RPG gripe

In this day and age do you think for RPGs or any genre in fact to have non speaking main characters is a bit of a low point. For example in Fallout 3 the hero nver speaks and you only choose from a list of conversations. Deus and The witcher are two great examples where the hero actually has tons of dialogue.

Personally i think it breaks the immersion and these days when game budgets and build times are increasing and becoming more complex i think developers should pay attention to such things to provide an all round package.

i don't think a game that features a main character that speaks is necessarily more immersive or more complete than a game that doesn't.

in terms of immersion, having any dialogue tree is technically breaking immersion; i don't find the main character not repeating aloud what's already written and what you've already read to be any less immersive than were he/she to do so.

in terms of it not being an 'all round package', it seems like a minor point, and i wouldn't call a game not a complete game just because it lacks this particular feature. there are far more important things that make a game immersive than the main character speaking. many of the older games didn't have any spoken dialogue at all, and i still find them more immersive than many of the rpgs today. for me, the setting, the world, the characters and their personalities, the voice acting (of everyone and not just the main character), the story, and the choices available to the player make for an immersive game.

In this day and age do you think for RPGs or any genre in fact to have non speaking main characters is a bit of a low point. For example in Fallout 3 the hero nver speaks and you only choose from a list of conversations. Deus and The witcher are two great examples where the hero actually has tons of dialogue.

Personally i think it breaks the immersion and these days when game budgets and build times are increasing and becoming more complex i think developers should pay attention to such things to provide an all round package.

crazyfist36

in fallout 2 the character speaks depending on the charisama speech and intellignece skill but neither in fallout or oblivion the chracter speaked you make choices there is not the character but a character you make, in any case every rpg has more dialogues option than fable!

Mute player characters is how roleplaying games are done, really. Even BioWare's upcoming Dragon Age is going to have a mute player character.

It better helps me put myself in the character's place, which is the whole point of roleplaying. I choose what my character says, and I get to decide how he says it.

A lot of the lines/deliveries in Mass Effect made me want to punch a wall. Now, sure, it was cinematic, but I often felt disconnected from the character.

Yeah, I remember that speech when you get the Normandy :|, it was pretty awesome, every time Shepard spoke i was like :D and when I had to read to choose an awesome line I was like :(, but still and awesome moment.DanielDust

ehh youmean mass effect? cuz i choose something and get another way of saying it, so i guess more like a movie than making my choices

[QUOTE="DanielDust"]Yeah, I remember that speech when you get the Normandy :|, it was pretty awesome, every time Shepard spoke i was like :D and when I had to read to choose an awesome line I was like :(, but still and awesome moment.thenewau25

ehh youmean mass effect? cuz i choose something and get another way of saying it, so i guess more like a movie than making my choices

Yep, Mass Effect. Pretty weird, my Shepard always said what I chose, only once or twice he said just a few words from what he should have said. It was more like a movie than an actual game, but that's what made it awesome, the cut-scenes, atmosphere, story and the Mako.

[QUOTE="thenewau25"]

[QUOTE="DanielDust"]Yeah, I remember that speech when you get the Normandy :|, it was pretty awesome, every time Shepard spoke i was like :D and when I had to read to choose an awesome line I was like :(, but still and awesome moment.DanielDust

ehh youmean mass effect? cuz i choose something and get another way of saying it, so i guess more like a movie than making my choices

Yep, Mass Effect. Pretty weird, my Shepard always said what I chose, only once or twice he said just a few words from what he should have said. It was more like a movie than an actual game, but that's what made it awesome, the cut-scenes, atmosphere, story and the Mako.

and better covering combat than gears i havent sen the great story so far didnt play it much, i will

The problem with games like Oblivion and FO3 is that you create your own charactor...in the Witcher you can not be anybody but Geralt.

So in order for spoken dialogue in Oblivion and FO3 they would have to do several dozen voice overs for each possible option.

And then there is the sex option....which would multiply that by 2...

If there is only one protaginsit it would make sense to have spkoen dialogue....aka Witcher....but not in FO3 or Oblivion.

There are just too many variables...

Mute player characters is how roleplaying games are done, really. Even BioWare's upcoming Dragon Age is going to have a mute player character.

It better helps me put myself in the character's place, which is the whole point of roleplaying. I choose what my character says, and I get to decide how he says it.

A lot of the lines/deliveries in Mass Effect made me want to punch a wall. Now, sure, it was cinematic, but I often felt disconnected from the character.

fatshodan

I felt that way sometimes with Mass Effect too.

I think for a player character to have a voice it would have to be perfect delivery. Mass Effect missed this every so often and Geralt's voice over in The Witcher was a joke.

Mute player characters is how roleplaying games are done, really. Even BioWare's upcoming Dragon Age is going to have a mute player character.

It better helps me put myself in the character's place, which is the whole point of roleplaying. I choose what my character says, and I get to decide how he says it.

A lot of the lines/deliveries in Mass Effect made me want to punch a wall. Now, sure, it was cinematic, but I often felt disconnected from the character.

fatshodan

I agree.

[QUOTE="fatshodan"]

Mute player characters is how roleplaying games are done, really. Even BioWare's upcoming Dragon Age is going to have a mute player character.

It better helps me put myself in the character's place, which is the whole point of roleplaying. I choose what my character says, and I get to decide how he says it.

A lot of the lines/deliveries in Mass Effect made me want to punch a wall. Now, sure, it was cinematic, but I often felt disconnected from the character.

artiedeadat40

I agree.

thta's deep and I totally agree. In an RPG game, you take the Role of the character, unless of course like in The Witcher where you control a set in stone main caharcter.

This may sound stupid, but I think First Person games should avoid seperating the player from the character. Adding depth to the character causes a void between the player and the character. Having them speak is the easiest way to show a characters personality, ideas, opinions, etc.

Now for Third Person games, it's like watching a movie. It's not as important to maintain the void, since you're experiencing it through the character rather than being the character. I know I was pissed when Dead Space's Issac didn't have any dialogue and several reviewers were disappointed at this. I can't imagine a surivival horror where you don't care about the character. Since it's third person, it's much more important to develop the character to give that sense of fear for his life. If it's first person, for example doom 3, character development isn't needed to have that fear since you are total immersed as the character right off the bat.

You mentioned Deus Ex, which is a good example, but the character doesn't develop. He speaks, but it doesn't tell us anything about his character. His actions (your actions, since it's FPS) do show character development. The choices at the end are the best example.

Honestly, I'd rather have a mute player character. Imagent Geralt or JC Denton speaking like a pansy. It would completely ruin the moment and the "voice" that you thought the character should have.

When I think of RPGs I always think of the old Ultima games. Here I'm the "Avatar." I'm a well known and respected individual who is still free to make his own decisions. Sure, I'll get penalized if I start massacring people but I still CAN if I want to.