Full Voice Acting in RPGS

[Child of Flame]

Why don't dev houses just use developer voices?

 

I'm just acting, it seems feasible.

 

 

OIinly voiicing main characters in games is as muich oif an artistic style as sin citys uisie oifi coiiloiuirs.

 

I'd give you that....if games when Fallout came out all had voice acting.

 

 

Games like falloiuit did noit voiice specific characters in oirider toi let players knoiw that thoisie characters were impoiritant. It is quiiite oibvioiuis that tandi, being the leader oif the ncr, oir lynette, the leader oifi vauilt city, is an important character. Soii toi suiggest that these characters were voiiced soii that the player woiiuild knoiwo oif their impoirtance is ridicuiloiuis

 

Fallout 1 voiced Tandi, and upon meeting her father or her you would not have known she was an important character (Fallout 1, not Fallout 2).

 

It's a moot discussion anyways, as we don't know what BIS/Interplay would have done if they could have afforded the voice all the lines.

 

Sin City's is artistic because all movies are in colour now. How many would have lauded it's artistic sense if it was going up beside the very first movies that had full colour and the wow factor of the full colour? Wizard of Oz milked this like crazy, starting the movie in black and white, and then going BAM, look at all the beautiful colours.

 

Fallout's voice acting was cool, but imagine your reaction if every line in the game was spoken. To say that you wouldn't care is bogus based on hindsight IMO.

 

 

Furthermore, since you like to state that developers give secondary characters voices so that you can hear what they sound like, then Baldur's Gate has the same thing. When you initiate conversation with every character they make some sort of audible noise...it's just that their lines of dialogue aren't spoken. You still know what they sound like.

 

But imagine how alive the world would be if every person was voiced in quality....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Ugh! Know your history.

 

Color movie tech came out mid-production for Wizard of Oz. Rather than scrap all the production costs up until then, they found a way to make it fit in with the story. ("Kansas is oh so dull and boring, so let's make it black and white!") Was not for the artistic purpose, but rather for the financial and business purpose.

[Darth Barth]

I think most games should do voice acting along the lines of the original Baldur's Gate. When you went up to a random guard or townsperson they had an audible representation of who they were. Subsequent releases abandoned this and I find the difference quite jarring when I switch from BG1 to BG2/IWD/TOR.

 

Might and Magic also did something along these lines, with somewhat comical results. Who can forget the pirate ship captain that shouts "Hoist the flag and raise the sails! Arghh!"

[vaxen83]

I think most games should do voice acting along the lines of the original Baldur's Gate.  When you went up to a random guard or townsperson they had an audible representation of who they were.  Subsequent releases abandoned this and I find the difference quite jarring when I switch from BG1 to BG2/IWD/TOR.

 

Might and Magic also did something along these lines, with somewhat comical results.  Who can forget the pirate ship captain that shouts "Hoist the flag and raise the sails!  Arghh!"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Actually, speaking of voice-overs, NWN did not have recorded dialogue for all conversation lines, so you have to wonder if OE is going to do voice-overs for every dialogue message.

[Calax]

Why don't dev houses just use developer voices? 

 

I'm just asking, it seems feasible.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Westwood did and look where it got them? (for those who don't know Kane from the Command and Conquer (Origional) was the Marketing director or somthing)

[Musopticon?]

Where did it get them, by the way?

[Child of Flame]

Why don't dev houses just use developer voices? 

 

I'm just asking, it seems feasible.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Westwood did and look where it got them? (for those who don't know Kane from the Command and Conquer (Origional) was the Marketing director or somthing)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

[-10 Spellmar Influence] for me.

 

Yes, of course, Westwood was bought out by EA because of crappy voice acting, how silly of me not to realize this before.

[Calax]

Why don't dev houses just use developer voices? 

 

I'm just asking, it seems feasible.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Westwood did and look where it got them? (for those who don't know Kane from the Command and Conquer (Origional) was the Marketing director or somthing)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

[-10 Spellmar Influence] for me.

 

Yes, of course, Westwood was bought out by EA because of crappy voice acting, how silly of me not to realize this before.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was just pointing out that they didn't exactly succeed in their attempt... besides they got shut down after EA bought them

[Child of Flame]

Go to bed you big silly. It's late for people with lives.

[Calax]

I can't I'm a Biobot!

 

 

 

 

g'night all

 

[Musopticon?]

G'night, Calax.

 

Now that people mention it, I can't remember any acting from KotOR either. Harumph...

[CoM_Solaufein]

Full voice acting in a game is good.

[EnderAndrew]

When it is done right.

[CoM_Solaufein]

When it is done right.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My only games that I have experianced this are the Kotors and Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. All three of them are top notch.

[Child of Flame]

KotOR voice acting wasn't very good except for the main characters, might as well just've voiced them and left the rest text.

 

Bloodlines voice acting was good all around, as was the sound in general.

[213374U]

Westwood did and look where it got them? (for those who don't know Kane from the Command and Conquer (Origional) was the Marketing director or somthing)

What was wrong with Kane? I thought he was an ok guy.

[Lord Tingeling]

Westwood did and look where it got them? (for those who don't know Kane from the Command and Conquer (Origional) was the Marketing director or somthing)

What was wrong with Kane? I thought he was an ok guy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Didn't he win some sort of award for best game villain way back or something?

