Actually we are playing in forest, dressed up in full camo, with tactical gear. Afterwards we get to drink beer, barbecue some meat, and mock the losing side, and i do see appeal of kicking someone with prop sword while wearing armor.
it is alot of fun. Especially when the kit looks good (~and some of the weapons can look really freaking good)
Considering consoles are starting to automatically include mics I think there is an option that can help everyone.
Voice command your own dialogue choices. Everyone wins.
I don't play games to hear myself 
I find silent heros boring and not on the same level as a voiced protag care much more for Shep and Hawke. Don't care much for empty shells like the warden. But if you want a silent hero mute the tv.
Oh, how I lament the bygone days where my protagonist could be replaced with a plank of wood adorned with googly-eyes!
Wait, no I don't.
Voiced protagonist is obviously better. HOWEVER, not when you don't spend enough resources to offer the player enough dialogue choices and character expression, which also includes voice actors. I would prefer a silent protagonist to what ME and DA series have offered. Give me 8 voice actors and a dialogue wheel with 6 different responses ( besides investigation ), give me meaningful branching and story choices, and I will prefer the voiced protagonist.
I love my Wardens, I do, but it is despite the massive flaw of being voiceless, not because of it. Voiced is just more immersive for me and I am glad Bioware are sticking with it.
I was never bothered by the quietness of my warden, I much rather prefer voice acting though, it gives more reality you know.
I find this kind of ridiculous. If lack of sensory input is what defines a role-playing experience for you then you're better off playing D&D or reading books. Hell, forget the books, just sit in silence/darkness and imagine yourself up some good times.
The mute protagonist only exists because the developer didn't have the time, resources or motivation to voice him; it's not actually a superior method for a video game.
I'm so pleased that the petulant children are still around to complain about people who like old games.
Cause, you know, how dare you have an opinion they disagree with.
Never change, BSN.
For me, I hated that aspect of Origins for several reasons.
Of course, with all that said, I still do love Origins and can see why people feel so strongly for a silent protagonist and their Wardens. If the game was in the style of Baldur's Gate or even Morrowind where it was limited voice over, just a few lines, and giant walls of text for everyone I'd have been alright with it. The way Origins did it, however, for me was too jarring to remember fondly.
Voiced protagonist is obviously better. HOWEVER, not when you don't spend enough resources to offer the player enough dialogue choices and character expression, which also includes voice actors. I would prefer a silent protagonist to what ME and DA series have offered. Give me 8 voice actors and a dialogue wheel with 6 different responses ( besides investigation ), give me meaningful branching and story choices, and I will prefer the voiced protagonist.
8 different voice actors and even more dialogue?
Why yes, I would love for the next Dragon Age to cost in the billions to produce.
Pre-order now for a 10% discount! Only $540,000!
8 different voice actors and even more dialogue?
Why yes, I would love for the next Dragon Age to cost in the billions to produce.
Pre-order now for a 10% discount! Only $540,000!
That or I will just be happy with a silent protagonist. A LOT of work needs to be done to make roleplaying of a voiced protagonist on par with a silent one, and I like roleplaying more than watching movies.
I don't mind the voice acting at all, just as little as I mind my Warden being silent. For me personally, immersion is not necessarily about having a voiced character or not, and I don't really understand these 'extreme' views at all. If my character isn't voiced, I can still imagine her speaking (imagination is a great thing, no?). If she IS voiced, I can watch the scenes play out, which is nice, too.
For immersion I find it much more awful to have a completely preset character, which is why I never got into DA2 and Mass Effect the way I got into DA:O and DA:I. The voice acting in those games enhanced the feeling of not really playing a proper rpg, but it wasn't really the main issue.
Those sorts of disconnects can be easily solved by providing the player with tone / intent information rather than just exact words of dialogue.
Considering how pissy people get over the dialogue wheel doing the exact same thing, I extremely doubt it's as simple as all that.
Frankly, they included many options this time of what your character would respond like (sad, joking, aggressive, confused etc) if there was an 'emotional' response called for. And you get to see the character responding to the story not just watching the back of his head impassively while you read text and the NPCs do all the acting/reacting.
I hated silent protagonist. It was especially immersion breaking when something would happen and every other person in the room reacts to it while the warden just stood there, impassively. That creepy blank stare when the City Elf's bridesmaid is cut down while every other person in the room reacts to it was immediately immersion blowing.
