Silent protagonists ruin good stories

There are mechanics and narrative means, which almost no one likes, and yet creators are very eager to use them. One of them are the killers of good stories, the silent protagonists.

[chrisx]

No they don't. There are lots of good games with a silent protagonist that had good stories.

[Nitrowolf2]

You know i was playing ghostbuster remastered. I dont think I would have changed that story with a character that talked,

This article is so wrong

[rainslacker]

I think it removes player agency in some cases. Borderlands for instance, you have no input or thoughts to express in relation to the story, so other characters tell you what your supposed to feel. Then you go from bl1 to bl2 and suddenly all those characters had fleshed out personalities. I think one of then reasons the pre-sequel had such a great story was because your character had a personality, and the story adjusted dialogue based on who you were playing.

Other games, like Ys or zelda in some cases arent as bad, because the story is more about the lore, not the actions of the character, or the antagonist, and you arent being told how to feel, just the current situation.

[3-4-5]

No they don't.....Dragon Quest & Legend of Zelda do it fine.

[mezati99]

YEP!!

fucking hate them with burning passion

[fonger08]

Um Bioshock completely disregards this theory.

[spicelicka]

Except it doesn't. The story was so good that having a silent protagonist didn't dent it enough, but how do you know it wouldn't better if he actually talked? Having a mute character is the stupidest most unnatural thing in a game. It works in some RPGs with dialogue choices but still stupid.

[RabbitFly]

That is blatanly false.

The reason bioshock always gets mentioned When this is brought up is because the silent protagonist is not only not a detriment to the story, but actually part of the core storytelling, and crucial to make the story work at all.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Bingo. Didn't ruin anything in Dead Space either. Sometimes the story and atmosphere of the world around the character is the actual protagonist. And I think maybe the author and some people don't get this. When there's enough character in the ambiance, and if there are enough vocal characters moving the story forward for you, you become the catalyst that literally just moves it from A to B, and there's nothing wrong with that when done properly.

[rainslacker]

It's all a matter in how the story is presented. Also, how good the story is to begin with.

Bioshock also had their silent protagonist have some personality, and the second game, you also had a voice indirectly through being shown what the big daddy went through, and what his motivations were. The first game, despite your character not having a voice, it was made out that he was part of the story, and his path was important to what the two antagonists were trying to achieve. There was a philosophical element involved which was left open for the player to explore on their own outside the game, which means the characters voice was more about the players own perspective.

Other games just have a silent character that goes along with whatever they're told to do, and their feelings end up being whatever those relaying information tell them it is. You're basically just a puppet to tell a story, not part of the story itself.

[SyntheticForm]

The Witcher 3 puts holes in this nonsense as well.

Geralt is a pretty introverted, no-nonsense dude, and I absolutely loved the game.

[leoms]

Geralt doesn't talk?

[Exvalos]

That dudes on crack Geralt talks a hell of alot

[Divinealpha12]

While I disagree with the article Geralt isn’t a silent protagonist

[SyntheticForm]

He talks a hell of a lot, and I'm on crack?

He was dismissive and aloof. Yes, he talked, but I wouldn't say he had a big personality, which is another reason I enjoyed the character.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

So he talks then. Your point is invalid.

[SyntheticForm]

I disagree.

I think there are degrees of silence.

If you want to heavily mandate total silence that's fine, but I'm not playing by that rule.

Point stands.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

There is nothing to disagree about. You can't change the "rules" to suit your own motive. You're ignoring what is presented to you just because you want to be obtuse. There are no levels of silence. You're either silent or you are not. Speaking very little, is not what is in question here. *Silent* protagonists, not introverted or having a muted personality. Understanding this, yet still making the conscious decision to ignore it, is what invalidates whatever point you're trying to make.

[SyntheticForm]

There are no levels of silence. People don't say "total silence" for nothing.

Again, you're trying to heavily mandate an absolute silence rule, and I'm not going by that rule. Period. I don't care who responds, or how they respond. I'm going to say my piece - you don't have to like it, but it will be spoken.

You can try to impose your rule on me, but I'll buck you every time. I have every right to my speech, and you don't decide what's valid.

Sorry, bud.

[Razmiran]

Cocaine is bad for your health yo

[SyntheticForm]

So is saying "yo" in a discussion.

[0hMyGandhi]

Gordon Freeman disagrees.

[spicelicka]

Too bad he can't verbally disagree. He is an interesting character but him not talking didn't make any sense. Devs should just actively say the character is mute so at least it feels natural.

[steven_seagull]

It didnt make any sense to you, yes, but fortunately for everyone, you are not the center of the universe. I assume you have played half life and they made, at least the second one, in a way that him being mute, made sense, through 1-way dialogue and the NPC's accepting that Freeman just didnt say much, which even gets pointed out throughout the game.

