I recently had a great conversation with a group of fellow gamers over Slack, in which we discussed the role of perspective within games. I feel like this discussion extends into other media as well, such as books and film. I wanted to talk a bit more about this topic, however as conversations do, the course of the discussion shifted and the thread was lost. Thankfully, I have a blog.
The role perspective plays within games is fascinating to me. So much can change with just a simple shift. The most noticeable shift I think can be seen is in the differences between games with voiced and silent protagonists.
The standard voiced protagonist is a character who is already well developed, a fully fleshed out person with their own backstory, motives and desires. This is a character who is driven, and their own individual. You're simply discovering their story as it unfolds in front of you. Some examples would be characters like Adam Jensen from Deus Ex, Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher series, BJ Blazkowicz from Wolfenstein, and Max Payne, from well, Max Payne.
Yeah, he's not thrilled about his name either
The player is in an interesting place with games with voiced protagonists. These are games with strong narrative structures, with well developed and compelling stories. These are interesting characters, with complex emotions and motives. The player isn't the character, they're simply in control of the characters actions. The character is the character, they just bring the player along for the ride. These style of games feature characters with voice acting, and frequent dialogue, either with other characters, or in the form of self reflection or narration. The best description I can think of for the role the player is placed into in these sorts of games is that of an observer.
The story is entirely out of the players hands, even in games with multiple endings, such as The Witcher. There are established end game points where eventually the story will conclude. None of this to say that these games aren't rewarding - quite the opposite. The Witcher 3 is absolutely one of my favourite games, and one my wife and I have played through multiple times.
In contrast to these games however, we have games with silent protagonists. These would be your Dragonborn from Skyrim, The Lone Wanderer from Fallout 3, and of course, the infamous Gordon Freeman of Half-Life.
The Lone Wanderer. I mean, he's basically alone. Dogs can't talk either.
These are games with primarily first-person camera angles (3rd person is optional in Skyrim and Fallout), with characters with either non-existent or very limited backstories. The perspective shifts with this style of game. The player is the character in these games, for all intents and purposes. In the case of Skyrim and Fallout, the characters background is extremely limited, and the personality and motives of the character are largely a blank slate, waiting for the player to write their story onto them. You can be whoever you want to be. These types of open world games also feature strong stories, with rich narrative, however they allow the player to approach them at their own pace, or to ignore them altogether. They allow the player to tell their story if they so choose, role playing as a unique individual within the worlds setting.
Half-Life is different, in that Gordon Freeman is essentially a character on rails, with clear cut end game goals that don't allow for any deviation. The story has a point A to point B structure. Gordon has a limited backstory, that we learn of very early on in the game. However it's Gordon's lack of voice that allows the player to be him. Because he doesn't express his own thoughts, emotions or desires, the player is free to project themselves into and through him, effectively rendering ourselves Gordon Freeman while we play. In these games, the player is an active participant, and I find, more frequently deeply connected with the narrative and events of the game.
Half-Life masterfully evokes an emotional response from players with visual cues
An interesting twist on this however is the protagonist of The Legend of Zelda games, Link. Link is famous for never uttering a word, other than a grunt or a loud "hiiiiya!" while swing the Master Sword. Unlike Fallout, Skyrim, Half-Life, Dishonored, etc, The Legend of Zelda is in the 3rd person, with the camera set back and external from Link. While he doesn't speak, he has emotions, which he conveys through facial expression, or are expressed through the dialogue of non-playable characters.
The many faces of Link
As the player sees Link's face betray the way he's presently feeling, it allows the player to extrapolate what Link must be thinking as well. What this does is pull the player out of the role of the character, making the player an external party once again, in much the same manner as Max Payne and his many strange grimaces.
Again, none of this is to say that I prefer one game style over another - many of my favourite games fall into one camp or the other, and I'd never dream of decisively trying to decide which is the superior format. Such a task would be insurmountable, and frankly, rather silly. These are just different types of games, both can and do evoke a range of emotional and critical responses. I merely wanted to expand upon a previous discussion. If you'd like to keep the discussion going, please feel free to leave a comment below!