Silent Protagonists
Editor's Note: Is silence always golden? Super Game Geek explains that while the silent protagonist archetype can be used to good effect, most of the time it's best that our heroes not plead the fifth.
When Crysis was announced as a downloadable title for Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, I was ecstatic. I never was able to run that beast of a game on any PC I owned. The minute it was released, the game was downloaded onto my hard drive, and I enjoyed every second of it. Once I completed the game, I wanted more. Knowing there was a sequel already released, I decided to pick Crysis 2 up and continue the nanosuit experience. It started out well enough, but one thing I noticed started to really bug me: Alcatraz is a silent protagonist.
Some may think nothing of this since it is a technique used in many games, but I actually find this really annoying. While I have come to terms with this in the Half-Life and Legend of Zelda series (because those two have shown their success utilizing silent protagonists; even though it is implied Link is speaking during conversations), I hate this mechanic when used in other video games such as Dead Space or Call of Duty.
Yes, I know that the reason for this is to "immerse yourself into the world" and "make you the character," but I don't feel that when I play. Plus, I don't play video games to be myself; I play to become a badass soldier or and spaceship engineer. Let's face it, I am not Soap, I am not Alcatraz, and I am not Isaac Clarke. I cannot throw a knife with pinpoint accuracy into someone's eye while injured, I cannot cloak myself to stealth kill enemy soldiers, and I cannot dismember necromorphs while floating in zero gravity (although all of these would be really cool). So, when I play video games, I enjoy the fact that I am controlling these characters and utilizing their abilities; not my own.
It also ticks me off when conversations occur in video games with silent protagonists. They are always one-sided and it is awkward (at least to me) when another character asks a direct question since they are always answered with silence. If I am supposed to be the character, I wouldn't stand there with my mouth closed while being spoken to. Being in the military, when someone orders me to do something, they want a response. If you do not give them one, be prepared to get chewed out. I also wouldn't be able to keep quiet when chaos is taking place. There are missiles dropping, aliens invading, and people dying. I understand keeping calm under pressure, but the occasional "Shit!" or "Look out!" would add some life to these characters.
There are times when silent protagonists don't even make sense, like the Modern Warfare and Crysis series. In Modern Warfare 2, Soap talks the entire game but the moment you take control of him, he zips his lips. In Modern Warfare 3 however, Price won't shut up when you take control of him. Why is this? Why? Why?! It makes no sense! I apologize for the outburst. That is simply a mystery I cannot seem to solve.
With Crysis, the first game had a protagonist who spoke, and it was a nice touch to hear his dialog when traversing the alien infested mountain. Why did the developers feel need to alter this in the sequel? Early on in the game, Gould mistakes Alcatraz for someone else because he is wearing Prophet's suit. Eventually, he discovers the truth and even pulls a gun on him. This could have all been resolved had Alcatraz stated, "I'm not Prophet." Some people say that the reason for this is because of the injuries Alcatraz suffered at the beginning of the game. While I can accept that, no character in the game states this is the reason behind his silence. I know I may seem like I'm asking for a lot; but it would have been a nice touch if any scientist or main character said, after analyzing the suit, "His larynx has been badly damaged resulting in a loss of speech." Then, I would have thought, "So that's why. Okay, I can deal with that."
However, not all games need a character speaking out loud (I know many characters whom I would love to have shut up , *ahem*Bulletstorm*ahem*), but he or she can still be given a voice. Take the Penumbra series or Amnesia: The Dark Descent, for example. The character speaks during the introduction yet, for most of the game, you can only see his thoughts from the subtitles at the bottom of the screen. Sure, there aren’t (m)any characters to interact with but the character is thinking. The subtitles allow the player to read his thoughts and discover what he is feeling, giving him a voice.
I simply feel a character with a voice is much more effective. Take into consideration Dead Space 2 and the Jak & Daxter series. The characters, once given a voice, evolved into people with emotions and desires, instead of mindless zombies taking orders without debate. Because of this, I develop a deeper connection to the character and their plight.
After some disappointing cutscenes in Crysis 2, I needed to share my reasons on why this mechanic doesn't work for me. I know you all have different opinions on this subject, and I'm fine with that; to each his or her own. That being stated, what's your take on silent protagonists? As always, thank you for reading!
