The Mute Protagonist

RPGs may sometimes feature a hero who does not "speak" in the story. Instead, the hero’s responses are limited to what the player chooses.

How do you feel about mute heroes? Does the lack of speech affect your experience with a game?

I sometimes find it amusing to watch how the other characters in a game interact with a mute protagonist. I generally prefer main characters who have their own lines simply because they seem to have more personality.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

In some games it works, in some it doesn't. Personally, I prefer the protagonist to be voiced, because it helps me understand him or her more, get a better grasp of his or her motivations. In Knights of the Old Republic, the main character is mute in the sense that s/he does not have any lines of dialog that you do not choose yourself, but there are a lot of dialog choices for you to make, so that works pretty well. But then there are games like Suikoden 4, where the main character never speaks and you really have no idea what's going on inside his head. It gets tiresome having the other characters speak for the protagonist all the time, with the protagonist having little input into what is going on.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

yeah me too I prefer a hero with they own lines, I don't really like when the other talk to this character and they like repeat what he just said so that we understan the conversation (which you didn't here or read any text because because he's a mute character)

you know it's like those old cliché phone call:

me: hi Rydia it's me Inhert what are you doing today... oh you're doing your laundry and you will go watch a movie after that...yeah me too I love to go to cinema the weekend....oh you talked to Russ too! NO! He did not said that mute character can work and sometime not! really?

you know where you hear only one side of the coversation and the person repeat what the other said >.>

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Honestly, I'm neutral about it. I really don't mind either way. I feel the Suikoden games for example have always done a good job with it, but I didn't mind the switch from that in the third one. I understand what they're trying to get across by having a mute protaganist. They obviously want the player to input himself into the role. So doesn't really matter to me.

I do like it when characters poke fun at it. Like in Chrono Trigger.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

It really depends on the game for me. SMT: Nocturne pulled the mute protagonist pretty perfectly in my mind because it was really all about how you delt with the events of the story. In SMT: DDS it was kinda annoying but it worked pretty good because you felt like you were that character and yet being him as well.

I usually tend to favor those that speak though.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I dunno why, but I'm a sucker for character development. Specifically, a romance story on the side. Mute main character immediately blares this to me: zero character development. That or finding out about the main character's past will be hard to impossible ;__;

Mute main characters in, say, Suikoden are well done. But most other games do them poorly. I'd like a chatty main character though >__<

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

It's a mechanic I rather like...Too often, my interest in a game wanes because I just don't like the main character (not just RPG's) and the way they handle themselves, so taking the focus off the main guy and putting it on the events and characters around them is a good idea.

So far, the only game I've encountered where I didn't like this was Chrono Cross, but that was because:

1. There was no reason for everyone to be rallying around Serge and joining the party...It just kind of "happened". Like most events in the game.
2. I didn't care for almost any of the party members or NPC's, so Serge ended up looking even more pathetic.

Conversely, the Suikoden series does it to great effect because the character is right in the middle of everything and usually in high standings, so it spreads the responsibility around the rest of the party to advance the storyline and introduces new characters to great effect. Really though, I'm glad Suikoden 2 wasn't bogged down with scenes of the hero and Jowy going back and forth word-for-word. Or when Hero McDohl just picked up Gremio's axe after he died and didn't say a word...I don't think a long-standing speech would have worked as well as that did.

How ya doing, buddy?

If you think about it, mute charcters tend to let you actually be a part of the game more--since you choose their answers. However, more and more game makers are getting involved with graphics and FMVs, and in-game clips. Thus, there's more talking, and since it's the Hero, then he/she is going to talk.

Suikoden IV had several of those in-game scenes, and the Hero still didn't talk. Their only concession to the speaking hero was: "Choose his battle voice." It still worked for me.

But some games have you choose responses, and the Hero speaks them--giving them the personality you want.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Leknaat

Suikoden IV had several of those in-game scenes, and the Hero still didn't talk. Their only concession to the speaking hero was: "Choose his battle voice." It still worked for me.

Same for V. Lyon makes an effective mouth-piece though and there are a lot of instances where you get to make decisions.

How ya doing, buddy?

I don't like the mute protagonist. I don't mind a quiet protagonist, but mute just makes the conversations look stupid

Character: "Where did you go today?"
Protagonist: "...."
Character: "Oh, to the libarary? Did you find what you were looking for?"
Protagonist: "..."
Character: "Oh, it was out?"

If the character won't say even those things it was blindingly obvious that they have said, that's annoying to me.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I prefer a mute protagonist, because it's much easier to assume the role of that person when you don't have to turn around and conform to their personality. Some of the more top tier titles in my list, such as SMT: Nocturne, Suikoden II, and Dragon Quest VIII were kickass games that didn't require the character to be vocal at all.