I much prefer voiced. The 'wheel' isn't ambiguous. It's pretty much idiot proof. Not sure why people are having such issues with it. It's not hard. You get joking, mean, sad, confused or diplomatic options spelled out for you by icons. People just expect the response to be 'word for word' and it's a paraphrasing of what's presented. The dialogue itself doesn't change the tone. If they click an 'aggressive/angry' response then they will get an 'aggressive/angry' response, not a joking or diplomatic or sad response.
Neutral responses don't require any special icon, they just progress the dialogue.
The only time you get to see a silent protagonist's face is when he/she isn't saying anything. I liked having my Hawke and my Inquisitor responding in game to other NPCs. They felt lively and interactive with the story. I felt immersed in the story of my Hawke and the Inquisitor, unlike the warden, whom I never felt connected to at all and was just ...there. Alone among the entire world, he or she was a silent, impassive observer of events.
You don't need a voice acting for a character for them to be interesting and well developed, that simply requires good writing and character however voice acting does add a nice touch as long as it done well.
That´s because there is almost no market for a mute protagonist.
Say that to Skyrim.
Frankly, they included many options this time of what your character would respond like (sad, joking, aggressive, confused etc) if there was an 'emotional' response called for.
Uhuh, and that's the new focus now instead of meaningful things to say, because we need to show more reactions.
Uhuh, and that's the new focus now instead of meaningful things to say, because we need to show more reactions.
What 'meaningful' things did the warden 'say' that hasn't been said in other games? If something was built up in your head as head canon, that didn't make what he said more meaningful, it just made it something you read on a screen, and interpreted it in your own head. That didn't make it necessarily the way it was intended or more 'meaningful'. There was no 'reaction' at all from the warden to the world around him save for what he said that others responded to.
Impassive, blank non-response is not 'more meaningful' it's just boring.
Yeah. I'll take a voiced protagonist over one that remains silent. Unless the silence is genuine silence (a la Half-Life) and not unvoiced dialogue. But if a character is to speak, I'd like them to speak.
Mute protagonists suck, so **** them.
Say that to Skyrim.
Its also among the biggest problems in story-telling of skyrim ... it simply .. lacks immersion. It wold make for some awesome epic scenes if your Dragonborn could stand up to Alduin and shout something to his face ... shout something other than Fus-Roh-Dah I mean ^^
I really wish Bethesda would "borrow" at least some ideas of Bioware, just as they did.
What 'meaningful' things did the warden 'say' that hasn't been said in other games? If something was built up in your head as head canon, that didn't make what he said more meaningful, it just made it something you read on a screen, and interpreted it in your own head. That didn't make it necessarily the way it was intended or more 'meaningful'. There was no 'reaction' at all from the warden to the world around him save for what he said that others responded to.
Impassive, blank non-response is not 'more meaningful' it's just boring.
My Warden could:
1) Strike a deal with a demon for Connors body.
2) Threaten the demon to do what I say.
3) Ask the demon to leave Connor alone.
My Inquisitor would tell the demon to leave Connor alone:
1) Angrily.
2) Diplomatically
3) Sobbingly.
My Warden could:
1) Strike a deal with a demon for Connors body.
2) Threaten the demon to do what I say.
3) Ask the demon to leave Connor alone.
My Inquisitor would tell the demon to leave Connor alone:
1) Angrily.
2) Diplomatically
3) Sobbingly.
Talk about a framed example.
After I dealt with the mages, I had the choice of four options in how to explain them to the inner circle of advisors. My favorite is the one where you can say "I lied to them" and you can post secret watches as precautions, over "mages deserve to be free" or "this is their probation" as other examples in that conversation.
Last I checked, most of the conversations fit that bill more than the way you posted it above. In fact, I noticed that anything regarding emotions was usually done with character interaction, and not decision making. That is a big distinction, by the way you failed to mention.
My Warden could:
1) Strike a deal with a demon for Connors body.
2) Threaten the demon to do what I say.
3) Ask the demon to leave Connor alone.
My Inquisitor would tell the demon to leave Connor alone:
1) Angrily.
2) Diplomatically
3) Sobbingly.
The only real difference between the 2 is striking a deal and thats irrelevant to the protag being voiced.
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