To those that prefer silent protagonist, why?

I am completely against silent protagonist and see that as laziness by the developers. Having your character not talk while others around you do hurts the flow of the story telling. What are the benefits of your main not talking beside saving some dough by publishers?

The only exception to this rule imo is Zelda.

I don't like silent protagonists because I never feel like I'm the main character of any game anyway. I just can't create that kind of connection.

Why Not.

Having a talking protagonist is fine for non-FPS games.

When I play an FPS game, I can pretend I'm the protagonist because I cannot see the character. Why ruin that effect with a voice?

Now, if game tech evolves enough where my voice can be imprinted on game text so I can hear them, sure.

Yeah, I don't get why anyone would like that either. Like you said, Link is the only one that I think it is okay for.

.. Some game characters that are silent need a voice, and some game characters that have a voice need to be silent..

Bland to zero personality.

@Legend002:

Who plays a game for Personality ?

@Lulu_Lulu:

I play games for the narrative which include personalities.

@Legend002:

Games suck at narrative anyways........ especially the ones with Silent Protaginists...... they clearly had other things to focus one.

KOTOR was great and so was Persona 4. Quality differs game by game. If you think all stories in gaming suck then you've probably aren't a fan of rpgs. Genres such as fighting, shooter, sport or puzzle tends to not even have a story.

@Legend002:

I was refering to the entire medium...... I'm a fan of RPGs.......

If you think game narratives are great then You probably aren't a fan of other mediums.

I'm sick of reading the dialog honestly... It takes me out of it and I wish everyone would just stop already.

@Lulu_Lulu:

I watch a lot of movies and tv shows so no. It all comes down to the writers whether it is a movie, tv show, book or video game. A story comes from imagination so they are produced the same way. Sure some games like Call of Duty or Gears of War pretty much disregard a story but so does films. Those Jackie Chan or Michael Bay movies aren't there for you to engage in the narrative.

@Legend002:

Yes.... and movies and books have better writing.

I guess they must have played FFX

@Black_Knight_00:

Some do, some don't.

Because there's a strong possibility that some people will hate their personality or accent, and stop playing the game because of it.

I only like silent protagonists if either they're completely player created characters (like most Western style RPGs) or if it's a game with an already established character like Link or Samus. Anywhere else and it comes off as jarring.

@Bigboi500:

People write off games for the most trivial of reasons sometimes.

I don't have a preference when it comes to a silent or speaking protagonist, and I think both can work in different contexts, but I think that the reason that a silent protagonist often works in games is because it allows players to project their own ideas and emotions on to the character, beyond just imagining what they sound like. This creates, for me, a far more personal connection with the character, because they are colored with aspects and traits from my own personality, rather than just me being told who they are, what they like, and so on. This again works in some games, like Transistor, but it isn't always necessary to have a silent protagonist. I can see how you could argue that it's dumb at some points, and that you don't really enjoy it overall, but at the end of the day it's really dependent on the player and the overall context of the game

@Bigboi500:

Shouldn't that apply to everything and anything? Might aswell remove all music from all games because they could annoy the crap outta ya and turn you away from the game. Do that for the sound effects too, right?

What's wrong with Gordon Freeman and Chell?

I want to know why OP gives Zelda a pass on this issue.

Seriously. Those games would not have been as successful if those characters talked. The character was developed by others that you interacted with, making it more immersive. I didn't need Chell to do any talking to understand her; GLaDOS did it all for me.

ikr, dont mind all the good silent protagonist games, zelda is the only one that did silent characters justice

I don't care about how much the protagonist talks. Some times it helps the game and some times it hurt.

The one thing I hate about it is how much the cultist of immersion want to praise it. It helps so little against the immersion breaking that is first person.

I prefer silent protagonists, because it can really take away from a game sometimes when the character you're supposed to play as and feel a connection to is nothing like you.

In a lot of cases, the silent protagonist is this really great person. There is some reason why they are the protagonist, either because they are the 'chosen one', or else they worked really hard to get where they are... Or else, maybe they are just the only decent person left to do the job?

I guess the games my mind always goes back to are the classic Dragon Quest games. In those games, you're treated like some hero that will one day go on to be labeled as a legend in the history books. Your hero character might not talk much, but you're kind of left to imagine them however you'd like.

I can enjoy either/or, I don't think I really have a preference. Having a silent protaganist can allow me to project myself into the role.

Odd how you have the Protagonist to P4 as your avatar, yet dislike silent protagonists.

