Invideo games, asilent protagonist is aplayer character who lacks any dialogue for the entire duration of a game, with the possible exception of occasionalinterjections or short phrases. In some games, especiallyvisual novels, this may extend to protagonists who have dialogue, but no voice acting like all other non-player characters.A silent protagonist may be employed to lend a sense of mystery or uncertainty ofidentity to the gameplay, or to help the player identify better with them. Silent protagonists may also beanonymous. Not all silent protagonists are necessarily mute or do not speak to other characters; they may simply not produce any dialogue audible to the player.
The earliestplayer characters in video games of the 1980s, including the likes ofMario,Metroid'sSamus, andThe Legend of Zelda'sLink, were silent protagonists. Characters such as these may occasionally speak through text or audible words, but are otherwise limited to making gestures, inarticulate noises, or remaining entirely silent.
The same was true for earlyrole playing games. These games originated from pen and paper games such asDungeons & Dragons and when put on the screen, did not require any spoken dialogue, since the games' plot and mechanics were all picture and motion based.[1] Players are expected to put themselves into the role of the silent hero, and since the player does not talk in the game, neither does their on-screen avatar.[2]
Many early video games made use of a silent protagonist out of utility, which could be due to technology, time, or budget limitations, or as a narrative device. Whether the player is supposed tobe the protagonist or is merely assuming control of an established character and whether the game allows the player freedom of choices that would be difficult to believably justify with spoken narrative influence this decision. Some have cited the 1993 gameMyst as an example of a first person adventure where the main character is merely an avatar for the player's choices and dialogue would not be needed or helpful.[3] The 2001 gameGrand Theft Auto III has no dialogue for its protagonist, Claude, as is common for games of its time, and this allows players of many backgrounds and personalities to identify with the character they control in the game's open world environment.[4]
In theHalf-Life series, the protagonist is the silentGordon Freeman, but is distinct from the player. Game writerMarc Laidlaw, who worked onHalf-Life andPortal (which also features a silent protagonist) with game developer Valve, stated that he did not recommend keeping protagonists silent due to the difficulties that arise during development, but noted that limiting oneself to a silent protagonist can lead to more creativity.[5]
Reception has varied widely according to its use, ranging from praise for its help immersing a player in the game, with titles such asHalf-Life 2 and franchises such asMario andThe Legend of Zelda frequently cited, while the protagonist's lack of communication has at times been noted as hindersome to plot development, as in one reviewer's comments onGrand Theft Auto III,[6] or multiple accounts on theCrash Bandicoot franchise. Others have stated that real immersion in a game would require a character to speak, since in such situations, the player would naturally vocalize and the protagonist does not.[7]
CJ Miozzi called franchises that still use the technique a "crutch" for bad storytelling, saying "just as narration has become a hallmark of terrible movies through improper use, silent protagonists have become the trademarks of a weak storyline in a game."[8]
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