2007's Tiberium Wars) the game treats the actual player as the protagonist. Game characters talk to the player as if talking to one present among them, and the camera angle matches the player's eyes. As such, no traces of the protagonist could be found in the game, including voice. Similarly, in the 1996 game Lords of the Realm II, the player operates a protagonist who is not only silent, but also lacks a body (and a face, when seen as an avatar). Invisible serfs and servants in turn report to the player in the form of announcements, pointed commentary, and comic bathos. In the Half-Life series, the protagonist is the silent Gordon Freeman, but is distinct from the player. Game writer Marc Laidlaw, who worked on Half-Life and Portal (both of which feature silent protagonists) with game developer Valve, stated that he did not recommend keeping protagonists silent due to the difficulties that arise during development, but noted that limiting oneself to a silent protagonist can lead to more creativity. Silent protagonists can also apply to the avatars of certain games such as Minecraft and Terraria, where player characters are free to interact with their surrounding environments (either on single-player or multiplayer), without the need of any spoken dialogues, and can only make noise when hurt. Both games also use a chat system that allow players to communicate with other players through typing, however, this system doesn't affect the gameplay itself. Serge's status as a silent protagonist in the 1999 role-playing video game Chrono Cross is used as a narrative hint for the player at one point to demonstrate that he is no longer himself by having him begin participating in dialogue. Critical reaction Reception has varied widely according to its use, ranging from praise for its help immersing a player in the game, with titles such as Half-Life 2 and franchises such as Mario and The Legend of Zelda frequently cited, while the protagonist's lack of communication has at times been noted as hindersome to plot development, as in one reviewer's comments on Grand Theft Auto III, or multiple accounts on the Crash Bandicoot franchise. Others have stated that real immersion in a game would require a character to speak, since in such situations, the player would naturally vocalize and the protagonist does not. CJ Miozzi called franchises that still use the technique a "crutch" for bad storytelling, saying