Originally Posted by Soluzar

I don't like the mute protagonist. I don't mind a quiet protagonist, but mute just makes the conversations look stupid

Character: "Where did you go today?"
Protagonist: "...."
Character: "Oh, to the libarary? Did you find what you were looking for?"
Protagonist: "..."
Character: "Oh, it was out?"

If the character won't say even those things it was blindingly obvious that they have said, that's annoying to me.

This can easily be reproduced to work and give varying dialogue without having to fuck with the necessity of making protagonist look like an idiot while giving you choices.

Character: "Where did you go today?"
Protagonist: -Select- "To the library." or "To the park." or "None of your business."
Character: (with first selection chosen) "Oh, to the library? Did you find what you were looking for?"
Protagonist: -Select- "Yeah, I found it." or "It was out." or "The hell do you care?"
Character: (with second selection chosen) "Oh, it was out?"

The hero may be mute normally, but under the circumstance giving them a personality makes things smooth out overall.

After all, who the FUCK wants to end up controlling a whiny little assmongrel like Tidus? There's where the mute protagonist should have come into play.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

For Dragon quest 8, i don't think you can choose what the hero will say

and about the mute hero, i don't like it, i can't identify myself to an empty shell

i have never seen any movie where the main protagonist doesn't say anything to help you identify to him...

nor read any book where the hero doesn't say anything too...

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

One of the reasons why I didn't like the RPGs of old was because the hero or heroes were mute. The developers come up with a 'the hero is supposed to be you, so you make up his/her personality' excuse, but honestly, I find that a total cop-out. No, the hero isn't supposed to be me, dammit. I seriously can't relate to anyone who doesn't say a single word, and that ruins whatever feelings I have for those people. Unfortunately, even new RPGs have mute heroes for whatever bizarre reason.

I didn't start liking RPGs until the heroes actually started talking, and that RPG was FFIV.

How ya doing, buddy?

I've gotten so tired of the mute protagonist. If he was actually "mute" in that the other characters acknowledge his silence as well (like in something like Half-Life 2. "Man of few words, aren't you?") then it works somewhat, but most of the time it's simply that the hero speaks, only you don't hear it.

It doesn't work because you often don't have enough control over the hero's choices and personality in order to properly shape him into an image of yourself, and yet since he never says anything, you are left with a character that isn't you, but doesn't have enough of a personality of any sort to be their own person, much less an interesting one.

It was annoying in Zelda games, but it was just doable because Zelda never relied on story. Meanwhile, Crono was a massively dull character because of this and you only felt some form of sympathy for Serge because of all he had to go through, not particularly because of how he was.

The same way, as much as I love Suikoden 2, the silent hero is quite simply boring to follow for me in a long RPG. Tiny dialogue choices which almost never properly affect the outcome of anything isn't enough, I'd much rather have a fully formed character like Locke in FF6 or Ashley in Vagrant Story, or even a slightly more annoying character like Justin in Grandia, they're still far more interesting and likeable.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Are we talking about squall here? Oh wait

Suikoden Series is good doing the whole "Silent Protagonist" Chrono Series too.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Kostaki

After all, who the FUCK wants to end up controlling a whiny little assmongrel like Tidus? There's where the mute protagonist should have come into play.

Laughing Scene, anyone?

Actually, the voice wasn't so bad--it was the dialogue. They need to start having Teen-Agers write the scripts for teen heros.

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As others have said, it depends, but as stories become more story-centric, I think silent mains become increasingly inexcusable. My friends have praised WA1 Rudy as a decent silent main, but the whole sense of comradeship in the game would have been much better if he actually interacted with the others.

I'm also not too fond of the way the Suikoden games handled their mains. Yes, you make decisions, but it's somewhat rare that you aren't just getting pushed around by your bodyguard/sister/strategist. Suikoden V was a bit better because the Prince's choices had some impact, but the game's interaction would have been much better if they actually gave him some lines to go along with each choice.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Mario was mute in Super Mario RPG, kinda, it was funny to watch him act out everything he would say. Oh and he whistles in the shower.

Ness is mute in Earthbound except for your choice of Yes/No, but Earthbound rules, and Ness is the man.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Quarky

I've gotten so tired of the mute protagonist. If he was actually "mute" in that the other characters acknowledge his silence as well (like in something like Half-Life 2. "Man of few words, aren't you?") then it works somewhat, but most of the time it's simply that the hero speaks, only you don't hear it.

EXACTLY. Fuck. I'm seriously tired of that second type that you mentioned, the classic Mute Protagonis. The first kind is OK, and I would actually describe that type as a "Silent Protagonist", to make the distinction. The mute speaks, but can we neither read nor hear what he says. the silent simply does not speak.

Originally Posted by Kostaki

After all, who the FUCK wants to end up controlling a whiny little assmongrel like Tidus? There's where the mute protagonist should have come into play.

