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Story is an integral part of most good video games, and the delivery of that story can
make or break the quality of a game. Video games represent the most unusual type of story
telling possible, interactive. Being able to to control story progression, whether it
be through actual decision making, or just through how fast you play, is something that
can't really be done in any other medium. This control can make pacing a game difficult,
especially in non-linear open world games. This brings up voice work, which more or less
became a standard in games during the early millennium. The addition of voices to games
made sense, after all hearing character speak can improve immersion dramatically. However
it also brings up a conflict of design between games and the pre-existing mediums they draw
from.
Unlike in books and movies where you can only passively watch events unfold, in games you
are directly involved. The avatar you control in a game is your conduit, the method by which
you interact with the game world. While it's universally agreed upon that all the characters
surrounding your avatar should have voices of their own to flesh them out, the character
you control has never been required to have a single spoken line. This is the conundrum
of the protagonist. Should the main character be a self defined individual who is only controlled
by the gamer (a la Commander Shepard from MassEffect), or should the hero be a faceless
voiceless blank slate for the gamer to project onto (a la the hero of Kavatch in Oblivion)?
Make no mistake neither archetype is correct, both are equally effective in games, and both
have been used in all kind of triple A titles. The question is why is one chosen over the
other, and moreover how playing a character that is half of both doesn't usually work
very well. A good way to make this comparison is through a game series that was exponent
for using a silent lead, Fable.
Story and exposition aside, Fable was a game where you played as a destined hero who never
spoke a word. Depending on perspective this could be considered a good or bad thing. The
end result though was a hero who you knew could talk, because of things like simple
expressions you could preform, but inexplicably never said anything. The reason for the choice
was clear though. Fable was one of the first morally driven games giving you the choice
to preform good or bad deeds. To this effect the player character was left silent in an
effort to let you project yourself onto him more easily. The largest problem though arose
from being able to see the main character's face. Having a pre-designed visual representation
to play as with no audible representation, created a conflict. It's only natural to want
to hear someone talk after you see their face. Being denied that, especially with a protagonist
who's looks you can't control, can feel a bit like being forced to play a half finished
character. Having a silent protagonist isn't a bad design choice, it's just the way Fable
implemented it was awkward. Luckily though Fable made up for it by doing a lot of other
things right, but I digress.
This choice to have a silent lead with a face continued through Fable 2, but was finally
reversed in Fable 3. Why was this done? Most likely because it strengthened the narrative
of the game. By giving the main character a voice more is explained to the player about
who they are. Yes you still make all the important decisions, and you still have all the options
as in previous games. But when your character responds to questions and statements that
others make on their own, the guess work is taken out of why you're going along with another
character's idea or plan. This is literally a difference of being told what you're doing, and why, instead of just following
a path without any personal motivation. The other reason for a voice is it lets you connect
with the protagonist better. As already stated a character who's left silent, but with a
face, can make you feel like you're playing as a half finished entity. But with a voice
included you're given a whole persona, and then told "this is you". That's a whole lot
easier to accept, and moreover you're not left wondering who was this character before
I came along. This is a lesson well learned. If the protagonist has a face, it's best to
also have a voice and be told who you are. After all persona replacement is more effective
than projecting onto a character that's only a half blank slate. And Fable isn't the only
game series to learn this lesson.
Grand Theft Auto 3 also had a silent lead, but the ever mute Claude was replaced by the
much more vocal and defined Tommy, Carl, and Niko in subsequent games. Then there are series
like The Legend of Zelda which has never used voices at all, and has also kept the main
lead Link from speaking even through text. Of course Zelda is a bit of a special case,
since it's implied that Link does indeed speak, as characters frequently react to things he
apparently tells them. And there are games that truly define a good silent protagonist
to a T, such as Fallout. Even though you can indeed speak in Fallout, not a single word
ever escapes your lips. Instead your given text dialogue options to express yourself
and converse with other characters. Furthermore, due to how the game is presented, there's
never an instance in which your character will have a reaction that you don't control.
To that extent, everything your avatar does is always 100% you. Thus in games like Fallout
self projection is at it's best, because your character is entirely you, completely silent,
but very vocal.
The list goes on, but it all boils down to the fact that games tend to be be better delivered
when the protagonist is either well defined, or left as a completely blank slate. Granted
there are games like Fable which overcome the award nature of a visually defined hero
which simply doesn't talk, but those games are few and far between. Also keep in mind
that while story has an enormous bearing on the quality of a game, it has nothing to do
with how well a game plays. That much is proven by the strong on-line gaming communities that
exist today. And it's also the reason why games that feature a silent lead, can still
be very fun despite the lack of information about who you play as.
By now I'm certain that most of you have formulated your own opinions. No matter if your perspective
contrasts mine or not, go ahead and hit the comments.
Until next time this has been a video blog by William Strife for B-1-0-G dot net, August
15 2011. Strife out.