No Right Answer: Best Silent Protagonist Ever

[Proverbial Jon]

Well it certainly wasn't the Grey Warden or either of the first 2 Fable protagonists. Damn, some of those scenes were creepy without speech!

I don't mind a silent protagonist so long as there's a reasonable explanation for it. In a game like Dragon Age where you have people talking at you all the time, it just feels weird not to respond in an audible manner. People may hate on Bioshock 2 but at least Subject Delta had a reason to be silent.

 

[AdamxD]

Red/Blue from Pokemon? Not a word spoken, and can um.. catch Pokemon!

 

[redknightalex]

Absolutely nobody. Because a silent protagonist has no character beyond what they player gives them (which is on par with fanfiction most of the time anyway)

I'm guessing you're not a fan of RPGs or fanfiction. Personally I find that if I add a voice, sometimes out-loud and other times not, to a silent protagonist I get more invested in the story than those that are voiced. Of course, it depends on the game. But my character in Skyrim being voiced? Never.

OT: Between the two, I'd have to say Link as well. Other than that many protagonists from RPGs also work well, like your character from Dragon Age: Origins or Fallout 3.

 

[Marik Bentusi]

I also have to say Link. Why? Because Gordon doesn't develop, as a character. On the other hand, Link has to grow into an adult througout Majora's Mask.

He grows from a scientist so awkward he can't even use a microwave properly into an intergalactic mercenary and hope and savior of humanity.

That's quite a bit of development if you ask me.

 

[synobal]

I also have to say Link. Why? Because Gordon doesn't develop, as a character. On the other hand, Link has to grow into an adult througout Majora's Mask.

He grows from a scientist so awkward he can't even use a microwave properly into an intergalactic mercenary and hope and savior of humanity.

That's quite a bit of development if you ask me.

The one Free Man.

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

Well, when it comes to Best SILENT Protagonist, Gordon wins. Link just can't speak in any language.

 

[RatherDashing89]

I feel like I'm the only one who noticed...

Spoiler

[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB0lZHQ0zO0[/link]

 

[Kapol]

I really don't like Gordon Freeman, and get a bit annoyed when people call him one of the best videogame characters of all time. I don't consider silent protagonist to be much of a 'character' since they don't normally get much characterization. You get people saying stuff about them from time to time to understand backstory of course. But you never learn anything about them as a person because... well, they aren't people. They're mindless drones that we're meant to project onto. Most of the time I do think they'd be better if they actually had characterization to add to the story (as long as it's done well of course).

Now when it comes to which of the two make a better silent protagonist, I'm not sure. One of the main problems with Link as a choice is that there isn't just one of him. There are so many different versions. At the same time, it did seem like there was a lot of situations where Gordon could have just said something to someone to stop them from being stupid. By instinct I'd go with Link, but I'm willing to admit that's likely due to outside bias. Though reading another comment, there's a good point on first-person prospective hurting silent protagonist since you don't get any of the emotion the character is feeling.

Of course, my real choice would be Chell. She's one of the few characters that really feels like she wouldn't ever have anything to say anyways. At least in the first game that is. She's stuck in a bunch of test chambers, alone, and is being taunted over the intercom by some nutjob. Realistically saying something wouldn't make any difference or have any effect in this case. Even when she does get to the end, there's not much to say to GLaDOS. She's not a very good character by any means. But she is the best example of a game where the silent protagonist makes the most sense.

 

[search_rip]

screw Gordon Freeman just taking the amount of Half Life games vs Zelda games, Link is clearly the best silent protagonist ever

 

[Squidbulb]

I'd say Link because he actually shows emotion, so at least he has a little personality, and it is implied that he's saying something occasionally. Besides, the games wouldn't be improved in any way by Link having a voice; there were times when it would've been much better if Gordon could speak.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

But link talks a bit in Skyward Sword, how else could you give answers to questions etc.

 

[RJ Dalton]

Oh, come on. Link's not a silent protagonist. He goes "Yah! Yah! Hyah! Hyeh!" constantly.

 

[Trishbot]

Absolutely nobody. Because a silent protagonist has no character beyond what they player gives them (which is on par with fanfiction most of the time anyway)

i can't stand silent protagonist's anyway. both Gordan and Link suck as characters because they aren't characters. they have as much personality as a rock.

If the existence of a voice is what defines a person, that means people who are mute somehow have "less character" and personality due to the lack of a voice.

