Yeah, Nathan Drake is gimmicky alright... only Uncharted happens to have one of the most interesting cast of characters in gaming, particularly Uncharted 2 with the addition of Chloe.
Gordon Freeman to Remain Mute
- Thread starter Logan Westbrook
- Start date
You seem to be COMPLETELY missing he point. Gordon didn't do shit. YOU made the decision to go into the pit.Hazy said:
Think about if, if YOU didn't want to go in there then you could just not move the controller and sit around in silence for the next few hours hoping something else would happen, or you could just turn off the game. Hell when you got off the train at City 17 you could have just dicked around in the lobby for the rest of the game and that was YOUR choice, not this Gordon character. He is not a character, he is a ROLE. He is Kyzer Soze, he is Batman to your Bruce Wayne, he's just a persona you wear for convenience in the game.
Why are you asking Gordon Freeman's justification for choices that YOU made. YOU entered the pit to fight the zombies, why did you do that?
I mean in Half Life you are not 'forced' to do a single god damn thing, the game compels YOU to do things and you do them. The portal opens, shit happens and you are convinced to head to the surface and get help, or you could sit there doing nothing.
No one FORCED you to kill the Marines, it's not like on the first encounter the game switched to a cutscene and made the choice for you... but if you didn't fight back then they would have killed you... game over, man.
why should valve make their games, "in line with the typical videogame". They make fantastic games and really understand what the right way for them to go is. Do you guys really want all game developers to churn out the same repeatative games over and over? They have a world they want the player to feel immersed in and a silent protaganist is the best way to do that. I much rather feel like i'm in the world then just some guy giving stage directions to some wise cracking idiot with a gun. I don't want to shoot people for no reason, other then the fact that their there. I want a good involving story that gives me a reason to dislike the enemy.
personally I hated Gordon Freeman, until the Valve vs Zynga thing. Then I decided to give him another go, I mean, I love every Valve franchise other than Half Life, so I gave it another go. And I loved it! Gordon isn't the best character ever, but I just beat most of HL2:E1 and wondered where the time went. I totally have a different opinion on Half Life now, an I hope Gordon stays just the way he is.
THANK YOU!Frequen-Z said:
Honestly, why is there still so much Valve dick riding when they take years to release half made games (like the HL2 episodes and L4D) that all use the same engine, sounds, etc. They're LAZY. And don't deserve to win March Madness... fuck Valve.
Gordon is still goin' strong though
I agree with you on Half Life, but if you listen to the L4D commentary then you will realize how much effort went into the first game. They didn't copy/paste any of it. And if a game is good, why not copy it? Saints Row is a GTA copy for exampleSkopintsev said:
Gordon Freeman as he is is an icon...and he has never actually needed to speak (beyond perhaps exclaiming "You want me to go WHERE?!" during the Black Mesa East attack)in order to increase the immersion or the atmosphere. HE IS THE ONE FREE MAN. Speech is for the downtrodden masses.
Gordon being a mute has it's advantages and it's disadvantages.
On the one hand I believe mutes allow the player to immerse themselves and become that character more so than any other character type, even in games were you're given dialogue options. You can essentially use your imagination to describe Gordons state of mind. Maybe you think Gordon is a major badass. Maybe he's just a very lucky scared scientist. Or maybe he's a complete self loving arsehole, as the youtube series "Gordons Mind" contemplates. While I like RPGs were your allowed to choose your characters dialogue the options are very rarely the actual thoughts that are running though your head resulting in a character that may share certain opinions, but is most certainly not you.
It also in it's way works as it's own plot device. Removing the option for Gordon to say "What the fuck is going on?" allows for an extra layer of mystery that Half Life craves (and protagonists with no understanding of the world is a tired and lazy plot device that basically allows writers to cut corners by just asking questions).
On the other hand the result is Gordon feels like some sort of robot, and with no explanation for his lack of voice a major plot hole looms. Alyx has been hanging around with Gordon for probably just over a week in total and in that time Gordon hasn't said a single word. And Alyx wants to hit that? I'm sorry but if I had to hang around with the guy I'd be creeped the fuck out. No one questions his lack of voice aside from a passing light jokes thrown in here and there. All in all it's a major immersion breaker if you allow yourself to contemplate it.
