Do you prefer Text or Audio in your RPGs?

[Akiraking]

So I have been trying to think of something worth being my first thread and this is something that has been on my mind the last few days. When you play RPGs do you prefer just reading text or listening to voice actors. I like voice acting because I think it adds to the story and can make a scene more emotional but I have been playing my 3DS on trips recently and I can't seem to focus unless I am reading the text. I now find it more enjoyable and easier to understand if I just ditch the sound.
What are your opinions yay or nay to voice acting.

 

[alphamalet]

For the main character in an RPG with dialogue choices, I'd rather pick from text and have the main character remain silent. I like it better this way because there is less ambiguity to what is being said, and it's more like you saying it than an video game character saying it IMO. Beyond that I really don't care if it's text or voice acting so long as it's done well.

 

[Lucyfer86]

Audio, and after being spoiled by DA and ME, i'd like cool conversation scenes too.
But at the end of the day, just audio will do.

I hate reading if it's not voiced, which is probably why i never did manage to finish any rpg after and between Fallout 2 and already said DA/ME.

 

[Exhuminator]

Pertaining to dialogue boxes with normal NPCs, I prefer text because I read much faster than actors speak. I find it annoying to be finished reading a paragraph while the voice over is only 1/3rd of the way through. However, if I'm watching a non-interactive cutscene that is more like a movie clip, I'd rather have voice overs for that as its more immersive.

 

[JazzJack2]

In a perfect world audio would obviously be the better choice but unfortunately as it currently stands it seems audio comes at the expense of better dialogue due to the cost of paying voice actors. I quite liked the method of talking heads for important characters and written for secondary ones but I guess that works better in an old school isometric RPG than it would in a modern 3D one (written dialogue in 3D games is in general quite out of place and jarring.)

 

[piinyouri]

Personally, I enjoy voice over work for the main character and other characters as well.

However I do realize how much this tends to eat into the development budget and disk space so I'm rather torn about it.

 

[BrotherRool]

Even when games have audio I rarely end up listening to it if the game has subtitles. People read faster than they listen and how good would the voice acting have to be before 'Tell me more about X' became dialogue worth listening to?

I like having voice for flavour somewhere, but putting your focus on the voice acting probably isn't money efficient.

On the other hand, I agree that having voice acting made The Old Republic's quests more worthwhile. So clearly it does have an impact

 

[WeepingAngels]

Reading, I can read much faster than the voice actor can deliver the line. In some games you can skip to the next line of dialogue at your will but the end result is that I miss most of the spoken dialogue anyway. Games that make me sit through the voice acting annoy me.

Also, by reading I can give each character the voice I want them to have. For example, if they did a Chrono Trigger remake and add voices to all the characters, I am betting that they wouldn't match the voices that I have imagined for the characters for almost 20 years.

 

[Auberon]

Voice acting eats into the budget and gigabytes. And seeing as Torment would be impossible to do with full voice acting, I'll stick to text.

 

[RJ 17]

I've enjoyed games on both sides of the issue, but my preference does lean more towards good ol' text boxes. The main reason is that it allows me to come up with the voices myself as I read, thus lessening the chance of having to suffer through a game with god-awful voice acting.

 

[spartandude]

I prefer audio but im more than willing to sacrafice voices if more of the budget can be spent on more important ventures.

 

[God'sFist]

Nice thread definitely better than my first.

OT It generally depends on the game itself. Like for Masseffect it worked I liked the voice they gave Sheperd. However with the sequel that shant fable 3 be named the princes voice never changes so if you decide to be a monster in the game you don't get a monster voice you sound like a child, plus I hated the voice they gave him. For games like Legend of Zelda it just seems better to not give them a voice because they have done without for so long and the dialogue is really good.

 

[Zhukov]

Audio, by a huge margin.

Verbal delivery adds a layer of expression onto the dialogue. A well delivered line can be awesome or moving even if the line itself isn't anything special. Not so with text.

Besides, I don't think I've ever seen a game with writing that could stand up on its own merits as prose. And yes, I've played that game you're about to tell me about.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well voice acting is the more convenient way of transmitting their dialogue, but that doesn't make it automatically better because a bad voice actor or a poorly directed one(wasn't told how to deliver the lines) will make it worse.

So voices if done properly otherwise just a bit for flavour will do and I'll read the rest.

 

[Hargrimm]

Text, if I have to choose one or the other.
A few voice stabs like in the old IE games is the optimal approach in my opinion. Once I hear a characters voice for a bit, I can read all of their dialogue with that voice in my head.

 

[Tom_green_day]

This is going to sound like a really weird thing to say but one of the things I hate most in gaming is when the text appears letter-by-letter, a feature common in JRPGs. Even worse if it's accompanied by a clicking sound like many are. I can't really put my finger on why I hate it but it's irritating and unnecessary. Some of us are fast readers, why do we have to wait for the writing to appear?
I like voice acting. Except in Fallout: New Vegas. In there I hate the voice acting, if you can call it 'acting'

 

[The_Scrivener]

FFX was the beginning of the end for me. I thought the intro of voiceovers into FF games really hurt the imagination of the series. In general, I would say I prefer text, but some great modern games have made the move to VOs without hurting the integrity of the characters so I'd say it could go either way.

I feel like BioWare's dialogue trees are probably the best example.

 

[putowtin]

Both,

most of the time I want to hear them speak, but I also appreciate having the options to read (in case I get interrupted and miss the conversation)