 

Well, regardless of the above, Kane pwnt. I prefered him to that Yuri crap in the more "professional" EA title, for one thing.

[Guest Fishboot]

KotOR voice acting wasn't very good except for the main characters, might as well just've voiced them and left the rest text. 

 

Bloodlines voice acting was good all around, as was the sound in general.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Bloodlines really turned my head in terms of voice acting and its stabs at naturalistic dialogue - it was top notch all through the game (although some of the flirty lines were pretty cringey - "We're like firehoses!"). I can only think of one real dud character and a couple of cheeseballs in the game. Combined with the facial animation (best in an RPG to date, by miles) a level of performance was added to the game. It makes me really sad that Troika folded, because I can imagine a whole generation of Source RPGs patterned after it that will now never happen.

 

As far as text, it can work, but I'd like to see some more experimentation with voice acting (and emotive animation) before we get the inevitable text/voice detente.

[roshan]

OIinly voiicing main characters in games is as muich oif an artistic style as sin citys uisie oifi coiiloiuirs.

 

I'd give you that....if games when Fallout came out all had voice acting.

 

 

Games like falloiuit did noit voiice specific characters in oirider toi let players knoiw that thoisie characters were impoiritant. It is quiiite oibvioiuis that tandi, being the leader oif the ncr, oir lynette, the leader oifi vauilt city, is an important character. Soii toi suiggest that these characters were voiiced soii that the player woiiuild knoiwo oif their impoirtance is ridicuiloiuis

 

Fallout 1 voiced Tandi, and upon meeting her father or her you would not have known she was an important character (Fallout 1, not Fallout 2).

 

It's a moot discussion anyways, as we don't know what BIS/Interplay would have done if they could have afforded the voice all the lines.

 

Sin City's is artistic because all movies are in colour now. How many would have lauded it's artistic sense if it was going up beside the very first movies that had full colour and the wow factor of the full colour? Wizard of Oz milked this like crazy, starting the movie in black and white, and then going BAM, look at all the beautiful colours.

 

Fallout's voice acting was cool, but imagine your reaction if every line in the game was spoken. To say that you wouldn't care is bogus based on hindsight IMO.

 

 

Furthermore, since you like to state that developers give secondary characters voices so that you can hear what they sound like, then Baldur's Gate has the same thing. When you initiate conversation with every character they make some sort of audible noise...it's just that their lines of dialogue aren't spoken. You still know what they sound like.

 

But imagine how alive the world would be if every person was voiced in quality....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Toi be hoinest with yoiui it really woiiuildnt matter toi me if everyoinie was voiiced. Hoiwever I doi believe that soime oifi the oild games shoiuild have voiiced certain impoiritant characters - foir example, metzger in falloiuit 2, pharoid in toiirment. Hoiwever I really doinit care whether randoim druiggie x oiri randoim githzerai y had a voiiice oir noit, oir even any oifi the minoir named characters. And it doiiesnt matter toii me that thoise with voiices in pst didnt voiice all their lines.

 

I prefer having few characters voiiced very well rather than moirie being doiinie at a loiwer quiality. Alsoi moire flexile dialoiguie trees that depend oin the character and better written and deeper dialoguie is a muich higher prioirity foir me than listening toi voiices.

 

Hoiwever this is all oiuir persoinal preferences, soii I agree that discuissing this fuirther is moioit at best.

[Walsingham]

I direct our newer users to a cracking example of voice acting that i have used before:

 

http://www.big-boys.com/articles/fewgoodmen.html

 

 

Tell me that the scene would have been the same with text only. Jack Nicholson for next Obsidian bad guy!

[Musopticon?]

Tha thing is amazing. Watch it fully.

[Calax]

Westwood did and look where it got them? (for those who don't know Kane from the Command and Conquer (Origional) was the Marketing director or somthing)

What was wrong with Kane? I thought he was an ok guy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Didn't he win some sort of award for best game villain way back or something?

 

Well, regardless of the above, Kane pwnt. I prefered him to that Yuri crap in the more "professional" EA title, for one thing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yeah, he was #5 or somthing... below Sephiroth

[Musopticon?]

Sephiroth is lame.

[Lord Tingeling]

Indeed, Mus.

[metadigital]

I direct our newer users to a cracking example of voice acting that i have used before:

 

http://www.big-boys.com/articles/fewgoodmen.html

 

 

Tell me that the scene would have been the same with text only. Jack Nicholson for next Obsidian bad guy!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, it's great acting, but it isn't so good without seeing the actors. Sure Source is a great engine with terrific facial animations: but it isn't that good. (I don't think anyone would believe an animated character could make the faces of Jack Nicholson or Jim Carey look believable.)

 

This raises a good point: voice acting is not the same as film, tv or stage acting (which are all different to each other, too).

 

Radio plays need different talents from their actors. Good voice acting is not more difficult, per se, than any other form; it needs different skills and props, though.

[Serious Callers Only]

The only experience i have with full voice acting comes from

 

A) Thief I && II (Stellar)

 

B) Gothic II (mildly bad, but not too embarassing)

 

C) Grim Fandango (Orgasmic)

 

 

Does this mean anything? No.