Was it the voice, or the dialog? Personally, I didn't find his dialogue quite so annoying as some people seem to have, but I did find his voice grated on me after some time. Mind you, I didn't like the voices in general. Unless they are going to actually hire decent actors, and write good lines, I suggest that games would do well to avoid voiced dialog.

To clarify my own position for the main topic of the thread, I believe that we are speaking of a "mute protagonist" against the background of game theory, which means that he doesn't say anything. I'm not discussing the presence or absence of voice acting, which is what some people seem to be discussing.

The purpose of the mute protagonist, according to game theory, is to allow the player to project their own words into the mouth of Our Hero. I don't find it works, personally.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Soluzar

Was it the voice, or the dialog? Personally, I didn't find his dialogue quite so annoying as some people seem to have, but I did find his voice grated on me after some time. Mind you, I didn't like the voices in general. Unless they are going to actually hire decent actors, and write good lines, I suggest that games would do well to avoid voiced dialog.

I think the main argument people have in favor of mutes is that if they don't like the main character and his/her personality, it'll negatively affect their take on the game. Especially if the bulk of the game is centered around them. If you don't like the main FF lead, you're generally screwed as far as really getting into the game's story unless you pick up on someone else and they get sufficient facetime. FFVI worked well, since I thought Terra was downright boring, but the whole of the cast was what made it stand out. They easily could have muted her and not lost much of anything. Personally, I was more than content with not knowing what happened to Tidus at the end of FFX because I didn't care about him or the supposed impact he had on the world. Ditto for Squall and Cloud, though both grew on me simply for their actual gameplay roles.

Think of wrestling and say you think the current champ is a douche. Yet, all of the major storylines revolve around him. At best, you're rooting for something bad to happen to him. At worst, you lose interest in the whole thing. That's why I like the idea of eliminating the lead and passing the torch onto the remainder of the party, because I'm much more likely to pick up on a favorite character than to have one forced onto me by the game's storyline.

Then again, there's always the occasional lead character who gets by with a certain amount of charisma and I actually care what happens with them...Valkyrie was a good example of this and it made the events later on in the game have more of an impact, once her past was uncovered. Grandia leads are generally pretty good (I haven't played 3, but Justin and Ryudo were good). And I haven't seen a Nippon Ichi strat lead I haven't liked yet...The Prince wouldn't be nearly as great as a mute.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by GoldfishX

I think the main argument people have in favor of mutes is that if they don't like the main character and his/her personality, it'll negatively affect their take on the game.

That's true, but it's not going to make me like mute protagonists any more. I tend to just avoid those games entirely, this far into my gaming life.

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And I haven't seen a Nippon Ichi strat lead I haven't liked yet.

You didn't play Phantom Brave, then? The lead character of Disgaea 2 is nothing to write home about either.

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That's true, but it's not going to make me like mute protagonists any more. I tend to just avoid those games entirely, this far into my gaming life.

Not trying to convince you at all, but I don't think offering a good explanation hurts.

Originally Posted by Soluzar

You didn't play Phantom Brave, then? The lead character of Disgaea 2 is nothing to write home about either.

Guess I should have just said La Pucelle and Disgaea to avoid confusion.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Soluzar

Was it the voice, or the dialog? Personally, I didn't find his dialogue quite so annoying as some people seem to have, but I did find his voice grated on me after some time. Mind you, I didn't like the voices in general. Unless they are going to actually hire decent actors, and write good lines, I suggest that games would do well to avoid voiced dialog.

I really didn't have a problem with the voice, but there are only so many times you can hear, "My old man" before you wish someone would gag him. The voice actor was okay--when he wasn't told to really emote as much.

Think about it. When the main characters who do speak are in the emotional scenes--they get a little shrilly. When they speak normally, they're okay.

Using Tidus--again--as an example:

Compare his voice when he says: "Listen to my story." to well, the rest of the game.....

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I really don't like mute protagonists because they don't inflect any personality, and you rarely get to control the actions of the character. In many Japanese RPGs, the story is driven for you where you have little control what do to do. In that respect, I like the character to speak his mind regardless of how whiny he is or how arrogant he is. Make me care about him! The worst thing to happen is I show no emotion towards the character. That right there is worse than someone not liking the character.

If the game designers insist on putting in a mute character, than let me control the character and project my own personality on there by allowing my actions to affect gameplay and story. Some great examples are Fallout, Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur's Gate and many other PC centric games.

How ya doing, buddy?

The thing that annoyed me most about the dialogue in FFX was not the VA, but that you could pick your own name. I fucking hated that.
"Okay, Rikku, Yuna, me aaaaand... the new guy. We go fight Seymour, ya?"
The way they avoid saying his name was, I dunno, it seemed completely unnatural.

Gordon Freeman is the way to make a silent protagonist. Gordon is a vessel to experience the story.

How ya doing, buddy?