Gordan & Speech

[Tommmo]

Gordon & Speech

In my opinion, one of the more intriguing aspects of Half Life is the stern silence of Gordon Freeman. As you all undoubtedly know, he maintained his lack of oral communication throughout the entirety of the original game and looks set to continue the trend in HL2. Understandably, the original did not focus on speech too much, the developers preferring to work on the pure gameplay experience.

However, in the long awaited sequel Valve have decided to expand the gameplay in so many ways, one of them being speech which adds a whole new dimension to the plot. There has obviously been a very careful focus on getting this just right, with a huge number of voice artists being interviewed (Over 100 or so for Alyx alone, I believe).

I am wondering why they have decided not to breathe life into Gordon and give him a voice for the sequel? In the words of the famous Gabe, its no longer a technical limitation, its a design decision. Does anyone here have any theories as to why Valve have decided to leave Gordon's voice box untouched? Perhaps it is to preserve the mystical aspect of the scientist, for continuity purposes from the original game or just to avoid using cut-scenes and a disembodied voice?

Would Gordon be better or worse with a voice? I myself am undecided, but would be very interested to hear opinions.

 

[Marauder]

Think of it this way. If they had given him a voice, what would you do if it was something entirely different than what you had imagined? What if they don't get the "right" voice actor, and his words just seemed out of place. It would ruin the game.

I liked his silence in 1, 2 should be the same.

 

[Prince of China]

Gordon will not be speaking in Half-Life 2.

 

[LoneDeranger]

Honestly I don't think that was their original intention in HL1 .. but it was just something that worked out really well so they decided to stick with it.

 

[Feath]

"I just think of it as one of our game rules. It acts as a design constraint, and it gives rise to certain opportunities we would not have otherwise. Try to imagine the test-chamber sequence at the beginning of Half-Life if Gordon Freeman were wisecracking all the way through, or telling his colleagues he didn't have a clue what to do. The game would grind to a halt. Instead, the player thinks, 'These scientists all act as if I know what to do, and I can't tell them I'm a complete ignoramus.' I live to create that kind of tension in the player."

 

[DarkelP]

Thing is, I read somewhere about what it would be like for gordon to speak in hl1.
In the beginning, your being told what to do, you couldnt have a scientist like gordon saying 'so what do I do?' kinda thing. Also, you get to put yourself into the gordon character, you get to think for him. When the main character talks, your restricted to how he thinks and talks and such.
Its better when he's silent, this is evident at the end, when you have the choice. he would have to be quiet then, and it just wouldnt of worked aswell, so yer, silent all the way in my opinion.


EDIT: Feath just posted exactly what I was talking about in the first sentence lol

 

[Chris D]

And Gordon will not be speaking in Half-Life 3.

He won't ever speak.


It makes the game different. It's the only story based singleplayer game I know that doesn't have a main character that speaks. And to tell you the truth I find it quite annoying in the type of game where you constantly hear some semi-witty comment after you've killed something.

The only voice of Gordon's you will ever hear is the one in your head that thinks on his behalf all the way through the game. The sense and the feel that make YOU Gordon Freeman, that make you part of the game. That's why it's a design decision and a good one at that.

Anyone played Todeangst 2? A single player episode for HL? They've given Gordon a voice in that game, and it really doesn't appeal to me to have him talk.

In fact, I think if they'd re-worded all the NPCs sequences, and cut Freeman's voice altogether, and stopped the 3rd person perspective in cutscenes then it'd be a much better game.

 

[Chris D]

We all posted stuff based on that principal within minutes of each other. Cool.

 

[Tommmo]

Good opinions. You really have to pay tribute to the script writers of HL2, I'm sure it must be a difficult job to provide continuous dialogue to Gordan. I trust Valve though, I'm sure they'll do a fantastic job.
I think the best reason for his lack of speech is the aura of mystery about his character, in that you can live the story through him rather than being spoon-fed the responses. Perhaps its much better this way.

 

[Cujo]

What's the idea with this retarded "GordAn" stylee?
It's "GordOn". Live it.

 

[Guest]

its simply because you are gordon

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by Chris_D
And Gordon will not be speaking in Half-Life 3.

Anyone played Todeangst 2? A single player episode for HL? They've given Gordon a voice in that game, and it really doesn't appeal to me to have him talk.

I have. He's got this strange Russian accent. It goes well with his beard, actually. But not with the game.

 

[Tommmo]

It's "GordOn". Live it.

My mistake. Although I do try to post with basic grammar and spelling, mistakes happen. Post edited.

 

[Chris D]

Good opinions. You really have to pay tribute to the script writers of HL2, I'm sure it must be a difficult job to provide continuous dialogue to Gordan.

They aren't writing scripts for Gordon. Like we said, it's a design limitation and he won't have a voice brcause of the reasons we just outlined in our posts.

 

[el Chi]

Originally posted by LoneDeranger
Honestly I don't think that was their original intention in HL1 .. but it was just something that worked out really well so they decided to stick with it.

Like so many things in HL1 that worked. HL is made up of incredibly good blunders that managed to pay off. I hope never to hear his voice an that he's taken a vow of silence.

However, does he simply not speak and we don't hear him, or is the poor guy actually mute?

 

[MrTunisia]

Lots of game designers use this technique to pull the player into the game. Nintendo use it in their games a lot too, Mario and Zelda for example.

 

[Tommmo]

Originally posted by Chris_D
They aren't writing scripts for Gordon. Like we said, it's a design limitation and he won't have a voice brcause of the reasons we just outlined in our posts.

