Dreams from Another World
The 4 Reasons Voice Acting Ruins Great Stories
by
, 10-03-2011 at 04:35 PM (5712 Views)
Now this isnt a "dis" to the many games and even LBP levels that use voice acting, however, I find myself skeptical if I should include voice work in my rpg in fear that is will...sort of ruin the story. This isnt saying Chrono Chrysalis wont have VA's, but here are 4 reasons I fear i shouldn't even use include it.
1. It takes away the Imagination
Again, This is not a Vivi "dis"; he still remains one of my favorite characters in RPGs. If you haven't played FF IX, first of all: shame on you, but in short, he was one of the coolest Black Mages ever in an RPG. Just look at this guy for a second though; how do you think he would sound in real life? Thats one of the things that I liked about the PS1 era rpgs, is that characters like these, really fuel the imagination of what you think they would sound like in reality. Of course this may differ between individuals, but Im guessing its nothing like the horrendous Kingdom Hearts 2 interpretation. Once I played KH, they made him sound like some...foreign alien from ET or something..idk. But it absolutely invaded my head every time I went back to play FF IX, and for me it ruined Vivi's character because forgive me, but he just isn't as cool as before.
2. Can create unintentionally awkward moments or characters
Now I don't see how something like Final Fantasy X's laughing scene could not be awkward..even in script lol but it defiantly would not have been nearly as bad. So lets take a recent RPG, "Gulp" Final Fantasy 13.
From the outlook, Vanille is nothing like her voice actor. On script, Vanille is more or less the stereotypical energetic girl in an rpg party like Selphie, Rikku etc. However, this character took it to the next level. Her lines always come across as awkward, and accompanied by weird...sounds she tends to make in battles or cutscenes that resemble...you know. Anyway, the point is, she shouldn't have came across that way( At least I hope not). Even worse, this is the game that forced you to spend hours playing as her.
3. Will have to exist the entire series
Theres nothing far more disjointed, imo, than switching actors in a long RPG series. It just throws everything off and the character just seems..way different, almost as if they are an entirely different person--well in a way they are. Realistically, Chrono Chrysalis is a project that will probably take until 2013 to complete all the chapters( seriously, CHP isnt even out yet and its closing in on a year of Dev). With a story that large and so much dialogue, you will grow familiar with a character sounding a certain way, and changing that, not only changes how you will interpret this person, but possibly how you view them. Speech and context, is very important to a characters personality. And life happens, I cant really expect actors to be there whenever I need them, and that's really where another huge issue begins to form.
4. Makes the story harder to take seriously
Arc Rise Fantasia has the worst voice acting in a video game that I have ever heard in my entirety of my young life. This makes Final Fantasy X seem like a legendary Oscar winning performance or something; yes, that bad. Alright, sure the story was cliche, but isnt every "Tales of" a bit game cliche? Yet their stories seem to be in a different league than games like this, for the sole reason that the quality of voice acting is consistent( a bit better written but...). No ones getting paid to voice in CC, and I expect different actors wont be able to express as well as others. And some may come off a really dry or unexciting. It could potentially ruin the "star" performances in the game and just evoke more humor--unwanted humor, when it should actually be a serious moment( Death scenes, arguments, love etc). That explains my entire playthrough of Arc Rise Fantasia: I just could not take this game seriously, not for a second, even as much RPGs as I have played, I am literally laughing during every boss fight--as hard as they are in this game lol
Well thats my list, hopefully you guys can help me decide if Chrono Chrysalis should feature Voice Acting. No updates this time, but I will be updating the official thread next week hopefully. The game looks...well, you will just have to wait and see for yourself!
Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments below, how do you guys feel about voice acting in rpgs or games in general?
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