Voiced NPCs

[SirthOsiris]

Going with classic here. Only needed lines from important NPCs, greetings, and voice packs for characters. I kind of like it like that, actually.

[hideo kuze]

Voting for Voice Characterization (introduction, dramatic reactions, small tidbits here and there) on most characters.

Companions and major NPCs can have a bit more, but not full voice overs.

[Tychoxi]

I'd like it either with key characters fully voiced or with key characters having a few snippets here and there (I'd prefer this latter one for all the reasons stated before). Also, when *every* NPC has a generic greeting it gets annoying pretty fast, I'd rather most NPCs be completely silent.

Edited September 22, 2012 by Tychoxi

[Umberlin]

I really, really don't need partially voiced or fully voiced NPCs to enjoy a game to its fullest regardless of what some developers, publishers and . . . unfortunately consumers insist.

[oldmanpaco]

Hello,... I haven't finished Planescape: Torment.

Entire thread is invalid.

[NerdBoner]

No.

 

Absolutely not.

 

Fully voiced dialogue is one of, if not THE worst thing to happen to the RPG genre. At the very most, voice acting should be used for basic greetings and world ambience. Everything else, text.

c'mon man, you can't tell me Irenicus's voice detracted from the game in ANY way...or any other of the great party members in the IE games.

 

i vote for partial, just like in BG series

[Countdown0]

Voice acting is great, but also expensive.

 

Because this game doesn't have an $80 Million dollar budget, I have to say "no" to full voice acting. It would be nice to have it in important moments, however.

[Bos_hybrid]

I went with 3, could of went 2, but I don't see the need to have key characters fully voiced.

 

I'll echo the sentiment that BG2/PS:T did it fine.

 

However I waiting with a shotgun for the voiced PC request.

[The Sharmat]

I hate always hearing "You that!" and "You this" or whatever.

KOTOR 2 got around that by calling you an informal title. "Everyone saying 'Exile'" to me made me feel like a superhero. Which I'm not sure was the point, but I still enjoyed it.

[Asoul]

I'd like some voice acting for the more important characters. Maybe some general banter for unnamed NPCs. Close to the way it was done in Baldur's Gate.

 

Though I'd very much prefer if the PC him/herself was not voiced. I like to imagine my own character's voice. That's one of the main reasons I felt much more connected to the Warden from DAO than to Hawke, for example.

[Archy]

I'd really love full VO for the sake of my immersion (having to read dialogue from the screen and the lack of emotion VO would give for characters really puts me off) but if that wont fit the budget at least make the most important character fully voiced. Whenever possible I play with all subtitles turned off as only listening to characters gets me far deeper into the conversation than reading what they said could. Feels more alive. For example befriending or romancing a companion or someone else, progressing their storyline through a critical point or listening to an antagonists motives without the emotion VO gives feels kind of dead. I dont mind random dialogue with unimportant npcs not being voiced though (and it wont from what i hea) if it wont fit the budget.

 

I might get flamed for this but I'd even like a voiced PC if that was possible. Its one of the rare things I've actually liked (one other would be cutscenes (commense flame)) in modern rpgs. I know theyre expensive and probably wont fit the budget but I'd still like them. I used to be 100% against voice PCs but have started to like it and with a good voice actor and nothing lost in options that which is lost in getting to imagine your voice would be well repaid in immersion and life for the PC. Though a bad actor and less choices would make brake said immersion so I suppose it wouldnt be worth the risk.

Edited October 8, 2012 by Archy

[Deadly_Nightshade]

I'd rather not have voiced NPCs.

[Ieo]

I'd really love full VO for the sake of my immersion (having to read dialogue from the screen and the lack of emotion VO would give for characters really puts me off) but if that wont fit the budget at least make the most important character fully voiced. Whenever possible I play with all subtitles turned off as only listening to characters gets me far deeper into the conversation than reading what they said could. Feels more alive. For example befriending or romancing a companion or someone else, progressing their storyline through a critical point or listening to an antagonists motives without the emotion VO gives feels kind of dead. I dont mind random dialogue with unimportant npcs not being voiced though (and it wont from what i hea) if it wont fit the budget.

 

I might get flamed for this but I'd even like a voiced PC if that was possible. Its one of the rare things I've actually liked (one other would be cutscenes (commense flame)) in modern rpgs. I know theyre expensive and probably wont fit the budget but I'd still like them. I used to be 100% against voice PCs but have started to like it and with a good voice actor and nothing lost in options that which is lost in getting to imagine your voice would be well repaid in immersion and life for the PC. Though a bad actor and less choices would make brake said immersion so I suppose it wouldnt be worth the risk.

 

Oh yeah. Here is my blow-torch~ :FWOOOOOOOOMMMM:

 

Feargus from the Kickstarter Q&A Oct 6:

Question: I know you've decided against full voice acting - does that apply to the companions as well? Or will it be as in NWN2 where the companions were fully voice acted (which I personlly think is great)? Thanks )

 

Feargus: I think the companions will have more voice compared to other NPCs in the game, but I don't think we will be voicing every line. We want to give the writers the ability to "go nuts" and not worry about bleeding into another voice session (300 lines = $3K to $5K with SAG, director, studio, etc...).[

 

NO TO FULL VA. GRAR.

[Larkaloke]

I'm fairly neutral on whether NPCs have voices or not, really. I'm fine with it if they don't; it doesn't bother me if they do. It's obviously easier and less expensive and all if they don't, so I tend to lean that way. Greetings and the occasional important line is plenty (as in Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale).

