http://blogs.ign.com/DSU_DANIMAL/2009/09/06/128238/

The topic that has been most prominent in recent months has been the use of narrative in video games. Gaming has primarily been an outlet for people to relieve stress, socialize and have fun with an interactive medium. For the most part, video games have been viewed as a small distraction in the everyday lives of people. Games like Guitar Hero, Wii Sports Resort and Madden (or other sports games) have been great examples of games that can bring people together. But some gamers desire more in the narrative sense, and developers, as well as publishers, have been trying to find ways to expand the story telling quality of video games.

Video game characters are meant to be silent. Think of the most beloved characters of all time; now, realize that most of them are mute. Mario, Link and Samus are completely silent, yet there’s such a connection between them and the gamers. This is because the gamers actively own the role of the characters they play. When a game developer creates characters that have fully fleshed-out personalities, it’s tough to create a connection unless the player is in line with the character’s values.

The best story told in a game is the one where the player is almost completely detached from it. The player embodies the main character in a game, and if the main protagonist has a distinct personality, then that can create a rift between the player, the game and the narrative. Half-Life 2 is my favorite game because it ties together a narrative that has compelling characters, a silent protagonist and drama that never seems overly cheesy or over-the-top. If Gordon Freeman had his own personality and dialog, the game would have never made quite the impact that it produced.

At first it can be rather jarring to have a silent protagonist that is acknowledged by other characters, but this allows the player to formulate their own thoughts on the subject at hand. Half-Life 2 allows the player to become immersed in the world, create their own thoughts and truly own the character of Gordon Freeman. When the underground resistance begins helping Gordon through the dark corners and crevices of City 17, the player feels a sense that these people are working in tandem with each other to help the player progress.

Anthony Burch of Destructoid makes a case for this in his popular Rev Rant videos. The example that he uses is Cole from Infamous (PS3). Cole has a close friend and a girl friend that he cares about, so the onus is put on the player to care about these characters as well. The game expects you to understand the history between characters, and in turn, feel empathetic towards them. But what if the player finds Cole’s friend and girl friend to be absolutely annoying? Then the player is more apt to not care for the characters and then cease to care about Cole. Then Infamous becomes nothing more than a running, jumping kill-a-thon.

Developers have been trying to fit in a good narrative with polished gameplay, sound and visuals, but very little success. Writers are very comfortable with writing a linear story with a well-rounded protagonist, supporting cast, plot, themes etc. But the interactive medium has a completely different set of rules. The other obstacle for writers is that story driven games are not nearly as profitable as shallow, action-packed video games. Daniel Floyd explains that the astronomical costs of video games can often deter publishers from accepting new ideas, and opt for the safer, profitable franchises.

Despite the alarming rate at which shallow games are being released, some publishers are willing to take the plunge into experimental grounds. EA released Mirror’s Edge to extremely mixed reviews. While they fell short on several points of the game, they still were able to step outside the box and deliver something that resembled a breath of fresh air. Keep in mind that this was released by the monolithic EA, which should be seen as a small accomplishment and they should keep their current efforts of developement.

Games do not need every single character to be fleshed out. The player embodies the protagonist, guiding them through the trials and tribulations ahead. The silent protagonist with a great supporting cast has the potential to grab and hold a player through a long experience. The player is then free to feel a range of emotions between the characters presented in the supporting cast. Publishers should also not be afraid to step out into the unknown and create something that can make the argument for games as art legitimate. If they are afraid of the gigantic costs of developing an experimental title, then they should create teams with a more “indie” style of focus.

I prefer it in RPG's because it enchances the role playing experience and customisation of the character. Fallout , Baldurs Gate and KOTOR did it amazingly, you kinda felt that you're inside the world. I did not like the fact that Sheppard in ME had Voice it decrased the RPG aspect.

Okay, so obviously the Bioshock/Dead Space complaints were only done, so I could make Half-Life 2 look worse?

Honestly, I tried to play through both Bioshock and Half-Life 2, but I never could pull myself together to finish them, because they were just unexciting to me. You can name as many polls or prizes as you want, but none of those will affect my opinion of these games.

I'm glad you said 'As far as I am concerned' though, because that is the core here. O-P-I-N-I-O-N. You can't dictate how I should feel about a game, nor what works for me and what doesn't.

If you have read the thread, then you know my opinion, whether you believe it or not.

EDIT:

There is no factsheet saying "All gamers want this" and "All gamers don't want this". There is no such thing as right or wrong here, some things work for some people and others don't. Silent protagonists don't work for me.

As I said in my post above, there's some people who feel like they need voices in every game.  But for some people its the opposite.  Voices bring a sense of apathy or even annoyance.  And some people even don't want to play a game when there's so much dialogue and forced voice acting.

So while you keep claiming you NEED the voice acting for immersion, realize there's people on the flip side who feel like when the characters their controlling start talking, they'd rather play something else.  Not everyone enjoys the current trend of games today to have hours of dialogue.  Some of us enjoy more gameplay and direct cutscenes.  And that's (usually) what silent protagonists provide (unless you play something like a Bioware game).

This is the exact reason developers such as Nintendo keeps using it for Mario, Metroid and Zelda, many JRPGs such as Dragon Quest or Suikoden stick with the formula and yes, Half-Life went with it too.  And franlkly, I see little point in having Gordon having a deep intimate 30 minute discussion with some NPC, when they're just going to turn around and get eaten 10 seconds after the conversation ends.  Better to just get the information quickly and move on.

I'm well aware that there are people on the other side of the fence, that why I phrased the title as I did. These things are a matter of opinion, which is what I want from participants. Their opinions. However, I don't want to be told that my opinion is wrong because someone else has an opinion that is obviously more correct

It seems as though people have different tastes (Not a surprise). Some like mute characters and some do not.

Video games are the same as any media. People can be fans of different tv shows, movies or music that appeal to their tastes. This seems to be one of those cases.

Personally, I prefer mute characters in a lot of the RPGs I play. However, games like Batman and Uncharted 2 do voiced main characters extremely well.

What works in some games doesn't in others.  The Metal Gear Solid franchise are considered masterpieces by some, even though you can put the controller down and not do anything for 20 minutes at a time.  There's a lack of immersion there, but I didn't let it interfere with me enjoying the game.

Silent protagonist is not the only way to create immersion. Immersion can also be created just by having believable characters. Uncharted 2 is a great example of this.

No problem if they talk, as long as they are cool like the Duke or Garrett.