That's ridiculous. I still don't have any idea why people claim that a silent protagonist is devoid of personality, emotion, or character. Link, in many of the games I've played, expresses more emotion and personality than 99% of other video game protagonists (especially in Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, and Twilight Princess).

The phrase "actions speak louder than words" is very true, and it is ESPECIALLY true in video games, which is a medium DEFINED by player-action. What a player, and by extension the characters within it, do defines them. It's why the ACTIONS of Wander in Shadow of the Colossus are so powerful, why the ACTIONS of Jack in Bioshock resonate so well with the story, why the ACTIONS of Commander Shepard defined them rather than their gender or voice.

It's the reason Samus in Other M is so badly portrayed since her ACTIONS in that game do not reflect her ACTIONS in prior Metroid games. It's the reason Cloud in Advent Children is less interesting because, despite having an actual voice, his ACTIONS do not match those of his original game. It's the reason Chell in Portal can be an honestly interesting character defined by her intellect, resourcefulness, and unyielding endurance rather than appearance or her voice.

Actions will forever speak louder than words, and many silent protagonists (not all, but many) display a wide range of emotions and character-defining actions within their stories and game universes.

 

[Darth_Payn]

Good job on the background, guys. Fallout 3, Bioshock, sending a subliminal message?
I don't get the need for silent protagonists in such story-driven games. You would think the other residents of Hyrule would ask Link why he doesn't say anything back to them in their "conversations". And Gordon doesn't have to be the guy who hangs a lampshade on what's going on around him, but talking would have helped him connect with the other characters on his side. Although whenever I play a Half-Life game, I fill in gordon's side of the conversation and it amazingly fits. Something I don't get from Link.

 

[RJ Dalton]

screw Gordon Freeman just taking the amount of Half Life games vs Zelda games, Link is clearly the best silent protagonist ever

Quantity over quality, man. Quantity over quality.

 

[Marik Bentusi]

I also have to say Link. Why? Because Gordon doesn't develop, as a character. On the other hand, Link has to grow into an adult througout Majora's Mask.

He grows from a scientist so awkward he can't even use a microwave properly into an intergalactic mercenary and hope and savior of humanity.

That's quite a bit of development if you ask me.

The one Free Man.

There is actually a highly entertaining conspiracy theory out there according to which G-Man leans against or even outright breaks the Fourth Wall and recruited Gordon on purpose because he realized he had been transformed into a super hero by the player. Afterwards Gordon was hired by the Resistance, tho as Dr. Breen implied his services were "up for the highest bidder". The reason why G-Man got mad at his contractor/had Eli killed in Ep2 was because the Vorts prevented him from putting Gordon into stasis again, which obviously was outside the contract that ended with the successful termination of Dr. Breen.
So in a sense, he is the one free man that isn't a scripted NPC, but at the same time he's so caged he can't even talk anymore because players don't give him the command to do so.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

Gordon Freeman isn't a character. He is a camera with a gun. I'm fine with some characters being quiet. Like
your character in the Elder Scrolls. No need for them to talk. Or Chell. Chell works with being quite because there isn't really anyone to talk to, outside of GladOS and Wheatly. And they aren't even present all the time. And what is Chell going to say to GlaDOS anyway? It isn't like they are going to hold a meaningful discussion about life or something like that.

Now Gordon and Carvo are two characters that should talk. They both have personalities, relationships with other people and pretty defined history. They have reason to be talking I think.

 

[Callate]

I think I would disqualify Link. He's not canonically silent- there's a cartoon in which he's fully voiced (badly), the CDi games in which he speaks (also badly), and his dialogue options in Skyward Sword imply that at least one version of him does, in fact, speak. Also, he came out on an era where having a few lines of actual gosh-darn synthesized speech were likely to double the necessary capacity on your game's medium. He wasn't originally silent as a choice; his silence was about as surprising as silence in the vacuum of space.

 

[Eicha]

I'm gonna have to jump on the Samus boat for this one, but only from Metroid Prime. The way the camera pans out during cutscenes might break the immersion for some, but I felt that panning out and showing Samus full-on and getting a good look at what she's seeing pulls you in closer. As well as the design and atmosphere of the game really conveying a sense of loneliness in a cruel world full of aliens and space pirates, armed only with a crazy alien suit and a gun strapped to your arm.

On topic, a great episode guys. Keep it up!