Having your character talk during cutscenes

[KyahAlmasy]

the direct quote was "Silence is a characteristic and If I wouldn't do it at that time then it isn't "my" character." you also go on to use "silence" as an example for a dialogue choice.

based on that, everything i've said stands- and it seems like you actually don't understand. to put it into context- just because the silent protagonist doesn't say anything at that time doesn't mean they're not actually saying anything at that time. whatever you think or feel is the response, which you project onto them. if you're projecting silence onto them as a result of not seeing or hearing lines of dialogue, well... that's on you.

the point is, silent protagonists aren't your preference and that's fine. but your perception of them being silent and associating it with being a characteristic and therefore 'not you' doesn't, in fact, mean they possess a silent characteristic.

the default response of the silent protagonist isn't "silence"- it's whatever you imagine them to say. so it's only a characteristic if you yourself perceive it that way (which i suppose is understandable, but not at all intended)

The game has never suggested that our characters are actually talking during a conversation unless they cut away for a moment and the NPC clearly acknowledges a point we've made. As Shougun mentioned, the ever common "Fade" in, and out technique.

Aside from that, our character merely stands on the sidelines as the NPC's go about their conversation and we, the character are swept away with no personal say in the matter. It has become a reoccurring trait for our character to remain speechless, and thus Shougun is right; its a characteristic. For instance in the Limsa intro, even when the Miquote speaks directly to us and our character looks her in the face, they don't speak, but simply walk away from her. There's no dialogue there, but if you wish to pretend for the sake of projecting yourself, than by all means go for it. But the truth is right in front of you.

If it's a duck, it's gonna quack, no matter how hard you wish for it to bark.

[MrKupo]

What if... and bear with me on this... what if SE made it like adlibs. You'll be going through your quest dialogue when the NPC asks "So what did you find out while gallivanting around Western La Noscea?" and then a text box opens that says:

Please type out what you remember happening:
And then you can type whatever you want. If I wanted my character to be a pirate, I would type "Yarrr... I be seein' some nasty things in yonder fields!"

And it doesn't matter what you type because the NPC will continue talking like he/she assumed you said what they wanted to hear. In fact, there probably won't be a submit button for the text box, it'll just cut you off at some point.

[Lirion]

This is one of the things I hated in both XI and XIV. My character doesn't feel important at all in the story, I'm just some dude saving the world while the NPC who saved me earlier from the boss I just beat the shit out off takes all the credit. Alright I might exaggerate a tiny bit but it's still somewhat true. I wouldn't mind if our characters to talk in CS or stayed silent, but I would much rather have THEM save the NPCs and then proceed to battle the boss. That's not saying they have to be Rambo in every cutscene though.

When you first meet Gaius, this part http://youtu.be/XvVGqx5r1mg?t=1m3s I hate it. Makes me feel like a defenseless young anime girl about to fall on her bum. The hero of Eorzea...

At least the final cutscene where everyone praise you was good, I liked that.

In short, please make our characters actually feel like the heroes they are and not "You're the one who will save us! Now please go and stand in the corner while me and this Miqote talk like you're not here".

[SkyeWindbinder]

This is one of the things I hated in both XI and XIV. My character doesn't feel important at all in the story, I'm just some dude saving the world while the NPC who saved me earlier from the boss I just beat the shit out off takes all the credit. Alright I might exaggerate a tiny bit but it's still somewhat true. I wouldn't mind if our characters to talk in CS or stayed silent, but I would much rather have THEM save the NPCs and then proceed to battle the boss. That's not saying they have to be Rambo in every cutscene though.

When you first meet Gaius, this part http://youtu.be/XvVGqx5r1mg?t=1m3s I hate it. Makes me feel like a defenseless young anime girl about to fall on her bum. The hero of Eorzea...

At least the final cutscene where everyone praise you was good, I liked that.

In short, please make our characters actually feel like the heroes they are and not "You're the one who will save us! Now please go and stand in the corner while me and this Miqote talk like you're not here".

Doesn't feel important? Whaaaa!?

I don't know about you, but there were plenty of times I felt like the most important character in my world.

Like when I saw the rain of fire at the beginning that no one else around could see that bestowed the echo on me. Or when I was told I had been specifically selected to be a BLM for a reason. Or when Lousioux entrusted the taking down of the primals specifically to me. Or when I was given the mission to storm the Garlean base and destroy the transmitter that was bringing down Dalamund, or when Cid flew me up in his airship to face Van Darnus and kill him and save our world. And holy hell, let's not forget the ending where everyone was there, from the circle of knowing to the commander of each Grand Company, saluting me for a job very heroically done!

