Adventure Forums - View Single Post

Oscar · 05-13-2011, 06:00 AM

Generally excellent or atrocious? What are your favorite voices?

I find acting in adventure games to be very mixed, usually bad with some good in there and the rare gem of a voice actor who can raise a game to greatness. Here are some of my favorites:

-Gabriel from Gabriel Knight: What a voice. I think Tim Curry does a magnificent job bringing the character alive, and is one of the main reasons for GK's popularity. The thick, drawling accent which is crude yet witty at the same time is just a brilliant portrayal of one of our favorite characters.

-Narrator from Space Quest: He's got that really over-the-top tv presenter voice which makes many of the jokes hilarious (Gary Owens is an actual disc jockey). His voice can get on your nerves sometimes but I think he's one of the best voice actors to ever grace AGs.

-Emma Harry from Barrow Hill: Fantastic radio voice and extremely atmospheric for a horror game. She made me feel like I was tuned in to Barrow Hill radio for real, an effect every horror designer yearns for.

-Guybrush from Monkey Island: Admirable for creating a voice which fits quite well the character from the first two games, and still adds further to the character in MI3. I don't actually remember having a voice in mind when I played 1 and 2, but if they had brought the wrong guy in I would have been very annoyed.

-Tex from Tex Murphy: Maybe THE most recognisable adventure voice. Sure, it's FMV, but his voice brings so much character to the lovable, goofy detective. It's impossible to imagine Tex without it.

-David Styles from Gray Matter: A very professional sounding voice, and an extremely convincing portrayal of David. Serious voices like this are rare where games usually hire amateurs, but the effect of using a good actor like this really shows in Gray Matter.

-Nigel Danvers from Lost Crown: Well, who would have thought Boakes was both a great game developer and voice actor? I actually thought Nigel was voiced badly for well into the game until I realised how well it fit his character, coming across as rather plain and naive but actually kind and compassionate.

Honorable mentions to Sam and Max (great acting all around), the computer and Wheatley from Portal, Stauf from 7th Guest, John Cleese's 'the Bomb' from Starship Titanic and I'm sure I've missed many.

Awful voice acting: Darren from Black Mirror, most of the King's Quests, pretty much everyone in Secret Files, Whispered World, Simon the Sorcerer and Chewy: Esc From F5 (annoying as hell), Riddle of Master Lu (cheese

)

05-13-2011, 06:00 AM	#1
Oscar Senior Automaton Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 898	Voice Acting in Adventure Games Generally excellent or atrocious? What are your favorite voices? I find acting in adventure games to be very mixed, usually bad with some good in there and the rare gem of a voice actor who can raise a game to greatness. Here are some of my favorites: -Gabriel from Gabriel Knight: What a voice. I think Tim Curry does a magnificent job bringing the character alive, and is one of the main reasons for GK's popularity. The thick, drawling accent which is crude yet witty at the same time is just a brilliant portrayal of one of our favorite characters. -Narrator from Space Quest: He's got that really over-the-top tv presenter voice which makes many of the jokes hilarious (Gary Owens is an actual disc jockey). His voice can get on your nerves sometimes but I think he's one of the best voice actors to ever grace AGs. -Emma Harry from Barrow Hill: Fantastic radio voice and extremely atmospheric for a horror game. She made me feel like I was tuned in to Barrow Hill radio for real, an effect every horror designer yearns for. -Guybrush from Monkey Island: Admirable for creating a voice which fits quite well the character from the first two games, and still adds further to the character in MI3. I don't actually remember having a voice in mind when I played 1 and 2, but if they had brought the wrong guy in I would have been very annoyed. -Tex from Tex Murphy: Maybe THE most recognisable adventure voice. Sure, it's FMV, but his voice brings so much character to the lovable, goofy detective. It's impossible to imagine Tex without it. -David Styles from Gray Matter: A very professional sounding voice, and an extremely convincing portrayal of David. Serious voices like this are rare where games usually hire amateurs, but the effect of using a good actor like this really shows in Gray Matter. -Nigel Danvers from Lost Crown: Well, who would have thought Boakes was both a great game developer and voice actor? I actually thought Nigel was voiced badly for well into the game until I realised how well it fit his character, coming across as rather plain and naive but actually kind and compassionate. Honorable mentions to Sam and Max (great acting all around), the computer and Wheatley from Portal, Stauf from 7th Guest, John Cleese's 'the Bomb' from Starship Titanic and I'm sure I've missed many. Awful voice acting: Darren from Black Mirror, most of the King's Quests, pretty much everyone in Secret Files, Whispered World, Simon the Sorcerer and Chewy: Esc From F5 (annoying as hell), Riddle of Master Lu (cheese ) Last edited by Oscar; 05-13-2011 at 06:18 AM.