The Voice Actress That Refused to Return to SWTOR

[Lunafox]

Nifty.

 

But I type slow and like to fact check, so it took my longer than four minutes to write the post.

 

Don't sweat it, it happens.

[grania]

spongebob has had 3 voice actors

 

..wuh?

[AlaricSevGirl]

I could care less. If the voice actress isn't available get another one. That's no excuse to leave characters out.

 

I absolutely agree with you. If they are having problems with voice actors or paying voice actors, get people who are cheaper.

[MollyDresden]

Or, just recast and move on without saying their voice changed.

 

Yeah, if necessary, even temporarily, a recast would hardly be unusual. Finding someone who both looks and sounds like another actor is next to impossible, but this isn't live-action. A lot of people sound (or can sound, if they try) like other people, especially when you've got the animation the same, which would lead the brain to already expect to hear the same voice, so any difference could easily go unnoticed.

 

Then again, if they'd done that with Jorgan, I'd have totally noticed, since I'm much more familiar with his voice actor (having watched pretty much all of Psych).

[SerraShar]

I don't know . I mean , while yes it is done in Tv show and such where an actor can be easely replaced . It isn't always a good idea .

 

I mean , just look at Mass effect 3 when they put a picture instead of showing Talis real face . Everyone was pissed ! (well not me , cose I don't care..love Talis regarldess) .

 

I know it doesn't look like much , since BW will go and give her a Hi and a Bye (if you are lucky) lol but I'm pretty sure peoples will be mad .

 

They can always bring back the companions with no voicing at all....alliance style...you chit chat silently , kotor style

[Nocturnalchemy]

I absolutely agree with you. If they are having problems with voice actors or paying voice actors, get people who are cheaper.

 

This is always a flawed idea - it contributes to driving down the rates of the most well-paid professionals in a field, as well as making it harder for new people breaking into the field to earn a living wage. Speaking as someone who works as a freelancer in a creative field, this (which is to say, not bothering to try to work around the needs of your skilled professionals, and instead just hiring someone cheaper) is a bad practice that makes for inferior product.

[Eshvara]

This is always a flawed idea - it contributes to driving down the rates of the most well-paid professionals in a field, as well as making it harder for new people breaking into the field to earn a living wage. Speaking as someone who works as a freelancer in a creative field, this (which is to say, not bothering to try to work around the needs of your skilled professionals, and instead just hiring someone cheaper) is a bad practice that makes for inferior product.

 

There's nothing flawed about getting someone cheaper to do your work when nobody wants to do it for a reasonable price.

There are a lot of small time voice actors who'd love to get certain roles but usually won't, this is a good way for them to get a chance of having them.

 

But nobody knows why things aren't happening around Jaesa, it might not be money related at all.

 

 

They can always bring back the companions with no voicing at all....alliance style...you chit chat silently , kotor style

No.

Edited January 2, 2017 by Eshvara

[DarthDymond]

Anyway, I'm kind of confused about the voice actor strike thing. Jennifer Hale was in Knights of the Eternal Throne, but she is also part of the strike. I think Steve Blum was too? How does that work? What did the strike affect if that's the case?

The strike started in late October, it's likely they had already finished recording their lines by then.

 

The strike also only covers games that began production after February 17, 2015 (when the SAG-AFTRA contract expired) - so it's possible that by some loophole working on KotET technically counts as continued work on SWTOR, which isn't part of the strike, but that seems like more of a stretch. (Although, come to think of it, if KotET started out as "season 2" of KotFE, it's possible KotFE started production and inked its VO contracts before Feb 17, 2015, which might count - but a without knowing the contracts and the production schedule all of this is just supposition.)

 

On the main thread topic, has anyone been able to point to any sort of actual report / account of a VA actually saying she wouldn't come back for it?

Edited January 2, 2017 by DarthDymond

[grania]

I'm not ready to throw the actors under the bus, or accept a shoddy product with replaced /no voices at all. I say give the actors what they want and get back to work, we need our comps back

 

Here's a good article from a few days ago that explains the strike fairly well, if anyone is interested:

https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/the-ongoing-voice-actors-strike-is-more-than-just-a-little-drama

 

I found the part about voice actors being pit against devs by the corporations very interesting.

 

Another thing I found very interesting is the part about secrecy. In this article and in others a big deal is made about the secrecy that games operate within, which is one of my absolute biggest peeves with swtor.

 

It's so bad that even the actors walking into the studios to record lines often don't know anything about their character, the scenes, and sometimes even the game they are recording for. (Explains a lot, doesn't it? How sometimes an npc will say something in a complete wacky non-nonsensical way? As if they really don't understand what's going on.)

 

Of course the most important thing to be gained from this strike is that the actors wouldn't have to scream so long their throats bleed.

 

I don't know why consumers like us are so willing to throw away quality and humanity.