[TK-66]

It's not inherently bad or good. It's all about whether the writer effectively utilizes the trope. I've played many games where I've wanted the main character to shut up. Doesn't mean vocal characters ruin good games.

[cochise313]

I hate that link doesn’t talk.

[The7Reaper]

Nah.

[FanboySpotter]

Why is portal 2 tagged? Portal 2 story was cool and had no talking from your character.
I've yet to see a story that sucked because the character didn't talk.
Zombi story was alright and character never talked, I'm trying to think of a game that had talking and made me go "ok this ruined the story" like it says

[mezati99]

Astral chain
FE: Three Houses

ITS SO FUCKING DUMB, especially in those "emotional moments where the protagonist is literally 😐

[LightofDarkness]

FFXIV too. Your character goes through tonnes of insane crap with a stalwart group of over the top personalities, and when they go through hardship or die he/she just stands their looking shocked or nods. It just seems limp and lifeless, like the character has no connection to the plot, despite the game going out of its way to demonstrate that you are the most important character in the story.

[Razmiran]

Yes
I loved both games, but oh god yes

[stupidusername]

I think I agree to a degree. I can’t think of any good stories with a silent protagonist except Bioshock.

[rainslacker]

Some zelda games. Ys. Borderlands, except the pre-sequel. Sometimes they made small comments, but not about the story. Bioshock. Some MMOs since your character doesbt really talk in most of them. Some elder scrolls games.

A good story is good regardless of if the character talks. What's more important is how the players avatar is part of the story, because for a game, I feel really good story comes from the characters place within that story, and unfortunately, for a lot of games, the main character is just a puppet. Even borderlands, but its story is good elsewhere. But games like skyrim, fallout, other games in that vein, your main character is really inconsequential to whatever the story is and they have no personality to directly relate to.

The theory behind it is that you are the character, thus, your character relates to the story like you do. But NPC interaction pretty much forces you to just go along with what they say. While all games do this for narrative purposes, the players own opinion changes based on the frame of mind of the character.

[Exvalos]

Thank you, my god do I hate the silent hero, yes there are some good games with them, chrono trigger and a link to the past for example but overall for me it breaks immersion when all this crap is happening and your charachter just blankly stares at everything going on.

[zielocz3k]

It worked well in Dead Space 1

[jimbost79]

There's fuckin hundreds of great games with silent protagonists.

[meganick]

Chrono Trigger, the best RPG ever made, has a silent protagonist. Many other great games have silent protagonists.

[Vanfernal]

*stares in Bloodborne*

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Hint: the protagonist doesn't have to be the character you control. It can be the actual game world or an unassuming NPC that is deeply ingrained in the story. If you understand writing, you get this. Sometimes you have to read between the lines to see what's really happening. It's funny that Neo is in the thumbnail because there's a reason why there's the argument that Smith was The One, not Neo.

[CaptainOmega]

It's what killed Dragonquest 11 for me.

[akuarius87]

Just 11 or every other DQ? Because i dont remember one game of the series (excluding heroes I and II) where the main guy talks.

[Smokehouse]

My favorite game is bioshock so I don’t agree. It’s not an exception to the rule either, there are many great games with silent protags. It’s really hit or miss though, I can agree with that. It takes a special kind of environmental storytelling and atmosphere to pull off a silent protagonist.

[steven_seagull]

Well well well. Another subjective opinion piece on an objective matter, which really doesnt get anyone anywhere other than "This is what I think". You have an opinion, good for you. Thats nice, honey.

[akuarius87]

Are you nuts?
Half Life, Chrono Trigger, Dead Space, Every Zelda, Bioshock, and i know there are more, bit i dont remember all of them right now.

[KillZallthebeast]

The talking protagonist in fallout 4 was an annoying change that took away from the game some.

[Giblet_Head]

I have my suspicions that's why the dialogue system was so horrible in that game. Bethesda couldn't be bothered to record hundreds of conversation trees, so every option was reduced to a varying 'yes' and 'later'.

[Tross]

I've played many games with silent protagonists that I've absolutely loved. It's somewhat of an antiquated trope, but it works. The Zelda series, the Persona series, GTAIII, Chrono Trigger and many more come to mind and they're all fantastic games, not just from a gameplay standpoint but from a narrative one as well. Ok, GTAIII may not be the best example of a GTA narrative, but my point still stands.

[DARK WITNESS]

na, i have to disagree three of my fav games of all time have silent protagonists.

Half life 2
Dead Space (1)
Halo CE (cheif talked bare minimum

I actually find myself hating games where the character talks way too much and says dumb S"£%"^t thanks to poor writting

that will easly put me off a game way more then a character that says nothing.

[cyber_daemonx]

Some games are actually better for it.