Silent Protagonist?

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CDPR will never do silent protags

but for arguments sake if silent protagonists are ever implemented in any game. The should have very little indication, like Dark Souls

*snip*

It has some real roleplaying you could pretty much play and imagine any back story you want because of the minimalistic approach of YES and NO.

Reducing everything to a binary "Yes/No" system is too minimalistic though. Not saying they would, but that's taking it to the extreme. I don't think either is ideal, but silent gives you a bit more flexability in imagining your character. You still get to imagine your character's voice, instead of having both that and the dialog decided for you already.
 
I don't know what 80's or 90's or JRPG's have to do with this subject. Like at all. There are still (yes, even western) games being made with silent protagonists.

I think the issue is largely about the available diversity of character identifiability. Once you have a voice, it will always be the same no matter what kind of character you create. The used tone may well sound good for one character, but way off for another -- and eventually it will get tiresome to listen to the same guy or girl.

I disagree.
In 2015 when game is out how many AAA titles will have silent protagonists? Maybe Half Life 3? Or 2-3 jRPG's that will never hit European shores?
CyberPunk 2077 is not Elder Scrolls nor Half Life, it's is enitrely new IP (for 95% people it will be). You need to have in mind that for most players today to have a silent protagonist is at least -unusual.
CyberPunk 2077 when it comes out will have to create it's own name and audience and what's most important buyers (we on this forum are not relevant, 'cause 80% of us will preorder game whether it be silent or not protagonist).
Maybe CDPR can include both options(voice acting and silent protagonist) but if they can not I hope we will have voice acting.
 
I am hopeful that Cyberpunk will have voiced protagonist. I think it provides more immersive experience. It does not mean character will be predefined. Just my 2 cents
 
The only voice I'd want to hear from my character are grunts and war face noises, smoking & drug noises, moaning from your sex droid, etc.

I'm fine with a silent protagonist, as long as he/she has well written dialogue.
 
I'd prefer silent if im being totally honest, you can imagine the character is your own - you dont have to be spoonfed everything - one of my problems with modern gaming.
 
I don't mind silent. Voiced character would be better though, although some combiantions of persona and voice would seem rather strange.
 
I definitely think they should do voice protagonists. Unless you're the kind that prefers silent ones, and I mean you have a big burning passion in your pantaloons for silent protagonists, voiced ones is the way to go.

Anyone who disagrees, go back and play Jade Empire. I'm currently trying to finish it but honestly, due to the fact that your character just nods and occasionally grunts during combat, it's all so monotone. There's no clear rhythm in conversations. Discussions consists of one guy talking, deliviering his lines, pausing for a second in order to allow the designers to easily edit the actors scripts in and out, and then continue with the next line. Fuckin' hell.

So yeah, it could be that I prefer voiced protagonists because I have something against the old, stop and startie conversations of old, rather than having a specific grudge against silent protagonists. Either way, I hope you'll have a voice in Cyberpunk. Besides, good voice actors and interesting dialogue is one of the reasons RPGs are my favourite genre. I have nothing against listening to an awesome VO. Doug Cockle as Geralt is a great example of how a protagonist done right!
 
A voiced protagonist if done correctly could make the game more immersive. If it is a voiced PC preferable would be:

- One female and one male voice.
- No distinctive accent.
- No stereotype voice.
- Get in two good actors, if the voices are dull, boring and overall lackluster, there is no point in having one.
- The voiced characters not limiting dialogue options or customization.
- Maybe being able to slightly tweak the voice. (e.g a pitch slider) <- Not 100% sure on this one though.
- Write good dialogue!


A silent PC might be better because:

- It takes up less resources which could be used to perfecting the more important things.
- It allows a player to make up their own voice or what I did with Fallout 3 and NV was to read out the line of dialogue I was going to chose. Which really helped in making a more personal and involving story.
- It allows for more dialogue options, again adding to making the story more personal.
- The voice they have in the game may not fit your character at all.

Overall I think I prefer a silent protagonist. But if done correctly I might just prefer a voiced one. Honestly I wouldn't really mind.
 
I prefer silent. I dont want my feminine gay netrunner sounding like a chainsmoker. (Even though itd be hilarious.)
 
It's a difficult subject when it comes down to voiced / silent protagonist in games. Not only is it a matter on how the portrayal of said character are represented into the game, but I personally believe that it is also dependent on the First / Third Person Perspective.

Silent protagonists tends to have an uniquely immersive hook. Because they don’t speak and have no predetermined personality, we view ourselves as them, entering into their mind and experiencing firsthand what they are going through. Our actions become their actions; our choices become their choices, and we essentially have been given a direct link to the game’s universe. This in my opinion, is easiest done when you have a First Person Perspective in the game, rather than a Third one.

With voiced characters, we are able to explore the lore and substance of a--in majority--predetermined character. When they have a voice of their own, they also tend to have their own personality, history, talents, etc. They are a completely different person which we are often watching in Third Person, and which helps one to become more emotionally attached to the character.

But ultimately it's subjective whichever you prefer more. I prefer Voiced ones, since they tend to make me more attached to the character, since I personally like to play as someone and see the world through their eyes and how they are able to react to their surroundings. But considering this is Cyberpunk we are talking about, a silent protagonist seems to be an 'easier' choice, but that depends on how the game is executed, of course.
 
It's a difficult subject when it comes down to voiced / silent protagonist in games. Not only is it a matter on how the portrayal of said character are represented into the game, but I personally believe that it is also dependent on the First / Third Person Perspective.

