Why is the Main Character in Fallout 4 Voiced?

[IamLEAM1983]

See, I don't mind self insertion in most games, and freely admit it's something that I frequently look for in a game. But I also don't mind just coming up with my own new story for a character either. Like my second playthrough of FO 4 is going to be the Ghoul Reaver playthrough.

That's a great idea.

RPGs offer lots of flexibility, especially since the last two console or hardware generations, and coming up with your own scenario is totally fine. I just think it's a bit unfair when I hear people say that the game's vanilla storyline doesn't allow for their initial ideas or concepts.

I always tend to play RPGs twice, at the very least. Once to follow the plot and behave in a way that makes sense for the role and universe the game puts me in, and once more to do whatever the Hell I want, or whatever it is I haven't tried in my main playthrough. I don't mind having initial constraints - I'm given a story that's been pre-crafted, but over which I have some control.

My character doesn't *have* to open Nora's pod once his own icy jail is cracked, he doesn't *have* to express grief at her loss - the decision to open that pod and press "Interact" on her corpse was mine. Someone else would be free to assume that Joe or Jane Schmoe goes Terminator after being let loose - screw Shaun and all that.

 

[JemothSkarii]

If you think that you're not really interested in roleplaying but rather self-insertion.

I guess you could say that. If this was a different game.

As I've expressed earlier, the voice acting in this game pushes you down the 'Concerned Parent' route. You choke up or fly into a rage whenever anyone mentions your child.
Great if you want to roleplay as 'Concerned Parent'.
BUT the main story isn't what we play Fallout 4 for.You have to play along it to unlock features, but that's a different can of worms.
Let's ignore the storyline, just focus on doing sidequests.
OH GOD WHY WON'T YOU REMAIN EMOTIONALLY CONSISTENT? Suddenly you're bombarded with your character having something you'd want to say, but they're biting the character's hide off with it, or expressing FAAAR too much grief. You'd think you'd avoid this with:

Up: Questions
Down: Happy/Agree
Right: Negative/Disagree (except in regards to quests, you can't say no)
Left: Sarcastic

But no, you don't. If you're the more agreeable sort, you'll still get all emotional by selecting down. Up rarely helps in dialogue and leads to exposition; I love fluff, but this plays next to no role in dialogue. Even if you say no with a verbal gun to their head they're all 'Well come back when you feel like it'. You could argue 'just ignore it', but I counter with 'I want consequences for how I treat people'. Not to mention that 90% of Right answers come off as far too angry.

 

[Flames66]

Because they've always said stuff and now there's just a voice behind them? What kind of question is that? You know you can skip it like in every game prior right?

That breaks immersion even more, a killer in an RPG.

I'm sorry, but are you telling me that if a voice is emanating from a player model you then have problems blurring the line between reality and a video game? You need to see a psychiatrist if that ever occurs, I'm concerned for your mental health.

Depends on the circumstances. If it is a pre-written character with a clearly defined story, I have no issue. If it is a character I have designed myself, any voice other than the one I have imagined for the character is immersion breaking.

I always tend to play RPGs twice, at the very least. Once to follow the plot and behave in a way that makes sense for the role and universe the game puts me in, and once more to do whatever the Hell I want, or whatever it is I haven't tried in my main playthrough. I don't mind having initial constraints - I'm given a story that's been pre-crafted, but over which I have some control.

I always do my first play through as myself, then make up interesting characters for later ones. This looks like it is going to be a problem with fallout 4 as I am not (and don't ever want to be) in the kind of relationship it starts you in.

 

[JemothSkarii]

-snip-

Actually (rather hilariously) you can save in the middle of dialogue, rendering the random chance pointless. Annoying, but pointless.

 

[sumanoskae]

The voiced protagonist trend in RPG's has been getting on my nerves for quite a while. It was stupid when Dragon Age did it and it's no less irritating now.

 

[Rornicus]

Of course what I said makes perfect sense, what doesn't is the expectation from people like you that the ones making these games MUST bend over backwards to satisfy every single gamer in existence. Voiced protagonists and short 2 word descriptions of the dialog options is what Bethesda decided to do over the time they spent making Fallout 4 to cater to a particular audience, and left modders to add in whatever else the community might want, as was practical to do.

EVERYBODY without exception is getting what they want before long, yet somehow there are still people that are for no reason complaining about an issue that only exists in their own heads because they don't care to be a little patient, many of which would be whining just because both exist in the game in the first place even if protagonist voices and short dialog options were entirely optional from day one.

I never expect any game dev to cater specifically to me, or everything everyone could possibly want. I didn't state that and I know it's not feasible. But you're spouting "ALL GAMES MUST HAVE VOICES" and are happy that FO4 has it because you got catered to - which is cool. I'm glad you like it. But lots of other people don't like a voiced protag in an RPG (more and more a stretch for Bethesda games as time marches on) and don't like the new dialog system either.

