The silent protagonist is an interesting trope that only exists within video games. I've heard some people say that it's so that the player can project themselves onto the player. Or that the developers didn't have the budget for voice actors. I don't know about all that, but the silent protagonist in video games, oddly enough, works. I've played a lot of video games where the main character, doesn't say a word, but ends up saving the day and even growing a bit.
Half Life's Gordon Freeman is among the most famous of mute characters. Half Life 2 is my favorite of the series, and by far an improvement over the original. I think that Gordon Freeman is a realy good example of a silent protagonist because you, as the player, are right there with him on his crazy journey through City 17. Gordon Freeman is allegedly a theoretical metaphysicist, though we don't really know because he doesn't talk about it, or anything for that matter. However, what we do know is that he's a pretty damn good shot and a great person to have on your side in the midst of a firefight. In Half Life 2, Gordon Freeman is recognized as a hero by many of the resistance members fighting against the alien race that has enslaved most of the human race. When he first arrives, nobody really knows who he is, what he's done, or if he even exists. As players go through the game, fighting the Combine and making some headway in the fight for the resistance, he is recognized as a champion of the human race. People's spirits are lifted by his very presence. Gordon Freeman brings hope to the hopeless, and has become a confident fighter. He's grown, and changed, by the actions that he's done, he has evolved as a character. And he still doesn't have a thing to say about it.
Link, of the Legend of Zelda series is another famous silent character who saves the world on a regular basis. In Ocarina of Time, Link grows from being an outcast in his village to being the Hero of Time. The game starts off in Kokiri Forest, a magical place where all of its inhabitants are eternally children. Each child has their own fairy, except for Link. When the winds of destiny blow in Link's favor, his adventure begins. Facing terrible monsters and solving riddles of the ancients, Link overcomes all adversity that faces him. Link later acquires the Master Sword, the "Blade of Evil's Bane", it is now sealed that Link is the one to vanquish evil from the land of Hyrule. Link grows to an adult, the world has changed, and evil still plagues the land. Link is still not yet ready to exterminate the purge the dark forces from Hyrule, he must undergo more trials, and cure the land before he goes straight for the head of all evil. When he finally arrives at the final trial, Ganon's Castle, Link is ready, he has faced so much, he has grown, he has changed, and so have you as a player. The Legend of Zelda has a way of presenting itself, that makes it seem as though players are going on a grand adventure. Both Link and the Player face the same adversity and they both grow in overcoming their fears of dark, scary places that they must enter. Link shines as a character who doesn't talk, because the game design allows the players to use Link as a vehicle to travel through the world of Hyrule, that's why they let you name the character before you start your adventure. So that it is the players name that is chanted through the streets when all has been restored, and everything is right in the world. Because it was they, who saved the world.
Sometimes, the silent protagonist can be something of hate and malice. Hotline Miami's main character is silent, and does what he is told by mysterious messages left on his answering machine. He doesn't say a word, he doesn't emote anything, all he does is kill. The very thought of a stranger wearing a rubber animal mask, not saying a word, and swiftly walking towards someone with weapon in hand sends shivers down my spine. It's a scary thing, and it doesn't waste any time. If a villain talks, he usually ends up monologuing or making some kind of overly dramatic scene. Hotline Miami's main character is a quiet and efficient killer.
Voice acting in a game can really create the character in a video game. It's not just that they have things to say, but it's how they say it. Nathan Drake, with his snarky one-liners, Joel, of The Last of Us with his stand-offish demeanor and cynicism, Ezio Auditore and his evolution from a young man living in comfort to becoming a master assassin and uncovering the truth of his ancestors. Giving the characters a voice is a fantastic thing because it really does bring that character to life. Jak, of Jak and Daxter, was a silent protagonist in the first game, but suddenly got a voice in the latter two games. The voice fit the character and the circumstances that he found himself in. The tone of the games had gone from bright and sunny to dark and dingy. Jak and Daxter will remain as one of my favorite franchises and Jak, with his new voice will also be one of my favorite characters.
Whether your characters have voice or no, getting a chance to be that character, and walk around in their world, in their shoes is something phenomenal. While the silent protagonist may be something that we only see in video games, and it may be a strange concept, but it works to our wonderfully unique medium.
