Immersion debate: Silent protagonists vs. Developed characters

[Golden Warrior]

I personally enjoy a silent protagonist more as I feel I can react to things as if I were that character more then him/her reacting for me. Like yes/no answers in many Nintendo games or just not talking in some first 8-bit games, I truly feel like I AM that character.

With a pre-defined personality, I feel like I'm simply an onlooker, seeing the game happen, but not being that person doing the actions and reacting to the villains. This isn't always a bad thing, like The World Ends With you became my favorite RPG easily, but the protagonist is very un-silent. A silent protagonist can't have one thing a protagonist with a voice and personality can have: Character development. This is a very good plot feature in many games, but how can a protagonist with no personality get a better one? 0x10 is still 0.

So, I can either enjoy the game with good character development, or not have it and just feel like I'm the character and react on my own. In both cases, I am immersed.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

A silent protagonist can't have one thing a protagonist with a voice and personality can have: Character development.

Voice.


Even silent characters can get development.

 

[acatfrommars]

Developed characters. I feel like I get more into a game when I understand a character's story and their motives for what they are trying to accomplish. Also, if a character is developed over time like the Mass Effect or gears of War or God of War games then I get into it even more.