Tag: Dishonored

E3 2015 – Highs and Lows

Last week was E3, an event that I always look forward to, because I’ll learn of upcoming releases from some of my favourite developers. I know there will be announcements for some of the yearly-released titles as well, but for me there was also a sense of awe at the original content coming. I have always been a Nintendo guy, and every time they release or announce a new iteration of their IP I’m the first one to drool.

I don’t get into “Who won E3?” because I feel it’s nonsense. I do however point out my favourite (and least favourite) announcements. The stories I enjoyed and the events that excited me. Boiling everything down to “X won this year!” makes it seem as though announcements didn’t matter. Continue reading E3 2015 – Highs and Lows

In Defence of the Silent Protagonist

Silent heroes are a video game staple, from the days when there wasn’t really much of a choice to the modern days where their use is deliberate. Some silent heroes make sense while others don’t, and I’ll go through a few of them in this piece, as well as explain why the Silent Hero is such a good thing, why we need silent heroes in video games.

Silent Heroes such as Link, Gordon Freeman, Adol Christin and Crono from Chrono Trigger to mention a few have been used in the past to enhance the immersion of the player. Some characters aren’t completely mute; they react, like Link silently answering the question “What’s your name?” which makes him seem he’s telepathic or something. Same with Adol Christin from the Ys series, he never says anything, but when prompted, a text-box appears saying “Adol explained the situation and introduced himself” or something similar. You never get to see him actually saying things, but you know he’s saying them. In fact, Link could use that as well, give at least some indication the guy’s talking. Some others, like Crono, Freeman and the Marine from Doom, never say a single word and if they do (within the game world), you’re never given any indication it actually happens.

Continue reading In Defence of the Silent Protagonist