Who are some of your favorite silent protagonists? Who are some of your favorite vocal protagonists, or voice actors? Let me know in the comments!
Showing posts with label Hotline Miami. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hotline Miami. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Violence as a Tool
Video games are violent. More often than not, we see video games get called out by the media for being just that. Violent. Though, no one really seems to take the context of the violence into consideration when discussing this issue.
Hotline Miami is an independent game that come from Dennation games. The game is fast, frantic, and absolutely brutal. The game is in a 16 bit graphical style, which leaves the details of the deaths up to your imagination. There's lots of blood and violence to be had here, but what's the point? Hotline Miami takes that into consideration. You take control of a nameless, faceless man who receives anonymous messages on his phone's answering machines that leave addresses for him to go to and straight up murder everyone inside the building.The game plays up the whole "glorification of violence" even more with the scoring system. Players are rewarded for being, brutally efficient. The more effective the player is, and how quickly they do it nabs them a high score. This is what makes the game fun: its pacing. The game moves so quickly that death doesn't phase the player, but makes them retry over and over again, employing different tactics to beat the level. If the player fails, it's their fault, and not the game. But, why? Why do this? What is the point? Who are these people? Are they bad? Are they good? Who am I? How does my character play into any of this? Hotline Miami takes these questions and runs with them at a hundred miles per hour. Then at the end of each level, the game forces players to walk all the way through the level, past the corpses they've made, back to their car. The quiet of the each level, after the murder and the killer soundtrack, provides an opportunity to reflect upon just what they had done.
Spec Ops: The Line
At first glance, Spec Ops: The Line is an average, ordinary, 3rd person action shooter game with cover and squad based gameplay. The game follows a team of soldiers that are sent to Dubai to save the day and escort all of the civilians and refugees out of the city to safety and get any remaining US soldiers out as well. However, the whole thing gets turned on its head when everyone in the city has going crazy. Nobody is willing to reason, so the situation comes down to shoot first and ask questions later. In the end, the soldiers that were sent to save the city, end up doing more harm than good. Killing thousands of soldiers and refugees alike. The game puts players through some pretty traumatic stuff. Spec Ops uses brutality to cement the evils of violence and why no good comes of war and fighting. The gameplay of Spec Ops the line satirizes the industry and its constant pumping out of violent video games. Every headshot that the player lands is emphasized with a moment of slow down to hold it right up to the players nose. The game made me feel like a terrible person after all of the things that the game had me do. The game does provide the opportunities for "moral choice" but they all end badly. I still highly recommend this game, and that you do the same and recommend it to everyone you know.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us is definitely one of my favorite games of 2013. The game follows the two characters Joel and Ellie as they try and survive in the mad world that they live in. In the year 2013, humanity was wracked by the cordyceps fungus, which is normally found in species of insects that have become over populated. The Last of Us has a distinct way in which it uses violence. Every fight is a fight for survival, and Joel and Ellie have to survive. Both of them use whatever means necessary to ensure that they are able to make it to tomorrow. Supplies are scarce and players have to be more resourceful to ensure that they make it to the other side. Vicious blows to the head with blunt objects and gunshots that tear through flesh fill the screen. Each encounter with other survivors is tense and dramatic. The Last of Us does a good job to give a sense that the people that you are killing are just trying to survive as well. They make sure that their group stays alive and that they make it to tomorrow. This equality between the two parties gives a sorrow to taking them out. You kind of feel bad for them, but then you quickly move on when you realize that it was either him or you, or that you've been spotted by his friend. Every hit, every shot, every action is made with the intent to kill. Joel is a bitter, violent person, who doesn't hold back when it comes to dealing with the enemy. Contrast to him, is Ellie, who is an optimistic light in the darkness. I tried playing to where she wouldn't see as much of the violence, to protect her, but it was all for not. Ellie evolves into a survivor of this world. It has changed her, and how she acts. When the game gives players control of Ellie, it becomes crystal clear the effects of being around Joel, and the terrible violence.
Violence is often looked at as a gameplay mechanic, and approached casually. Yet, it's a big thing to take another persons life. The terrible ways that people die in these games are truly horrific, and cringe worthy. The difference between these games and others is that they have context that evoke emotion and remorse for pulling the trigger. Violence is not a good thing. It's never the right thing to do. If anything, it should be used as a last resort. Too often games use violence willy nilly, and make a farce of the gravitas of the act of killing.
