To Voice Or Not To Voice: That Is The Question

I can't imagine playing the witcher 3 without Geralt being voiced. It adds so much character to him.

Not necessary. If you are there to roleplay and therefore play a different character everytime, it's just really weird if they have same voices or a voice you just don't like/connect with. Studios should put their efforts where it really matters. The story and the gameplay 😊

I would throw my hat in the ring for the non-voiced protagonist but voiced everything else. The voiced protagonist seems to always lead to less dialogue choices (for obvious budgetary reasons like those mentioned in the video), the dialogue wheel problem of lines not matching intent, a lack of replayability due to every character feeling the same, and the delivery of the voice actor varying too far from what I have in my head. If the lines are spelled out fully then I have already read the line in my head and don't need to hear it a second time on screen. Same with seeing my character "react" to things, I have already internally reacted to the moment on screen and I don't need the game react on my behalf a second time in ways often incongruent with my character. I think in general it boils down to games like Baldur's Gate 3 and Bethesda titles giving the player a lot of agency over their character, with voicing those protagonists limiting said agency, and games like the Witcher series having a predefined protagonist where voicing him makes a lot more sense.

The very scene you're showcasing in this video of Shadowheart meeting her parents when she's voiced vs when she's in the same scene as the damn unvoiced origin protagonist, has a significantly different dramatic impact! As much as some people want to pretend that voiced characters are unimportant in a game as if it makes them sound cool somehow, one can't deny the impact! That said, a lack of a voiced protagonist in BG3, is quite frankly understandable from a budget perspective and I love the game none-the-less because I love CRPGs in general, but I doubt BG3 would have sold this well if it didn't have the cinematics and the voiced characters.

The only thing that kinda takes me out of the game is when NPCS don’t say your name which is nearly all games with player creation so I’ve gotten used to it

Hadn't really thought about it. The story is more important to me. I don't mind reading as long as I'm engaged and invested in the characters. That is what matters. Though I do like a good voice lol I play both male and female characters, but I do not engage in same sex relationships. Even with Liara in the Mass Effect Games. It's just not for me.

I have limited vision in my right eye so voices are necessary for me.

In rpgs voice, protagonist characters hold back a lot of the role-playing. Look at vampire the masquerade bloodlines. I would be upset if my gangrel vampire character had the same voice as a malakavian. This voiced protagonist in the new bloodlines means they had to make one character that im not even excited about. All the face mapping and voice acting is money that could be spent making better gameplay.

Voice acting and cutscenes are the icing and cherry on top, we need the cake first.

I prefer the protagonist unvoiced but the NPCs to be voiced.

I think this is just a difference in how some RPG players want to play an RPG where player freedom is paramount while other RPG players want to player RPGs where the mechanics of an RPGs are to enhance stories, characters, world and themes.

I like BG3’s approach so much. I always play my own gender and when the character is not voiced, it helps me insert myself better into the game. I fear we could loose this kind of immersion if the characters are voiced. I don’t mind voiced characters, though. But I think it’s a better choice if you’re trying to have a protagonist with a personality at least partially independent of the player - like Geralt, for example.

With the main character it's basically a style choice by the devs. With the rest of the cast it's a choice between voiced or saving money by not voicing but making no money because nobody will play your game.

It can depend but I generally love voiced protagonist. I really wish that we got the voiced cutscenes of Tav from the beta in the released version.

Maybe it's just me, but I find that sometimes reading walls of text can be more interesting than listening to cutscence. While reading, I am getting information with preferred speed and more engaged in the story. Also, I had zero memorable moments with voiced cutscenes and a lot with reading text, but it could be just a small sample of games I played.

I am honestly kinda surprised that we haven't seen mods that make every dialogue in classic CRPGS (Icewind dale, BG 1 and 2, etc.) fully voiced with AI tools. I can see a lot of people giving those old games a try once they find out that there is a mod out there that makes the game fully voiced. I know plenty of people that gave Disco Elysium a try after the Voice over patch was put into the game.

Voiced protagonists have a tendency to reduce player agency over how their character participates in dialogue. I don't want to feel like I'm watching a movie and hitting next on a slideshow: i.e., Yes, No(Yes), Yes(Sarcastic), Leave. Non-voiced protagonists can have many more dialogue options and you can imagine your character sounds however you'd like (no posh British voice-acting!). I am actually a fan of the "chirp" voicesets you select when making a character in the old Infinity Engine games like Icewind Dale or BG 1&2. There aren't very many lines, but they add just enough characterization when compared to completely voiceless Bethesda protagonists.

As much as I do like a good voiced protagonist (like V, Geralt or Commander Shepherd), I do still feel it limits the number of dialogue options your character can have, given the amount of resources need to go into recording an actor's voice.

Voiced, ALWAYS. I used to hate when old games characters was like "Hey.." and the rest was just text

I sub because i like your voice and also your content is awesome.