InsaneBear

Feature: Examining the silent protagonist

As gamers, we’ve become pretty accustomed to silent protagonists. Hell, what with Link, Gordon Freeman, and Samus Aran, some of our most revered game characters are representing the mime crowd. But could you imagine a film or novel where the main character doesn’t speak a word throughout? By no means is it a death sentence, but it’d certainly be for a niche audience. And that’s why I find it so strange for the silent protagonist to be so widely accepted and utilized in video games.

The propose of spoken dialogue, in film or literature or even in real life, is quite simply to build relationships with other characters. We can’t understand why one character’s death means so much to another character without the context of their conversations. Sure, we can assume that if a character’s mother dies, said character will understandably be sad. No words necessarily need to be spoken to convey this. But understanding how a character feels and sympathizing with that character are two different things. We need to know the intimacies of their relationships to truly feel what they’re feeling and dialogue is the easiest way to convey that.

But to play devil’s advocate for a moment, there’s the old adage that actions speak louder than words. Given the interactive nature of video games, it’s no wonder that so many developers follow this school of thought. Why force a pre-scripted character on the player when a developer can simply leave that character an open space for the player to occupy? Gordon Freeman could have lines of dialogue, but it would break the immersion for the player. It’s better to build up Gordon’s background through NPC interactions and then let the player’s actions speak for him. I certainly can’t argue with the fact that an entirely in-game experience is more immersive than one with cut-scenes interrupting the action.

On the other hand, the second you stop to think how stupid it is that your character is a mute and nobody seems to find it the least bit strange, all immersion is shattered. But what’s to be done about it? Infinity Ward couldn’t have rightly broken up the action in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare by stuffing in dialogue trees every few minutes. But I can’t help but feel like I would have cared so much more about SPOILERS***my character getting nuked and dying*** if he’d actually spoken to his comrades and formed some relationships. It just didn’t mean a whole lot to me. Same for the ending, when SPOILERS***the guys you’re presumably supposed to have a bond with and care about are gunned down in front of you***.

So looking at the possible design directions when it comes to a game’s protagonist, it seems that a developer can go one of three ways. One, they can create a pre-defined character with completely scripted dialogue that plays out over cut-scenes. This is probably the easiest way to create compelling and interesting characters that players become invested in. But it also abandons the core strength of the video game medium. The Metal Gear Solid games are good examples of this.

Two, they can take the BioShock approach and create a blank slate for the player to self-insert. Basic background information and history of the character can be relayed through NPCs and documents and the like, but such information is largely irrelevant. What matters are the player’s actions, which NPCs may or may not take note of. Either way, the player is basically using their imagination to create their own character, but because the character is in the player’s imagination and not in the game, NPCs cannot interact with the character in any meaningful ways.

And lastly, they can allow a player to forge their own character and relationships through use of dialogue trees. This method, often employed in Western RPGs like Mass Effect, not only fosters a character unique to the player, but promotes relationship-building with NPCs, which in turn, lends more power and poignancy to plot events. The only issue with this approach is that it breaks immersion with a separate dialogue menu and disrupts the possibility of action or movement.

All three techniques have strengths and weaknesses. All three also fall victim to immersion-breaking. I have a proposal that would end the suspension of belief required by the silent protagonist, the robbery of control imposed by the pre-scripted lead, and the “can’t walk and talk at the same time” hero of so many RPGs. With today’s technology, there’s no reason why developers can’t modify the dialogue tree to work within the confines of a fast-paced FPS. Instead of providing the player with several multi-sentence responses in separate menus, why not just give them a choice of “positive,” “neutral,” or “negative” responses? Don’t even flood the screen with those descriptive monikers. Just have a brief flash or something happen when an NPC says something to your character and it’s your time to respond. Map the three responses so the player doesn’t even have to stop moving to carry out the conversation.

This simple interface would allow immersion to flow continuously, while also allowing the player to develop their own unique character and build meaningful relationships with NPCs. And instead of spending half the game reading text, a top-notch voice-over takes your basic response and gives it life. The in-game nature of the dialogue would even allow for conversations mid-combat, which would really add to the intensity and bring out your impulse responses towards NPCs. And extended conversations could take place during the course of meandering walks where the player can actually appreciate the environment artists crafted for the game instead of in static shots of the NPC’s strange looking face. I can honestly see no flaw with this system beyond conceding the voice in your head to that of a voice actor–a concession I’m glad to make.

Now, I might sound like I’m pretty down on the concept of a silent protagonist, but I’m really not. I think it works fantastically in the quirky Fable series and out of respect for tradition, I’d never want to see a Zelda game where Link speaks. It’s even used as a vehicle for comedy in the Half-Life franchise at times, which is just great. But I am saying that I think the number of games starring a silent protagonist should be radically trimmed down. There’s no reason why the vast majority of FPSs need to promote the “shoot first, ask questions never” state of mind. Interactive dialogue can only lead to deeper and more meaningful experiences with characters, and that’s why games that are trying to tell serious stories should get serious about how they present them.

Author: Cody

Tags: claude speed, dialogue tree, feature, gordon freeman, link, samus aran, shepard, silent protagonist, soap mactavish, solid snake