I don't hate mute characters

Really doesn't matter either way to me, but it definitely fits some games, and not others. I'm glad Adam Jensen isn't mute.
 
I'm with you.

In the case of RPG's, I would rather have more choices in character building and backgrounds than limited choices with a voiced character (see DA:O vs DA2). It's not an even trade, as far as I'm concerned. It works in a some cases cases, but for every Geralt there are ten generic voiced heroes with a personality as bland as a bowl of oatmeal.

Plus, it makes conversations quicker. I'm fine with simply reading what my character is saying, instead of listening to an actor deliver a line. This is why I'm still OK with text-only dialog in games. I can process information faster than a voice actor can deliver a line. If anything, it increases the "immersion" since I can spend more time playing the game and less time watching it.
 
Nah I hate mute characters. They suck. It's dumb in Half Life that everyone is talking to you and show no response whatsoever. I understand why it's done and can even play games with no voices, but voices are always preferable.
 
My patience in games is slowly dwindling out of existence, so I prefer mute characters because reading is faster than listening if it's something like an rpg where I'm selecting responses. On top of that, mute characters in things that aren't rpgs usually means fewer story sequences or cutscenes, which is preferred, since I don't play platformers or action games for story most of the time (Why oh why did Other M have to ruin a good thing?). Hell, it feels like half the time I beat the game before I realize I was playing as a mute, it just feels so natural I don't notice.

I guess it's nice or ignorable to have a voiced character every once in a while, but I'd rather have mute be the norm.
 
qq more said:
Anyone that thinks Pokemon Trainers/Gordon Freeman/Link/Etc shouldn't be mute... really misses the point.

You aren't alone, dude.
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I don't really view myself as a Japanese twelve year old boy or an elf I constantly see in third person though.
 
zinder said:
I hate when my main character doesn't talk AT ALL. That's the reason I gave up on Dragon Quest IX.
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You would rather have the devs shove words into the character you've created? To each their own, I suppose.
 
Nirolak said:
No it's from Dead Space 1.

When he finds out his girlfriend was dead all along, he just facepalms and goes about his day.
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Ah.

I knew about the twist, but I never actually saw the scene.
 
I would prefer it more if people acted like the mute character was actually MUTE in the world and not just act like they're a "character with no Voice over". Like maybe they ask them only Yes or No questions or maybe the character communicates with hand signs or with a small hand-held device like Celty in Durarara.

But seeing as Voice work is getting better and better I don't care either way. I would like it to stay for characters like Link and Samus though, keeps them clear and simple.
 
Fimbulvetr said:
Ah.

I knew about the twist, but I never actually saw the scene.
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There are actually a lot of scenes like that in Dead Space 1.

And Isaac actually writes somewhat lengthy journals in his quest log, so it's very apparent that he has a defined personality and opinions on the events that are happening.

It's not like he's actually mute either since he grunts and makes noises the entire game as well.
 
If it's a game where you create your own character, I think it's justifiable to have the main character be mute.

If you're playing someone else's character, then it's lazy lazy lazy (unless the character is actually mute).
 
Nirolak said:
I don't really view myself as a Japanese twelve year old boy or an elf I constantly see in third person though.
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I feel like there's a notable difference between being the character and having your personality reflected in the character, though.

And both are much, much more difficult when you have a pre-baked character with two or three pre-baked personalities you can choose from for each piece of dialogue.

Like, I wasn't my Fallout 3 character, but he still reflected my personality in his actions and dialogue.

Hawke was just...Hawke. He was either stern Hawke or Permissive Hawke or Jester Hawke, but he was never not Hawke. I didn't really like that as much and I feel like even Mass Effect did a better job of letting Shepard be more of a mirror than a window.
 
ShockingAlberto said:
I feel like there's a notable difference between being the character and having your personality reflected in the character, though.

And both are much, much more difficult when you have a pre-baked character with two or three pre-baked personalities you can choose from for each piece of dialogue.

Like, I wasn't my Fallout 3 character, but he still reflected my personality in his actions and dialogue.

Hawke was just...Hawke. He was either stern Hawke or Permissive Hawke or Jester Hawke, but he was never not Hawke. I didn't really like that as much and I feel like even Mass Effect did a better job of letting Shepard be more of a mirror than a window.
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I feel a lot of that has to do with the breadth of dialog options though than being a literal function of the protagonist not speaking.

Like in Dragon Age: Origins, you still had to pick predefined choices from a list, it's just that the list was a lot more robust in terms of personality choices.
 
I just want some phrases or something that shows deeper emotion besides grunts and yells. It just doesn't make sense when everyone around you is "assuming" you said something and your character is just standing there.
 
I'm with the other people in the thread in wanting a legitimately mute character.

Although I'm wondering if it would be viable to have a voice actor for their inner thoughts
 
mute main character in a 'talkie' point & click third-person adventure game? It makes no sense!
m.m.c. in an RPG? Yes, please. But in NWN2, for instance, it was odd to see your character's face when reading his/her line without dubbing.

It really depends on the game and on camera angles, IMO.
 
