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Would you play a game without voices? #117230
03/06/05 08:12 PM
03/06/05 08:12 PM
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CBSection31 Offline OP
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First off, I want to say that this question has NOTHING to do with the game I'm working on, Shady Brook. That game will have voices regardless.

I'm just curious, as a general rule. Certain games (mostly RPGs, but some adventures, too), such as Morrowind or Final Fantasy, don't have spoken text because of the massive amount of dialog and characters contained within the game.

So, my question to you is, would you play an adventure game if all the dialog was text-based instead of vocal?

I am REALLY interested in knowing, as a...future project, shall we say, might contain massive amounts of text, and I'm trying to determine if text-only is an option.

Thanks, everyone! smile


Indie Developer
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117231
03/06/05 08:17 PM
03/06/05 08:17 PM
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Crazy Town
TLC Offline
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I tried playing Morrowind and that was one thing I did NOT like about the game. wave


<3 I am in love with Norman Reedus/Daryl Dixon <3
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117232
03/06/05 09:34 PM
03/06/05 09:34 PM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 83,267
In the Naughty Corner
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Up until a year or so ago I didn't have headphones and just used the subtitle feature. It wasn't until I bought a game that did not offer subtitles that I actually "heard" a game. Since that point I always use the headphones because it gets you so much more into the game. I can't believe what I've missed. If you could still get into the game without hearing I would be willing to try it but I do like the atmosphere you get when there are sounds.

Ana wave


Don't feed the Trolls
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117233
03/06/05 10:36 PM
03/06/05 10:36 PM
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Posts: 84
Seoul, South Korea
saysix Offline
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I shall be happy to play text-only game. I don't mind whether the game has a voice or not. Instead, my concern is if the game has a text or subtitle that can replace voice. I'm from Korea. English is foreign language for me, so it's hard to enjoy voice-only game.


saysix
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117234
03/06/05 11:04 PM
03/06/05 11:04 PM
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Posts: 34,312
United Kingdom
Mad Offline
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Hi smile

A game that didn't have voices wouldn't bother me one bit if the other aspects of it were good thumbsup

Lots of the early games had text only laugh

Cheers.

Mad wave


Time : The Most Precious Commodity
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117235
03/06/05 11:10 PM
03/06/05 11:10 PM
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Posts: 5,041
Bay Area, CA
Melanie1 Offline
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Like Mad, if it were a good game in all other respects, I wouldn't mind not having voices either.

I like the text option even when I do have voices and also enjoy text adventures. I would much prefer text to bad jumbled voices that are hard to understand or annoying and in fact turn them off if possible in some cases. smile

Melanie


"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Mahatma Gandhi
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117236
03/06/05 11:46 PM
03/06/05 11:46 PM
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The Garden State
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I just played The Labyrinth of Time, which uses text instead of voices. A couple of times I missed a comment because I was looking at the scene instead of the text line, but on the whole, I had no problem with it.


Carpe chocolate.
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117237
03/06/05 11:56 PM
03/06/05 11:56 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 6,391
Long Beach, Australia
flotsam Offline
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I would play, but I much prefer voices, even with lots of text.


Quantity has a quality all of its own
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117238
03/07/05 12:50 AM
03/07/05 12:50 AM
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Oklahoma, USA
Homer6 Offline
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I would like to have the option of choosing either text or voice, or both. There are times these aging eyes don't see as well as they once did, and it would take more time to read the displayed text.


If something gets your goat, it just proves you have a goat to get.
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117239
03/07/05 12:53 AM
03/07/05 12:53 AM
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USA
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beanbag Offline
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I prefer no voices to bad voices.

Music and background sound are more important than voices to me - unless the voices are really exceptional. In Grim Fandango or Faust: Seven Games of the Soul voices added a lot to the games and were important. In most games voices are not so great.

Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117240
03/07/05 01:09 AM
03/07/05 01:09 AM
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USA
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My preference is for voices using competent actors. However, I want the option of hearing the voices and reading the text, since I like to get the conversations down in my game journal. Now if you want my optimum mode, I would like the text of all conversations readily accessible within the game in a Conversation Journal. Then the text during the actual conversation is not so critical. laugh


It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -- Aristotle
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117241
03/07/05 02:26 AM
03/07/05 02:26 AM
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Arizona, U.S.A.
maggie57 Offline
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Hello-

I can say with a firm no, I would not play a text game at all, had one last year, made no sense to me and so I sold it. I have played Dungeon Siege, but it is not text and I like it, although I hope the new one has more talking.I think giving an option of text or voice would be very good.

Hope this helps you.

Margo wave eek

Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117242
03/07/05 04:51 AM
03/07/05 04:51 AM
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Cambridge, England
Kickaha Offline
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Cambridge, England
We're talking about a graphic adventure game with sound but using text rather than spoken dialogue?

Yes I have played and would play (and am playing one such in fact right now.) For me I find I adjust to the limitations of the game I'm playing - so if it's a good game story-wise puzzle-wise it not having 360 scenes or a 3D engine or smart graphics doesn't matter.


