Video Game protagonists come in many shapes and sizes. Silent or talkative, physically strong or mentally sharp, portly plumber or hardened space marine. What kind of protagonists do you like most.
I really like silent protagonists. They're the easiest to pretend like you're the one actually going on the journey. That isnt to say I dont like talkative ones either though. My favorite protagonist is really any protag from fire emblem. I love them all!
Dynamic protagonists. I just like seeing a growth in the main character, preferably positive. I like watching the edgy anti hero becoming a nicer person over the course of the story~ Problem with silent protagonists is that they usually lack this growth.
Agreed. If there is a lot of character customization I typically prefer a silent protagonist, simply because a lot of times chatty ones say things I wouldn't. However it has to be done well, and you need solid supporting characters to experience growth with.
This might be a weird short of personal preference, but I like characters with tragic back stories. They can be difficult to pull off though. I think that's probably the main problem with DC movies. A tragic back story should influence the character's personality but they should still be able to deal with present day issues without brooding on it too much.
I like a character to have personality. Especially if they have companions or reoccurring characters to interact with. I understand the purpose of silent protagonists but I much prefer them to be their own entity with their own likes and dislikes which I can maybe disagree with but that's part of the fun of them I think. I like them to be flawed as well.
I myself see the advantages from both types of protags. Well, kind of. Silent protagonists are what I'll call the "roleplay" protagonists. Essentially characters that you can act as, usually if you're given multiple options for what that character would say. It makes the experience more engaging and immersive, and I like that. It's like a "choose your own adventure" book, even if it isn't that. Like, at all. Talkative protagonists, on the other hand, while they do take out the roleplaying part of silent protagonists, instead have their own personalities. Thing is though, most of these main protagonists end up being pretty much the same in my eyes, one way or another. Like, for example: In a lot of the games I've played, the talkative MCs are usually unknowing of how they use their abilities, and while that makes sense in a gameplay perspective, for a good amount of protags to follow this exact formula (among others that are just as bad) just gets really boring and tiresome to experience to be honest. Honestly it's for those reasons that I prefer silent protagonists. Because even if they didn't know how to use their abilities, at least I am in control of that, and as such I can bend that formula to my will.
I prefer silent ones, mostly as I can roleplay as them a lot easier. That is why I love Pokémon so much, it really made me feel immersed.
I actually prefer a mix between a silent protagonist and a speaking protagonist. A really good example of this would be the protagonist from Shadow of the Colossus or ICO. They speak at the beginning (or at little bits in the middle like ICO), but the game and storyline still gives you enough room to impress yourself upon them. Additionally, they have some character development, which I enjoy in pretty much any type of character. I'm totally chill with most types of protagonists. I wouldn't like a protagonist whose personality is completely dictated by the game. I enjoy having some influence on my character. I could also just play Fable and go demonic.
Interesting how this almost immediately developed into a matter of silent vs. talking protagonists when I my initial question was more general about what traits you like. In the matter of silent vs. talking, I prefer silent most of the time but talking protagonists provide a nice change of pace for me.
My preferred type of characters - never mind just protagonists - are the ones that don't talk. Characters that talk, protagonists or otherwise, can be incredibly distracting, either from the gameplay, the atmosphere of a situation, or even just the feeling of the moment. I understand that speech is necessary to create a dialogue and progression, but at the same time, saying something that is either very obvious or does not need to be said can come off as silly or annoying. If the atmosphere or narration can sufficiently describe it, there usually isn't a need to speak. Plus, too much dialogue can choke out a good story. I can think of a few games off-hand where some of the characters talked merely for the sake of talking, or because they didn't have a line in the current scene. Moments like those are both bothersome and frivolous. Let the story tell itself.
Protagonists, in my opinion, should never really talk. They should also be a blank slate going into the game so the player can insert themselves into the game through the protagonist (unless the protagonist isn't the playable character, that's a different story)
