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VOICE ACTING
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NoblemanNick
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CloseI wanted to hear the whole opinion on whether or not voice acting can be done in a RPG Maker game, and better yet can it be done good. Now technically voice acting is possible, with only small hardships in syncing up voice to text but my whole problem has been the quality of voice acting can break a game even if the story is well written. Either the voice acting cannot convey the emotion or the fact that background interference takes away from the immersion of the game itself. I remember a game called Shrine of Kamuki which used japanese voices, not sure if they were correct translations or just there to fool me for not knowing the languages but the problem was mostly that the voices seemed to be a different emotion each time played.
I also played Shrine of Kamuki a long, long time ago, and I remember those voices. I'm fairly certain they were just downloaded from the internets and stuffed in any old place to give some kind of flavour to people talking. Like, it doesn't have to be exactly what is said, but it just gives a general boost to the conveyance of emotion.
For example, the Rune Factory games do that quite a bit. Someone will say uhh.. I dunno, "my father won't stop eating all the food, I'm really worried!" but then the voice acting will just be a simple "oh no.." clip that can be repeated time and time again by that same character. It works out really well, because it improves the sound atmosphere and gives a bit more depth and emotion to the character itself. Some of the really important pieces of text (like if they admit they like you or have a major story point) will be fully voiced too. These bits are really super nice, and just make the whole experience feel a little more human.
Skip to about 2:50 in this video for an example on how it works:
I agree with your problem on the quality of voice acting, but that's where you need to choose people carefully (and get someone with a good, expensive microphone). Or get someone to give you some pretty strict feedback on whose voices are good or bad. I've always been of the opinion that some of the people with better microphones around here should do a little voice acting sound pack of different characters making action-y noises for fights and cutscenes. XD I'm sure that would see a lot of overuse and get tired out pretty quickly, but it would certainly get people here more acquainted with the thought of voices and, more importantly, the atmosphere of sound in their games.
Syncing things up wouldn't be a problem: you'd just play the sound at the start of each message box and, if the player skips the text, the sound would stop playing to prevent a garbled cutscene. If you had relatively small clips like "oh!" or "argghh, pain!" then it wouldn't be so bad - the sound would likely stop playing before the player even had the chance to skip it.
It can be done, but whether it can be done well is another question. :P
For example, the Rune Factory games do that quite a bit. Someone will say uhh.. I dunno, "my father won't stop eating all the food, I'm really worried!" but then the voice acting will just be a simple "oh no.." clip that can be repeated time and time again by that same character. It works out really well, because it improves the sound atmosphere and gives a bit more depth and emotion to the character itself. Some of the really important pieces of text (like if they admit they like you or have a major story point) will be fully voiced too. These bits are really super nice, and just make the whole experience feel a little more human.
Skip to about 2:50 in this video for an example on how it works:
I agree with your problem on the quality of voice acting, but that's where you need to choose people carefully (and get someone with a good, expensive microphone). Or get someone to give you some pretty strict feedback on whose voices are good or bad. I've always been of the opinion that some of the people with better microphones around here should do a little voice acting sound pack of different characters making action-y noises for fights and cutscenes. XD I'm sure that would see a lot of overuse and get tired out pretty quickly, but it would certainly get people here more acquainted with the thought of voices and, more importantly, the atmosphere of sound in their games.
Syncing things up wouldn't be a problem: you'd just play the sound at the start of each message box and, if the player skips the text, the sound would stop playing to prevent a garbled cutscene. If you had relatively small clips like "oh!" or "argghh, pain!" then it wouldn't be so bad - the sound would likely stop playing before the player even had the chance to skip it.
It can be done, but whether it can be done well is another question. :P
Eh, I'm okay with voices as long as I don't have to hear some weeaboo girl screaming "ARCANE FLARE TITDRAGON, GOOO, NYAAAAAAA" everytime she casts a spell.
I could tolerate having every character voiced by Tourettes guy, however.
I could tolerate having every character voiced by Tourettes guy, however.
