Ahh. The silent protagonist. One of gaming's most used devices. You all know the mute hero who somehow only communicates with the occasional yelp of pain, joy, or "..."'s. NihonTiger has already
talked about this (and as I was blissfully unaware, made it to the front page) but I wanted to share my thoughts on the subject. Let's take a closer look at good examples and bad alike.
Prepare for an onslaught of ranting and profanity.
GOOD IDEA:
Basically any game without an important story pretty much falls into this category. Mario is the first and probably best example that comes to mind. Sure, he gives the occasional yelp of pain, or borderline erotic squee of joy whenever he jumps, but beyond that and the occasional 4 word sentence, he never says a word. And that's a good thing. After hearing him scream the title of his latest game with over exuberant pubescent flair every time I boot up Super Mario Galaxy, I'd go as far to say that he talks
TOO damn much. Now imagine if Mario held full conversations with Bowser or Peach with that voice we thankfully barely hear. I'd claw my fucking ears off ten minutes into that Chinese torture. That voice would ping pong across the insides of your skull while you bang your head continuously against the wall trying to shake it out. Even IF his dialogue was just text, do you
really give a damn what Mario has to say? Shut up and let me fight the next boss bitch. I don't care if it's-a-you. I realize that. You've been around for almost 30 fucking years. So yeah. It's a good idea that he's silent.
Master Chief is another good example. I know you're saying "But MC Hammer DOES talk" but that's only during the cut scenes and even then it's brief. Notice how during the actual game play, he never says a word. That is a good thing. Not only does it fit his personality as a super serious soldier but it also avoids being annoying. Imagine if MC was crackin' wise like Duke Nukem all the time in that gravelly man voice. Not only would that annoy my brains out but it doesn't make sense with him being this battle-hardened-super-soldier-trained-for-nothing-but-war-since-he-was-8 character. You shouldn't talk at all MC Hammer. You should be fucking killing or dancing, and you're broke now so you don't have time to dance anymore. The only time you should talk is when you're issuing orders to other soldiers to kill or dance. NO OTHER REASON!
BAD IDEA:
And here is where the controversy begins. I have two major examples that I'm sure people will disagree with but hear me out.
I'll begin with Link.
Now I agree that up until I guess the Gamecube games, Link was fine as a silent protagonist, but that shit has officially become old. "But Guitar. Do you want anything like that Zelda CD-I ga..." Shut your fucking mouth right there. That game was made as a cashwhore and wasn't even made by Nintendo so how did you think it was going to turn out? The fact is, the character of Link will not evolve or become worthy of emotional investment until Link starts talking. Can you tell me anything about Link's personality at all? Is it sad that Kratos from God of War is a deeper character than Link who's been around for like 20 years longer? Now this is different from Mario because the Zelda games actually attempt to have a relatively mature story and present it to you as such. Except for the fact that the main character has no fucking personality. Imagine how more engrossing the story would be if Link could talk. Imagine the new possibilities for story and how they escape this fucking regurgitating cycle of game play they've been going through recently. Imagine if you gave a damn about Link at all. I think it would be cool.
The other example I'm thinking of is Gordon Freeman of Half-Life. People tout this as the greatest example of the silent protagonist but I can only see the missed opportunity. People are fucking talking to you Freeman, say something! It annoys me to no end how he never says anything to anyone during his adventures. I'm not saying he needs to say something every 30 seconds or even say something profound, but at least acknowledge that someone is in the room with you you fucking mute! People say "But it immerses me in the world more" and I say fuck that. It takes me out personally. If I could customize my character's appearance, name, and dick size, that would immerse me, but no. Your character is already set. You are the scientist Gordon Freeman as played by the guy from House and him not talking isn't going to make me feel any more like him during the game. I just see all the potential for character development that's just lost because he never once asks "What's this awesome fucking thing in the lab over here" "You made a gun that controls gravity! How awesomely scientifically amazing fucktastic is that!?". Valve could do better that that, but you get my point. He's a scientist, but the only thing I know about him is that he's a great survivalist and he could beat your dad dead with a crowbar in 2 seconds flat. He should talk.
