I was just womdering this, because the three best written games I have played (CoD4, Portal, and Shadown of the Colossus (I can justify these choices, but not here)) all feature silent protagonists.
I think there are many reasons why the choice of having a protagonist who never speaks is particularly beneficial, and in these games in particular I think the best is made of it. In Portal, there is simply no need for the woman to speak, and if she did perhaps it would only be to spoil one of the many juicy mysteries the game provides. The same goes for SotC. Admittedly the wanderer does speak, but only 'Aggro!' which, when that thing happens (those that have played will know) his cry is all the more poignant. I could write pages on why I love SotC's story (or lack thereof). CoD4 provides a very balanced portrayal of warfare and I think that if Soap ever spoke it would only provide a 'definite' perspective on it that would spoil the games many ambiguities. More than anything though I think that providing a PC without a personality allows me to put myself into the game just a little bit more. Like I've already said, having a PC who speaks places a 'definite' perspective on the game's events that as the player we are sort of forced to share in our facilitating of the hero's in game actions.
The silent protagonist is in my opinion on of the great virtues of videogames, because when used correctly it provides a story that no other medium could effectively mimic.
HOWEVER, one of the reasons that I think that developers more often put a voice to their main characters is because to write a long and complex story around a silent protagonist can be difficult. Two of the games I have mentioned are written so they do not really require the main character to interact with anyone else. There are points in games where the protagonist's silence can be very jarring. More than anything I think developers fear those jarring moments, as well as the fact that it means that they can't brag about long cinematics and an attempt-at-hollywood story. In fact, both SotC and Portal both have very simple stories relatively speaking, though this is not detrimental to the enjoyment of the story by any means; however, I think the most common action when wanting to write a story based game is to go for narrative complexity and character development, not clever plotting and atmosphere, and it is with this choice, as I have already said, that the silent protagonist becomes problematic.
So, what do you guys think? Does playing a story where the protagonist doesn't speak bug you outright? Like me, do you think that developers should make more use of it? Do you think it doesn't really matter? Any other thoughts?
I think there are many reasons why the choice of having a protagonist who never speaks is particularly beneficial, and in these games in particular I think the best is made of it. In Portal, there is simply no need for the woman to speak, and if she did perhaps it would only be to spoil one of the many juicy mysteries the game provides. The same goes for SotC. Admittedly the wanderer does speak, but only 'Aggro!' which, when that thing happens (those that have played will know) his cry is all the more poignant. I could write pages on why I love SotC's story (or lack thereof). CoD4 provides a very balanced portrayal of warfare and I think that if Soap ever spoke it would only provide a 'definite' perspective on it that would spoil the games many ambiguities. More than anything though I think that providing a PC without a personality allows me to put myself into the game just a little bit more. Like I've already said, having a PC who speaks places a 'definite' perspective on the game's events that as the player we are sort of forced to share in our facilitating of the hero's in game actions.
The silent protagonist is in my opinion on of the great virtues of videogames, because when used correctly it provides a story that no other medium could effectively mimic.
HOWEVER, one of the reasons that I think that developers more often put a voice to their main characters is because to write a long and complex story around a silent protagonist can be difficult. Two of the games I have mentioned are written so they do not really require the main character to interact with anyone else. There are points in games where the protagonist's silence can be very jarring. More than anything I think developers fear those jarring moments, as well as the fact that it means that they can't brag about long cinematics and an attempt-at-hollywood story. In fact, both SotC and Portal both have very simple stories relatively speaking, though this is not detrimental to the enjoyment of the story by any means; however, I think the most common action when wanting to write a story based game is to go for narrative complexity and character development, not clever plotting and atmosphere, and it is with this choice, as I have already said, that the silent protagonist becomes problematic.
So, what do you guys think? Does playing a story where the protagonist doesn't speak bug you outright? Like me, do you think that developers should make more use of it? Do you think it doesn't really matter? Any other thoughts?