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[Bernd Lauert]

Smart money-saving move.

Yeah, that small indie company called Microsoft really has to penny pinch. Can't waste a couple thousand dollars on VA.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Yeah, that small indie company called Microsoft really has to penny pinch. Can't waste a couple thousand dollars on VA.

Yeah voice over costs, but any self-respecting AAA studio should afford that. Horizon FW not just went MASSIVE in the amount of voice over, but nearly 99% of all conversations have full mocap acting, beyond anything we've seen before in a game by a freaking galaxy. Yes, those studios can afford it, they're just cheapening out and remind me of most Japanese RPG's with their horrendous text convos and asking full AAA retail price well.

 

[EDMIX]

Yeah voice over costs, but any self-respecting AAA studio should afford that. Horizon FW not just went MASSIVE in the amount of voice over, but nearly 99% of all conversations have full mocap acting, beyond anything we've seen before in a game by a freaking galaxy. Yes, those studios can afford it, they're just cheapening out and remind me of most Japanese RPG's with their horrendous text convos and asking full AAA retail price well.

It sound more like a design choice. I think they felt it made sense to not have them say anything to allow the player to imagine they are them or something. I still feel they should have just had several voice actors or something as I liked the voices in Fallout 4.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

Yeah voice over costs, but any self-respecting AAA studio should afford that. Horizon FW not just went MASSIVE in the amount of voice over, but nearly 99% of all conversations have full mocap acting, beyond anything we've seen before in a game by a freaking galaxy. Yes, those studios can afford it, they're just cheapening out and remind me of most Japanese RPG's with their horrendous text convos and asking full AAA retail price well.

Starfield will also have a massive amount of voice over. It's simply a design choice to stick to first person view during conversations and have a silent protagonist due to that.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Yeah voice over costs, but any self-respecting AAA studio should afford that. Horizon FW not just went MASSIVE in the amount of voice over, but nearly 99% of all conversations have full mocap acting, beyond anything we've seen before in a game by a freaking galaxy. Yes, those studios can afford it, they're just cheapening out and remind me of most Japanese RPG's with their horrendous text convos and asking full AAA retail price well.

In Horizon you play as Aloy. In Starfield you play as whoever you want. Having VO would ruin the immersion.

Mod to remove VO from Fallout 4 has like 400k+ downloads on Nexusmods.

This is what fans of Bethesda games want.

 

[Laptop1991]

I'm glad they have gone back to this, i thought the voiced protagonist in Fallout 4 made the dialogue and choices worse and it didn't matter what you chose, it was basically the same outcome,

 

[Elbereth]

Hmm, I’m really enjoying V in Cyberpunk. I guess I’m okay with a silent protagonist, but a well crafted story with a great VA can do wonders.

 

[kraspkibble]

Hmm, I’m really enjoying V in Cyberpunk. I guess I’m okay with a silent protagonist, but a well crafted story with a great VA can do wonders.

same, i think V in cyberpunk was great. Cherami Leigh is a fantastic VA. the male V sucked though.

when it comes to silent protagonists i think it just depends. i would never want a voiced Link in BOTW2 but a game like Starfield i think a voiced character would be good but it's Bethesda so not exactly the greatest writing and they probably can't be arsed with the effort. in that case it's best just to stfu

 

[Pallas]

Yeah voice over costs, but any self-respecting AAA studio should afford that. Horizon FW not just went MASSIVE in the amount of voice over, but nearly 99% of all conversations have full mocap acting, beyond anything we've seen before in a game by a freaking galaxy. Yes, those studios can afford it, they're just cheapening out and remind me of most Japanese RPG's with their horrendous text convos and asking full AAA retail price well.

Nah, I’m with those who want a silent protagonist for games like this, having your guy or gal that you created talk in their own voice takes away from the immersion and role playing aspect.

Btw some of those JRPG’s with those “horrendous text conversations” were some of the best games ever.

 

[adamsapple]

Yeah voice over costs, but any self-respecting AAA studio should afford that. Horizon FW not just went MASSIVE in the amount of voice over, but nearly 99% of all conversations have full mocap acting, beyond anything we've seen before in a game by a freaking galaxy. Yes, those studios can afford it, they're just cheapening out and remind me of most Japanese RPG's with their horrendous text convos and asking full AAA retail price well.

