I did like silent protagonist in Morrowind, however there isn't quite the same immersion thing there; I saw it as a creative expression.

I could never accept that "brown haired 30ish man named Shephard is really me", but in Morrowind? My character is an art piece! I'd get the same effect from SNES Batman Returns and the amusing ways you can bash people.

In the Morrowind case here, adding lines would've broken suspension of disbelief. Gordon Freeman is not the player's creation, but when the player does create something and suddenly they're spouting lines that express the entirely wrong feel or mood, the effect is ruined.

The Sims would work this in two ways. One was the obvious "Simlish" speech, but the other is that it makes clear from the get-go that the character's personality is co-created by the machine. When you start, you get see some traits and aspirations and such as a product of what you input, and come to an understanding that the Sim is like a child; its own thing, not necessarily what you planned for.

These are some key cases for a silent protagonist in my mind. I'd go back and ask yourself; "Is the silent character my creation or the player's?"

And don't fail to mind roles here. In Morrowind the player's roles include making a broad range of decisions, while in Half Life and Zelda you're pretty much exclusively in a fighting, solving or listening (to story) role.

They're not necessarily hurt by a silent protagonist, and it's rare that anyone's ever hurt by writing less, (and giving either lines in a sequel would be jarring), but I don't think it was ever necessary.


So like Spotless says; weigh the features against your use case. Above I explain some cases where I think a silent character is very useful.

I think as we move along, silent protagonists are going to decline in appeal. A lot of it is what you're used to as a player. People who are used to playing silents will have more appreciation for that option than players who have always played talking characters and think a silent character is weird. If it's handled well, a voiced character can add immersion in the story and identification with the character; it can also add humor, but that's trickier.