Fully Voice Dialog or Mostly Text Dialog?

Post » Tue Jan 07, 2014 11:44 am

So there is a difference between Skyrims and Morrowinds Dialogue system, as in how you communicate with NPCs and vice versa.

With Morrowind it was much more text based with minimal voice acting (greetings, battle cries I believe, etc). Skyrim it was pretty much fully voice acted. Some video examples

Morrowind:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbrUIj9dH0k#t=349

Skyrim : http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=LoH0B_mec_I#t=455

There might be slight spoilers somewhere in this videos if you watch them past the times I linked, it was mostly just to showcase how the npcs talked to you and how you talked to NPCs. Mostly ignore the players voice, they were some random videos I found.

So out of those two, which ones do you like the most? Perhaps comment on why?

Thank you! :smile:

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Matthew Warren
 
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Post » Tue Jan 07, 2014 11:00 pm

I like text. I read and absorb information faster via print. I also have a vivid imagination. I prefer to imagine the tones of voice of NPCs rather than have them handed to me by someone else. With a few exceptions, the NPC voices I imagined in Morrowind were more interesting than voice acting in Oblivion and Skyrim.

I like game features that encourage me to use my imagination. But I think the trend in video games these days is moving away from that.

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Trish
 
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Post » Tue Jan 07, 2014 6:52 pm

As much as text dialogue is much simpler and allows for much more options, I have to go with voiced. Voices just make them more of people to me, and saves me from having to imagine what that person would sound like saying that.

for example, I just couldn't see J'zargo as great if I had to read most of what he said; His awesomeness exceeds my imagination so he's better fully voiced to me. :happy:

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Kit Marsden
 
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Post » Tue Jan 07, 2014 12:17 pm

The bad thing about voice acting: I read ten times faster than they can talk, so I end up skipping 90% of everything they say. (I have sub-titles on.) And the information they tell you has to be condensed. This makes dialog feel unimportant.
The good: Talented voice actors can add to the game world and immersion.

The bad thing about text: The game world has to stop, while you sit there and read for two minutes.
The good: Tons of information and lore can be added to each conversation. And each NPC has a unique voice 'inside my head.' I'm less likely to skip dialog if there might be clues hidden inside a paragraph.

Overall, I prefer text.

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liz barnes
 
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Post » Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:48 pm

I don't really see the need for text. FNV can be prove that you can have lots of meaningful dialogue. I got immersed in the beginning of Old world Blues listening to 4 robots talk and then realized more than an hour had past. Same with Elijah. Don't really think an hour of text would make me immersed or interested. Also, I don't think I would have had the same level of sympathy or if Parthy would have the same impact if he it was a wall of text.

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Alina loves Alexandra
 
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Post » Tue Jan 07, 2014 9:05 pm

I prefer voiced. Having an actual voice to the character helps convey emotion, and helps provide that spark of life. There's only so much you can effectively portray using text dialog, and being that those characters aren't mine, it's not my place to imagine what they should be like.
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Curveballs On Phoenix
 
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