Protagonist dialogue in games

HW91 · 29 Mar 2011 at 18:19

To put a preface to this thread I've been playing through Crysis 2 and one of the things which popped out at me compared to the original was that Alcatraz doesn't talk whereas Nomad does. For me this degraded the quality of the game a bit, and I am finding it makes the storyline less immersive.

I was just wondering what everyone else's thoughts were on what difference it makes having the character your playing speak during the game?

whitecrook · 29 Mar 2011 at 18:21

Hate it. I always skip through dialogue and cut scenes. I want to play the game not watch it.

ThomasTheTankEngine · 29 Mar 2011 at 18:26

Depends on the character really. If it's not a great character, then it's probably best they're silent.

You've got awsome characters on each end of the scale. The gritty narration MADE the Max Payne games, yet on the other hand you've got Gordon Freeman, who manages to out-cool the majority of protagonist characters without saying a word.

Podmonkey · 29 Mar 2011 at 18:33

Totally dependant on the rest of the game. I thought it worked quite well (argument for it being more immersive in that you are the character rather than just controlling one) and Gordon Freeman showed that an epic game doesnt need a chatterbox guy to control. Game was fine without it, as cliche as it was, the story was well shown through 3rd party characters and a few cutscenes along with random bits strewn around. If the game is good enough then it doesnt matter.

Lunatic Dreyfus · 29 Mar 2011 at 18:41

This can be a touchy subject, it's all a question of the quality of the voice actor and the dialogue he/she has to work with. For instance Mass Effect's two main voice actors are superb (especially Hale) and I couldn't imagine the series any other way.

That said most of the time I prefer to play games and use my imagination to fit a 'voice' to my protagonist. Controlling someone I can't stand either in voice or personality, can be an issue.