Brothers: Communicating Sentiment

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons has a wealth of innovative characteristics that makes it stand out. The ability to experience an interaction with an NPC in two different ways, a fantasy world that doesn't overwhelm the player with lore, and the game's tendency to allow the player to immerse themselves through vistas and visuals without interrupting them with plot points; these all create an atmosphere rife with narrative possibilities.

The one element I was to focus on here is the use of language. The characters in Brothers speak a fictional language. The entire purpose of using a constructed language is to sell the fantasy setting. We can better suspend disbelief when the world seems foreign and exotic, and fictional languages go a long way in helping us do that. That's why most fantasy setting have races speaking no language we've ever heard.

Another advantage of using a fictional language is one of a more logistical nature. Localization. Hiring voice actors is expensive, and rewriting dialogue into other languages also costs money. If we never see text, then we never have to translate it. 

So made up language save us money and they immerse us in the world. The problem, of course, is that we don't understand what's going on in the game. Subtitles, like in Ico, go a long way in helping us parse that information. But subtitles need translated, and they take away from the immersion by putting a thematic wall between the characters and the player, shining a spotlight on the fact that you need assistance in comprehending what's happening. 

This is where Brothers shines. In a game with such sentimental content, understanding the context of those emotions is important. Brothers makes the assumption that body language is universal, and the tendencies of language go beyond the words and are rooted deep within the structure and pacing. Things like disappointment, excitement, trust, fear, and longing are all communicated through body language and the volume, pitch, and tone of the voices. We don't need to understand the words to understand the sentiment. 

If Brothers can relate these emotions without words, it leaves little excuse for designers who have trouble doing it with. Granted, Brothers has an amazing animation department that imparts the characters' emotions through their craft, but we should take a hint that the context of dialogue is just as, if not more, important than the words written. Communication happens beyond the spoken word, and games should leverage our visual medium to take advantage of what novels cannot.