T w e n t y S i d e d

We keep harping on how dull the performances are in this game, but are they really? Are they really that bad, or are they bad because their faces don’t follow the performance? (Aside from the Outsider. Let’s ignore him for now.) I can close my eyes and imagine the actors giving really intense performances. Tight face. Suspicious eyes. Clenched jaw. I’m reminded of the Skyrim preview where we could see Christopher Plummer side-by-side with the character he was voicing, and how his performance came off as dull and wooden because none of it showed up on his character’s face.

This game feels the same. Pendleton doesn’t show any emotion in his face when he’s talking about his brothers. Not anger, or sadness, or anything. It’s possible that if Derek Phillips had put more energy into his performance it would have come off as overblown and hammy, because again – dead face.

We made a fuss over The Walking Dead, but I’m starting to suspect the secret of that game was that they had characters who could really emote. Sometimes we get dudes that can glower or rage, but outside of TWD I can’t remember the last time I saw really good facial performances of regret, loss, confusion, etc.

I don’t know. I’m mostly thinking out loud. I’m not convinced I’m 100% right, but I suspect that over the years I’ve been blaming voice actors for the sins of the animators.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

Re-reading the note at the start of this episode, I’m pretty sure we misinterpreted it. I assumed it was the reward for the non-lethal option. But now I think it’s just a reward for not killing all three of the Boyle sisters. It’s not a bug, it’s just confusing and really odd.

How did this woman get you this message? She’s an associate of the current regime. There should not be lines of communication going from there to here. Moreover, how did she even know that the conspiracy exists? And if you did the non-lethal option, then Lady Boyle vanished in the care of Mr. Creepy. He could have kidnapped her on his own. The point is, there’s no reason for her to know where her sister went, who was responsible, that they worked for the conspiracy, or how to contact them.

All of that aside, you killed or kidnapped her sister. And so she sends a gift saying, “Thanks for not pointlessly murdering the rest of us”. I can understand why the game designers want to pat you on the head for making the effort and not just shanking everyone, but the entire premise of this letter leaves a lot of goofy holes in logic and characterization. She shouldn’t be able to send this message and she shouldn’t want to.

In honor of Josh becoming a fish, I’ve composed the following cheat sheet for those of you scheduled to take your astronavigation exam this week:

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Dishonored EP15: The Dudeless Way”

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.