The Silent Protagonist

For some reason, developers have this crazy idea that if they don't make the player's character talk, then it allows you, the player, to 'become one' with the character and somehow allow you to identify with him/her better.

Loads of crap.

I recently finished Dead Space and other than a few grunts and groans here and there, I never spoke a single word.  I was talked at a whole bunch but I never uttered a single phrase.  Never acknowledged a single message, never any reaction to the nasty things he encounters, not even a, "Phew, glad that is over" when it is all over.

Far from helping me be the character, I found myself wondering why in the world this guy is such an emotionless tool.   And he's not alone.   Gordan Freeman is a mute.  Meets all sorts of people in course of his games, never says a word to any of them.  Not even a simple, "Hey what's up?"  People through the course of the game have entire conversations with him, even to the point where they act like he's actually responding to them.  To me they seem like crazy nut jobs who are talking to themselves.

Sometimes the developers go so far as to give you character who has no identity.  Last year's Halo: ODST didn't even give you a name.  You are simply known as the "The Rookie".   And on top of that, you don't even have a face.  You're the helmeted unknown.  I guess that makes it nice for all gamers as it really could be anyone in there (male or female) but it also makes the protagonist rather uninteresting.

As I said earlier, I recently finished Dead Space and the whole time I was bothered by the lack of reaction from Issac Clarke.  I compare this to some other titles I played this year, such as Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Red Dead Redemption, and Mass Effect.

In all of these, I became engaged with the protagonist in a way that would not be possible with silent method.  I cared about the plight of John Marsten and his desire to see his family.   I understood Ezio's motivation's and what drove him to Rome.

And Shepard from Mass Effect, far from being a silent protagonist, I got to not only become engaged in his/her story, I got to shape the character into something that I wanted without the character being silent.  I identified with the character because I shaped the character.

Here's the deal, I like Half-Life.  I like BioShock.  I like Dead Space.  But I often wonder if I would have liked them more had I been allowed to get know the protagonist better.