Quite honestly, I am sceptical about having a voiced character. It takes away that feeling of the character 'being' me, if you get what I mean. It's as if the character is talking for me, and I'm just telling him what to say as opposed to me, the player, actually reading the lines in my head. If it's optional, then I really don't mind. It I had a choice, I'd have no voice though.

What I am trying to say is that it would be so awesome if the player could make their own history, give themselves a reason as to why they're where they are. Why are they in Boston? Why are they wearing a Vault 111 jumpsuit? And so on...

But I suspect they have already set a story for the protagonist, and it appears as if he came from a Vault. This rules out my options 1 and 2 but, however, leaves option 3 (human placed in cryogenic storage) open.

And you were whatever you wanted to be and became whatever you wanted to become as soon as you left. Timer means nothing to a raider that for whatever role playing reasons you create, loses interest in his initial goal.

You are aware events change people, or in this case can change a fictional role play, right? I need to write out 5 different ways the VD could have become disillusioned? I know I had a raider character in F1 and it worked. It works even better in Beth's superior medium.

I'm assuming it worked great until everyone in the vault died and your game ended. That is, unless you've got a modded or alternate version of the game. But that's not indicative of Fallout as it truly was. Whether you like it or not, the game was about saving your Vault. Not doing whatever you wanted. You could do a lot while saving the vault, but in the end, that was the goal.

Of course it works better in Bethesda's games. That's their focus.

Optional would mean the option to not hear it play... but it would (unless they had an incredible epiphany) still be the same limited dialog printed in text.

*But just imagine if instead, the game would change for those not using the default [voiced], and the PC's dialog fully reflected their stats, and came with commensurate replies and retorts from the NPCs.
Now... if they supported that (in more than two voices) for the voiced protagonist... then I would have zero qualms with a voiced protagonist.

I never play with the perspective of actually being the PC; it's their story, not mine; not one that I'd want to live; so if it imposed no limitations on their speech, then having it is all the better IMO.

The game didn't care about the PC that strayed from the one constant it demanded attention to... Those that abandoned the vault, got abandoned by the game; and it quit; not needing to further depict their tangent story.

Having a voice is not a deal breaker, the voice in the trailer seems okay, what I'm worried about is the character having a backstory and set character. I mean if the rumours are true he is a married man with a child! Like we need more stories like that! For a studio that offered so much freedom in the past in regards to race, six, sixual orientation, religion, morality, yada yada this would be really terrible and I would probably not buy the game.

No mods needed to pay it as an RP medium. The game ends the game ends. I create another character or go back to a previous save to continue paying that character's play style. Pretty simple stuff for a tt vet. Or even creating your own quests and narratives for that matter. The latter Fallouts allow this degree of freedom and creativity even more so.

But again the point is, the novelty of a va protagonist is gone after you make another character.

I create different characters for subsequent playthroughs, but in my first play when I'm exploring the world for the first time my character is always essentially an idealized me (I even try to make him look like me if the game allows) in a new world space. I wouldn't enjoy features that deny me that indulgence. Different characters are for later when I'm looking to shake things up in a new game.

For FO1, not that I don't see your point, (and i know I am being pedantic) but all it establishes is that you are the one that drew the short straw.

... And the PC was institutionalized from birth, and educated in the Vault; and [regardless of terms] knew people there; and presumably had family of one kind or another.

And at the end of the day the PC is whatever you want them to be.

the only way i could in ANY way go with it would be computer generated voice.

everything else would be the death blow for any type of quest mod.

edit: ...which definitely doesn't mean i'd in any way _want_ that, just to get that straight

I voted yes, however, if the option would have been present, it would have been "I don′t mind either way as long as it is properly done". However, If skyrim showed anything, is that even an unvoiced PC can be devoid of dialogue options to interact with his environment.

Utter silliness here since people where demanding a better narrative than FO3 only to now start flipping out and are up in arms about a voiced main character.

I'm not sure that voice acting improves the narrative of a game at all. In fact, some would say that the need to record and package all the voice files limits dialogue and the narrative.

Well, true enough- it means he didn't come from nowhere. And you definitely need a backstory to insert the character into the events of the game.
But, while the setting could mean much in the way of the characters makeup, it says little on the character of the PC- Ergot, what they might do once outside of the vault.