Bo, I love you but you're literally grasping for straws at finding negatives in the smallest of things that isn't there lol.

Absolutely no one had any issue with Skyrim not having a talking MC. So many JRPGs still do this trope to this day (Persona etc) and no one bats an eye.

This is purely a design choice and after frankly how poorly they implemented the voice over and dialogue wheels in FO4, I'm glad they're returning to roots.

 

[OceanGaming]

Bethesda going back to their roots? Now, THAT IS WHAT I LIKE.

 

[Kacho]

Yeah voice over costs, but any self-respecting AAA studio should afford that. Horizon FW not just went MASSIVE in the amount of voice over, but nearly 99% of all conversations have full mocap acting, beyond anything we've seen before in a game by a freaking galaxy. Yes, those studios can afford it, they're just cheapening out and remind me of most Japanese RPG's with their horrendous text convos and asking full AAA retail price well.

It’s not a matter of being able to afford it. Of course they can afford it. It’s a design choice because one of the main criticisms of FO4 was the voiced protagonist. It completely kneecapped the role-playing experiences and limited the dialogue choices. Playing an evil character in FO4 was a joke.

 

[WitchHunter]

Oh jesus... ppl obsessed about this with Half Life too : DD. Well, if your protagonist is not talking that's shit, but not a deal breaker. Let's hope the 1000 planets will provide enough procedural aliens to chat with .

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Bo, I love you but you're literally grasping for straws at finding negatives in the smallest of things that isn't there lol.

Absolutely no one had any issue with Skyrim not having a talking MC. So many JRPGs still do this trope to this day (Persona etc) and no one bats an eye.

This is purely a design choice and after frankly how poorly they implemented the voice over and dialogue wheels in FO4, I'm glad they're returning to roots.

It sound more like a design choice. I think they felt it made sense to not have them say anything to allow the player to imagine they are them or something. I still feel they should have just had several voice actors or something as I liked the voices in Fallout 4.

In Horizon you play as Aloy. In Starfield you play as whoever you want. Having VO would ruin the immersion.

Mod to remove VO from Fallout 4 has like 400k+ downloads on Nexusmods.

This is what fans of Bethesda games want.

Nah, I’m with those who want a silent protagonist for games like this, having your guy or gal that you created talk in their own voice takes away from the immersion and role playing aspect.

Btw some of those JRPG’s with those “horrendous text conversations” were some of the best games ever.

It’s not a matter of being able to afford it. Of course they can afford it. It’s a design choice because one of the main criticisms of FO4 was the voiced protagonist. It completely kneecapped the role-playing experiences and limited the dialogue choices. Playing an evil character in FO4 was a joke.

Seems like these things aren't my type, understandable. I personally don't like voice-less protagonists nor being forced to read endless text on JRPG's.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Seems like these things aren't my type, understandable. I personally don't like voice-less protagonists nor being forced to read endless text on JRPG's.

No worries, Bo. There are so many great games out there for all tastes and preferences!

 

[Bo_Hazem]

No worries, Bo. There are so many great games out there for all tastes and preferences!

For reference, Persona 5 and Fallout 4 are among the worst games I've ever played, but can't say they're shit as they're not famous for nothing. Would love to like them, but I can't.

 

[MMaRsu]

Persona 5 amongst the worst games you've played? You must not have played many games, jesus christ. Hyperbole much

 

[MidGenRefresh]

For reference, Persona 5 and Fallout 4 are among the worst games I've ever played, but can't say they're shit as they're not famous for nothing. Would love to like them, but I can't.

I tried Persona 5 on my PS5 but I was more confused than entertained. I hated Fallout 4 when I played it around release date on my PS4 but recently I gave it another chance and it's actually quite an amazing exploration game. You just need to ignore the main story, it's pure garbage.

 

[Kacho]

Fallout 4 are among the worst games I've ever played

Everyone hates Fallout 4 lol. There are good things about it but that’s not enough to elevate it past the flaws. It’s the black sheep of Bethesda RPGs. Especially coming after the well-loved New Vegas and Skyrim games.

 

[SamaelSavage]

Fallout 4 is pretty bad, yes, but it's not the voice acted protagonist that made it bad.