Edited January 2, 2017 by grania

[grania]

This just blows my mind:

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2016/12/10/video-game-voice-actors-dont-know-who-theyre-playing/

 

Can you imagine that the people who do the voices for us in swtor may not even know they're in swtor?! Trying to imagine running into someone like Natasha Little for example (not that I ever will) and she's practically like my second voice, and I say "Miss Little I love you, thank you for being so awesome, you make my warrior so fun to play" And she has no idea what I'm even talking about?!

 

Well, no wonder voice actors for games don't talk about specific roles much, in their interviews

[Eshvara]

This just blows my mind:

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2016/12/10/video-game-voice-actors-dont-know-who-theyre-playing/

 

Can you imagine that the people who do the voices for us in swtor may not even know they're in swtor?! Trying to imagine running into someone like Natasha Little for example (not that I ever will) and she's practically like my second voice, and I say "Miss Little I love you, thank you for being so awesome, you make my warrior so fun to play" And she has no idea what I'm even talking about?!

 

Well, no wonder voice actors for games don't talk about specific roles much, in their interviews

 

I wonder if they don't bother to ask, if not given information. Arcann's voice actor seems to know about Arcann, so does valk and Vaylin.

[grania]

I wonder if they don't bother to ask, if not given information. Arcann's voice actor seems to know about Arcann, so does valk and Vaylin.

 

That they wouldn't care to know, that they wouldn't even be curious, that seems unlikely. And it's not the story I'm getting from my research about the strike. If those characters seem like they know who they are and what their relationships are with each other, than we can thank their acting skills for that.

[Eshvara]

That they wouldn't care to know, that they wouldn't even be curious, that seems unlikely. And it's not the story I'm getting from my research about the strike. If those characters seem like they know who they are and what their relationships are with each other, than we can thank their acting skills for that.

 

Well two of them went to a cantina tour, seemed like they kinda knew. Arcann's voice actor seems to be really happy he got to voice him, for as far as I can tell, he has taken an interest in him and did some research, if he didn't get told.

[grania]

Well two of them went to a cantina tour, seemed like they kinda knew. Arcann's voice actor seems to be really happy he got to voice him, for as far as I can tell, he has taken an interest in him and did some research, if he didn't get told.

 

Well, that's cool.

 

I'm going to try to imagine what Arcann's voice actor looks like before I google it. Hmm..

 

Omg that is exactly what I pictured him to look like, first time I ever even came close o_o

[cool-dude]

I could care less. If the voice actress isn't available get another one. That's no excuse to leave characters out.

 

Yeah. Jennifer hale and whats her face are overrated anyway.

[Suzsi]

This. Her voice isn't particularly unique. I'm sure there are hundreds of women who sound just like her that do voice work for cheaper (and would be better at it.).

 

The voices don't even need to be the same. I just want my companions back again. Far better to recast then never have their stories continued, never see them again or them being killed off!

 

I said the same thing in another post a while back about simply recasting VA's if they can't get them back again or if the strike is holding things up. I get that VA's should be paid more ( hence the strike ) and why but it isn't fair on the players to hold us up in the process. Many of us are paying monthly and would like our companions returned in the story.

[cool-dude]

This just blows my mind:

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2016/12/10/video-game-voice-actors-dont-know-who-theyre-playing/

 

Can you imagine that the people who do the voices for us in swtor may not even know they're in swtor?! Trying to imagine running into someone like Natasha Little for example (not that I ever will) and she's practically like my second voice, and I say "Miss Little I love you, thank you for being so awesome, you make my warrior so fun to play" And she has no idea what I'm even talking about?!

 

Well, no wonder voice actors for games don't talk about specific roles much, in their interviews

 

How can they not know?

[Neshira]

This is always a flawed idea - it contributes to driving down the rates of the most well-paid professionals in a field, as well as making it harder for new people breaking into the field to earn a living wage. Speaking as someone who works as a freelancer in a creative field, this (which is to say, not bothering to try to work around the needs of your skilled professionals, and instead just hiring someone cheaper) is a bad practice that makes for inferior product.

 

They need fairer working hours but these guys already get paid more to sit in a booth and talk than men and women who work grueling backbreaking labour day in and day out.

 

While I do believe something should be done about the strike I don't support just giving in and letting these people make even more money when other voice actors could do the job just as well and could be brought in.

 

I do favour giving them more information though, if only because the quality of their work suffers when they don't know anything about their character.

[Suzsi]

They need fairer working hours but these guys already get paid more to sit in a booth and talk than men and women who work grueling backbreaking labour day in and day out.

 

While I do believe something should be done about the strike I don't support just giving in and letting these people make even more money when other voice actors could do the job just as well and could be brought in.

 

I do favour giving them more information though, if only because the quality of their work suffers when they don't know anything about their character.

 

Although it may not SEEM like it. ALL work has it's 'dangers' be it sitting at a PC all day, or being out in the field breaking your back picking pineapples all day.

