GDC09 Nintendo Keynote Video Impressions – New Zelda Game Announced

A decision to have Link talking in his new adventure would not be good and i'm not sure why you would think this

For other characters it's fair enough i guess but part of why Zelda is so pure and charming is that you never hear him speak

Why is it you think it would be a bad idea?

I've got a whole box full of "disagree" for you Heidi!!! the trend for nameless, faceless, voiceless protagonists doesn't lend much to any series, especially zelda. they need to change and progress. I want a fleshed out Link, i want a link that i can know, that i can understand and that link needs a voice. Aren't you glad that GTA moved away from green pants wearing, leather jacket wearing guy from GTA 3 and onto Tommy Verscetti and eventually Niko Bellic?

I agree with Heidi. Link is a blank slate to project yourself onto; adding a voice and a personality would ruin it.

If Gordon Freeman spoke and had a personality, then Half-Life 1 and 2 would never have been as good as they are- putting the player into the game by making THEM the protagonist is extremely effective, and it's something that games can offer us better than any other medium.

With regard to GTA, that's got a different angle. It's telling the story of the character (Nico or Verscetti) like a film would as opposed to immersing the player. As a result, for me, GTA games' stories always disappoint. Still, that could just be because it's usually pretty childish stuff in those games.

I'm all for new things, but I also understand why many people would be up in arms about Link having a voice. I mean, remeber the cartoon and CD-i games. Jeez those were bad.

I don't really buy the the whole blank slate protagonist theory, which is why i brought up GTA, because that's exactly what they were trying to do with GTA 3. My guess is that Rockstars design philosophy was no voice, no name, no personality equals the player feels more like they're the main character of the story. I don't really think this happens as much as we believe it does. As a player, i just feel like I'm playing a character who doesn't speak, not that I'm anymore "in the game" than if he did. And i know i felt more immersed in Vice City than when i played gta 3.

I don't think Gordon Freeman's awkward silence makes him seem like a blank slate on which i put my personality, i think it makes him seem like the strong silent type, especially when other characters acknowledge when he doesn't respond. I just find myself yelling at the screen, "say something to alex dude!"

The point I'm trying to make is that gamers feel more immersed in a story when they're playing as or around characters with voices, faces, and personalities, that are "alive," rather when they're playing as or around characters with the absence of those qualitites.

And Sam, come on, GTA 4 is childish and Half-Life 2 isn't? GTA's got Brucie, but Half Life has pet headcrabs and scientists as disposable as any gta streetwalking pedestrian. i think this is more a die hard Valve Fan talking to a die hard Rockstar Fan… : )

And as for Zelda games,Text boxes aren't part of what makes the Zelda franchise great. Their not charming, they're archaic and i honestly think they take me out of the charming narrative that Zelda games do have.

I think Zelda gamers are really in love with the nostalgia of whatever amazing zelda game they grew up with and can't fathom making the jump to speech, but hey, for 15 years mario didn't have a voice and now everyone knows exactly how he's supposed to sound and are in love with that too.

The reason it didn't work in GTA3 was because of the actual story involved. A story of crime and real-world issues is never going to work with a mute, because a mute would never realistically get anywhere in the world of crime (as seen in VC and 4- the protagonists' gob gets them around).

Going back to Gordon Freeman, I guess it's just a difference of opinion. Seems like you're trying to suck as much story out of it as you can- trying to develop Gordon's personality in your own mind. When I play, the whole game and story is seen through his eyes, and that just makes it so much more immersive- if I was playing and he just suddenly said something, it wouldn't have been me that said it, and I'd be lifted straight out of the game world.

Case in point- Bioshock. Most of the game is played like Half-Life, (nearly) silent protagonist and all. Then it fucking TELLS me the ending in a cut-scene. Maybe it's just because all the endings are crap, but it took me straight out of the game, and I just wasn't interested in it. It wasn't me that did all of that stuff, the game was telling me it was Jack. Also, he does talk at the beginning, which I think was a bad idea- it doesn't allow you to become the character until you've forgotten his voice (i.e I don't have an American accent, nor would I if I was Jack).

Anyway. yes, I would argue that GTA is childish, in terms of writing. Silly characters aside, the themes discussed in those games just don't cut it next to other games. Death and crime is easy to do; there are hundreds of films out there that deal with the same thing. Despite these themes being there, they aren't really developed properly because the way the characters work and the sometimes unbelievable gameplay aspects get in the way.

I'm not saying Half-Life's story is all serious stuff, but the way it is done is much more mature. The characters are so much more human- that's what makes Alyx so popular. She's almost real. The story deals with dictatorship and totalitarian themes, too- a much darker theme to explore than GTA, and done in what I feel is a much more experienced fashion. To stray from Half-Life, though, take Meta Gear- the protagonist there does speak, but he always has done, making it more like a movie in terms of story. The plot there is more mature, too- nuclear war, weapons trafficking, what a life means. These themes are intelligently discussed (at length..) despite the silliness on the surface (every boss in Metal Gear), because the writing style is more mature when it needs to be.

Either way, I guess you just want to be told a story, but I like to be a part of it :)

I really think your selling the GTA franchise short. Especially GTA 4's themes and issues it deals with. Racism, immigration, cultural differences, family loyalty, relationships, the nature of personal strenghth and survival. these themes are not easy to do and aren't even approached by most games. Just the fact that GTA has a trend of putting you in the shoes of a minority for 50 or so hours and making you live their story should be applauded.

I do think the franchise undercuts itself a bit by still including the over the top violent missions where you kill 40 people, but as a whole GTA 4 said things and made you feel things that no game has even touched. admittedly, some of it really wasn't even fun. you're a completely poor, disrespected, struggling imigrant for the firs 10 or 15 hours. its painful! So as much as i like some of the things that Half life 2 does with its totalitarian setting (especially the beginning of the game) i think GTA 4 deals with issues more prevelant and real and deserves a second look from you.

nah, that's not it, the reason i love games is the fact that i'm "part of it." The immersion. But my suspension of disbelief and my immersion in the games world are not dependent on the protagonist being similar to me, in voice or character, or even acting as i would in a given situation. The Arbiter's sub woofer low voice isn't anything like mine but I still felt i was very much in the world of Halo 2 when i played as him.

I mean, Sam, does the protagonist have to be like you in personality and voice in order to feel like your are immersed in the game world? that your part of the story? i don't think so. At least not for me. Did you feel immersed in portal when you played as a woman? Did you feel like you were in Metal gear solid's world when you played as Old Snake? I did.

maybe we do differ in something, when i play MGS4 or GTA 4 or Portal, I feel as I'm in a story, but i'm playing as a character. I'm immersed, I'm part of the story as the character. I'm not Zungre, I'm Tommy Vercetti or Kratos, or Gordon Freeman. And the Worlds that I feel most immersed in are the worlds in which the characters are most fleshed out, most real, most actualized, including the one i'm playing as.

And i really do think you need to give GTA4 another look. it deals with some issues that no game even touches. Immigration, Family Loyalty, Racism, Poverty, relationships. the issues it touches are much more real world than most games. man just the fact that it puts you into the shoes of an immigrant for 40 or so hours should be applauded.

i do think that the game undercuts the impact these issues could have by the over the top nature of its missions, and i can see why you would call it silly at times, but in the center of Niko Bellic's story is a seriousness and a maturity in storytelling that shouldn't be looked over.

That's funny, I must have said something wrong- I feel the same as you in this respect.

Playing as Gordon Freeman, I feel like I am HIM, rather than ME. Just like you say, in fact! I think the difference is that I'm more likely to become a character if it isn't fleshed out for me, and I get to do my own character development, if you know what I mean.