I mean in that it must be a challenge to write lines for the other characters speaking to Gordon. Like with Alyx in Kleiners Lab.

 

[Chris D]

It's slightly harder...

"What you say Gordon? It's getting cold outside? Yes it is getting cold outside? Am I wearing my coat? Yes thank you"

Best. Script. EVAR!!!

 

[commando]

half life they don't speak.
medal of honour you don't speak, errrrm
doom 1 and 2 you don't speak.

it is basically most FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS cause they want it to feel like u r that person, and it would be wierd if someone spoke, who you are.

 

[Feath]

Sooty springs to mind.

How do you spell his name?

 

[Chris D]

I think I would have established that that phrase was supposed to say "first person shooters" without the caps quite easily

 

[Tommmo]

Originally posted by Chris_D
It's slightly harder...

"What you say Gordon? It's getting cold outside? Yes it is getting cold outside? Am I wearing my coat? Yes thank you"

Best. Script. EVAR!!!

Thats exactly what I mean. Many FPS simply do not require any speech from the character, but Half Life has such an engrossing plot which does rely on NPC speech.

 

[Cujo]

My mistake. Although I do try to post with basic grammar and spelling, mistakes happen. Post edited.

No offence intended. Just wondering why so many folks make GordOn GordAn with "A" so far on keyboard to "O" button. It occurs so often i started to worry that i making mistake

 

[DarkelP]

Originally posted by Chris_D
We all posted stuff based on that principal within minutes of each other. Cool.

Its like we had a physic(sp?) link.....lol

 

[dirge23]

there are some crucial first person shooters where the character does talk.

duke nukem 3d and serious sam come to mind. these are the best examples of why valve made gordon silent: it's just silly a lot of the time.

a somewhat softer example is in jedi knight ii, where the character has dialogue both ingame and in cutscenes. this works okay, but it does impose a character on the player, rather than vice versa.

i much prefer the half-life approach. did your gordon shoot scientists who got in his way in black mesa? did you try to keep them alive and out of harm's way? did you kill that first security guard with the crowbar to get his gun, or did you let the zombie kill him, or did you fight by his side?

all of these actions -- the player's choices -- create a different image of gordon freeman. this is one of the things that makes half-life great. trying to impose dialogue limits this connection between player and character. at worst, dialogue is jarring or accidentally comical, and both ruin the atmosphere that's so crucial to a good game.

 

[Guest]

for the sake of honorable mention an exellent A+ game with superior dialouge for the character you play as is No One Lives Forever 1 and 2 =D

kate archer is a sexy trash talking british ass kicker

 

[DimitriPopov]

Its good that Gordon doesnt speak. In my opinion this is done so you , the player, speak for him. This attaches you to the charechters and storyine far better. Its very effective , I loved it in HL1.

When I hit use on a scientist I say to myself 'stay here/come on' thus I am speaking the part. This really brings you Into Gordon , which is immensly more fun.

 

[DimitriPopov]

Originally posted by Chris_D
We all posted stuff based on that principal within minutes of each other. Cool.

And then I did one much later after only reading the first 2 posts lol. Great minds think alike .... sorta

 

[trantjd]

Originally posted by alb1221
for the sake of honorable mention an exellent A+ game with superior dialouge for the character you play as is No One Lives Forever 1 and 2 =D

kate archer is a sexy trash talking british ass kicker

Yeah, I was thinking of the NOLF games throughout this thread. There's definitely some great voice work there.

Hmmm, maybe if Gordon was a woman and had a cool/sexy english accent then I wouldn't mind if s/he spoke...

double hmmmm, and then if female english Gordon hooked up with Alyx maybe I wouldn't even mind if the game went third person for a bit :cheers: :cheese:

EDIT: Hmmm, this got me thinking. It's funny that there's a disproportionate number of third person shooters with female characters than there are first person shooters...can you say "design decision"???

 

[Mountain Man]

Few things rip me out of an immersive gameplay experience more than hearing a disembodied voice belonging to the character I'm playing saying things that I would never actually say. Valve is being smart about this one.

 

[Flyingdebris]

What about using captions for the character without any actual voice? It just feels a bit jarring that Gordon somehow gives silent telepathic statements to everyone but the player.

Perhaps if they gave you a list of things to say to a person RPG style but without any audio?

Or... maybe i'm going out on a limb perhaps...

Customized audio, giving the game self recorded voice clips to use as gordon's voice instead of a default voice which may be set to silent if you wish.

Nothing bothers me more than annoying voice quips but I'd also like to hear acknowledgements, statements, etc between my character and others. Or at least know that they are occuring.

 

[Mountain Man]

Point is, it's not needed nor is it jarring. The original Half-Life was written cleverly enough that the lack of an audible response from Gordon was perfectly natural.

For instance, a scientest would ask you a rehtorical question such as, "You're from the analmolous materials lab, aren't you? I can tell by your hazard suit. The security guard said we can get out through the northern passage, but we'll have to hurry before the security system seals off this area!"

In that example, no verbal response from Gordon is necessary and the player is fully informed of the situation.

 

[Flyingdebris]

Now that i've thought of it further, I think you may be right. However i think it would be cool if at the end of hl3 when valve is finished with the half life storyline gordon finally says something. I think it would be funny/cool

Anybody ever seen Mel Brook's "Silent Movie?" The only character to ever speak in the entire movie was a mime

 

[GLMinorThreat]

Think of it this way... Give Gordon a voice and lines. It takes you out of the story. You aren't gordon anymore. He's just another somebody you're controling.