Please note that I do not condone violence, this post is to explore how game developers use violence as a story telling, rather than just a gameplay mechanic.
Hotline Miami
Hotline Miami is an independent game that come from Dennation games. The game is fast, frantic, and absolutely brutal. The game is in a 16 bit graphical style, which leaves the details of the deaths up to your imagination. There's lots of blood and violence to be had here, but what's the point? Hotline Miami takes that into consideration. You take control of a nameless, faceless man who receives anonymous messages on his phone's answering machines that leave addresses for him to go to and straight up murder everyone inside the building.The game plays up the whole "glorification of violence" even more with the scoring system. Players are rewarded for being, brutally efficient. The more effective the player is, and how quickly they do it nabs them a high score. This is what makes the game fun: its pacing. The game moves so quickly that death doesn't phase the player, but makes them retry over and over again, employing different tactics to beat the level. If the player fails, it's their fault, and not the game. But, why? Why do this? What is the point? Who are these people? Are they bad? Are they good? Who am I? How does my character play into any of this? Hotline Miami takes these questions and runs with them at a hundred miles per hour. Then at the end of each level, the game forces players to walk all the way through the level, past the corpses they've made, back to their car. The quiet of the each level, after the murder and the killer soundtrack, provides an opportunity to reflect upon just what they had done.
Spec Ops: The Line
At first glance, Spec Ops: The Line is an average, ordinary, 3rd person action shooter game with cover and squad based gameplay. The game follows a team of soldiers that are sent to Dubai to save the day and escort all of the civilians and refugees out of the city to safety and get any remaining US soldiers out as well. However, the whole thing gets turned on its head when everyone in the city has going crazy. Nobody is willing to reason, so the situation comes down to shoot first and ask questions later. In the end, the soldiers that were sent to save the city, end up doing more harm than good. Killing thousands of soldiers and refugees alike. The game puts players through some pretty traumatic stuff. Spec Ops uses brutality to cement the evils of violence and why no good comes of war and fighting. The gameplay of Spec Ops the line satirizes the industry and its constant pumping out of violent video games. Every headshot that the player lands is emphasized with a moment of slow down to hold it right up to the players nose. The game made me feel like a terrible person after all of the things that the game had me do. The game does provide the opportunities for "moral choice" but they all end badly. I still highly recommend this game, and that you do the same and recommend it to everyone you know.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us is definitely one of my favorite games of 2013. The game follows the two characters Joel and Ellie as they try and survive in the mad world that they live in. In the year 2013, humanity was wracked by the cordyceps fungus, which is normally found in species of insects that have become over populated. The Last of Us has a distinct way in which it uses violence. Every fight is a fight for survival, and Joel and Ellie have to survive. Both of them use whatever means necessary to ensure that they are able to make it to tomorrow. Supplies are scarce and players have to be more resourceful to ensure that they make it to the other side. Vicious blows to the head with blunt objects and gunshots that tear through flesh fill the screen. Each encounter with other survivors is tense and dramatic. The Last of Us does a good job to give a sense that the people that you are killing are just trying to survive as well. They make sure that their group stays alive and that they make it to tomorrow. This equality between the two parties gives a sorrow to taking them out. You kind of feel bad for them, but then you quickly move on when you realize that it was either him or you, or that you've been spotted by his friend. Every hit, every shot, every action is made with the intent to kill. Joel is a bitter, violent person, who doesn't hold back when it comes to dealing with the enemy. Contrast to him, is Ellie, who is an optimistic light in the darkness. I tried playing to where she wouldn't see as much of the violence, to protect her, but it was all for not. Ellie evolves into a survivor of this world. It has changed her, and how she acts. When the game gives players control of Ellie, it becomes crystal clear the effects of being around Joel, and the terrible violence.
Violence is often looked at as a gameplay mechanic, and approached casually. Yet, it's a big thing to take another persons life. The terrible ways that people die in these games are truly horrific, and cringe worthy. The difference between these games and others is that they have context that evoke emotion and remorse for pulling the trigger. Violence is not a good thing. It's never the right thing to do. If anything, it should be used as a last resort. Too often games use violence willy nilly, and make a farce of the gravitas of the act of killing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)