Used to answer to "Peter Smith", now answers to "Peter Rootham-Smith"
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117243
03/07/05 05:23 AM
03/07/05 05:23 AM
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Spain
Moogie Offline
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I usually activate the subtitle option anyway if I can. I would be wary of playing a game with masses of text to wade through, though.

Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117244
03/07/05 08:03 AM
03/07/05 08:03 AM
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New York
Ladybug Offline
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New York
No problem for me. I'm playing a text only adventure right now. laugh


Ladybug
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117245
03/07/05 08:22 AM
03/07/05 08:22 AM
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Jenna Offline
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Would not bother me at all. I often turn off all the sounds in the computer games I play because I find them annoying. I appreciate having a text option.

Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117246
03/07/05 08:37 AM
03/07/05 08:37 AM
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New York
hammer Offline
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I've been playing adventures since way before speech was an option, and while I would (and do) play non-speech adventures, the speech option adds so much to the experience. Furthermore, I am much more willing to be forgiving of the lack of speech in older games than in brand new ones.

Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117247
03/07/05 08:58 AM
03/07/05 08:58 AM
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Western New York
Sandy Sleuth Offline
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I love to be able to speak to people in the game.
I love the music too, it adds so much more!
That's why silent movies didn't stick around. As soon as sound could be added, it stayed!! People like movies and games to be as real as in person.
Just my opinion anyway! smile

Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117248
03/07/05 09:53 AM
03/07/05 09:53 AM
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Ontario, Canada
rose113 Offline
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I prefer to have text and voices because sometimes I don't catch what the person said. I also like the background music and sounds. It helps create the right atmosphere smile


Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.-Marcel Proust
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117249
03/07/05 11:35 AM
03/07/05 11:35 AM
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an Illinois cornfield
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I'm with Jenna. I turn the music off or waaaay down. Sometimes, I turn all sound off. I always have text/subtitles on & dislike when there aren't any. I'm a visual learner, so I prefer to read things for myself rather than listen to someone tell me. However, the best combo is voice AND text together with the ability to turn them off. Serves all types of folks. thumbsup Also like the conversation log so you can look back for important clues.

laugh Love, Jen laugh


It's a hard-knock life. Wear wooden underwear.
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117250
03/07/05 12:22 PM
03/07/05 12:22 PM
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hunched over my computer
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Sure. I always use the subtitles anyway, when a game has them. I read A LOT faster than anyone could possibly act through dialog, so if a conversation is taking too long I just skip through at my own pace. And lots of games that I love convey information in a written form--journals, etc. So I don't really see much difference.

The one thing I would say, though, is, if you're going to do that PLEASE make sure of your spelling and grammar. It drives me crazy to see "it's" instead of "its" and "There" instead of "their." Hire a competent copy editor!

WW


"So then he says it's enough to take aim! What's that supposed to mean?!?"

Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117251
03/07/05 12:47 PM
03/07/05 12:47 PM
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jasper Offline
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I think that for the game to reach the widest audience, it would need to include voices. But for my personal enjoyment, it would not. I have headphones attached to my PC, not speakers, but I often don't put them on. The sad fact for game developers is that I just don't appreciate aural input from games, often finding the background music annoying or intrusive, and preferring to hear what is going on in my actual environment (with two dogs and four cats, one has to be alert!) than the virtual one.

If its a choice between no voice acting and bad voice acting, I'd choose no voice. I really appreciate having the option to turn on subtitles when there is voice acting because I read much better than I hear. I find that a conversation log that exactly reproduces the speech, or a journal that summarizes the salient points of conversations is also an extremely useful tool in games. I am content to read dialogue and other narrative exposition, but I am aware that others find that reading destroys the pacing of the game.

I am currently playing Neverwinter Nights, an RPG with lots of dialogue, and it uses a combination of spoken word and text. The major characters have speech recorded with the text also displaying on the screen; minor characters just have text displaying. Some of the minor characters will have a spoken greeting that alerts you to the fact that you need to talk to them, but then the actual dialogue is text only.

cheers,
jasper

Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117252
03/07/05 01:21 PM
03/07/05 01:21 PM
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Northern California
AngieB Offline
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I have only played two text games and missed the voices both times. I think you have to be more focused if you are using less of your senses to get information.


Angie
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117253
03/07/05 01:35 PM
03/07/05 01:35 PM
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I always use the subtitles as I can often miss what the player says--I do like the voice--and really like the ambient sounds---whether or not I would play it would depend on whether the game sounded really interesting to me or not--sometimes I get so busy ready the text I miss some action---but if the game itself was of interest, had an immersive story line--then the fact that I had to read the text would be fine with me---


"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."
-Roger Caras
Re: Would you play a game without voices? #117254
03/07/05 02:07 PM
03/07/05 02:07 PM
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Posts: 7,764
Kentwood, Left my heart in New...
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Voice and sound are important factors to me. This is 2005, not the days of silent movies. So I definitely would not buy a modern day adventure with text only.


I Baag, Therefore I Am. Update: I Don't Baag Anymore, Therefore I Ain't! Update: I'm baaging again but just a little.
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