After all my smack talk about the demystifying of Samus and Kratos it seems only fair that I discuss what I think works and doesn’t work in the use of silent protagonists in video games. I will discuss three types of silent protagonist: mute, secretive and reactive. On Giantbomb.com, these three types have been summed up thusly, “Mutes are characters who are recognized within the game world as people who are incapable of or unwilling to speak;…Secretive silent protagonists are a step up from mutes in complexity, in that they are essentially predefined, but are left with space for the player to insert his or her own thoughts and motivations, simply left unsaid and thus “secret”;…Reactive silent protagonists are protagonists whose actions are assumed by the game’s scripting, in spite of having no lines or dialog options.” (http://www.giantbomb.com/silent-protagonist/92-54/)

Famous mute protagonists include Jack Ryan from Bioshock and Isaac Clarke from Dead Space. The main difference between these unlucky gents is that there is or conceivably can be a reason why Jack is silent as opposed to Isaac, who is just a regular chap beset by very irregular circumstances. Jack’s head has been severely messed with by an egotistical/bug nuts crazy father figure and a shady (severe understatement) scientist. Although, Jack does give the initial voice over, he does not speak a word of audible language through out the game. In a somewhat ironic twist, Jack does not get a voice until he puts on the Big Daddy suit (and that voice is more of a moan than anything). Furthermore, when Jack dons the Big Daddy suit he must go through the voice modification process which, I believe, is a complete severing of the vocal chords. While odd that Jack can speak the game’s opening lines and nothing more, it is not out of the realm of possibilities in a submerged city, surreal alternate universe type of way. I am not bothered by Jack’s silence mainly because I have already been clued into the fact that this is a game that is not tethered to reality.  Jack is being controlled by so many different forces: Fontaine, Suchong, Ryan, Tenenbaum and the player, that is acceptable that he doesn’t have a voice or a choice.

Isaac Clarke’s silence is another matter.  Dead Space takes place in the year 2508 in this (yours and mine, reader friends) universe. Earth has chugged along to its assumed fate of 500 years in the future bereft of natural resources. Isaac’s universe is presented as the player’s universe and that is where his silence becomes a bit unrealistic and frustrating. If Isaac is just a regular human on a regular day, why doesn’t he ever tell Kendra to shut up and stop freaking out? I sure would have if I was in his gravity boots.  Why doesn’t he ever voice his opinion on Hammond’s knowledge of what was on the Ishimura? Are we saying that in 500 years humans will not feel the necessity to express themselves during periods of heightened periods of stress? How come Kendra and Hammond can yammer on but Isaac is committed to his monk-like vow of silence? In contradiction to Bioshock where the player can understand why Jack is not completely under player control, in Dead Space there is no reason why Isaac shouldn’t be thinking, speaking and reacting through player directives.

As it was Samus that started this discussion, I will use her silent ways to explore the secretive protagonist. Samus is a woman of action and, until recently, little words. The difference between Samus and the previously described mute protagonist is that her character is presented with choices inherent to the non-linear nature of the Metroid series. Samus gets a directive and either immediately follows it or goes off to explore another section in search of upgrades and newly accessible pathways.  Yes, Samus will eventually have to return to the directive but it’s not a “jump and how high” situation as in Dead Space and Bioshock. This is not to say that all Metroid players are not directed towards the same end goals but the paths may be different from player to player. In this manner, players can begin to connect to their own “Samus.” The player and Samus tangentially explore and discover the world together.  There isn’t the thought that there is someone in the universe that knows more about Samus then the player.

To that ends, it should be said that as opposed to Isaac and Jack, Samus seems to always be in control of her situation.  This sense of control, however, delineates between a survival game (everything is happening to you) from an adventure game (you are causing things to happen).  I wonder if there is a correlation there between the mute protagonist and horror/survival games.  Perhaps one day I will do some research but that’s another day and another huge blog post.

The last silent protagonist is the reactive type.  Link from the venerable Legend of Zelda series is the epitome of the silent, reactive protagonist.  In Windwaker, Tetra reacts to Link as if he makes statements but the little sound that does come out of our reticent hero adds up to a couple of grunts, sighs and yips. I have read in multiple places that Nintendo says it doesn’t want to make Link talk because it would “contradict players’ individual interpretations of the character,” but none of these quote users include citation so I don’t know how reliable the information is.  I do agree, however, with the sentiment.  Without hearing Link’s side conversations, the player is allowed to come to a spectrum of conclusions.

Players don’t have a chance to mentally change Link’s overall personality because the Zelda universe keeps him on track.  For example, it’s fairly hard to imagine Link dropping f-bombs and pushing drugs on them yeti guys.  He’s just not that guy and never will be.  Even in Twilight Princess where Hyrule gets a bit more dangerous and adult, Link still sticks to the script.  We know he is loyal, so he is not going to respond disingenuously.  We know he is heroic, so of course he is going to help the lonely lady find her rabbit-loving husband. In this manner, we can gleam the tone and type of response Link will give in almost every situation.

Others might argue that the main characters in Dragon Age are reactive, silent protagonists but I disagree.  It is true that the characters do not audibly speak, but the player chooses dialogue that translates through the secondary character reactions.  Where Dragon Age differs from other games is that the player gets to mold the personality type of their character, which seems related to the silent character in that the player imprints their own personality onto the game avatar.

Although I think the Bioshock silent protagonist is more enjoyable / understandable than the Dead Space version, I’d have to say that where both games fail is in the protagonist character development.  Both heroes take orders without missing a beat. Both heroes put themselves in immense danger for strangers and unknown loyalties. Why? As a player, I do not feel connected enough to imprint my own emotions or attitudes on the avatar. These two dumb jerks just do whatever there told and never discernibly question their directives or the outcomes of said directives. It does not surprise me that both sequels for these titles will let the protagonist speak.  I want to not that I enjoyed both games and the mute protagonist in both games seemed to lend to their cinematic quality.  In fact, I would go so far to say that both game’s sets where a bigger character than the protagonists themselves.  I look forward to both sequels.

It does not surprise me that the two other protagonists I chose to explore are Nintendo creations.  Their ability to create entire nuanced universes with minimalist tools would seem to support the use of a silent protagonist.  It does not surprise me that there are generations of gamers that identify with such tight-lipped heroes as Link, Samus and, even, Mario.  These characters “play” along with the gamer and are very effective in endearing themselves to the public.  Thus, the public responds poorly if some developers come along and mess with a player’s imagined bond with a character.

Silent protagonists can and are as effective as the speaking protagonist.  I do not have a preference between the two, as long as the protagonist type serves the experience and not the other way around.

We are working full force on Propaganda Lander for the iPhone! So here is another taste of the game in an easily digested art form.

Propaganda Lander Aliens

This is just concept art but, they look pretty funny. The Speedo on the fish character is priceless. Hopefully we can put up a gameplay video in the near future!