silent or speaking?

[ratneck]

would you prefer it if gorden speaks or is silent , please, state your reasons

 

[Absinthe]

Silence is golden.

 

[Norman Frohman]

Silence, it really allows you to blend with Gordons emotions.

 

[Oppressor]

Gordon can never talk. Ever.

 

[Mech Man]

Gordon will not talk because it goes against one of the key elements Valve has been working on all this time. Besides , there is no actor in the known universe that can voice his awesomeness.

 

[lefty]

Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

Silence, it really allows you to blend with Gordons emotions.

Seriously the way I play makes Gordon feel like a Terminator

 

[mrman234]

If Gordon speaks, I will board a plane, change at London, fly to Seattle, go to the head offices of Valve, ask to meet with Gabe Newell, wait outside, walk into his office when I am allowed to, and slap him in the face.

 

[Earthdeath]

Gordon should never speak.if he did, id stop playing.but i would like to know why he doesnt.

 

[shea7993]

I suppose if gordon speaks then that would make the player feel less like being Gordon... I mean I usualy talk to myself, and especialy when I play games I tend listen then just voice my own opinion or thoughts like "oh god, here we go again... Barney!!! Barney get your ass back here! Barrrr... oh forget it... idiot" yeah... OK so im weird but point is it makes me feel like im Gordon and not realy just controlling some dude who might aswell do it himself since he can talk for himself... Does anyone get what im saying?

 

[Mech Man]

^ this is exactly what valve wants us to do , they have said repeatedly that Gordons voice is our voice , whatever we say is what he says , at least in your personal version of half-life.

 

[Iron Kat]

I suppose if gordon speaks then that would make the player feel less like being Gordon... I mean I usualy talk to myself, and especialy when I play games I tend listen then just voice my own opinion or thoughts like "oh god, here we go again... Barney!!! Barney get your ass back here! Barrrr... oh forget it... idiot" yeah... OK so im weird but point is it makes me feel like im Gordon and not realy just controlling some dude who might aswell do it himself since he can talk for himself... Does anyone get what im saying?

I totally get what you're saying!!! I always do that!!!!

 

[FISHY CRACKERS]

At some point's i'd like him to be talk, actually i'd like him to talk like he does in that machinima series "Freeman's Mind", sometimes i can really imagine that too, seriously a lot of the time i'm walking around to the next area of the land of wherever-the-hell-i-am, and whenever i run by a combine silder or zombie i shoot them in the head and think "Why do they keep on sending these same guys after me? I killed the first thousand so why wouldn't i be able to kill the next? If the Cmbne don't get better troops this war's gonna end quickly..." i'm sorry did i get off topic? But anyway i voted for liking him how he is.

 

[lord_raken]

I suppose if gordon speaks then that would make the player feel less like being Gordon... I mean I usualy talk to myself, and especialy when I play games I tend listen then just voice my own opinion or thoughts like "oh god, here we go again... Barney!!! Barney get your ass back here! Barrrr... oh forget it... idiot" yeah... OK so im weird but point is it makes me feel like im Gordon and not realy just controlling some dude who might aswell do it himself since he can talk for himself... Does anyone get what im saying?

I am behind this 100%. but sometimes talking at an unresponsive screen can be frustrating. I think there should be some non-verbal way to interact with the NPCs. like a "interaction key" at certain points in the game you will be given an option of interacting/responding to NPC's (Alyx mainly) actions or words. so you have two choices respond and interact with the characters or ignore the characters. each choice has consequences that affect character development and NPC interaction but leave the overall plot alone. by choosing to respond to and interact with an NPC, let us assume Alyx, will interact more with the player and become more familiar with the player. it you choose to ignore the NPCs then they will become less involved. for instance, let us say that this system was in place in Ep1. when you are first pulled from the rubble and Alyx, happy to find you alive, hugs you. you will be prompted to press the interaction key (E). if you choose to return the hug Alyx will be more friendly and draw closer to you throughout the game. she will talk to you more one non mission subjects, she will joke, chat, banter, and flirt with you more, confide in you personally and develop a close "relationship"with the player. if you choose to not respond she will remain distant personally from the player and not talk to the player unless it is necessary for the mission. there will be many places like this scatter throughout the game with several key characters. this way everyone can be happy. those who find Alyx annoying will be able to push her into the back ground so as to not interrupt with their rampages. and those who would like to be able to interact with her and respond in some way (being unable to respond to her interactions in the game is very frustrating). lots of words but there it is.

 

[Ubik]

gordon should not and will not every speak. if a movie was ever made Gordon would have to speak and I'd be ok with that on certain conditions.