So what do you think? Fan the flames of War!
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Your Gordan Freeman talk is fightin' words!
i like my protagonists like my women, barefoot and pregnant. i mean silent. while i can see the value in enhancing the development of the character, it just leaves more chances to fuck things up. slience allows the blame for akward conversation to be blame on characters other than the main, so people get mad at tingle and not link and the zelda franchise chugs on.
Didn't we already do this?
http://www.destructoid.com/good-idea-bad-idea-the-silent-protagonist-69307.phtml
Good idea: Thinking like NihonTiger90
Bad idea: Thinking like NihonTiger90 :(
Although I do happen to agree with you both.
The Zelda Franchise is lower on my list because of the lack of VO.
I think you've missed the point of Gordon Freeman. He isn't a silent protagonist at all. Quite simply you are supposed to be Gordon Freeman. Having Gordon speak would be putting words into your mouth that aren't there. What they've tried to do is lever the game in a way that has you answering them, even if it's only in your head. Whether this works or not is simply whether or not you are engrossed in the Half-Life world as much as Valve would hope you are.
A similar story with Link. I think I'm one of the few that are against voice acting in Zelda games, and it's nothing to do with the CDI games or the cartoon series. It's been a main staple of the series to allow me to scroll through text boxes at my own pace. I can imagine what the characters sound like. More importantly, I remember wither Miyamoto or Anouma talking about this, it would once again be putting words into your mouth that you haven't said, which can be more jarring than no voice acting at all. And that reminds me, I never want voice acting in Zelda, even for NPCs.
Of course it really depends on the game, but I think Half-Life and Zelda should stick with the conventions they have already.
@Boolean
SNAP! My bad. I missed that one somehow.
I was going to say that yes this was already done but don't let that make you hide it. I would just add something in the beginning like yes there is this post (linking nihons) but then explain that this is your own thought.
At least give him some credit since his was first and it made it to the front page but both are good reads :)
GuitarAtomik: I think this update has it's own merit based on the HL2 side of things. I was going to post some more feedback on it but I gotta get to work >:[
Man I disagree with both your bad examples. I love that Link is prett blank in his character development and that the world around him (Which does need voice acting like woh!) unfolds around him with depth, it sort of creates a young hero thrust into it, I dig it. As for Freeman I agree taht he could talk but I don't think he needs to, the story is strong enough the way it's presented thats its not neccesary.
@Sadie G
Good Idea. Will do.
No Problem! Just would hate you to have wasted time on something just because you weren't aware that it was already done.
I'll admit that sometimes it depends when it comes to Link. If they're going for the light hearted style, it's not so important, but when you have something like Twighlight Princess, I think it's only held back. There's so much they could do with a fully fleshed out Legend of Zelda story with Link talking. In all honesty, I think they're being lazy about it. It's like they don't feel like coming up with a story that would make the gameplay even more rewarding. Maybe that's just something that I personally feel I need in my games. I don't know.
I understand what they're trying to do with Gordon Freeman, but I think it's just missed opportunity. Don't get me wrong. At this point, it would be dumb to make him talk, but he should have been talking by HL2 in my opinion. He doesn't need to have major monologues or anything, but he should be contributing to the conversation when it makes sense otherwise why make him a scientist? Why isn't he just some meathead soldier that everyone uses as a tool of destruction? I'm fully confident that Valve is capable of writing dialogue for him that wouldn't be so intrusive. The story works and succeeds in Half Life and evelopes people in it but I feel it's DESPITE, not because, Gordon Freeman is silent.
I disagree with Link being a bad use of the silent protagonist. Miyamoto has always discussed that he wants the player to actually "be" Link. This is the driving idea behind a lot of the Zelda series gameplay elements: Link never speaks, the player has been able to customize Link's name ever since the first adventure, the games story-lines are disjointed and never give Link a true "history," etc. If I remember correctly, Miyamoto even said the name "Link" was meant to be a placeholder that signifies the bridge between the player and his existence in the game world.