I'm not saying i don't see value in, or am against RPGs with a more static PC. I just wouldn't equate the Vault Dweller with Geralt.

As long as there are good voice actors. Also the game needs an option where you don't have one.

I am glad i am not alone on this, i was worried that all anyone cared about was the graphics (which i find perfectly fine and don't see anything wrong with, fallout has always had a specific art style and i think they nailed it) but nothing about the voice acting. This is honestly something that if being unvoiced isnt even an option i will not pick up the game, and this is coming from someon who has been a fan since 1997. Nothing in an RPG ruins my immersion more than a voiced main character, they always never sound as good as the voice you imagine them speaking in, same reason i loved the original dragon age but could not get into the sequels at all, it just never felt like MY character. Which while this is all well and good for for an action game, or even an RPG game where you ARE put into the shoes of a specific character ala the Witcher works fine.

But when i build my guy from the ground up i want to feel ownership of that character like i could in the past Fallout games, and even the Elder scrolls series, when they try to saddle him with a voice i find totally wrong it completely ruins that feeling for me and i feel like im playing more a rental than my own guy. So while i am not TOTALLY against the idea of a voiced protagonist, i do demand they at least give us who enjoy using our imaginations the option to keep them silent.

I'd rather they not talk.

I'd say "They'd never do that" but the voice sounds a lot like Troy Baker, and I can't imagine them having someone to high bar as a 'lie' in a trailer. Not sure what to make of it, honestly.

If they can add a voiced protagonist with many different voice options, a plethora of branching dialogue options/possibilities that are "radiant" or relative depending on consequences/choices/alignments, attributes/SPECIAL, and individual dispositions, without a loss of any writing, RPing, or choice, then I'm okay with it.

My biggest fear for BGS games as a whole is reduced interaction quality and dialogue options.

Even with the caveats above, I'm still hesitant, due to the impact on modding quest or NPC overhauls.

If the things I mentioned above are not possible, then I'm fairly strongly opposed to it.

In Fallout? Nope.

Let's leave the voiced protagonists to games like Bioware Mass Effect franchise/games.

As long as they don't screw it up spectacularly, I don't mind a voiced protagonist.

I personally like NOT having a voiced protagonist in Fallout. Allows me to have my character have their own voice. (like I plan to have a rough, not so smart, dominating woman, so a more masculine (female) voice fits better than a little girly one).

Brilliant idea, so long as it can be turned off.

EDIT:

what the hell happened to my post-count?

The anti voiced protagonists sound like people who were against voiced movies and yes there were a minority of movie goers that saw the idea of adding sound to movies would ruin the media because if the movie had sound already why would you need a live band. Luddites unite.

Voiced protagonists are the NATURAL evolution of the media. In almost every major AAA title you have a voiced Protagonist, RPGs are no exception. The fact remains a voiced protagonist has not hurt the sales of AAA RPG titles. Bethesda isn't interested in hamstringing themselves so that a minority of gamers can have a non voiced protagonist experience. A Voiced Protagonist is becoming mainstream. It is becoming an expected feature of the gaming community and not all old school RPG players are against it. I have been playing video game RPGs since adventure on the 2600 and zork on the xt. I am so fraking glad that the media has evolved beyond these two great games.

The truth is plenty of die hard RPG fans are able to role play with a voiced protagonist if you can't that is on you not anyone else. Eventually Bethesda will have to make the change, if not this title a future title, if for no other reason than it is an expected level of production quality for a AAA game developer. Indie titles will be the place to acquire the non voiced protagonist, not because they want to be but because the production costs will prohibit some indie developers from going voiced.

So often RPG fans comp[lain about a change in a games mechanics as dumbing down, well here we have the opposite case as people complain it limits their roleplaying ability. That is saying that you need a dumbed down non voiced protagonist to Role play, because a voiced protagonist makes roleplaying too complicated. I simply don't believe this what I think is the real issue is that its a change SOME people don't want to accept vs it prohibits their ability to role play.

We don't choose the voice we are given in life I see no issue with not being able choose it in a video game. I am more than willing to surrender some agency in a game for a stronger narrative.