 

[Greenwood]

Gordon probably shouldn't speak, but that's only because he hasn't so far, so it would be strange to have him speak now. However, I think the character 'Gordon Freeman' is a really dull character compared to many characters in games eg Tassadar or Zeratul in Starcraft. That's largely due to him not speaking or being shown to do anything that you don't directly control. You really get to know very little about what drives him, who he likes/dislikes etc. I understand that Valve thinks this is necessary to allow the player to feel completely integrated into the character, but I think the trade-off between this and the possibility of exploring the main character's personality/ relationships with others isn't worth it.

Rockstar North had the same decision to make in GTA: Vice City. In the previous game, GTA 3, they had a main character like Freeman, who basically had no personality. However they evidently came to the conclusion that it would be more fun to be able to play as someone who can provide the player with more varied experiences- for example, via scenes in which the player doesn't control him, Tommy Vercetti could engage in a greater range of relationships with other characters, allowing the player to then take part in gameplay relating to such relationships. Obviously this kind of thing has been developed much further in GTA 4.

All that said, I really liked the story in Half-Life 1, even though there was very little character development in it at all. It seemed to work much better than the storyline in HL2.

 

[Dog--]

^ this is exactly what valve wants us to do , they have said repeatedly that Gordons voice is our voice , whatever we say is what he says , at least in your personal version of half-life.

Wow, Gordons an asshole.

In my game.

And I'm pretty sure more then one person got raped. And a zombie.

I think Gordon better stay quiet..

 

[tschumann]

silence, because why break from tradition. also, hearing him speak from firstperson wouldn't sound right (as it didn't in Gunman Chronicles).

 

[Earthdeath]

plus it would ruin the game as he wouldnt sound like you had imagined.

 

[jet_porkins]

Well, theoretically, Gordon does communicate with others. We, the players, do not hear audible words as he doesn't engage in conversation, but I have my own wacky theory (that I will no doubt receive some respectful disagreement over).

Let's take HL1. Honestly, when you "USE" a security guard, in which he responds in kind with "Sure, I'll come with you," or something to the extent, is Gordon really using hand gestures? That'd be kinda silly. I think lord_raken's idea regarding the USE key as a function to communicate with Alyx has merit. I think in this particular scenario, Valve designed it as such that whatever Gordon "says" to the guard is left up to the player's imagination. In that sense, Gordon does speak.

Other examples, and I know this isn't an official Valve title, but Barney's role goes through Blue Shift as a silent protagonist, yet there isn't a time that goes by when he doesn't say a word in Hl2. And Shepard using the radio to call in reinforcements in OP4, I doubt he's silent when communicating through a radio.

Besides, players can already hit the USE key on Alyx during the episodes (a function I discovered rather recently). Each time she does something kinda different - sometimes she smiles at you gleefully, others she offers a bit of dialogue, etc.

 

[jet_porkins]

Within the confines of the poll, Gordon should never have an audible voice to the player.

Sorry for the double-post.

 

[serious_ivan]

gordon should never speak. thats one of the laws of physics.

 

[Greenwood]

Let's take HL1. Honestly, when you "USE" a security guard, in which he responds in kind with "Sure, I'll come with you," or something to the extent, is Gordon really using hand gestures? That'd be kinda silly. I think lord_raken's idea regarding the USE key as a function to communicate with Alyx has merit. I think in this particular scenario, Valve designed it as such that whatever Gordon "says" to the guard is left up to the player's imagination. In that sense, Gordon does speak.

I dunno, I don't think if it's left up to the player's imagination it's a bit difficult to come up with complex relationships that develop over time. It's not like you're there thinking "oh earlier, I imagined Freeman spoke to this person like this, so now that something else has happened, the imaginary relationship's going to change this way, based on what I imagined Freeman saying earlier...".

The bottom line is, if you can experience the way that the main character in a story communicates with other characters, you're going to get a deeper understanding of that character, and his/ her relationships with other charaters.

 

[Norn]

:monkee:

^ this is exactly what valve wants us to do , they have said repeatedly that Gordons voice is our voice , whatever we say is what he says , at least in your personal version of half-life.

that's funny

I look at gordon and I see myself....ROTFL

Don't think I would make a very good man....
sense I don't have a ***** but a *******

i look at gorden in his Bio=haz suit wondering if he has enough room for his man package...

 

[ratneck]

I think they could do do an elder scrolls stlye thing when you can replie but no words are actually spoken.

 

[Returned3]

"Hello I am Gordon Freeman, LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL"

I would seriously shit myself and go into a coma should Gordon say that come Episode 3.

 

[CyberPitz]

If he spoke, it would completely ruin everything Valve have worked to accomplish with the story telling aspect.

 

[Norn]

be wierd if suddenly he was capture with a bleeding mouth striped of his bio suite expose to all danger with a crack in his glasses knowing how much crap he is and sudenly he spoke

ruin everything gordon!! YOU DAMN BUZZKILL!!! Talk why don't ya?! NO! SHUT UP!!