Fully Voiced Characters

[Yonjuro]

I believe crit-path VO is fine. So, the Dwarf woman in the tree was fine. However, I like limited VO for everything else because adding more dialogue options is significantly cheaper if you're not paying somebody to voice every option. Use VO to set tone, develop character, some fun barks and banter, and drive the crit-path. That's all it is needed for in a game like this.

 

 I brought that one up because it is one I have always read and skipped over the voice acting.

 

 I think the voice acting is well done, but listening to that whole conversation would just take too long. YMMV, of course.

[Ganrich]

I wish Bethesda would take the route of less is more for voice acting. VA are expensive, sound files are big, and the benefit is minimal, except to the console gaming crowd who can't understand why they're not hitting an opponent, or why the person isn't saying all the words on the screen. God forbid you have to read a little.

 

I wouldn't like too much voice over as I like the way it plays out in my head much better, and the best CRPGs don't need a lot of voice over.

On the note of Bethesda... Morrowind was pretty perfect in this regard. With modding... people can come in and make the game completely VO anyway. Which some modding projects are doing with Morrowind, iirc. I think it's Skywind doing it. So, I don't see the point in limiting your budget and creativity to do it, but I'm sure they make more money... and that's the name of the game. Which is unfortunate, but it is what it is.

[Ganrich]

 

I believe crit-path VO is fine. So, the Dwarf woman in the tree was fine. However, I like limited VO for everything else because adding more dialogue options is significantly cheaper if you're not paying somebody to voice every option. Use VO to set tone, develop character, some fun barks and banter, and drive the crit-path. That's all it is needed for in a game like this.

 

 

 I brought that one up because it is one I have always read and skipped over the voice acting.

 

 I think the voice acting is well done, but listening to that whole conversation would just take too long. YMMV, of course.

I definitely think that dialogue is... skip friendly, for sure. On a second play through, that is. It would be that way with or without VO, though.

[Yonjuro]

 

I definitely think that dialogue is... skip friendly, for sure. On a second play through, that is. It would be that way with or without VO, though.

 

 

 

 True, but if it wasn't voiced, then we could have had something else.

 

 Maybe VA of a different scene or more voice sets for the PC or faster load times or whatever.

[Bill Gates' Son]

I think important NPCs and companions should be fully voiced.  Everybody else should be silent, even in the critical path.

Edited January 27, 2017 by Bill Gates' Son

[Shaz]

I love hearing the characters speak! But I also read really fast, and waiting for the voice to finish speaking a long dialogue I finished reading some time ago can be really annoying - especially for some minor story bit/side story. So I'm all for characters having VO, but fully voiced is only necessary for important characters/important parts of the story. 

[keriana]

I would like full voice acting if they have the money for it.

[evilcat]

What are the cost of VO in US? One page showd $1000 for 1h industrial usage. 1h is about 7,5k worls. Tyranny has 600k words.

Are these estimation correct? Or are we speaking about no industrial usage, but more art, so need much better actors for that.

The trick may be if PoE2 would be much bigger than Tyranny. Spending 100k on VO dosnt sound that bad, but 500k more on just 5m title... may be too much of audiobook production instead of developing.

Edited January 28, 2017 by evilcat

[Flow]

Sure... assuming they achieve everything else they want to do in the game and an angel emerges from on high and gifts them $5 million.

[Labadal]

I don't feel like it is needed, therefore I voted Against.

[Eumaios]

Naw, no full VO.  Main crit with quality voice over talent and use the saving to do any number of other things, amongst which would be killing the trademarked Obsidian bugs that plague their offerings.  I've played a lot of pathfinder and the bugs are just a royal pain in my majestic rump.

[Archaven]

Fully voice.. In my personal opinion i against it. Sure it be great the first time you hear it.. But TBH, if you were replaying.. i think mostly you'll skip most of it. BUT.. i would love to have more voice phrases.

[Flouride]

I'm against fully voiced. Sure some characters could be fully voiced, but I find that when the characters actually do have a voice over I listen more carefully than I would if they have a voice all the time.

[Rolandur]

It would be wasted on me being I turn off Voice, first thing, in all RPG's.