But personally at this point I think I'd prefer it if Gordon remained silent, partially because I agree with Gabe when I say there's no need but also because Gordon is one of the most iconic silent protagonists ever, and any attempt at trying to change that would be jarring at best.
I'm not saying Gordon is a good character. He's not even a character. He's an observer and a vessel for the players mind. He is there to record the story and the other characters, a tool with which the player explores the Half Life universe. There is no need to think of him as more than a camera with a gun, because that's his role and he fills it beautifully.
On the one hand I believe mutes allow the player to immerse themselves and become that character more so than any other character type, even in games were you're given dialogue options. You can essentially use your imagination to describe Gordons state of mind. Maybe you think Gordon is a major badass. Maybe he's just a very lucky scared scientist. Or maybe he's a complete self loving arsehole, as the youtube series "Gordons Mind" contemplates. While I like RPGs were your allowed to choose your characters dialogue the options are very rarely the actual thoughts that are running though your head resulting in a character that may share certain opinions, but is most certainly not you.
It also in it's way works as it's own plot device. Removing the option for Gordon to say "What the fuck is going on?" allows for an extra layer of mystery that Half Life craves (and protagonists with no understanding of the world is a tired and lazy plot device that basically allows writers to cut corners by just asking questions).
On the other hand the result is Gordon feels like some sort of robot, and with no explanation for his lack of voice a major plot hole looms. Alyx has been hanging around with Gordon for probably just over a week in total and in that time Gordon hasn't said a single word. And Alyx wants to hit that? I'm sorry but if I had to hang around with the guy I'd be creeped the fuck out. No one questions his lack of voice aside from a passing light jokes thrown in here and there. All in all it's a major immersion breaker if you allow yourself to contemplate it.
But personally at this point I think I'd prefer it if Gordon remained silent, partially because I agree with Gabe when I say there's no need but also because Gordon is one of the most iconic silent protagonists ever, and any attempt at trying to change that would be jarring at best.
I'm not saying Gordon is a good character. He's not even a character. He's an observer and a vessel for the players mind. He is there to record the story and the other characters, a tool with which the player explores the Half Life universe. There is no need to think of him as more than a camera with a gun, because that's his role and he fills it beautifully.
Thank you Gabe Newell, you corpulent ball of awesome. There's nothing worse than getting immersed in the game, and being brought out of it by the protagonist going "HURR DURR *high-school-level witty comment* HERP DERP." The reason I love Gordon Freeman as a character is that he is me. He is also you, he is all of us. And that makes for much more immersive gameplay.
GASP,CALUMON,QUICK BEELZEMON BLOW HIS FACE OFF.Catkid906 said:
Beelzemon:You know that he'll probably have one line at the end of HL3,ending the whole series and making fanboys tear up.
I think the whole point of freeman was never to really serve as a character, but rather to serve as a representation of yourself. If he spoke, then it would ruin the illusion that YOU are the free man.
Quoted for brilliance in written execution of point.Treblaine said:Onyx Oblivion said:
^^^can only describe how i feel about your response.
VIDEO GAMES ARE NOT THE SAME AS MOVIES!!!!!
But why are you holding them to the same standards and expectations as movies? like that the protagonist MUST be well fleshed out and deep, what you are asking for is like more characterisation in a book told from the 2nd person perspective!
WHY oh F***ing why can so many people get the idea through their heads that Gordon Freeman is DELIBERATELY left an empty shell so that he is easier to inhabit.
How films and books do it: develop the character of protagonist to EMPATHISE with them
How games do it: Give the illusion that you ARE the protagonist so you can more deeply immerse in the world
The more voice acting you give your protagonist, the more automatic actions, the LESS CONTROL you give the player, the more if feels like they are just a director ordering an actor around. if you don't FEEL that you ARE the character in the story then the game has failed in doing the one things games can do and that movies/books cannot.
The total immersion I get from the Half-Life games is that I always feel that I'm being Gordon Freeman himself and it would be totally ruined if he ever uttered a single word (besides his grunts and deep breath).
By the way, I haven't heard anyone complaining that the characters in the CoD games never talk, or BioShock for that matter. All these games get more immersive because when making a silent protaganist it often helps the player to feel like he's playing the real character. And that's a solid fact.