» Tagged In: #Amnesia, #Call of Duty, #community showcase, #Crysis 2, #Dead Space, #gaming, #Half Life, #Legend of Zelda, #prenumbra, #silent protagonist
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g1 DISCUSSIONS
darkhyrulelord
Some silent protagonists can work, especially if handled in the form of Link. However, silent protagonists do not always have to be silent if done right, if done in the form of Isaac Clarke.
ZigTheHunter
Oh man I can not agree more with this article. I hate silent protagonists with few exceptions. If its not a create a character game then it makes the character feel hallow, nor do I feel like the character if I am not making the choices or responding to others or customizing how my character looks.
If its not a character that's supposed to be me then they should have personality and dialogue, they don't need to talk all the time, its ok if their relatively silent especially if their alone, but under certain circumstances the character should say something unless they are literally unable to speak(like in drakengard).
Jak 2's(and 3's) story was made so much better then the first game by making him an actually character instead of what is basically a blank slate that can't be filled, sure he had some personality, but it was rarely seen(though in the first game their is one scene where he is about to speak but he is interrupted by Daxter).
my sole exception in where I actually was ok with a silent protagonist(still would have preferred him to talk) is Ryu from the Breath of Fire series specifically 3 and 4. for those who don't know each BoF game has a different set of characters and while their is always a Ryu and a Nina in the party, they are always different people. In 3 and 4 they give him a surprising amount of personality despite not talking, often seen in his reactions and stuff he does in the background. although its kinda of a special case with him, in both games he does talk, their are just no text boxes saying what he is saying. Despite this he rarely "talks" unless spoken to first. bit of a weird design choice, he talks but no text boxes then another character will usually repeat back what he said. for example someone will ask his name, he'll move his head or something, and the other character will say "oh your name is *insert whatever you name Ryu here*."
wx_wolverine
nice article i completely agree with you.
Shiro_Shishi
I still stand firm in place about me wanting Link to talk.
Yes, haha oh no CDI-Link. Whatever, that was years ago with crap tech.
In this day and age, I feel like Link is too much a character now. Sure you can rename him, but EVERYONE knows him as Link now. All while playing Skyward Sword I kept on waiting for him to say something.
Hell even a simple "Nooo!" or "ZEDLA!" would have been perfect.
SuperGameGeek
I think it would be very interesting to hear a voice. But if they do it, I hope they make the langauge Hylian because it wouldn't make much sense if they spoke English.
Heigen
Voice gives so much character. Also if the games has lot of lonely places character speaking helps. Alhought if the character is saying few same lines over and over it's fucking annoying ofc.
Driftwood
I to as many others think it depends on the game but also of the person holding the controller. I am a person with a big imagination and because of that I think the silent protagonist suits me well. If he is silent then I can make him up to have whatever personality I want him to have, I can imagine that he is a badass one day or a softie the other while if he has a voice and uses it to show of a personality I cant relate too then there isnt much to do about it.
Guidosaurus-Rex
I'd have to agree with the author on some of the points regarding a silent protagonist /character. Half-Life started off with a silent Freeman and will probably end with one. For that franchise it works. Valve wanted the player to take in their surroundings rather than have Freeman's dialog be part of the production value. For Visceral Games and Dead Space 2, their approach was different. I'm not one of those who complained about Isaac being silent but, I guess someone did.
IamRizer
I recently played Timeshift where the main character was a silent protagonist, and the whole story just seemed like cluster-flump. On the other hand I love me some Half-Life 2. It just depends on the game.
CaptainSamsquanch
it depends on the game for me. i wouldnt really mind if someone like gordan freeman talked, but if he doesnt want to thats cool too. in the case of chell from portal, im really glad she doesnt talk, she wouldnt have a whole lot to say and id much rather hear what glados has to say to us (both me the player and chell) as apposed to having chell and glados bicker with each other the whole game. i wish your charecter would talk in the fallout and elder scrolls game, for them not to seems kinda pointless to me, imagine if shepard didnt have a voice and was just text options! it would be silly! on the other hand i think samus should be limited to like 5 lines of dialogue a game(other m was silly).