If anything, games with voice acted protagonists are the ones that are remembered most. Can you imagine the witcher without geralt's voice acting?..

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Persona 5 amongst the worst games you've played? You must not have played many games, jesus christ. Hyperbole much

More like 200-300+ games each gen, I think that's many enough. But I also don't like most horror games. It's just a matter of personal preference.

I tried Persona 5 on my PS5 but I was more confused than entertained. I hated Fallout 4 when I played it around release date on my PS4 but recently I gave it another chance and it's actually quite an amazing exploration game. You just need to ignore the main story, it's pure garbage.

The gameplay was one of the main things that put me off, and couldn't really find something that I would like. Exploration by itself was nice, but only that. Forced myself to play it for like 4 days but couldn't continue.

Everyone hates Fallout 4 lol. There are good things about it but that’s not enough to elevate it past the flaws. It’s the black sheep of Bethesda RPGs. Especially coming after the well-loved New Vegas and Skyrim games.

Never played those back in the day as their cover/back screenshots put me off. I usually sniff games that don't fit my taste from a quick look, and back then I hated nearly all non-realistic games with magic and stuff. The Witcher 3 made me like fantasy games again.

Fallout 4 is pretty bad, yes, but it's not the voice acted protagonist that made it bad.

If anything, games with voice acted protagonists are the ones that are remembered most. Can you imagine the witcher without geralt's voice acting?..

 

[Kacho]

Fallout 4 is pretty bad, yes, but it's not the voice acted protagonist that made it bad.

The voice acting was a major issue for a lot of players. Easily in the top 3 most heavily criticized features.

If anything, games with voice acted protagonists are the ones that are remembered most. Can you imagine the witcher without geralt's voice acting?..

It makes sense for a game like Witcher because Geralt is an established character and you are roleplaying as him. In Bethesda RPGs you can roleplay as whatever you want, which is why they start you off as a blank slate character in the intros and leave you to carve out your own journey in the game.

 

[SamaelSavage]

The voice acting was a major issue for a lot of players. Easily in the top 3 most heavily criticized features.


It makes sense for a game like Witcher because Geralt is an established character and you are roleplaying as him. In Bethesda RPGs you can roleplay as whatever you want, which is why they start you off as a blank slate character in the intros and leave you to carve out your own journey in the game.

Gonna need receipts on that first statement of yours.

Also Geralt is an established character because he was established via his voice acting & mannerisms over the course of 3 games. He didn't just pop out into existence as an established character. What can you tell me about the protagonist in skyrim aside from him being able to shout real loud?

 

[Kacho]

Gonna need receipts on that first statement of yours

They decided not to go with a voiced protagonist in Fallout 76 and Starfield because it failed miserably. Google it if you want to see endless discussions about how terrible it was.

Also Geralt is an established character because he was established via his voice acting & mannerisms over the course of 3 games.

Geralt was established in the books before the games.

What can you tell me about the protagonist in skyrim aside from him being able to shout real loud?

Which one of my dozens of characters? That's my point here. All of them had different focuses because roleplaying. Same with New Vegas, Fallout 3, Oblivion and Morrowind.

 

[SamaelSavage]

They decided not to go with a voiced protagonist in Fallout 76 and Starfield because it failed miserably. Google it if you want to see endless discussions about how terrible it was.


Geralt was established in the books before the games.


Which one of my dozens of characters? That's my point here. All of them had different focuses because roleplaying. Same with New Vegas, Fallout 3, Oblivion and Morrowind.

I don't know how to break your quote into pieces so, eh.

I have googled it, aside from a couple posts complaining that the male voice sounds like your typical 30yo white male, i haven't found much. Now the truncated dialogue itself is another matter.


Geralt was established in the games, for the general public. I doubt most people knew about a random polish monster hunter book.


Yes, but you're roleplaying a mute character every time. A mute bard, a mute warrior, a mute monk, a mute wastelander, you name it. You're roleplaying yourself every time, essentially, which to me, sounds quite boring.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

This thread...

 

[Kacho]

I don't know how to break your quote into pieces so, eh.

Highlight the text you want to reply to and you press the Reply bubble that appears. Kinda wonky on mobile.

