Poll: Should The Elder Scrolls go back to using a text-based dialogue system like Morrowind's?

[Gorilla Gunk]

I may be in the minority but I actually preferred Morrowind's dialogue system where you just read everything. For the most part the voice acting in Skyrim is alright but it feels very limited. You're usually only given very few choices in how to interact with people. I know this is because Bethesda just probably couldn't afford to put a lot of dialogue options since for every option you'd need to write, record, and program a different response which can be costly. But that's why I think text-based conversations are superior. You may not be able to hear what the person is saying but you'd be able to have different responses to different questions and the conversation could play out in a lot of different ways without having to worry about spending the cost of recording someone.

 

[Fat Hippo]

Morrowind actually had a terrible dialogue system. Clicking on single words and then getting lengthy responses can hardly be called dialogue in fact. But as for voice acting: I could do without it, but it just wouldn't fly in today's market, so no, realistically, they probably shouldn't.

 

[Fappy]

They would never go back, and for good reason. As much as I love Morrowind (top 5 best games of all time imo) the way Morrowind handled text-based dialogue is incredibly obsolete. Best solution for future titles: make a HUGE budget for voice acting/recording. They have the resources. There is no excuse.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

in this day and age, if you are a AAA developer, there is next to no excuse to go back to pure text based dialogue, especially with how many actors are really getting into doing voice work for games now.

so nope, i love me some stories with voiced work!

 

[ResonanceGames]

No. That's not to say Morrowind's system is bad, or that Skyrim's is without its flaws, but they seem to be getting more voices and better voice acting with every installment. Since the next game will presumably be next-gen, I'm assuming they'll have even more room on the disc and a higher budget, so there should be even more variety.

 

[pppppppppppppppppp]

Sorry, but as much as I love Morrowind, I'm glad they have voice acting. While I'll agree it was crap in Oblivion, they've improved it enough in Skyrim that NPCs feel more lifelike than tey've ever been.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I quite like the Zelda system where the characters make like a relevant noise and then the text comes up while they gesticulate, it sounds crap but it actually works quite well.

I guess it wouldn't work with a more realistic game though. Maybe as they can compress more data it will get better and content will be increased.

I was thinking about this and maybe they can add more content through maps and books rather than the NPC's

 

[BathorysGraveland]

I personally think yes, they should. I think Morrowind's text system was well done. The NPC's had much more to say, went more in-depth with everything and you had much longer conversations with an individual, which I enjoy.

Skyrim's voice acting is okay, and I like how the NPC's have more to say than in Oblivion, but I still only end up having a 1-2 minute conversation at most with people, and they usually only have one or two interesting things to talk about and no more.

So unless they plan on recording many, many more hours of spoken dialogue than what is already present, I'd prefer the text system.

 

[thelastmccabe]

I'm with the OP. I almost always just read the subtitles and press X anyway to skip over them actually talking. I'd much rather have a game with more dialogue, more responses, etc (a la Planescape) then one where the dialogue is limited because you can only buy so much voice acting. The one area where you would lose is some of the ambient conversations you get to overhear in skyrim, which does add to the immersion and is done way better than in Oblivion. But I'd give that up to have more depth to the dialogue.

 

[Fishyash]

Voice acting in a bethesda game = 5 voice actors and less dialogue than there would have been in text.

It's one or the other... I prefer having more dialogue options personally so I would rather have text, but you sacrifice the voice acting (although to be honest some of the voice acting pissed me right off in skyrim).

If the text dialogue system was as bad in morrowind as people say, I would gladly have a refined version of it, rather than a fully voice acted game.

HOWEVER The great thing about bethesda games, that most games don't do, is that not only do they expand their lore through dialogue, but they also do it with the tons of books they have. I think that is an appropriate balance there, as people who want the voice acting and high action can do without the wall of texts you could come across (similar to games like planescape), and the lore buffs and people interested in roleplaying hardcore can read all the books to become more immersed in the world.

 

[Sizzle Montyjing]

Hell no.
Although that might be partly due to the fact that i don't have a HD TV therefore every bit of text is super tiny and unreadable.

Then again it might also be the fact that voice-acting is a good thing...

 

[ComradeJim270]

My preference would be that Bethesda learns how to write good dialogue and implement it well in their games. I feel like they simply haven't done a good enough job making the transition from text dialogue to voice acting.

 

[seraphy]

I would prefer it yes.

I don't think there is any use for voice acting in skyrim. Characters are just as bland and boring even with voice acting as they were on Morrowind and you get less information out of them. So uh what is the point?

 

[Windcaler]

I would disagree. The voice acting in Skyrim (and to a lesser extent Oblivion and Fallout) helps to draw me into the world and makes it more immersive.

I recently replayed morrowind before skyrim came out and doing a recent comparison I find Skyrim more fun to play but I still think Morrowind has the better story. Ultimately better gameplay is the one that usually wins out for me, this is also why I tend to play New vegas more then I do fallout 3

 

[Xpheyel]

Nope. One thing that gets me engaged in games is when the line delivery is good. In contrast, a book also has to describe that delivery, the setting, and the mood. So if you're drawn into a book, the information to establish the scene and tone are already in your mind. So, you'd have to convey that graphically. Which is probably a lot more difficult with human-type faces unless the art design is more cartoony.

Places where I've seen a hybrid system like that are MMOs and I think the effect of such scenes usually falls pretty flat. The end of HL2 Episode 2, for example had a lot more weight than a comparable situation in Lord of the Rings Online. A big "Noooo..." in the text box does not convey desperate bereavement.

It isn't always used to great effect but voice acting gives the game the ability to convey more and potentially with the right amount of subtlety, or lack there of.