#nolbot

A lot of people shit on Dinklage’s role as the Ghost because he came across as flat, disinterested and downright bored, and I can definitely see where they’re coming from. There’s a few lines from Destiny 1.0 that leave a lot to be desired, such as ‘Incoming transmission.. on.. all.. channels!’. The version in 1.0 comes across very ‘Shatner-esque’ in its delivery with lots of unnecessary pauses and a hint of surprise that feels out of place like they heard the first take and said ‘fuck it’, (which is likely the case considering Dinklage has allegedly come forward to say that he’d go in for a ‘test recording’ and leave with a paycheck, despite the fact that he felt like he hadn’t done the character justice.)

But I present to you my counter argument and why I prefer Dinklage over North. Mind you i am not shitting on North’s talent as an actor. As a huge Portal,  Assassin’s Creed, Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank fan(all franchises within which he voiced a major character), I know that North is capable of some solid line delivery and is great at giving a character a personality, even IF that personality winds up being ‘cliche stereotypical sarcastic white guy’. 

Allow me to present exhibit A, as seen in the most famous cutscene of Destiny(not because its amazing, but because everyone whose ever grinded Hive kills knows it so well) The Dark Beyond, not to be confused with the DLC starring everyone’s crying-actual-black-tears hunter, Eris Morn(I mean hell, her name actually sounds like the lead singer of an Emo band). In Dark Beyond, you’re tasked with locating a Guardian whose gone missing, said to have information about something important.

After a few encounters, you locate the body of a long-dead Titan half buried in moon dust just before a pair of menacing chained up doors, locks inscribed with glowing Hive runes. Your Ghost is loosed into the world to scan this corpse. Your Guardian then comments ‘There’s nothing left...’ to which your ghost quietly comments ‘Not even the Light...’

It is in this moment that your Ghost makes a shocking discovery, a realization that rattles your little companion to its very intricate core. With its brow furrowed and ‘shoulders’ hunched, it remarks ‘....Where’s his Ghost?’

Its in this moment that your Ghost, who until now had remained a confident, reliable source of information when so far everyone's too fucking busy to tell you shit, is faced with the reality of his own mortality. This little Spark, a thinking, feeling, fearing, entity, is suddenly and ruthlessly faced with the truth of its own mortality. That realization hits like a freight train as it visibly recoils, out of fear, an emotion that humans largely believe to be something that no robot or AI can experience.

Perhaps I’m reading a bit too much into this, but I really feel that Dinklage shines in this moment. Three simple words says more than the rest of the game ever has. Your Ghost likely spent centuries scouring the surface of Earth, and possibly even other planets in the solar system, in search of you. It faced great perils to find you, so for it to suddenly become so scared that it retreats to the safety of your company is telling.

The day the 2.0 update dropped, I played through the more iconic missions to hear Nolan’s take on lines that we’ve all come to know(and in my case, love). Lines like ‘Oh we slayed a Gate Lord’ sounds pretty much the same between the two actors, with your Ghost confidently(and maybe a bit cockily) declaring your success over the Vex as it trans-mats the sparking remains at the Prince’ feet, but lines like ‘We’ve woken the Hive!’ took a hit. Dinklage’ delivery of the line feels urgent as he personifies the character’s urgency to ‘get your shit in gear and kick some Hive ass’, whereas Nolan’s version sounds all too enthusiastic and... strangely inquisitive. Its not good or bad... Its just not the same.

Another line that suffered greatly from Nolan’s ‘interpretation’ takes place during a very well known Strike against the Prime Servitor, Sepiks Prime during the Devil’s Lair on Earth. As your Ghost is breaking through Fallen encryption on some plasma netting, it remarks that ‘I’ve made some progress, but you should know that there’s more Fallen... AND Hive on the way!’. When Dinklage delivers this line, you get the impression that your Ghost hadn’t expected the Hive to join the fight and warns you that you’re about to have much more on your hands than a few Stealth Vandals and some pesky Captains. Nolan’s delivery of this line removes the critical pauses as he smoothly delivers the line with a smugness that makes me want to stuff the little bastard down a garbage disposal, as if to say ‘Yo bitch there’s more Fallen and Hive on the way, don’t fuck up.’

All that said, I am trying to give Nolan North the time of day, because while his reprisal as the Ghost isn’t terrible, it takes some getting used to. At the end of the day though, I’ll always have my cute little Dinklebot replica to keep me company as he chastises me for my lack of pants. He’s like my mom, only small and lovably annoying.

Honestly I never really hated anything about Dinklage’s original lines. I suppose that’s because I don’t watch Game of Thrones and never fell in love with him as Tyrion Lannister. So for me, he was just ‘another face in the crowd’ and I found his ‘monotone’ deliveries to be very much inkeeping with an AI entity. Sometimes a spark of personality and humanism shines through, as said above, but its a shame that Dinklage was basically shit on for something that was beyond his control. The other issue that led to this whole debacle is that Nolan North openly stated that he simply wouldn’t listen to Dinklage’ deliveries of the same lines so he could ‘bring a bit of himself into the character’. No. No, a million fucking times No.

You don’t show up in a recording booth and basically throw out a character’s entire personality(regardless of how little fans think there is to throw out) just because you want to be ‘unique’. North’s deliveries come across as snarky and irritating, rather than confident and assuring. I also can’t unhear C3P0 and 343 Guilty Spark and that’s likely what irritates me the most, because Bungie already had an annoying high pitched character. I feel like they should have pitched Nolan’s lines down to bring it closer to the vebrato and depth of Dinklage’ lines and based on my readings on the web, a lot of people feel that way.

But, yaknow, this is all just my stupid opinion. Take it how you will.