Not important, pffft. I'm the sole reason Van Darnus is dead. I have faced GODS and beat the crap out of them. Heck, Lousioux saw me so important that he saved me from Bahamut and teleported me to the future, where I could face him later. You may not feel important, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm the friggin Chosen One. And yes, I wrote Chosen One with capital letters. It's that deep. lol

[Lirion]

Doesn't feel important? Whaaaa!?

I don't know about you, but there were plenty of times I felt like the most important character in my world.

Like when I saw the rain of fire at the beginning that no one else around could see that bestowed the echo on me. Or when I was told I had been specifically selected to be a BLM for a reason. Or when Lousioux entrusted the taking down of the primals specifically to me. Or when I was given the mission to storm the Garlean base and destroy the transmitter that was bringing down Dalamund, or when Cid flew me up in his airship to face Van Darnus and kill him and save our world. And holy hell, let's not forget the ending where everyone was there, from the circle of knowing to the commander of each Grand Company, saluting me for a job very heroically done!

Not important, pffft. I'm the sole reason Van Darnus is dead. I have faced GODS and beat the crap out of them. Heck, Lousioux saw me so important that he saved me from Bahamut and teleported me to the future, where I could face him later. You may not feel important, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm the friggin Chosen One. And yes, I wrote Chosen One with capital letters. It's that deep. lol

That's exactly my point, you are told you're the most important dude in the story yet the cutscenes always put you in the corner while others take the whole screentime. And that makes me feel unimportant. The jobs and the later cutscenes that came when Yoshi took over somewhat fixed this so hopefully what I experienced was a thing of the past along with Tanaka.

And I did recognize the final cutscene where everyone praise you in my post that you replied to.

[MyKotoShi]

This thread is difficult to read with all this word spam -_-

[SkyeWindbinder]

That's exactly my point, you are told you're the most important dude in the story yet the cutscenes always put you in the corner while others take the whole screentime. And that makes me feel unimportant. The jobs and the later cutscenes that came when Yoshi took over somewhat fixed this so hopefully what I experienced was a thing of the past along with Tanaka.

And I did recognize the final cutscene where everyone praise you in my post that you replied to.

I know you recognized it, but it just didn't feel like you gave it enough credit.

It's true, the other characters talk a lot while you remain silent, yes. But it really doesn't make me feel any less important. In my opinion, it's kind of like the other characters are narrating your story. When they have something to say, it's usually about how there's a threat and only you can defeat it, or you're the threat standing between them and world domination, or you're the one who will determine the fate of the world in one way or another. Silent though your character may be, the truth is, it's all about you you you. You are, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most important person in Eorzea. And the game wastes no effort making sure you understand that. I really don't see how the lack of dialogue makes this any less so. You're the silent protagonist. You don't have to talk the talk, because you walk the walk. You don't bark, you bite. As the hero, you really don't have to waste time with words, because your actions do the talking and are more than efficient.

[Lirion]

I know you recognized it, but it just didn't feel like you gave it enough credit.

It's true, the other characters talk a lot while you remain silent, yes. But it really doesn't make me feel any less important. In my opinion, it's kind of like the other characters are narrating your story. When they have something to say, it's usually about how there's a threat and only you can defeat it, or you're the threat standing between them and world domination, or you're the one who will determine the fate of the world in one way or another. Silent though your character may be, the truth is, it's all about you you you. You are, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most important person in Eorzea. And the game wastes no effort making sure you understand that. I really don't see how the lack of dialogue makes this any less so. You're the silent protagonist. You don't have to talk the talk, because you walk the walk. You don't bark, you bite. As the hero, you really don't have to waste time with words, because your actions do the talking and are more than efficient.

I think we are talking about different things here, I don't care if my character speaks or not, he can be mute and have someone speak for him. I just want our characters to have more presence in the cut scenes. Let's take the Dragoon cut scene when you're about to fight the final boss. Your character steps up and protect the guy you came with, I want more of that, a lot more of that. That made me feel, dear I say it, proud of my character.

The video I linked to in my first post have something I really don't like, you have made all your way there then when Gaius shows up you stand there like a paralyzed kid while the other people comes and saves you and have this epic fight scene. Now that one was from Tanaka time and maybe they wanted to show that Gaius is really strong and you're not supposed to beat him yet but then there are better ways to show that without making you look like a useless scared little child. This made me feel like my character was useless and forgot how to fight.

