Poll: Gordon Freeman: Does he need to talk?

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

Let's answer your question with another question:

Does Master Chief need to take off his helmet?

 

[Ghostkai]

The player is freeman from what i understand, speak, and that is how he sounds.


Unless your a chick. In which case it's however you imagine him to sound.

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

Let's answer your question with another question:

Does Master Chief need to take off his helmet?

He probably shouldn't. Every fanboy that has ever wanted to be him will basically have their head explode knowing that that isn't actually them doing all those spectacular things in single player and multiplayer

I meant like people will get pissed if they think he doesn't look right in their opinion. Same with Gordon Freeman's voice. If his voice is even half an octave off they will flip out.

 

[cptjack42]

He falls under the slim category of 'Badass enough to not need words.'

It also seems to make the entire experience more immersive.

 

[jad4400]

I think that if freeman were to speak, it should be in short sentences, but would be spoken for very significant moments (I sometimes like to envision him going over to Alyx who is still crying over her dads body and puting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her and just saying "I'm sorry Alyx, he was a good man", I then like to laugh at her hypothetical freaked out face when she sees him speak.) But in all seriousness if Freeman were to speak at key emotional moments like that I would not have that much of a problem with that, so long as the diologe is good and he is speaking for an important matter, not just speaking for the sake of speaking.

 

[Musicfreak]

There is no voice awesome enough for Freeman.

Exactly I think I would be disappointed If I heard him say anything. Besides he has a HEV suit that should do the talking for him.

 

[Da_Schwartz]

No. Aside from duke nukem no hero in an fps should talk. In a way i think it would ruin the illusion of you the player as the hero.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Gordon does not need to talk as Valve has proven they are capable of delivering a story and game that players adore without having the main character open his mouth. Besides, leave the main character mute means he won't ever say anything that the player thinks is absolutely stupid, seeing as that's pretty much what most PC's do when they start talking.

 

[clicketycrack]

I think it's an immersion thing. When he starts talking we start playing as a character who has a backstory, not as some awesome badass dude who keeps being dragged into and out of time.

My tuppence worth, I don't want him to start talking. It'd ruin my willing suspension.

I totaly agree with this. The little backstory they've already given him has screwed it up enough. Am I really supposed to believe that an MIT graduate suddenly turns into a violent lunatic that solves all his problems with bullets as soon as alien oppressors take control?

 

[Yamiki]

Short Answer no...
Long Answer. NO and OOO and OOO and OOO and OOO
He is perfect as a silent hero. The backstory does not need to be applied it lets the player belive he is Gordon because some of the backstory left out allowing the imagination to create some of the backstory without cutscenes.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

I think it would rock if at the very end, when the combine are defeated and stuff, he should turn around to alyx and say "lets go". The only 2 words he ever said.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

He has a face, they made him have one in halo 3, in the multyplayer you can have a look at him by glitching inside another player. Try and find a non fake on youtube, I did eventually and its not very impressive to be honest (he has a big nose). We knew it was a guy anyway cus of the voice.

[Edit]

Sorry about double post, this is in response to the comment about master chief taking off his helmet. Not sure how to remove my own comment.

 

[Overlord Moo]

If Episode 3 will be the last Half Life game, I think at the end he say "Im Fine"

Trust me, Episode three is not going to be the last one unless Valve (and I don't think they can do this) tie up every, if not most, lose ends in the story.

Have you played MGS4? They do well at tying it all up there.

I like to think of it like this: Ep3 will have Gordon and Alyx finding the Borealis and saving Mossman, the actual, honest-to-god Half Life 3 will be them staging an assault on the combine overworld, which I'm willing to bet is exactly what G-man has been angling for this whole time.

But the resistance closed the port-(relizes that city 17 isn't only place with combine problem) Ohhh

I don't think that's where the G-man is hiding, mabye on the Borealis, but probably not( G-man's hiding place would make good topic though)

They closed the portal, but they can use the Borealis to make a new one on their terms. And you misunderstood me with G-man, all I'm saying is that he probably wanted humanity to invade the Combine Overworld the whole time.

Alright, I thought you meet angling as in where he's been hanging out this whole time

 

[NoNameMcgee]

I always liked that he doesn't speak

Characters sort of speak around you and theres never a point when Gordon really needs to talk. This is a really great immersion tactic because it puts you right in his shoes in the situation without it being broken up by hearing someone elses voice say something which you probably wouldn't say, and sounds nothing like you.

Its also a great opportunity for characters to say amusing lines referring to it.

"Man of few words aren't you..."

"Let me do the talking, Gordon."

 

[Zersy]

Short Answer no...
Long Answer. NO and OOO and OOO and OOO and OOO
He is perfect as a silent hero. The backstory does not need to be applied it lets the player belive he is Gordon because some of the backstory left out allowing the imagination to create some of the backstory without cutscenes.

It would be nice though if he made a few grunts and had to take a deep brath every now and again

 

[Sweet Potato Vines]

If an FPS has a protagonist that doesn't talk, I prefer it if the FPS-ness it Immersive, I.e Never leaves the Protagonist's perspective, can see legs and torso when looking down etc. It also adds to the story, you're playing this mysterious character, who stares at people until they say "Let me get out of your way, Freeman". Because if a protagonist is too talky, it just gets annoying, particularly if they have terrible one-liners.

I think that if freeman were to speak, it should be in short sentences, but would be spoken for very significant moments (I sometimes like to envision him going over to Alyx who is still crying over her dads body and puting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her and just saying "I'm sorry Alyx, he was a good man", I then like to laugh at her hypothetical freaked out face when she sees him speak.) But in all seriousness if Freeman were to speak at key emotional moments like that I would not have that much of a problem with that, so long as the diologe is good and he is speaking for an important matter, not just speaking for the sake of speaking.

Dude, use the spoiler tags.

 

[Cheesebob]

1 question:

Do you think the Big Daddy will speak in Bioshock 2?

Will this effect the impact of the story on the player?

 

[Vlane]

I don't demand that he talks because the silent protagonist can work. The only problem is that in this case it doesn't work for me.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

The reason Gordon doesn't need to speak is because he is not the primary protagonist of HL2.

Alyx is.

This becomes clear in Ep 1 and 2.

It is her emotional journey we observe through the eyes of the floating gun that is Gordon Freeman. It's Alyx we want to comfort at certain moments in Ep2 and it is Alyx who was the first NPC that made me have a conversation with my TV like the freaky kid from the poltergeist.

'Gordon, did you see that?'
'No I dind't because you were standing in my way.'

I actually said that. To my tv.