[the streaker]

Companions and the main antagonist should be voiced. Helps give them character and humanity, IMO. The rest can be non-voiced, I don't care much.

[Eumaios]

Certain things should be voiced by the companions.  Some things should be floating text.  The voice over stuff is for great lines delivered with good talent.  The floating text I see as more finesse.  Something that the player need not see to enjoy the game, but rewards players who pay attention.  big scenes and important dialogue should be voiced as long as Obsidian has the talent on hand to write the lines and the voice acting available to do justice to the text.

[theBalthazar]

I think it is an amazing idea. A great plus. Audio English + French + Spanish (most common language of customers in the world), ever better. For the radiant of the game.

 

BUT....^^ indeed, it is very expansive, so it must be an.... advanced stretch goal like ~5 millions.

Edited January 28, 2017 by theBalthazar

[Rosbjerg]

When we have AI that can perfectly synthesize voices that fit in the tone, dialect and delivery that the devs want - sure.. Until then it's often of too poor quality, weird dialect issues (especially in fantasy or sci fi titles). I think the Knight of the Old Republic games, were the only ones where I was generally happy with the VO work.

 

A voiced protagonist is generally horrible, from Mark Veer's Commander Shephard to Brian T. Delaney's Fallout 4 work.. Please don't ever do that- it also takes away from the player's head-canon, maybe your character is a gruff type, sneering remarks. Good luck with that if they've hired a soft spoken main character.

[TheisEjsing]

When we have AI that can perfectly synthesize voices that fit in the tone, dialect and delivery that the devs want - sure.. Until then it's often of too poor quality, weird dialect issues (especially in fantasy or sci fi titles). I think the Knight of the Old Republic games, were the only ones where I was generally happy with the VO work.

 

A voiced protagonist is generally horrible, from Mark Veer's Commander Shephard to Brian T. Delaney's Fallout 4 work.. Please don't ever do that- it also takes away from the player's head-canon, maybe your character is a gruff type, sneering remarks. Good luck with that if they've hired a soft spoken main character.

 

You have very high standards then. GTA V and The Witcher 3 had alot of amazing VO work. And femshep? There is alot of well done VO work out there. A voiced/not vocied protagonist is in my opinion more about the type of game you're making and how much money you want to throw at it. Cuz it can be done. That said I don't think it fits the IE type games at all. 

Edited January 28, 2017 by TheisEjsing

[theBalthazar]

It is also an argument of "reinforce the atmosphere" in a game with -a lot- of text. Reinforces immersion. It is a fact.

 

For Kotor 2, the french voice of Kreia is amazing. Without her, the game would be worse. 

[Fenixp]

It is also an argument of "reinforce the atmosphere" in a game with -a lot- of text. Reinforces immersion. It is a fact.

You don't read a lot of books, do you?

Edited January 28, 2017 by Fenixp

[mothra]

Please, no.

If you do VO you have to lock down each and every conversation LONG before the game goes gold. 

That limits alot of things like adding more/removing unnecessary lines or even adding quests, new characters etc....

And no voiced protagonist please, I don't wanna make an aumaua, orlan or elf and then they all sound like Johnny/Jane from next door.

[Eurhetemec]

I'm pro fully voiced except protagonist.

 

Same here. I'm not too stressed if minor NPCs also aren't voiced, but random non-voiced bits in the companion and important NPCs are jarring and anti-immersive.

I would literally rather have no voices at all than companion NPCs sometimes being voiced and sometimes not.

[paladin181]

 

I'm pro fully voiced except protagonist.

 

Same here. I'm not too stressed if minor NPCs also aren't voiced, but random non-voiced bits in the companion and important NPCs are jarring and anti-immersive.

I would literally rather have no voices at all than companion NPCs sometimes being voiced and sometimes not.

 

I argue the opposite actually. Having your party and important NPCs voiced and no one else really throws the game out of perspective to me. I instantly know if someone is important down the road when I speak to them and talking to the little people of the world becomes just that. Useless noise I can ignore. I don't feel immersed in a world I can readily ignore 90% of, and having some NPCs talk and not others is really jarring. I like the way BG, Morrowind and PoE did it, with lead lines and important tone setting lines voiced, with others not voiced at all.

[bosspage]

voice.