I would have much rather see us fight Gaius there and then get beat up, that would at least give our character a little more presence in the cut scene and it would make Gaius look too strong for you at this time.

But having the story keep telling me I'm this hero and then in the cut scenes have me take the backseat does not work for me. Others might be able to overlook it but I can't. But like I said, the later stuff that came once Yoshi took over do give our characters a little more screentime.

[SkyeWindbinder]

I think we are talking about different things here, I don't care if my character speaks or not, he can be mute and have someone speak for him. I just want our characters to a more presence in the cut scenes. Let's take the Dragoon cut scene when you're about to fight the final boss. Your character steps up and protect the guy you came with, I want more of that, a lot more of that. That made me feel, dear I say it, proud of my character.

The video I linked to in my first post have something I really don't like, you have made all your way there then when Gaius shows up you stand there like a paralyzed kid while the other people comes and saves you and have this epic fight scene. Now that one was from Tanaka time and maybe they wanted to show that Gaius is really strong and you're not supposed to beat him yet but then there are better ways to show that without making you look like a useless scared little child. This made me feel like my character was useless and forgot how to fight.

I would have much rather see us fight Gaius there and then get beat up, that would at least give our character a little more presence in the cut scene and it would make Gaius look too strong for you at this time.

But having the story keep telling me I'm this hero and then in the cut scenes have me take the backseat does not work for me. Others might be able to overlook it but I can't. But like I said, the later stuff that came once Yoshi took over do give our characters a little more screentime.

I think that scene with Gaius was indeed to show that Gaius was extremely powerful. I found it rather intriguing myself, as it showed that as badass as my character may be, she is not the strongest warrior out there. At least not yet. To tell you the truth, it was refreshing to me to see my character so easily overcome by an enemy. It gives her something to work towards. She will indeed have to deal with Gaius sometime in the future. But she's not yet ready. If they had made her tougher than or on equal footing with Gaius to begin with, it would have been somewhat boring to me. "Okay, yeah sure, my character is the end all, be all on this game. Look, she so pwnage." (roll eyes) lol No, I actually like the fact that she was so easily curbstomped by Gaius. It gives a realistic taste to the situation, humanizing your character.

While it might have been nice to see her at least try to take on Gaius, it does actually make sense that one shot knocked her out. One shot to the back, no less. Not only does that serve to show that Gaius is stronger than you, it also serves to show that he has no honor. Heck, he was even willing to kill my character while she lay face down on the ground! That's not the actions of a proper knight or warrior, that's the actions of a tyrant and coward. So, you see, that scene served to reveal quite a bit about both you and Gaius. It revealed how vulnerable your character can be (especially from a sneak attack from the back), how powerful and devoid of honor your enemy is, and sets the stage for an inevitable showdown between yourself and Gaius, where it likely won't be as easy to take your character down as it was before. It also shows that, while powerful you are, no one man is an army and even the greatest heroes need a helping hand sometimes.

But hey, it's just how I feel. I like how they did that cutscene. And I also liked how the other characters spoke whilst I listened. It set up the story, it helped you learn about the lore of the other characters, it helped you learn about yourself. It set up your story and established your relationship to the NPCs quite nicely. It made me feel important without having to say a word. The NPCs did the talking. But what was important was the action. And there WAS no action without me. Just my two cents.

[Cendres]

I've played enough Bioware games to know the dangers of voiced protagonists. No matter how many dialogue trees you have and 'choices' of response that character is no longer uniquely yours. Look at Dragon Age, because now they MUST have a voiced protagonist you can no longer select your own race you are stuck with a male or female version of the main character. Your choice of background story is now gone, you have to play the character that they've written with no imagination on your part.

That's the sacrifice you are asking for when you want the PC to be voiced, and even if we still get choice of race and where they come from, the voice selected may not be one that you can identify with, effectively removing that character from yourself.

As for not feeling like you are important and a major part of the story, honestly that's not entirely true, the adventurer is part of a select circle of heroes, but we are not the only hero of the story, we are not THE CHOSEN ONE. And because this is an MMO I find that very appropriate, I like being a minor character in the main event of the story because it gives me the freedom to invent my own story within that main one. Because it allows for my friends, my LS, my guild to also be a part of it naturally.

I like that in both XI and XIV the game and story recognizes that it's not just you that's involved but you and other adventurers, it's one of the key elements I found that they've done so very well. I don't want to see that jeopardized just so the PC can get voiced dialogue. Let that remain for single player games that tell a specific story.