The case for Audio Logs and conversations

I remember back on the internet from 2011 to 2014 that audio logs (and to a lesser extent conversations) were made fun of a lot in forum posts, memes and webcomics. South Park Stick of Truth even had an entire sequence poking fun at the idea. After recently playing The Elder Scrolls Blades while listening to The Elder Scrolls Lore Podcast, I started thinking about this and the nature of audio logs and conversations in games.

Firstly, audio logs and conversations may be one of the few if only ways for the player to gain information while still being able to relatively play the game normally. Like cutscenes, textboxes and the like require you to slow down and not play in order to take in the information presented. But you can still listen to say, MGSV's cassette tapes while still sneaking around and playing the game. Allowing for story, plot and character development to happen while the player is simultaneously playing the game and improving Mother Base (it also helped me to recall what was going when I couldn't play the game for a month). I recall I find it not as interesting to read say, the Books in Skyrim by comparison or listen to the codec in prior Metal Gear Games.

It also allows characters in isolated environments to still express more of their character. Take the Arkham Series. Batman isn't Spider-Man where he is really chatty to himself but his conversations with Oracle and Alfred show off the intentions, motives, desperation etc of all parties involved. Bioshock uses it to explore more of the story even when nothing intense is going on. Borderlands and Warframe use it to keep the co-op stuff continue to feel seamless and not be interrupted. God of War 2018 has Kratos and Mimir's stories to keep the admittedly pretty boring travel segments more interesting. GTA has radio conversations that recount what you did, give you stock advice or just have a laugh. Need for Speed uses calls to tell it's story while you're still on the road.

Secondly, audio lets the game open a window into a past life while still allowing the player to imagine the rest. I remember the audio tape in Fallout 3 about the family that saw the bombs drop and still feels haunting, or Clementine's Family's message in The Walking Dead Season 1 The Game. I feel it's harder but still possible for just scraps of text to convey the same meaning.

Thirdly, I feel if more games had implemented versions of it, it would enrich the experience. Take The Assassin's Creed Games for example. Most of the time, the modern day is pretty separated from the past except for the odd story segment, when your crew occasionally chimes in, or the nice bit of commentary in the database. If the games had a real time codec like conversation system where Desmond/Layla/Numbskull/Player/PS Vita Entertainment System could talk with their support crew/Erudito about what's currently happening, how they feel and even how they circumvent the animus/Helix/game, it would go a long way towards making the modern day feel more integrated and making me feel more invested like how Metal Gear and Arkham did (as an aside, the novelizations do something similar but for the past protagonists as we can see their thoughts so it's much easier to relate to their struggle and what's going on). I'd also find it easier and be more willing to listen to Skyrim and Witcher's books.

But it's not all good though and this can be difficult or even inappropriate to use at times.

Firstly, it can break the immersion to have people leaving their recordings everywhere (To this I say, it's not much more than reading journals and emails that are lying around everywhere).

Secondly, it can interrupt other things, especially in more linear environments. Bioshock Infinite had audio logs in the same spot where Elizabeth would start talking.

Thirdly, you risk rubbing players who don't prefer this system the wrong way. Especially when important info may not be immediately present but in an audio log somwhere (perhaps transcripts of the log can be added to the database when you listen to them. I think GTA and a few other franchises do something like that)

Fourthly, Audio files can increase the file size and budget of the game, especially if you've hired big name voice actors. The former may not be much of a problem on modern consoles and PCs but is a concern for Switch and mobile where a game above 1.5 GB is considered massive (I recall ports of games like Dragon Quest 8 removed voices and it's still over 2GB). The budget is likely a problem for those big Console and PC games.