Voice Acting in Video Games

The folks at IGN have decided to take a look at the various pros and cons of including voice acting in video games. Of course one cannot bring up the subject of voice acting in games without thinking of Legend of Zelda. The Legend of Zelda is one of the last great holdouts due to Nintendo’s reluctance to make a fully voiced sequel to the series. With the recent release of Skyward Sword it is again asked why does Link remain the silent protagonist in an era of fully voiced games?

They compare the histories of video games and movies talking about the evolution of technology allowing for more options that were previously unavailable. Later on there are some comparisons made between the Zelda series and other series that did eventually adopt voice acting. Taking the fan receptions as an example, listing which series were successful and why. Check out some more just after the jump.

The Internet went apey on April Fools’ Day 2008, when IGN produced a trailer for a fake Zelda movie. Many readers recognised it for the elaborate prank that it was, but it still left them chomping at the bit for the real thing. Clearly a Zelda movie would need to give voice to its hero, so it stands to reason that fans have already come to terms with a talking Link. We at least seem to agree that it’s well past time for all the non-player characters to start talking; in fact 57.65 per cent of you voted for NPC voice acting a few months back. After all, it seemed to work well enough in Metroid Prime 3. A further 22.65 per cent of you wanted Link to talk as well, so there’s a clear majority in favour of voice acting in principle.

For some, voice acting is a matter of player agency. The idea is that we project ourselves onto our surrogate, silent heroes. But how much does that effect depend on perspective? Why do more players seem to cry out for Link’s voice than say, Gordon Freeman’s? In first person, you are the hero, but in third person, you’re the hero’s… stalker?

As I see it, Link is faced with a choice. Remain in third person, and come kicking and screaming into the wide world of voice acting, or maintain his muteness, and suspend disbelief with a shift to first person. Link’s appearance is so well recognised I can’t imagine Nintendo opting for the latter.

Similarly, Link has enjoyed several visual interpretations. The “Hero of Time” has been recast as several different people, in several different timelines, ages, geographical locations, and even races. Surely we can handle hearing his voice without locking it down and saying, “that’s Link’s voice, and no other voice shall be entered into.” His voice could change from game to game, and in the context of the Zelda series, that would make complete sense.

Personally I have always wanted voice acting to be added to Zelda one day. It seems strange that today that we have fully voiced Mario and Metroid games but still have heard little other than the mumbled gibberish of Midna and Fi, or the sounds of Beedle. Just because it was not possible until very recently in the history of the series does not mean Link should forever be silent. However I thought he had a very interesting point in that all Links are different and from different eras in Hyrule’s history. Sometimes coming from very different cultures. It could very well be the only time a company could use different sounding voice actors for sequels and it would still work out in the end.

So what do you think? Do you want to hear Link speak? Think he made an interesting case? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: IGN

Related: Skyward Sword

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