 

I might get flamed for this but I'd even like a voiced PC if that was possible. Its one of the rare things I've actually liked (one other would be cutscenes (commense flame)) in modern rpgs. I know theyre expensive and probably wont fit the budget but I'd still like them. I used to be 100% against voice PCs but have started to like it and with a good voice actor and nothing lost in options that which is lost in getting to imagine your voice would be well repaid in immersion and life for the PC. Though a bad actor and less choices would make brake said immersion so I suppose it wouldnt be worth the risk.

 

Death to the disbeliever! Joking aside, PC voice sets with just the occasional yell and on selects and all are just fine with me, but more than that? No. Having a voiced PC is, in my opinion, the single worst thing that has happened to modern RPGs, even edging out all the other problems I see with them. Obviously some or perhaps even many people like it, and that's great for them and all, but they've got plenty of games to choose from with that now and looking to have more. And, even beyond my (admittedly rather intense) dislike of it, I think it would be completely out of place here.

[Wombat]

IMO, VO should be just enough for characterizations like in IE games. Thanks.

[Emeraude]

As said elsewhere:

 

Optimally, I’d argue games should play at the player’ pace – unless you aim for a very specific effect in taking back the control of pacing. Pure text is a great tool for many reasons: cheaper, allows more nimble iterative design process, can stimulate the imagination in ways graphics and sound can’t and it’s probably the optimum tool in cost/efficiency ratio to deliver optional information to players.

There’s a also a literary quality of gaming – and I do mean games as a literary medium – that has been left on the wayside, unexplored as the Hollywood hard-on of gaming companies caught on. I’m personally hoping all those smaller projects we see popping can get back to it and expand on it.

 

Voice over is mainly a one trick pony:

. It does so at tremendous cost, on an economical level, on the creative process, and on the design of the game. Personally, I tend to be of the opinion that unless what you want to do in game cannot be achieved without voice-acting, then it shouldn’t be used.

[kabaliero]

BG2 style please!

[harhar!]

Good voice-acting brings a lot of athmosphere and charakter into a game. I always like it.

[FlintlockJazz]

No, not at all for this type of game. Even big AAA budget games are screwed by VA as it vastly reduces the amount of dialogue and reactivity in the game. For linear games like a normal adventure game its fine and adds to it but for RPGs the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.

[Loranc]

Kotor 2 was one of the rpg's that had major development issues and bugs, hell half of the game wasn't even completed, a group of people had to take and piece together all of the remnants that were inside the game disc and finish the game. One of the things that caused Kotor 2's problem was voice acting. Voice acting is one of the biggest things that is hurting games in general right now. Full voice acting requires lines and text to be done beforehand and if anything changes down the line it requires a whole lot of effort to try and rework the script to fit the changes. A lot of good ideas and potential get left sitting around someplace due to the rushed pace that full voice acting puts game developers into. With a large narrative game, an rpg, full voice acting takes away so much potential when there's not a very big budget to begin with. Not to mention it would take them forever to make this game if that happened.

 

This is just some of the highlights I was reading over http://www.joystiq.c...than-its-worth/ take a look for yourself, read the article, and perhaps get a better idea of what the toll of having voice acting truly is in an rpg these days.

[Bos_hybrid]

I might get flamed for this but I'd even like a voiced PC if that was possible. Its one of the rare things I've actually liked (one other would be cutscenes (commense flame)) in modern rpgs.

 

(%*$!#(#($*%!!! :banghead: :banghead:

 

:ban:

 

Considering it's those features that are having a detrimental effect on the entire genre. I'm going to have to vehemently disagree. There is absolutely no need for a dev to come up with the idea of having a voiced PC if they are making an RPG. It's benefits are minimal and it's negatives are high.

[hideo kuze]

Feargus from the Kickstarter Q&A Oct 6:

Question: I know you've decided against full voice acting - does that apply to the companions as well? Or will it be as in NWN2 where the companions were fully voice acted (which I personlly think is great)? Thanks )

 

Feargus: I think the companions will have more voice compared to other NPCs in the game, but I don't think we will be voicing every line. We want to give the writers the ability to "go nuts" and not worry about bleeding into another voice session (300 lines = $3K to $5K with SAG, director, studio, etc...).[

 

 

YES!

This is exactly what I want.

Partial VO for character characterization and key moments that require more dramatization.

 

PS:T had 800,000 words. I wouldn't be surprised this game having more. Let's say this game will have 1M words.

That would mean $1M to $1.5M just for VO!!! Which is insane! Not to mention plain impossible.

 

If you cut VO to 20%-25% of the text, then you end up with a more manageable figure, and get the best of both worlds.

 

And truth be told... how many of you skip half of the audio because you've already read the text and listed to this NPC hundreds of times.

Another thing is that partial VO make those moments when they speak even more engaging.

 

It's the same thing with music. Some people ask for a full epic orchestral music soundtrack. But the fact is, if you have that all the time, then after a while it becomes dull and is no longer able to serve it's purpose... you know for those special "epic" dramatic moments.

Edited October 8, 2012 by hideo kuze

[Kaldurenik]

I think BG handled it in a good way. A few parts here and there at important events and Irenicus... I dont want full voice acting and i dont want a voice for the main character.

[Wolar]

Voice-acting, yes, but fully.. ..no. Besides, within the limits of time and money, that won't be possible anyway. Quality is crucial.

Edited October 8, 2012 by Wolar

[Rhylin]

I'm for major events or none at all. I'm fine with none because it doesn't limit how much dialog is in the game & imagination of how a character sounds is 100x better to the player. I'm sure the voice acting can get pretty expensive.

Edited October 8, 2012 by Rhylin