It really depends on the execution. If it leaves it to your imagination on how you'd respond, it can work very well in building the character you imagine them to be.

Why not? because for some immersion and character is important and today with the tech we have in games, it also completely unnecessary not to have a protagonist who actually talk

It´s like with Battlefield 4´s campaign, it made zero sense to make the main character mute and not spend time on giving him a voice, particular funny was that he was put in charge but never actually stood out as leader, but more a silent labdog.

In some games I don't mind like PErsona, Dragon Quest, and Chrono Trigger.

One where it bothered me that comes to mind is Dragon Age: Origins, in cutscenes my character looked awkward standing there with a blank look on his face and nothing to say.

I don't recall ever becoming everything, anything or sound effects in a game.

Take GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony for example, I disliked the main character that I was assuming the role of so much that I couldn't progress through it at a certain point.

Every game doesn't need to be one way or the other, and I'll let the devs decide for themselves since it's their creation.

Not adding voice acting because of people might not liking it is just an excuse for fear of bad directing. Well that or it's plain cheap or laziness.

@Eikichi-Onizuka: In DAO your character isn't a silent protagonist, though. You have different dialogue options you can choose from.

for every joel, marcus fenix or sam fisher in the early splinter cell games there's a commander "captain wooden" shephard, cj or nomad. in those cases i'd rather have a silent protagonist like freeman, corvo or isaac (dead space). my imagination can fill in the blanks instead of cringing at some of the awful dialogue / voice acting

The Saint's Row series got much better once they ditched the (mostly) silent protagonist idea from the first game and gave him a personality.

I can see the appeal of silent protagonists but personally I really dislike them over a voiced character when it comes to games with story.

Funny, I came into this thread to state Link as the worst offender of this. Seriously, he needs a voice.

@Macutchi:

Isaac wasn't silent......... he had plenty to say..... like Ooooopf !!! And Aaaaaargh !!!!

In reality, most video games that I have played with silent protagonists such as the following, I have dialogue choices or otherwise some other kind of control which influences the narrative:

• Chrono Trigger
• Chrono Cross
• Dishonored
• Zelda
• Fable I
• Fable II
• Bastion
• Dark Cloud

I enjoyed the ability to decide what is said rather than there being a story that is completely adhered to. Each dialogue choice is the main character speaking.

I like silent protagonists and I like voiced protagonists as well. There is enough room in this industry for both.

Depends on the game. Some silent protagonists, like Dragon Quest V's nameless protagonist, or Alundra, had deeper characterization than most talking protagonists.

@Lulu_Lulu: yeah i guess he was a bit noisey for a mute ;)

@Macutchi:

I like it when he's in a vacuum and he starts suffocating when he's got ten seconds of air left....... that sound emphasises how human he is.

You can put yourself in their shoes and hav your own perspective without being told how to act by the MC.

I actually never though about it, because it doesn't bother me at all. As a matter of fact, in first person it almost seems natural to have a silent protagonist. I mean, the whole weirdness it creates during 'dialogue' goes right over my head and I think I prefer it to the protagonist having a voice I don't like or choosing words or phrasing I don't like. The last thing I need is another generic hero voice that really doesn't add anything to the narrative or dialogue itself. I guess in most cases the suspension of disbelief is strong enough to accept bumping into someone and pressing the use button. So far I haven't played a game where a silent protagonist really bothered me. Most narratives and protagonists don't really develop beyond the basics anyway, so 'dialogue' is mainly there to provide backstory, create incentive or to make antagonists dislikable and companions likable. There's no need for the protagonist to speak in most cases.

I guess it depends on what kind of character you want to create; do you want to give him/her personality or should the character merely be a vessel for the player? I think the argument that it's developer laziness is a bit questionable, especially if the developers invested in giving all the other characters voices. I think it's a character design choice.

The thing about Link is that he actually doesn't talk. I don't believe(might be wrong on this) or at least can't recall there's ever dialogues for him and if there were it was either yes or no answers done with head nods. Most silent protagonist have you actually pick out dialogues of what they are to say to another character.

It's not so much that I like a silent protagonist, rather it's simply better than having a cardboard cutout generic guy fronting a game. If the dude I'm playing hardly has a personality then I'd rather he had no personality at all and let me fill in the blanks. And that works for some games as many games aren't about the protagonist, they're about what that protagonist does.

Why is Zelda the only exception? Off topic a little, I think games like The Witcher would be much more appealing if they would at least let you create your own version of the protagonist with a voice like in Mass Effect.

This.