Why does the main character never talk? : V - Skyrim

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 4:46 pm

It leaves more to the imagination. If there character spoke then that's how they would sound. If they don't speak, they can sound whatever way your mind can make up.

That is half of it.

The other half is that most people wouldn't wait to hear dialog which they already read and made their choices. Mass effects get by because what you pick isn't exactly what you will say and they have the whole interrupt conversion mini-game going on.

Bonus console bashing statement: 20 extra dialog sets won't fit the disk.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:13 pm

Dont get me wrong, i dont want/need him to talk. i am just wondering why some game developers just choose not too. and dont say because there cheap, or lazy. idk, give me your take on it.

it wont sound like my voice?
sylvester stalone and Swazerneger use to speak very little on their best movies.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 8:53 am

actually, our characters will speak to some extent in skyrim... our characters will speak the words of dragon shouts, and from what i saw in the demo, when todd kills the final dragon, we see the dovahkiin absorbing its soul in third person and he screams "DOVAHKIIN!!!!".

so it looks like our character will be doing more than just grunting this time.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 12:57 pm

But the real reason is that it's not reasonable to put a voice and personality into a form that's solely designed as a vessel for us to project our personality into.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 3:13 pm

What they are trying to do? Lock you in the gameplay (immersion)
You'll be able to imagine yourself inside the game... It's amazing, that's why I love their games!

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:24 am

1. It would take a loooooooooooooooot of space.
2. People want the player to sound what they think they sound like.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:37 am

Dont get me wrong, i dont want/need him to talk. i am just wondering why some game developers just choose not too. and dont say because there cheap, or lazy. idk, give me your take on it.

EDIT: and you guys should all go to my Thank you, Bethesda thread and contribute, im writing down a big long list of heartfelt thank yous and stories to send to bethesda.

The same reason no one saw the Master Chief's face. It ruins the personal image of the character that the gamer envisions and makes the character more mundane.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:23 am

They don't want anyone getting annoyed at the awesome main character due to his voice. No talking fixes that.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 11:06 am

1. It would take a loooooooooooooooot of space.
2. People want the player to sound what they think they sound like.

um... i kinda doubt it'd take that much space, otherwise there wouldnt be very much voice acting in the game... they said there are... i forgot how much exactly... 40,000 - 70,000+ i think... lines of spoken dialogue.

if voice acting took up as much space as you think it would for ONE character, then this game wouldnt be a game at all, just sounds. <_<

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 11:12 am

Thank you for all the answer, you all are helpful

(If you dont mind im going to help one of my projects right now.)

if you would like to be even more helpful go here: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1235754-thank-you-bethesda/page__st__40__gopid__18722478#entry18722478
im trying to make a list of thank yous and encouragements from all of us that love the elder scrolls. youll be famous

and ill give you a cookie!

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:54 am

um... i kinda doubt it'd take that much space, otherwise there wouldnt be very much voice acting in the game... they said there are... i forgot how much exactly... 40,000 - 70,000+ i think... lines of spoken dialogue.

if voice acting took up as much space as you think it would for ONE character, then this game wouldnt be a game at all, just sounds. <_<

I have a feeling that those 40,000 - 70,000 lines are not as many as you might think. Remember that this game is going to different countries, so they had to record lines in different languages.

The question I have is:
"How many ENGLISH lines are there in the game?"

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 11:23 am

Actually the day they do a voiced character in a TES game will be the last day I ever play the game. Voiced characters work ok in a game like Dragon Age 2 or Mass Effect, where you are taking on the role of a very specific named person. However, in a game where you are allowed to produce your OWN character, there is NO chance that they will choose a voice actor that will likely fit ALL of my different characters. Not even possible.

So no... I don't want my character sounding anything like what I imagine them to sound like in my head.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 4:35 am

No, i think they meant there are that many lines...and each one is translated. so maybe 20x that number xD

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 2:23 pm

No, i think they meant there are that many lines...and each one is translated. so maybe 20x that number xD

Read my post above. They can't fit that many MP3 audio files into that disc, even if everything else was gone.... Methinks.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:13 pm

Because he's a pimp. It's the silent ones you have to watch out for :toughninja:

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 1:01 pm

MEH. Idk

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 10:05 am

becuase it costs money to make 24 voice sets for the protagonists

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:59 pm

The main character is YOU! He/She says what you would say, they do as you would do!

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:34 am

If they could, they would. Fortunately, 1 DVD can't fit 20 sets of voiceovers. That will change for the next elder scrolls. It's Bethesda's desire to make the series more accessible, so I expect full voiceovers in ES VI.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:21 am

Read my post above. They can't fit that many MP3 audio files into that disc, even if everything else was gone.... Methinks.

So they could split up the content like ME2 or L.A. Noire. That's not a valid reason.

I still think it's a bad idea for what I and a lot of others have posted in this thread:

But the real reason that it's not reasonable to put a voice and personality into a form that's solely designed as a vessel for us to project our personality into.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:38 pm

Because having a voiced player character in a game like this would svck. It's one of the things that lead to Dragon Age 2 being so awful.

No it didnt. DA2 svcked on purely technical grounds. DA2 did not invent main characters with a voice in RPGs >_>

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 11:03 am

um... i kinda doubt it'd take that much space, otherwise there wouldnt be very much voice acting in the game... they said there are... i forgot how much exactly... 40,000 - 70,000+ i think... lines of spoken dialogue.

if voice acting took up as much space as you think it would for ONE character, then this game wouldnt be a game at all, just sounds. <_<

Um. Consider the fact that most of those lines are probably part of conversations with the dovakiin... Even if dovakiin only speaks one line for every 5 that's still 8,000 - 14,000+ lines if you're right about there being 40,000 - 70,000 lines... And that's if there's only one conversation option. And there's usually at least 2...

And then they'd have to record all of those lines for at least 2 dovakiins, male and female.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:56 pm

Because my voice becomes the voice of the character, sure I get strange looks, oh wait, that's normal for me.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:52 am

So they could split up the content like ME2 or L.A. Noire. That's not a valid reason.

I still think it's a bad idea for what I and a lot of others have posted in this thread:

If "split up the content" mean "2 seperate discs," than forget it. I don't think you have any idea how much that'd svck.

And I agree.

» Wed Oct 05, 2011 4:10 pm

Bethesda is preparing themselves for full player voiceovers. If you notice, the "topics" from Oblivion are gone. They are now complete sentences.