Poll: RPGs and skipping voice overs... who else does it? who doesn't?
- Thread starter FieryTrainwreck
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In RPGs I don't skip voice acting and I always have the subtitles. The reason for the subtitles is because if I don't, there will always be something that I won't be able to hear. It's frustrating both in video games and films when actors start talking far too low to be able to hear them, especially if there's a lot of other noise around or I've become accustomed to.
I only listen to the voice acting if its voiced by someone from star trek or other insanely nerdy reference.
I'm from the unspoken text age so I grew up without the spoken dialogue in games.
The problem for me is that many character voices (mainly in JRPGs) annoy me when spoken in English and basically remove me from the experience.
I believe a written word sounds less lame than a spoken word even (especially) with bad writing.
However, for some reason dialogue in a language I don't really understand (provided subtitles) do not annoy me.
The problem for me is that many character voices (mainly in JRPGs) annoy me when spoken in English and basically remove me from the experience.
I believe a written word sounds less lame than a spoken word even (especially) with bad writing.
However, for some reason dialogue in a language I don't really understand (provided subtitles) do not annoy me.
Listen, and with subtitles to be clear on exactly what's said (make sure I'm not mishearing things). Though after my first play through, I'll tend to skip over a lot of it to keep moving.
I skip voice overs when I feel that either the voice acting slows the game down and I want to get to the action, or I've heard it a bunch of times, to the point where I've basically memorized much of the script by my third playthrough (a la DA:O and Mass Effect 1 and 2).
And I always keep subtitles on just in case I didn't understand the voices.
And I always keep subtitles on just in case I didn't understand the voices.
I feel I haven't truly experienced the story if I don't hear all the voice acting as I come to it. Subtitles, however, I find distracting. I always assumed those were only for the deaf and those not well-versed in the actors' language.
i play with voice and subtitles, but if its particularly pointless, i skip it when im finished reading. i am used to the mostly text-driven RPGs of yesteryear, so i like to get through the dialogue at my own pace.
but, you do have a point about the massive resources that go into voiced dialogue not really showing. text-conversations allowed for more dialogue at a quicker pace, more responses, and overall more depth to the story with the ability to just gloss over if you were tired of reading. i much preferred the silent warden in DAO over hawke's pathetic attempts at sarcasm, and would argue that non-voiced dialogue are far from universally obsolete to voiced ones. IMO, given how dialogue-heavy bioware games are, voice-acting EVERYTHING just takes away far more money that is better spent elsewhere. in their old games like baldur's gate, the opening line being spoken was all you needed to get the character's voice and tone and then read the rest in said voice and tone; all that money that wouldve been soaked up by voice-acting the rest of the dialogue could be spent making the rest of the AMAZING game.
but, you do have a point about the massive resources that go into voiced dialogue not really showing. text-conversations allowed for more dialogue at a quicker pace, more responses, and overall more depth to the story with the ability to just gloss over if you were tired of reading. i much preferred the silent warden in DAO over hawke's pathetic attempts at sarcasm, and would argue that non-voiced dialogue are far from universally obsolete to voiced ones. IMO, given how dialogue-heavy bioware games are, voice-acting EVERYTHING just takes away far more money that is better spent elsewhere. in their old games like baldur's gate, the opening line being spoken was all you needed to get the character's voice and tone and then read the rest in said voice and tone; all that money that wouldve been soaked up by voice-acting the rest of the dialogue could be spent making the rest of the AMAZING game.
@FieryTrainwreck
Is it possible that you hate cutscenes even more because you skip them?
I get your preference for gameplay, I feel the same way sometimes especially when the writing or acting is really bad.
For me it sometimes gets worse if I get into the habit of skipping. So I try to only do it if its a cutscene I've seen many times, or if it's exceptionally annoying.
Subtitles are a bit of a curse for me. On one hand I need them because I miss a lot of details without them due to not being a native English speaker. On the other hand they make cutscenes seem slow in comparison to my reading speed.
Is it possible that you hate cutscenes even more because you skip them?
I get your preference for gameplay, I feel the same way sometimes especially when the writing or acting is really bad.
For me it sometimes gets worse if I get into the habit of skipping. So I try to only do it if its a cutscene I've seen many times, or if it's exceptionally annoying.
Subtitles are a bit of a curse for me. On one hand I need them because I miss a lot of details without them due to not being a native English speaker. On the other hand they make cutscenes seem slow in comparison to my reading speed.
For my first playthrough I listen to every voice over while keeping subtitles on. I tend to prefer to hear what party members and NPCs have to say, but it's nice to have subtitles in case I didn't catch something or heard it incorrectly. The only time I'll skip a voice over is if it's some generic greeting/farewell that I've heard ten times already, or the dialogue for aliens in KOTOR once I realized each species only has two or three sound files for their native language.
On subsequent playthroughs I'm more inclined to skip dialogue if I already know what they're going to say.
On subsequent playthroughs I'm more inclined to skip dialogue if I already know what they're going to say.
I always go with voice acting and subtitles when possible. It just seems naturally ingrained to me. Even if the voice acting is piss poor than that's usually still pretty entertaining. I only really skip past things when dialogue is treading the same ground as before on a repeat playthrough.
Most RPGs have terrible voice acting (Angrily glaces over at Oblivion) but a some have good voice acting (Turns head towards Persona 4)
It depends on how bad the voice acting is, and if its my first time playing the game. Usually if the dialogue is good, and I'm playing it the first time I don't skip anything.
The first time I played KoTOR, I listened to every conversation. The second time through, I skipped frivolous parts. Now, I usually only listen to the parts which I really love to hear. Especially Jolee and Hk-47 and Canderous.
Now, the party conversations of DA are things I stop just to listen to. They were usually really well done, and felt a lot more natural than staring at people selecting dialog out of a menu.
Now, the party conversations of DA are things I stop just to listen to. They were usually really well done, and felt a lot more natural than staring at people selecting dialog out of a menu.