Silent protagonists tends to have an uniquely immersive hook. Because they don’t speak and have no predetermined personality, we view ourselves as them, entering into their mind and experiencing firsthand what they are going through. Our actions become their actions; our choices become their choices, and we essentially have been given a direct link to the game’s universe. This in my opinion, is easiest done when you have a First Person Perspective in the game, rather than a Third one.

With voiced characters, we are able to explore the lore and substance of a--in majority--predetermined character. When they have a voice of their own, they also tend to have their own personality, history, talents, etc. They are a completely different person which we are often watching in Third Person, and which helps one to become more emotionally attached to the character.

But ultimately it's subjective whichever you prefer more. I prefer Voiced ones, since they tend to make me more attached to the character, since I personally like to play as someone and see the world through their eyes and how they are able to react to their surroundings. But considering this is Cyberpunk we are talking about, a silent protagonist seems to be an 'easier' choice, but that depends on how the game is executed, of course.

Hmm. i have different experience with playing silent protagonist. For me its not immersive at all (it doesn't mean they are no good games with silent protagonist). I hat to play someone that appears out of the blue, terminator style without any background, not even a name. I hate when you can't even be called by your name.
It is also worth pointing out that having voiced protagonist does not mean character is predefined. I would disagree with you on that. For example, Geralt is pretty much as predefined as can possibly imagine. On the other hand, you can have mass effect Shepard that is hugely customised character. So, the levels of predefinition are varied. Also, loads of customisation can happen regardless of having a voice or not (background history and such).

I do understand people have different preferences on this subject. I just don't think having a voiced character will mean a character will be predefined.
 
I do understand people have different preferences on this subject. I just don't think having a voiced character will mean a character will be predefined.

I'm aware of that, hence why I said "in majority".

I do agree that a voiced character won't always be predefined, but in majority of cases (or at least from personal experience) they tend to be.
 
I disagree.
In 2015 when game is out how many AAA titles will have silent protagonists? Maybe Half Life 3? Or 2-3 jRPG's that will never hit European shores?
CyberPunk 2077 is not Elder Scrolls nor Half Life, it's is enitrely new IP (for 95% people it will be). You need to have in mind that for most players today to have a silent protagonist is at least -unusual.
CyberPunk 2077 when it comes out will have to create it's own name and audience and what's most important buyers (we on this forum are not relevant, 'cause 80% of us will preorder game whether it be silent or not protagonist).
Maybe CDPR can include both options(voice acting and silent protagonist) but if they can not I hope we will have voice acting.

We'll see how many there are.

I am not asking this game to be a Cyberpunk version any other game, I don't want it to be -- I'll just turn that argument back to you: CP 2077 is, and should not be, Witcher, it is not Mass Effect, it is not GTA, Sleeping Dogs, Batman, Dragon Age 2 etc, etc. *shrug*

I'm not inherently against voiced protag, but I do find it distracting if my character is not a set character and is still being voiced by some hobo whose vocal chords then label the whole character no matter how I decide to play, every time I play the game - just like if it was a set character (like Geralt).
 
looking at CDP it won't be the case, and I'm glad it it. Making him/her silent makes the character unmemorable. You can name a exception or two but that is about it
 
We'll see how many there are.

I am not asking this game to be a Cyberpunk version any other game, I don't want it to be -- I'll just turn that argument back to you: CP 2077 is, and should not be, Witcher, it is not Mass Effect, it is not GTA, Sleeping Dogs, Batman, Dragon Age 2 etc, etc. *shrug*

I'm not inherently against voiced protag, but I do find it distracting if my character is not a set character and is still being voiced by some hobo whose vocal chords then label the whole character no matter how I decide to play, every time I play the game - just like if it was a set character (like Geralt).

No prob mate.
I understand your concerns. You don't wanna wanabe macho Rambo voice on short and skinny punk or voice of a bird on your uber upgraded metallic dudette.
We'll have to see what CDPR and Mike will decide (or marketing management? :D).
Maybe in the next few months we will get the answer. Hype sky high. :D
 
looking at CDP it won't be the case, and I'm glad it it. Making him/her silent makes the character unmemorable. You can name a exception or two but that is about it

Well considering from the Q&A that CDPR held several months ago, it's possible we'll be getting a voiced one. Not that I mind, in fact.

Guipit: Will choosing your class affect the story? If so, how much?

MM: It’s always been very important to us to deliver mature and ambitious entertainment. It’s not going to be any different this time around. We want to keep the role system from the pen & paper version of Cyberpunk. As opposed to the regular fantasy set-up with mages, warriors and archers, we’re going for something different. In Cyberpunk, each character role will offer a set of special skills that will impact your stats in many different ways. That’s where the challenge kicks in, we want to create a game where character customization will be strongly tied with the plot. Now going from that, we believe that we can make a game where, with many different role choices, you will get a very strong, engaging story, just like it was with The Witcher.
 
I'm pretty much against silent protagonists. I never really cared for it. Be it in Zelda, in Knights of the Old Republic, in Half-Life.. it just feels less immersive. I get that the concept behind it is that it allows you to pretend you're that character. Maybe your voice doesn't sound like Nolan North or whomever. But I'm also not silent. I do speak up, and it isn't going to be more believable if the character is silent, because my response would never be one of the options RPGs give me. So since the game can't realistically make me believe I'm the character, I'd rather have a well-acted lead character, than a dull, silent one. Let me make a character that looks like me, but have him be charismatic.
 
I have an idea that could appeal to both ends of the spectrum: Pitch editor for the characters. allowing the players to nail the exact tone and pitch of voice they want for their character.
 
I have an idea that could appeal to both ends of the spectrum: Pitch editor for the characters. allowing the players to nail the exact tone and pitch of voice they want for their character.

Nice suggestion, but I've just had this mental image of Youtube walkthroughs voiced by the Chipmunks.
 
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