Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General performance as narrative, or: how important is voice work to you?

The answer is: it depends. I like a good VO, and writing (be it good or bad) can be elevated to another level when matched with a great performance.

VO in RPGs tends to be weird, as unlike other games we have control over how narrative proceeds.

First of all, I don't like when my PC is voiced. Or it depends. It's fine, when the character I am playing is predetermined - like Geralt. Then again, I don't really consider Witcher3 to be RPG - more of an action game with RPG elements. Giving voice to PC, is definining them, and therefore taking away my choice as a player - it's a bit like cutscenes taking away my control of the character. It is great is some instances, but inappropriate in games that prioritise immersion and player imput - like immersive sims. So if game asks me to create my own character, I don't think it should force a voice on this character. Giving voice to my PC automatically creates a barrier.

As to other NPCs - I don't find reading to be an inferior experience to listening or films. It's just a different way of engaging with content. In RPGs especially, VO further defines characters, and as such limits our possible reading on them. Same line can be interpreted slighly different if read with a different tone and attitude - and while it could be smoke and mirrors, it is a way of allowing "player perceived reactivity" where none exists. And I think it is desirable.

Gaming to me is at it's most fun, when it's interactive - and VO is not. VO is at it's best when player's imput is limited. RPGs are at their best, when as the player you feel like and active participant (be it with actual actions or imaginations), and not that you are watching a bad movie.

EDIT: Giving it a bit more thought - when it comes to RPGs there is also this problem: there is a lot of talking. Like a lot. And not all of it is worthy to be acted out, but is necessary for a medium of games. That's why, I think I enjoy partial VO the most - it is nice to have key interactions voiced - and characters having voice or barks does help to bring them to life, especially if it's a top down perspective. But voice everything, in a game when you talk a lot, about not particularly interesting things (like shopping) and it starts missing the point. And sure I can skip dialogue (which I eventually do), but then it's kinda missing the point at that point, isn't it?

Production value adds to the experience, but production sake, for production sake is silly. Yakuza games used to have tiered interactions - fully animated fully voiced cinematics, voiced interactions and silent interactions - and it worked really well! The newer titles strive to add mroe VO - and frankly I find myself skipping it, as those interactions aren't deep enough to make VO worth it.