Anilusion said:
The day Link and Gordon Freeman gets voice acting is the day I quit gaming.
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I want Gordon's voice to be revealed as that of Nolan North at the end of Half-Life 3. :p
 
I can't see why one would/should inherently hate mute characters. Much like other game elements, there are good and bad implementations.
 
Dance In My Blood said:
Chell isn't unable to speak. Valve just don't like stepping out of the mold they've created.
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Well, we don't really know, but at a few points, characters specifically ask Chell to speak and get no response and find it puzzling that there's no response. It's written off as brain damage due to the time in hibernation.
 
I prefer voiced characters 99% of the time.

But some characters just have a legacy of being mute, like Link and Gordon freeman. Giving them voices wouldn't be smart.
 
ShockingAlberto said:
Well, we don't really know, but at a few points, characters specifically ask Chell to speak and get no response and find it puzzling that there's no response. It's written off as brain damage due to the time in hibernation.
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We do know. Valve concocted some bologna excuse in an interview that Chell doesn't want to give any of the Aperature AIs the satisfaction of a response.
 
No only do I not hate them, I actively enjoy them. Especially for FPS's.

This is going to sound dumb but I don't care: I like putting myself into my characters, the whole blank slate thing.

Of course games like Deus Ex HR, with a lot of dialogue, would be impossible without a speaking character. But for regular action games, like Crysis 2 or Singularity, I love it.
 
Depends on the game I guess. I don't mind but I do like them to talk. Hell, Mass Effect wouldn't be as good for me if Shep didn't have a voice.
 
Whenever I think of mute characters, I think of Persona 4 and it's horribly awkward ending. Mute characters to me just seem like lazy writing.
Grisby said:
Depends on the game I guess. I don't mind but I do like them to talk. Hell, Mass Effect wouldn't be as good for me if Shep didn't have a voice.
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If Shepard was mute, the sex scenes would be even more awkward.
 
Depends on the game, but the Sonic franchise took a sharp turn to Shitville when Sega added voice acting, especially Tails is horribadly annoying.
 
I don't mind mute characters one bit.
Most of my favorite games don't include much in the way of voice acting. It is all so circumstantial that I could never pick a side, if it came to that.


The only thing that annoys me is when you get scenes with characters asking a multiple choice question, all your answers are really short, and then they respond with "so you're saying that we should do _________ and then ________ so we don't ________!" Or something of that nature. It just really annoys me.
 
It depends on the game. On Dragon Age Origins, it was weird, very weird. In Zelda, or Portal, it was OK.

Sometimes if the main character is not mute and they allow you to choose some answers, what he actually says is not what you really wanted to say, and it feels weird. That was the case with me in Deus Ex HR, in example, though it's better this way.

The only thing that annoys me is when you get scenes with characters asking a multiple choice question, all your answers are really short, and then they respond with "so you're saying that we should do _________ and then ________ so we don't ________!" Or something of that nature. It just really annoys me.
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That annoys me too a lot. I prefer they just assume the main character talks and this is a normal conversation than that shit to do some voice acting. I also prefer long answers rather than short ones.
 
A mute main character was my biggest knock against Suikoden V, otherwise an awesome game.

Obviously depends WILDLY on the type of game it is though, don't give a flying a fuck for shooters or any of those action games. But for RPGs I hate it.
 
I don't hate any particular mute main characters, but in stories where they're supposed to have a personality, love interests, or people speak to them and acknowledge them, it's just awkward. With some games having a main character that never utters a word makes sense.

Or just come up with some plausible reason the character doesn't speak. Caim from Drakengard is mute for the majority of the game, but the story provides a reason for that.
 
Depends on the game, and how much the other members of the game are talking. If my entire party is mute, fine. If there is no VA, fine. But when the main character just does hand movements, while all the other characters are talking out loud, I have an issue.
 
Mute characters aren't a problem as long as the game isn't forcing a very defined and specific personality onto the player. A generic "heroic" mute character is fine, but he shouldn't have big distinctive traits besides that. A mute character shouldn't have love interests with anything besides a superficial "crush" and shouldn't go through big emotional moments where he expresses emotion with large gestures, due to the lack of words.
 
I really only have an issue with mute characters when there are clearly specific personalities already attached to the character in question, which kinda defeats the point of choosing answers or using projection.

The best examples I can use to articulate my point are Maya Amano from Persona 2 Eternal Punishment and Serph from Digital Devil Saga. Both are mute characters but I don't think they actually work; both have very specific personalities regardless (especially since Maya had loads of character development in the previous Persona 2 and her battle quotes alone make her out to be a carefree, somewhat ditzy woman). Serph is a stranger case, since he never talks and you probably have at most four actual choices between two games to make for him. He's established repeatedly as some great leader (Despite how other characters in the party clearly make all the plans and decisions). I would just ask "What is the point of even making them mute if you're not going to actually utilize the strengths of mute characters?"

NeonZ said:
A mute character shouldn't have love interests with anything besides a superficial "crush" and shouldn't go through big emotional moments where he expresses emotion with large gestures, due to the lack of words.
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That actually reminded me that Serph had a pretty "lol" gesture reaction to what should be a very big revelation in the second game.
 
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