Crystalgate
694
I'd rather the characters didn't shout out the name of their attacks at all, it tends to be annoying and I find the idea stupid, even if the voice acting it good.
Other than that though, whether you should have voice acting or not depends on if it actually helps the game. For example, voice acting can improve the atmosphere over just using written lines. Alternatively, they don't, such as is pretty much always the case when you have bad voice acting. Basically, don't include voice acting for the sake of voice acting, always ask what exactly it's supposed to accomplish and if it actually accomplishes that.
As for whether or not voice acting can be done well, of course it can. The question is, can you (including people you hire or in other ways get voice samples from) do it? For the majority, the answer will be no.
Other than that though, whether you should have voice acting or not depends on if it actually helps the game. For example, voice acting can improve the atmosphere over just using written lines. Alternatively, they don't, such as is pretty much always the case when you have bad voice acting. Basically, don't include voice acting for the sake of voice acting, always ask what exactly it's supposed to accomplish and if it actually accomplishes that.
As for whether or not voice acting can be done well, of course it can. The question is, can you (including people you hire or in other ways get voice samples from) do it? For the majority, the answer will be no.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
You need really good professional voice actors for all the characters to make it work. Plus you need writing good enough that it doesn't sound stupid when said out loud - equally rare.
There are less than half a dozen in existance that have voice acting that's good enough that I think it actually improves the game. All of them are commercial games. A fair number of commercial games have voice acting that's good enough that it doesn't detract from the game, but actually improving the game is extremely rare to the point of being almost unheard of. I'll grant the honor to Disgaea, FF13, and maybe LA Noire (but only because the gameplay relies on it - the voicing is still quite bad).
There are less than half a dozen in existance that have voice acting that's good enough that I think it actually improves the game. All of them are commercial games. A fair number of commercial games have voice acting that's good enough that it doesn't detract from the game, but actually improving the game is extremely rare to the point of being almost unheard of. I'll grant the honor to Disgaea, FF13, and maybe LA Noire (but only because the gameplay relies on it - the voicing is still quite bad).
m4uesviecr
200
I am so accustomed to sub-par voice acting in RM games that I am usually driven away if I know there is a chance it will exist in a project. A lot of my feelings are similar to Lockez. I personally don't mind voice-acting when it's done right. I will say, though, that RM developers looking to add voice-acting in a project should have a few games with fairly decent writing before deciding to make one. By then, you know that if things suck, it isn't your writing.
Now as far as games in general, I would get giddy playing FF8 whenever there was a cutscene and there were only sound effects. I care more about the writing and less about who is stating it out loud. I can count on my fingers the games I have played in which the voice acting made the game better. A greater percentage has been in voice-acting taking away from my gaming experience.
Battle cries are another thing that I can't stand. So far, the only games I've played that execute it exceptionally well are FFX-2 and FF13. For everything else, I usually search desperately in the settings for the off switch.
Now as far as games in general, I would get giddy playing FF8 whenever there was a cutscene and there were only sound effects. I care more about the writing and less about who is stating it out loud. I can count on my fingers the games I have played in which the voice acting made the game better. A greater percentage has been in voice-acting taking away from my gaming experience.
Battle cries are another thing that I can't stand. So far, the only games I've played that execute it exceptionally well are FFX-2 and FF13. For everything else, I usually search desperately in the settings for the off switch.
I sort of enjoy the hammy feeling I get when players call out their attack names. But honestly I enjoy the whole spell incantation that some RPGs like to say before casting certain spell, it heightens the enjoyment of it. But after a while I learn that some things wane on you however. Shortened voice acting could be enjoyable but I feel it parts laziness that requires to do it. If your going to voice act, why not go all the way you know?
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
author=NoblemanNick
If your going to voice act, why not go all the way you know?
The same reason that sometimes when you get in a fight, you just want to give someone a black eye instead of killing them and their entire family. You want to teach them a lesson, but you don't want to commit unspeakable atrocities and spend the rest of your life in prison.
Voice acting isn't a crime yet in some states, though, sadly.
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