Question I had concerning the silent protagonist:
I experienced this feeling with my brief play of LA Noire. I wanted to connect with the main character, get to know his back story, but he was so adamant not to share it. Even when I was choosing his responses to NPCs, when I would have rather been comforting he would be forceful--and that was the right way to go. It just seems like the bread crumb approach leads the gamer on, but it also leaves them as a slightly distanced god/angel entity that pokes and prods but is not that character.
I grew up playing the Half-Life series and have to say that the character of Gordon Freeman is the most real to me. Though he never says a single word I know what he wants, why he wants it, and what he will do to get it. It doesn't matter that he is a scientist turned slayer of alien demigods--I believe in him (and in turn, me).
What do you guys think?
I had a similar experience playing LA Noire for a little bit. From how he express himself in the game and the cinematic during the war time, it is hard to blindly like the character. I felt he is kind of a narrow-minded & unlikable character.
ReplyDeleteI guess because the game's focus is on more of narrative than gameplay, it is important that characters have a strong personality so that he can drive the story. I think the interesting about game characters is that it does not complete without individual players. The balance between how much of "pre-loaded" personality and the choices players have totally depends on the choice of game designer. That's something to think about when we decide our characters.