I have googled it, aside from a couple posts complaining that the male voice sounds like your typical 30yo white male, i haven't found much. Now the truncated dialogue itself is another matter.

Here's Todd Howard's diplomatic comments on the voiced protagonist.

Obviously, the way we did some dialogue stuff, that didn't work as well. But it was I think -- I know the reasons we tried that, to make a nice interactive conversation, but [it was] less successful than other things in the game. For us, we take that feedback, and I think long term.

It's never going to be a thing in Bethesda RPGs again thanks to the feedback they got. It's not what most of their fans want in those games.

Yes, but you're roleplaying a mute character every time. A mute bard, a mute warrior, a mute monk, a mute wastelander, you name it. You're roleplaying yourself every time, essentially, which to me, sounds quite boring.

We can just agree to disagree. Plenty of great points have been made in this thread about why people don't like and don't want it. If that's not your style there's always a Witcher or Mass Effect to play among others.

 

[Nyxir]

I knew the game being an xbox exclusive will turn the discord about it to be very shitty. Gaming community can suck sometimes.
They made the right choice. And anyone who actually enjoys Bethesda RPG will know that.

 

[Majukun]

good news

 

[MMaRsu]

I have. lots of them.

Really? Which ones?

 

[MMaRsu]

Step backwards imo. As others have pointed out, having a voiced protagonist worked perfectly well in Mass Effect. Imagine if Shepard had been silent the whole time; the storytelling would’ve sucked. The important thing is to make sure that the dialogue options you choose matches what the protagonist actually says.

The only way removing the voiced protagonist could be an improvement is if they return to a much more ‘meaty’ dialogue system like in Morrowind, where you can talk with each npc about hundreds of topics, with potentially thousands of lines of dialogue.

In Mass Effect you play a set character, with a set personality. You play as male shepard or female shepard, their personality is the same and it doesnt matter how you customize them.

Light/dark are the only choices you can make in their personality. Bethesda games usually go a lot deeper.

 

[synchronicity]

Ughh i hate the silent protagonist thing. I want my chartacter to have some character instead of just nodding/shaking their head.

They do. Your actions within context provide the character via your imagination.

I think the main difference is that some want to be told a story down to every last detail, while some prefer to be a participant. Neither in inherently better or worse as there are great games in both styles, but Bethesda rpgs are very much of the participatory/flexible variety. I don't understand wanting a voiced protagonist for what is, in essence, a blank canvas upon which the player crafts their own character. If you are making your own character, hearing the voice of someone could be very hit or miss. The only way it could be effective would be to offer dozens of voices for the protagonist, which isn't very practical, and even then you might not find one that clicks.

 

[Warablo]

To the guys that want a voice actor not realize a big criticism of Fallout 4 was the voiced protag?

 

[Rykan]

Really? Which ones?

I'm not going to make a list of 25+ titles. How is it in any way relevant? Is this just an attempt to trying to attack me instead of the post?

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

Boo, I liked the voice actors, they just needed more options then just 4 choice in dialogue

 

[MMaRsu]

Boo, I liked the voice actors, they just needed more options then just 4 choice in dialogue

They need more than 2 voice actors.
Preferably 3 per sex. Sadly that is almost unfeasable

 

[0neAnd0nly]

This seems to be trivializing the mute community as a “choice” to be silent.

#2022Logic

 

[Hendrick's]

I hate voiced protags in RPGs. You pick a response with an intent in mind, but then the dialogue goes in a different direction and completely takes you out of the game. Mass Effect was very guilty of this.

 

[adamsapple]

I hate voiced protags in RPGs. You pick a response with an intent in mind, but then the dialogue goes in a different direction and completely takes you out of the game. Mass Effect was very guilty of this.

Mass Effect was still benign compared to how bad the case was in Fallout 4 especially.

Dragon Age 1 had the best implementation, the choices are the exact complete next line of dialogue your character will say lol.

 

[hemo memo]

It sound more like a design choice. I think they felt it made sense to not have them say anything to allow the player to imagine they are them or something. I still feel they should have just had several voice actors or something as I liked the voices in Fallout 4.

Yeah it's most likely a design choice rather than budget. I mean it is a Bethesda RPG. They'll have tons of spoken dialogue. It is not like they're cheaping out Pokemon style with text only.