect called George a "legend", saying he "oozes 'cool'" and that "The true beauty of George Stobbart and the Broken Sword games however lies in the set pieces and dialogue which takes place as George converses with everyone and anyone attempting to uncover clues in his quests in unravelling mystery. Some of the jokes, innuendo and general humour will leave you teary eyed and doubled-over. It is honestly some of the funniest material to be included in a video game. It is simple humour granted, but as so well executed over the course of each game, these humorous exchanges alone become one of the series’ most superlative assets. George isn’t like modern protagonists. He carries no weapons. He’s not macho. He’s not particularly brave. But he’s hilarious and he still manages to get shit done when it needs doing… and still has time to get the girl!"