The first point, I see the merits of both sides. Some people hate reading and some people want to project a voice in their head for their character. I'd pose it this way - I'm using Jet, should I be smooth talking and baselined in the middle of the road, or am I hyped up and wanting to wreck shit? From that aspect, the voice acting can break immersion more than help it. The option to disable would be nice (and relatively easy to have implemented) and waiting for the modding community to clean up that oversight shouldn't be acceptable regardless of how you feel about the voice.

As for the second though - the dialog system is a MESS. Ultimately, it is a product of the voiced protag (I have to read the line myself, then hear it spoken too?). Regardless of the "Ghouls are?" (after having killed 8969098723 ghouls on the way) or "Sarcasm" (am I accepting the quest or sending this idiot packing with my rapier wit) the system has done away with so much of the "choice" that Beth loves to tout that they put in games. Where is my choice to use a skill (or perk in the new system) to find an alternate way around something? Why are most of my charisma checks "GIVE ME MORE CAPS!"? It'll be modded because it's a shitty system. And expecting the modding community to clean up your game in that way is NOT acceptable of a AAA title (or an indie game either, for that matter).

Overall though, If you think that the voiced protag hasn't caused issues beyond the "I like to voice it myself/I don't like to read" argument then I think you're missing the bigger picture of what has people speaking critically of this decision.

 

[FalloutJack]

Honestly, Shamus, this one doesn't really matter. He's the Fallout-equivalent of the Boss from Saint's Row games, not Link or Samus or Gordon Freeman. The MC for Fallout games are not the long-lived singular noted character of years of fame, so they can be experimented on fairly. No Mutants Allowed is probably screaming bloody murder on this, but I don't really care.

 

[Vault101]

Here's something I thought about...given how few female protagonists there are in games mabye having voiced characters fills that particular hole for some people WITH the added bonus of being able to determine certain personality traits and sexuality (for the shippers) I don't know...

I'm going to be unpopular and say I frigging LOVE having a voiced character, probably also because the VA for female vault dweller (jack from mass effect I think) does a great job

its the problem I've had with Bethesda games, I just can't get emotionally attached to a walking camera, and that's not to say that Bethesda is the only developer to have a silent protagonist but they are particularly BAD at encouraging emotional investment, they expect you to see everything as a walking quest dispenser or violence receptacle

I guess the issue is that people don't like working within a limited framework...which is understandable

although I would say if you're playing a psycho "kill everything" character did you really give a shit about story coheason in the first place?

 

[Vault101]

Not a very convincing argument, I'm afraid. The mind-numbingly stupid dialog wouldn't become magically smarter just because it wasn't voiced.

surely its not THAT bad...I'd consider it more...functional and nothing else

that's pretty Bethesda thing, its like they understand "storys are a thing in games" but don't understand the [/i]point[/i] of a story

all this said I actually found this to be a huge improvement for Bethesda writing wise

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

It's not perfect on the writing front, but then again, writing is very difficult to get right. Whether it's a voiced protagonist or otherwise, I don't really have an issue with it. Both systems are flawed and really, it comes down to execution at the end of the day. I was pleasantly surprised by the female voice (Haven't tried the male option. Probably won't.) and having a semblance of personality is vastly more appealing than an absence of personality...for me. Our characters are what we create and it's up to us to use the established setting and work with it. (This isn't for everyone of course. But I like being given a box to work in. I can push the boundaries or figure out how to work my way out. Too much freedom feels like a lack of focus, not an abundance of untapped creativity)

There's plenty of room to roleplay, I feel, since there can be an interesting disconnect between how our character responds to people in conversation and how they actually behave in the world. Having a voice keeps my character grounded while allowing me to refocus on the task at hand, when I want to roleplay, I'll do so through gameplay.

I don't have to leave boxes of BlamCo Mac & Cheese on every Deathclaw corpse/lockpicked safe/rename my clothing to represent myself as a pre-war BlamCo employee looking to rebuild the Wasteland under dairy rule. But I can.

Eh, then again, I've never had issues roleplaying with voiced/silent characters. I usually having problems caring about the character. Much like my companions and their voices, my character is her own entity in the universe - that makes me care. Fallout 3 & New Vegas' walking camera -- I'm super interested in the world, setting and companions, but I can't give a shit about that character.

Different strokes, execution, case-by-case basis, personal preference...blah blah blah.

 

[John the Gamer]

Well the example you gave in the article isn't really fair I think.

Spoiler

I know Kellogg is trying to make peace since you just blew up a few dozen Synths on your way there and he's impressed and/or scared. BUT HE MURDERED YOUR SPOUSE AND STOLE YOUR INFANT SON. Nobody would let someone like that live.

