I have to say, the voice acting in perry rhodan is excellent and the game itself is pretty big, really seems like another longest journey epic. Perry rhodans voice acting is very natural as is the acting of certain other characters. I haven't finished the game yet and I'm already hoping for a sequel.

[ZZay]

Originally Posted by Roman5

I have to say, the voice acting in perry rhodan is excellent

Just joined the forum. As the casting director and voice director on Perry Rhodan (English) It's nice to get positive feedback. As a few have said on this thread the writing is key and yes directing is important but the process is the biggest stumbling block to getting great voice acting in games.

However good the script and however intimate the director is with the script it is only when the voice is 'in game' can we can see, review and apply our real craft - but most game developers do not include time for critical review.

Good actors, writers and directors are all creatures of craft and we all strive for the best results and the key to getting the results is time to work, step back, review, tweak, step back, polish, step back then sign off.

As an aside - It took me over 4 years in the industry to get a game publisher to accept casting a game like a film or stage play. And over the last 12 years and after more than a fist full of games, I have only had one team accept the value of rehearsal with cast and writer - and I push for it with every single production. The take up rate speaks volumes.

IMHO it is jaw droppingly dumb to not rehearse.
The proof of the pudding is the mediocrity that gets dished out so frequently.

There's a debate to be had as to why /why not?...

Mark

[Collector]

Many feature animated films for dialog have started with recording the voice acting and making the animation sync with the recordings, not the other way around. This allows a more dynamic approach to the voice acting. Some ad libing and on the fly script changes are possible. It can give it a more organic or natural feel to the dialog. I have no idea about what the usual approach is for games, but this is more of the approach that some of the better known Sierra adventures took, like KQ6.

[rtrooney]

I have a friend that does some occasional voice acting. She has a deep, smokey voice that fits well with certain characters. She has been literally asked to "phone it in" on occasion.

Me, I'd love to do some voice work. My voice is of the JEJ pitch. I have an EV RE20 set to go with a Nakamichi tape deck.

Not that I expect to get a call, nor want one.

But just to point out that there is no excuse for bad voice acting. Audition people. Decide what you want. Do it professionally.

[ZZay]

Originally Posted by rtrooney

Me, I'd love to do some voice work. My voice is of the JEJ pitch. I have an EV RE20 set to go with a Nakamichi tape deck.

But just to point out that there is no excuse for bad voice acting. Audition people. Decide what you want. Do it professionally.

To love to do some voice work, having a voice and some tech is just a beginning - a bit like having good legs and a pair of boots, and wanting to be a footballer.

Many game productions still use 'voice over' people. And many of those voice 'talents' have great voices but are on the whole untrained as actors.

There are a few natural talents out there but like any profession -a good example is sport - to be good, the skills need to be learnt (and training takes years), practised and honed with utter dedication. To be great you need to be a master of the craft and acting is all about the craft of character. The same goes for writing and directing. Results always speak for themselves.

Most titles are cast properly these days, as casting is in vogue but budget and internal vision for voice, effects the actors hired and whether there's time and talent to create a decent script and take on a professional voice director ...etc.

[rtrooney]

Originally Posted by ZZay

To love to do some voice work, having a voice and some tech is just a beginning - a bit like having good legs and a pair of boots, and wanting to be a footballer.

And my original was:

Originally Posted by rtrooney

Me, I'd love to do some voice work. My voice is of the JEJ pitch. I have an EV RE20 set to go with a Nakamichi tape deck. Not that I expect to get a call, nor want one. But just to point out that there is no excuse for bad voice acting. Audition people. Decide what you want. Do it professionally.

And I'd also like to be many other things; Broadway singer, Hollywood actor, professional golfer. But I admit that my skill set probably won't allow me to do any of these.

Even though I own a very good set of clubs, and sing in a church choir.

My point, I thought, was that you can't do worse than me if you aren't going to pay attention to the casting and execution of voice acting. And there are far too many games out there that don't. And at least I have the equipment to supply a tape vs the "phone in."

[orient]

Originally Posted by Puzzler

I'm currently playing Secret Files and the acting in that one is a step up from the previous games I've played. The lead character has a cute voice... well, she sounds cute.

You thought the voice acting in Secret Files was better than in Still Life? Really? Every NPC in Secret Files sounds completely lifeless; like it's just some guy being recorded while proof-reading a script. The characters in general are just terribly constructed, with devastatingly bad attempts at humour and dialog that brutally harasses the English sentence structure.

Still Life on the other hand was at least acceptable in most cases. Apart from some weak performances and cliche characters (e.g. Victoria's Dad, the black cop and those "tough guys" in Prague) the voice acting rarely detracted from the experience for me.