I just thought of something disturbing

[neozero]

I remembered that to fully incorporate all of this lipsynch technology, you;ll need voice actors.

Then I remembered that absolutely noboddy in the gaming commonity voice acts.

Damn

 

[The Dark Elf]

I remembered that to fully incorporate all of this lipsynch technology, you;ll need voice actors.

Then I remembered that absolutely noboddy in the gaming commonity voice acts.

Damn

Exactly what I've been saying. Here's one of my usual long-email-advice-things-directed-at-whoever-finds-it-useful type of thing

There are some who've advertised on here and elsewhere who do voice overs for a living, but very few will do them for free on a mod, and even fewer will go with the majority of mods simply because they want assurances these things will fly. Otherwise its doing work for free then having nothing come of it, not something a male/female performer wants to do when they could have been doing a paying job. And having loads of mods failing after getting pro's involved is going to put the mod scene in a very bad light, eventually forcing the pro's to refuse unless their paid, which in turn hurts future mods for engines that may not even be written yet.

There's nothing worse than someone with a really strong accent who was once told by a friend "oh wow you sounded just like *insert whatever here*" then thinking they do, only to find they really don't. Best thing anyone can do is avoid trying to do impressions, there are very few out there who will do them right. If a mod needs an american accent, find an american to do it, don't have someone from Glasgow trying, cause it just wont work, even celebrities, with their expensive voice coaching still slip up and come across as sounding a bit lame. So someone with a microphone in their bedroom doesn't stand much of a chance

I'm sure there are books out there that give advice on doing voice work, I'd suggest anyone planning to do it, go out and buy them all, email pro's politely and ask for advice, you never know, show its a worthwhile project and they may even offer to help. Just don't badger them into it, afterall they get paid to do it and I imagine most mod teams will be expecting it for free.

Another suggestion, since its realtime, and easy to change things later on before a mod is released. How about complete your mod, use stand-in dialogue, then approach potential voice artists, using the finished mod as leverage. It'll show to them you've done your part, they'll be able to see exactly whats required. They'll also have no worries about you ever finishing it, cause it'll be right there, completely done minus the pro voices. If you get them, just go back into the game, swap the voice files over, check everything is synched up and working correctly and there you go, jobs a good-un.

Concerning microphones. Recording studios are cheap these days, you can hire some out for around £100/£200 a day, this gives you access to professional recording equipment, guys on hand to do all the recording work for you. It also looks mighty professional, hire a studio out, bring in your voice actors, spend the day recording. Maybe have a friend come along with a decent video camera to record it all, you could then make a mini documentry on your site regarding the voice work, and it'll look great, interview your cast at the same time, just for that added touch, atleast it'll be something for you to put on what is likely going to be a very empty website still , and more importantly the voices will be recorded professionally and sound just right.

It's certainly better than just holding any old cheap microphone up to someone's face and expecting them to deliver oscar winning performances. Hard to feel inspired when your sat in some guy's bedroom recording your lines while their mom calls up asking if he and his little friends would like to stay for tea.

There is always the other option, the PC voice synth thing. But this is reserved for "that guy" you know the one, he wont beg, borrow or ask for help, insists on struggling through all on his own. This guy will probably do his voices using the computer to speak them for him, they will sound crap, people with few brains will laugh, but atleast he'll have tried. However if I ever ever catch any larger mod team using this method, I'll declare open season on their mod!

Lastly, directed at nobody inparticular - don't do the voices yourself, you might think you sound good, maybe your mom says you've a noice voice. Chances are you sound as dumb as shit, don't mean to be direct but chances are you probably do, we all probably do. I hope I never have to hear west country accents trying to pull off a Columbian drug dealer (don't anyone say anything, I tried to word that differently I swear!) or a broad yorkshire guy trying to do an Australian accent, bad voice acting will ruin your mods, without question.

 

[simmo]

errrr, i'm not even gonna attempt to read that :|

Anyways, Hell Blaze has some pro voice actors

 

[The Dark Elf]

errrr, i'm not even gonna attempt to read that :|

Anyways, Hell Blaze has some pro voice actors

Which if thats true, you wont mind naming

 

[The Dark Elf]

So does Source Films, two at the moment (Bob Marsilio and Rip Coyne), more people waiting in the wings.
--
Well said, you should (or I'll do it for you) compile these mini-essays into one big "What Not to Do" piece for .Dev. One minor gripe: I don't know how much 100-200 pounds is in USD, but for one day, that's really not that cheap, and it doesn't work if you aren't in direct contact with your actors or you live in the middle of nowhere (like yours truly), 2)

approximately 181.599 USD

 

[qckbeam]

Mods are really going to have to step up to be recognized with the advent of this new technology. That metaphorical bar has been shot through the damn roof, and to stand out you have to either match it, or surpass it. You have to match the quality of HL2, or surpass it. Mod creation (which is really a misnomer now) has progressed just like game development itself has. You can't do it on you're own, and your team can't just be average. Everyone has to be a star or you'll fall by the wayside.

It's funny really. If you're bad, you'll be ten times worse now. If you're great, you'll be ten times better

 

[ComradeBadger]

I can see money being a very big problem.

 

[qckbeam]

I can see money being a very big problem.

that's part of what makes modding so damn hard, and yet rewarding

 

[The Dark Elf]

I can see money being a very big problem.

cool, finally something the warez kiddies can't download off the net. Let's see where all their illegal software gets em now when mods end up costing as much as games did 10 years ago. That'll show em.

 

[qckbeam]

cool, finally something the warez kiddies can't download off the net. Let's see where all their illegal software gets em now when mods end up costing as much as games did 10 years ago. That'll show em.

oh boy, you're angry aren't you

 

[The Dark Elf]

oh boy, you're angry aren't you

naaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, but boy am I gonna gloat when their cracks get them nowhere

 

[chapel]

naaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, but boy am I gonna gloat when their cracks get them nowhere

LMAO!!!

But seriously, mods nowadays will have to put alot of time, talent, and money into their projects to make them "sucessful" and by sucessful I mean for the general public to accept it as a whole, ie: cs and dod. Just remember, the more time, and effort you put into a finished product, will be that much better for your confidence, how other people look at your skills, and your resume if youre interested in working in the gaming industry. You dont have to do what cs did to get into the industry, you can go like other people and apply for a job, but a resume with actual experience, ie with a finished mod project, will make them really look at you more than someone that has no experience, or even a college degree.

When it comes to audio anyways, you have to pay for quality, but what fenric said about using placeholder dialogue to finish the mod, and then hire pro's when the project is finished is a great plan, as you can show them what they need to do, and they dont have to be skeptacle about your mod not finishing. I personally, plan on making my mod top notch, and will use voice tallent. Im not rich, but I will make sure I have what I need.

Good luck to everyone that is willing to try this route.

 

[Mr-Fusion]

Mods are really going to have to step up to be recognized with the advent of this new technology. That metaphorical bar has been shot through the damn roof, and to stand out you have to either match it, or surpass it. You have to match the quality of HL2, or surpass it. Mod creation (which is really a misnomer now) has progressed just like game development itself has. You can't do it on you're own, and your team can't just be average. Everyone has to be a star or you'll fall by the wayside.

It's funny really. If you're bad, you'll be ten times worse now. If you're great, you'll be ten times better

Hell yeah well said.

Have games reached such a standard that mod makers cannot hope to achieve with lack of money, time and resources? Quite possibly....