So I think that exchange ending in a gunfight is actually totally legit. Then again, if the protagonist was more of a blank slate then this situation wouldn't have happened anyway.

Spoiler

Perhaps if your partner wasn't killed by Kellogg, but instead died because of some malfunction, then that would have given you less reason to hate the guy.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Really, my only gripe with the game's characterization concerns Kellogg. Here's how I broke down my own encounters with Cereal Brand Man:

Spoiler: A big chunk of the game's main quest is abridged therein. View at your own risk!

Kellogg: "I'll just kill this woman who's confused and in the grips of hypothermia because BADASS. Take the kid and go, Institute Lady Person."
My Character: *bangs on his pod's porthole. Press E to Express Your Impotent Distress and Rage*

My Character: *follows the main quest and makes it to Fort Hagen*
Kellogg: *Hah, you're never gonna make it, you Pre-War sissy!"

My Character: *Makes It because the plot says so*
Kellogg: "Um... COME AT ME, BRO!"

My Character: *Comes at Him, instead of gripping him by the collar and demanding answers*
Kellogg: "See, Bethesda went through the trouble of giving me a custom armor set and a unique voice actor, and my only contribution will amount to eliminating Valentine's other named suspects and pointing you in the Institute's direction. Here, have my cybernetic implants as a parting gift before you blow my brain to bits."

My Character: *paints Fort Hagen's walls with Kellogg's innards*

Some time passes...

Nick Valentine: "You mean you didn't ask him for directions?! You just blew his brain into tiny chunks?! For fuck's sake..."

Bethesda: "Hey, have our cool Sci-Fi setpiece that we totally didn't crib from Inception!" *INCEPTION HORNS, BWOOOOOOOM*

Brotherhood of Steel: "WE'RE CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED TO EXIST. HERE, HAVE A GIANT FLOATING AIRSHIP OF BADASSERY."

 

[Ken Sapp]

Also Bethesda as mad scientists...They are the institute D:

Having yet to reach the Institute I would much rather define Bethesda as the Vault-Tec Corporation when it comes to mad science

 

[Ken Sapp]

Here's something I thought about...given how few female protagonists there are in games mabye having voiced characters fills that particular hole for some people WITH the added bonus of being able to determine certain personality traits and sexuality (for the shippers) I don't know...

I'm going to be unpopular and say I frigging LOVE having a voiced character, probably also because the VA for female vault dweller (jack from mass effect I think) does a great job

its the problem I've had with Bethesda games, I just can't get emotionally attached to a walking camera, and that's not to say that Bethesda is the only developer to have a silent protagonist but they are particularly BAD at encouraging emotional investment, they expect you to see everything as a walking quest dispenser or violence receptacle

I guess the issue is that people don't like working within a limited framework...which is understandable

although I would say if you're playing a psycho "kill everything" character did you really give a shit about story coheason in the first place?

The problem with the argument you and others have stated is that there is a major difference between a "silent" protagonist and an unvoiced protagonist. Gordon Freeman was a silent protagonist, he never said a word in 4 games. Not one single word. The closest he ever came to uttering a syllable was to click a button, throw a switch, open a door, or pull the trigger on whatever weapon he had out at the moment.

Bethesda protagonists prior to FO4 were unvoiced protagonists but they had dialogue. It was up to the player to infer the sound and, to a degree, tone of the character. The only real dialogue improvement I see in FO4 is the ability to literally walk away from most conversations at any point. Although this has its own problems as wandering NPCs can push you or the NPC you are conversing with far enough to disengage the conversation you are trying to have.

 

[Brainpaint]

It annoys me a lot that the only SPECIAL attribute important to conversations is charisma.
In the previous games there were dialogue options for people with high medicine, explosive, strength, barter and even whole dialogue options for whole perks (like child at heart). My problem with Fallout 4's voiced protagonist isn't so much the voicing itself as the fact that they've cut down on immersive content for them to voice. There's was never a point in Dragon Age: Inquisition where I felt like the PC was more skilled than the dialogue options given to them or that the voice actor was working around the dialogue system than the other way around. But F04 is LOUSY with it. You can't be rank 4 science and able to discuss science-specific things with scientists anymore. Or be level 10 strength and scare a raider into giving you what you want just by threatening them. And even if those options were there, I couldn't imagine either of the designated voice actors saying it convincingly. Even if you get your character high as balls on psycho jet and they're screaming "FUCKING KILL!!!" it doesn't sound right. Nate sounds like Brick from borderlands and Nora just isn't putting her heart into it.
One thing I really love about Skyrim is that with no voiced protagonist, I can pretend that my weak-arse Khajit dude when he's striking an enemy has the voice of Snagglepuss. Just figured I'd throw that in there as an example of how much fun it can be to have a blank space to fill. I know I sure as hell like doing the same thing in Pokemon with my trainers.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

We've got Bethesda's considerable prior oeuvre as evidence to the contrary. There is simply no evidence that any money freed up from voice acting would therefore go into more dialog options. Indeed, I do not expect that having a huge number of available dialog options is something they even desire, as it entails significant costs to player experience in its own way (read read read).