@HarassmentPanda
I don't get that though. I don't feel like I've "become" Link while playing anymore than I "become" Kratos while playing. Maybe that's just the way my brain is wired though.
Interesting factoid about Link's name by the way.
I can understand you saying you dont feel like youve become a character.. not everyone can do that. However with many of these creators thats always been their objective, for the player to 'be' this person. Its up to you to allow your imagination to go that far. Sort of like watching a movie or reading a book, you get so entraped that you feel like your there in your imagination thus making you a part of the story. It doesnt fit everyone like a glove, but for those that it does the experience of the game is quite different :D.
I think GuitarAtomik is on to something here.
In more recent continuations of series with silent protagonists, those characters interact with other people through "invisible dialogue". They actually do speak, but for some reason, the shots when they actually say anything are cut during post-production. The best example I can think of right now is Majora's Mask, in which Link goes to inform Kotake that Koume was trapped in the woods injured. Somehow Kotake is able to construe these very exact details and rushes Link off with a Red Potion to help her, all without Link having to have done a thing. I could never wrap my head around how this was supposed to be played off other than that Link actually isn't a silent protagonist and that any speech or pantomiming of his are censored.
This could be all just nitpicking but my point is that there are valid points in this write-up I think some of you are missing.
I kind of feel the same way about Gordon Freeman. It would be different if we never got to see what he looks like, but his big goatee'd mug is all over the game box.
@Dan Gale: Au contraire, there is a point in HL:2 where Alyx points out the fact that Gordon is silent.
To be honest though, I like the fact that I can play during all the talking that goes on. "Whatever Alyx, I'm smashing boxes for SCIENCE!"
IIRC, I recall an interview with either Miyamoto or Anouma where they said that, in addition to not giving Link a voice because he's meant to represent the player, they didn't give the side characters voices because they're not speaking any real language, they're speaking Hylian. All their voice acting would be nonsensical gibberish, much like the voices they have now, only there would be a lot more of it. And nobody wants that.
But yeah, LoZ would start failing if they gave Link any kind of personality or voice of his own. Part of the enjoyment of the series is in the fact that he DOESN'T have any personal voice, so you can imprint whatever personality you want on him. My interpretation of WW Link's personality was probably a lot different from yours, and personalizing the game in that way makes the game feel a lot more near and dear than can ever be accomplished with scripted personalities and voices.
I don't want Link voiced for the same reason I didn't want to ever hear the Protagonist in SMT: Nocturne speak. The game works to show many possibe sides of their character without forcing any one impression on you, so your character becomes YOUR character. Yeah, you can't customize how they look, but you can imprint your own feelings and interpretations of actions onto the character to create a unique identity from every other game player in the world. And that's a large part of what makes those games special.
I would like it if Gordon talked, but if they suddenly started having him speak everyone would freak out and hate the game. So no talking, at least till Half Life 3.
Stop trying to steal my thunder! :p
I kid, obviously, but I pretty much agree with the part for it. To me, Gordon Freeman's acceptable as a silent character because a) it's a FPS and b) you are supposed to be in Gordon's shoes. Same thing for Portal and Chell. Zelda needs more voice acting for other characters... but I'm not sold on Link yet. Heck, Zelda needs a lot of changes, but that's another post.
Got to agree with Harassment Panda and Dan Gale
What are you talking about? Whenever someone asks me a question in HL2, I answer them, because I'm Gordon Freeman.
So whenever some freedom fighter says, "Good morning Dr. Freeman, I'm sure glad you're here."
I'm like, "fuck you nigga! I know you was the last one to use the milk. You the type of mothafucka finna try to act like someone finna use the two drops you left at the bottom, aintcha? How'm I finna eat my cerl?! Bitch." and I move on
because that's who Gordon Freeman is in my head.
On another note, I didn't know men played Zelda games. That's kind of weird isn't it?