The Mute Protagonist

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.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

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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