Look, there's no cure for bad writing except better writing and extensive editing.

Older RPGs had a few good ways around this, for example, at the bottom of the dialogue options there was an "ASK" option, where you could then select an item to enquire about it, (leading to more interesting detective style quests where multiple people could give multiple answers to an item) and a list of standard one or two word topics that you could quite quickly scroll through to ask about a specific location, person or thing.

(When I played an Orc character in Skyrim, one of the first things to break my immersion was arriving in Whiterun, thinking "I'll go to the nearest orc stronghold to be with my kin" and then having absolutely no way in-game to have any clue how to get to the nearest stronghold. Even though I was in a city surrounded by people, I could not ask one of them the way, because those ask/examine options had been removed to accommodate voiced reduced options from NPCs)

 

[IceForce]

Spoiler: A big chunk of the game's main quest is abridged therein. View at your own risk!

Kellogg: "I'll just kill this woman who's confused and in the grips of hypothermia because BADASS. Take the kid and go, Institute Lady Person."
My Character: *bangs on his pod's porthole. Press E to Express Your Impotent Distress and Rage*

My Character: *follows the main quest and makes it to Fort Hagen*
Kellogg: *Hah, you're never gonna make it, you Pre-War sissy!"

My Character: *Makes It because the plot says so*
Kellogg: "Um... COME AT ME, BRO!"

My Character: *Comes at Him, instead of gripping him by the collar and demanding answers*
Kellogg: "See, Bethesda went through the trouble of giving me a custom armor set and a unique voice actor, and my only contribution will amount to eliminating Valentine's other named suspects and pointing you in the Institute's direction. Here, have my cybernetic implants as a parting gift before you blow my brain to bits."

My Character: *paints Fort Hagen's walls with Kellogg's innards*

Some time passes...

Nick Valentine: "You mean you didn't ask him for directions?! You just blew his brain into tiny chunks?! For fuck's sake..."

Bethesda: "Hey, have our cool Sci-Fi setpiece that we totally didn't crib from Inception!" *INCEPTION HORNS, BWOOOOOOOM*

Brotherhood of Steel: "WE'RE CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED TO EXIST. HERE, HAVE A GIANT FLOATING AIRSHIP OF BADASSERY."

Heh, this sums things up pretty well actually.

And yeah, fuck you Kellogg. I'm never buying your breakfast cereal ever again.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

And yeah, fuck you Kellogg. I'm never buying your breakfast cereal ever again.

All of this without mentioning the way the Institute justifies what it does, which is absolutely fucking bonkers. How does a nuclear holocaust that happened two hundred years ago invalidate so many basic human rights that you can just...

Spoiler: The Institute's heads are actually monkeys with typewriters from Big Mountain.

1. Justify your research into AI and how it needs a child to be kidnapped for it to progress;
2. Proceed in the same vein by recovering the corpse of a dead detective and recreating him in synth form, in full knowledge of the hardcore existential angst you're exposing him to if he ever finds out what he is;
3. Do the same thing a THIRD TIME, infiltrating a post-War culture that has no need of your interference (the BoS), in full knowledge that if the synth is ever found out, he's likely to be executed out of knee-jerk xenophobia.

I mean, the Institute seems to have a lot in common with Aperture Science. They do what they must because they can. Or because Science. Or because Blah Blah Betterment of Mankind No Really We're Serious Blah Blah.

Spoiler

The end of the main questline actually made me RESENT my own damn son for his choices.

 

[AgedGrunt]

If a character is voiced, I'm going to want to connect with the personality behind it. That's a good thing if the character is defined, but when it's user-defined and the game is a role-playing sandbox of choices and paths, the problems are immediate (at least if you are a serious role-player).

Obviously a voice is inflexible and likely won't fit most characters, but I'm more critical of how it invariably means dialogue quality and quantity will be worse than pure writing, not to mention that a voiced PC gets old and really damages replay value.

Good news is I have faith in modding communities; I predict a silent protagonist mod. Voices are not always good things, nor are they necessary. I'm reading The Witcher now and I don't want to listen to it as an audio book.

 

[Barbas]

Good news for people who don't like the voice acting:


[small][sub]I'm so sorry, Brian. :<[/sub][/small]