 

In the case of singers, actors and voice actors - Their voices are what makes a living for them. Without said voice they are pretty much screwed. Doing this work can damage vocal cords. Doing it for hours on end can damage them worse. The strike was because they weren't being paid accordingly - Risk vrs Reward. VA's have had to get operations already due to the stress on their vocal cords. No voice, no more work for them yet somehow they still have to survive?

 

Sitting at a PC typing all day, has risk as well with RSI which can be extremely painful. Sitting on your *** all day on a chair has risks of blood clots, lower back and shoulder stress and more.

 

Just like physical work also causes stress on the human body. Any repetitive action takes its toll on us as we age and all should be compensated accordingly, otherwise we end up with people who can't work who never made enough life savings to continue.. you know... paying for day to day living.

[grania]

How can they not know?

 

The link explains that, better than me rehashing it could. Though I read several related articles and pieced some bits together because I find it so totally weirdsville.

 

Here's another one explaining how it happens

http://www.wsj.com/articles/so-you-were-the-blue-zombie-actors-play-videogame-characters-in-the-dark-1480875580

Edited January 2, 2017 by grania

[Kajuratus]

Anyway, I'm kind of confused about the voice actor strike thing. Jennifer Hale was in Knights of the Eternal Throne, but she is also part of the strike. I think Steve Blum was too? How does that work? What did the strike affect if that's the case?

I always read that since games that started production after February 2015 wouldn't be affected by the strike, that meant that SWTOR would be safe. (considering it started production around 2006 or something?) I guess we'll find out with the new story thats coming later on, or if the new group content that Bioware has "announced" will have the likes of Jennifer Hale or Steve Blum voicing any characters in this new update. Of course, its possible that this content was also voiced before the strike took effect

[OldVengeance]

Would it even really be getting our old companions back if they have different voices? Then they would feel like different characters.

 

Voice actors are important for bringing a character to life. Mordin was one of my favorite characters after Mass Effect 2, but when I realized he had been recast for Mass Effect 3, I found myself relieved by him having such a small role in the game. And that is not a feeling I should have, when watching the potential death scene of one of my favorite characters.

 

The new guy they hired for him got pretty close in some scenes, but in general I could tell he didn't feel quite like the character we knew before.

 

Actors who can seamlessly replace others tend to be relatively rare, imo.

[Aeneas_Falco]

If a voice actor could not return at all for any reason, Bioware only had a couple options. The first is to write that character out of the game entirely, with the events of that character's departure playing out entirely off screen, or to bring the character back with a new voice actor.

 

For important companion characters like Kira, Jaesa, or Quinn, bringing the character back with a new voice actor is the least bad option. An offscreen death or something similar would be a deeply dissatisfying ending to their character arcs, and unfair to players who didn't have their Outlander pursue Lana or Koth or whomever, with the expectation that their character's LI from the class stories would return.

[Neshira]

Although it may not SEEM like it. ALL work has it's 'dangers' be it sitting at a PC all day, or being out in the field breaking your back picking pineapples all day.

 

In the case of singers, actors and voice actors - Their voices are what makes a living for them. Without said voice they are pretty much screwed. Doing this work can damage vocal cords. Doing it for hours on end can damage them worse. The strike was because they weren't being paid accordingly - Risk vrs Reward. VA's have had to get operations already due to the stress on their vocal cords. No voice, no more work for them yet somehow they still have to survive?

 

Sitting at a PC typing all day, has risk as well with RSI which can be extremely painful. Sitting on your *** all day on a chair has risks of blood clots, lower back and shoulder stress and more.

 

Just like physical work also causes stress on the human body. Any repetitive action takes its toll on us as we age and all should be compensated accordingly, otherwise we end up with people who can't work who never made enough life savings to continue.. you know... paying for day to day living.

 

Yes but while many people who are taking these risks are doing so to barely make it these voice actors make far more money. Average people manage to (barely) survive on 8 bucks an hour. That's what my husband makes to support our family and it's a serious struggle. These people make FAR more than even 50 dollars an hour considering that "there are people who'd do this for 50 bucks an hour" was slung at them as an insult. The ameteur voice actors I know are typically paid between 200 and 300 dollars an hour. Famous actors like some of these probably make three times that and looking at the sheer number of roles to their credit they're clearly not hurting on the financial front.

 

It's like professional athletes or actors asking for more money. It's ridiculous. There are many parts of this strike that I agree with but not the wages part.

[MarionHill]

My thought is simply this. I have never in my life bought a game due to the fact that there was a certain Voice Actor in it.

 

Mass Effect, SWTOR, and Infamous are three of my favorite games of all time. They all had VA's who changed. 2 for the better and one who was about the same.

 

If they bring in someone who sounds close enough or better. Good. I would rather they do that then the companions never return. KOTET was already ruined somewhat by Kira and Scourge not returning.

 

I do feel bad for the Voice Actors. But at the end of the day it is like every other job. If they are not going to do it, someone else will.