Well, I'm not really fond of tha kind of rules. Too extreme point of view.
For me, some things can be said by gesture, situations or other things, and some things can be said by words. I'm not agree with the idea words would be a "bad" way to express the feeling of your characters. But I'm totally agree it can't be the only way to tell things about your characters. I'm just also totally disagree to tell it's a bad way. : )
About Geralt, I can be agree with you. He's definitely not the expressive guy. But even with that, I found him really more expressive in the relationship he had with women, for example (Yennefer/Triss). And the way the game quickly conclude Geralt spoke about Emhyr when I did Geralt say "she's like her father" just tell me it was not only a choice from CD Projekt, but also a lack of consistense on this matter. And it deprives us from an interesting subject (what's a father?) for the game.
But, well, let's say Geralt is okay for not expressing his feelings. Not really agree with that (a bit, but not totally), but I can understand what you'r saying. Except for the books you talked about: I thought Geralt was really much talkative in the books than in the game. Not really a problem with that, I like the Geralt of the game, but I think he's a bit different. : )
For Ciri, you said Ciri should mention that once, but she never did. Well, not in the game. I think it's a mistake. First, for not everyone read the books, and add some more explicit lines between Ciri and her adoptives parents for those players could have been a good idea. Second, Ciri did not see Geralt and Yennefer for many years, and they risk their lives on this journey. The fact there is never one intimist talk between them is really a lack for me. Sure, there are some scenes. Some of them excellent. But the relationship were never so clear as it was in the books, to my mind. I would be agree to say : not too emotional scenes, not everytime or everywhere. But some strong feelings during some strong scenes, just like in the books, that's what I'm missing. Same thing with Yennefer, who is cold with everyone, except Geralt and Ciri (and, well, Triss, sometimes). The warmer side of the character is well writen when it's Geralt, but for Ciri? Not so much. We can't see the two of them as much as we see Geralt/Yennefer, but few more scenes wouldn't be bad (and the reunion scene, like I said, was not really good).
And again, there is this damn ellipsis I can't forget. : (
The subject is really one of my favourite in the game, so my expectations on this matter were really high, I have to say.
Just to see some characters express feelings with voice? It's far more exaggerated to me (like your golden rule, too extreme opinion for me
). The baron expressed his feelings that way. We can hear him cry when he have to name his child, and for me he was really one of the best characters of the game, and the scene was one of the best on the game. Maybe I'm the only one who think that, but the scene would have been totally different if it would have been done in a muet style like the scene of the reunion between Geralt and Ciri.
The Japanese-RPG are not bad because they have too much feeling expressed, but because the characters writing is often naive and not really good (in every way, not only on the emotional part).
But, well, I think we can't be agree. You seem to consider words and voice are a bad way to express feelings, when I consider these things are important to define someone, just like gesture (even when it's a not so talkative character like Geralt). When you say the gesture of Geralt says a lot more than he could express with voice, I don't see why. There is not really a reason to that. I don't say it's not true that the scene express things (like I said, the scene was really good), but I don't see why it should be the better way to express feelings of a character. It seems to me it's totally subjective.There is not a better way to express feelings. It depends of characters (like you said yourself, there is characters like Geralt who are not talking so much), situations, staging (not sure of my english with that word :s ) in the case of fiction. But in the end, gesture, facial expressions, or voice are things who define ourselves, and so I'm considering all these things at the same level. There is no bad way or good way to express feelings, just different ways.
